andiesenji

I want to add my vote to how great the place looks. I have an artist friend who lives in Woodstock and has a sister in DeWitt that she visits at least once a month. I sent her an email about your place. She is a devotee of the Arts & Crafts movement and has collected a fair amount of furniture and accessories over the years. She is also an avid coffee "collector." Whenever she comes to California to visit she is armed with a list of coffee/espresso places she has to visit. I have three Stickley pieces, dining table, desk and armchair, all purchased when MGM had their huge auction years ago and cleaned out the barns and warehouses where much of the furniture had been stored since the 20s and 30s. Sadly, the chairs that went with the dining table had been stored in a loft that was damaged in a fire sometime in the early 60s. (I bought a lot of furniture at that auction, mostly art deco, at extremely reasonable prices.) Nothing has been done to the Stickley pieces except cleaning and oiling.

I use my 5000 with the variable speed several times a week, sometimes several times a day. I often use it to make creamed/pureed soups in small batches as it cooks them as well as pureeing. However I use it most for making condiments, grinding mustard mixtures. This one is the third Vita-Mix I have owned. I still have my old commercial model with the stainless steel vessel. I got the newer one because it had a larger capacity and also had the extra vessel for grinding grains.

This is one of the Art Nouveau fonts often used for posters and for book titles - You can see it on this sitesee #4. The books of Aubrey Beardsley used this type for titles.

Years ago, when the kids were home, I used to roast them in the oven then put them out for dipping into cheese fondue. The kids didn't like bread dipped in the cheese sauce but they would eat the Tater Tots with cheese until they couldn't swallow. I would set out little "sideboys" to add a bit of pizazz to the cheese and we liked the combination of crisp crumbled bacon, scallions, toasted nuts and crushed pepper flakes. So the routine was to spear the TaterTot on a fondue fork, dip it in the fondue, lift it out and turn it a few times until it began to set a bit then dip it into one or more of the "extras". A quickly thrown-together meal for game nights.

My guillty pleasure in sandwich form was pickle and bacon on sheepherder bread. I don't remember just when I had the first one but I can remember sitting on the veranda outside the kitchen and munching through one and drinking buttermilk. Years later, when I was in the midst of pregnancy, I suddenly developed a yen for this and would take the fixings along with me to work. I take a long slice of bread or the crust sliced off the side of a long loaf, sheepherder works too, then put on a layer of bread and butter pickles then several strips (or a layer of crumbled) bacon. Roll it up into a cylinder. Consume, goes really good with buttermilk. My boss couldn't stay in the room when I was eating it. He thought it was gross.

By the way, your photos are wonderful.

My aunt said that one of the "problems" of making this stuff was that if Meemaw (and now her) turns her back after the roasting, some of it would "disappear" and she would catch one of her sons tucking into a leftover biscuit with a bit too much gusto. This is a reduced size recipe. Meemaw made 8 quarts in a batch and usually made two or three batches. My aunt cut it down when she began making it 40 or 50 years ago. She hasn't made it for several years but our discussion has reminded her just how good it was and she is going to make a batch this week. She said her husband liked it layered in between layers of "Johnnycake" or sweetened cornbread. She would make 4 or 5 thin layers of sweetened cornbread, with buttered brown paper on the top during baking so it wouldn't form a crust. After putting the cake together with the mincemeat in between the layers, she would drizzle "raisin wine" on it. Which is simply sherry in which raisins (or other dried fruits) have been soaking for some time. She would then wrap it tightly in muslin with more of the liquid drizzled over it and then in "tin" foil. However she would store it in the ice box, usually hidden behind the vegetables to keep the boys out of it.

I use these on phyllo dough cutters from King Arthur Flour. I also have the nylon ones. I have a different one with no handle and a rolled top edge on which I can tap with a mallet for cutting many layers but I don't remember where I got it. It is quite tall. I found them. I got them from Fantes the linzer cookie cutter.

If you go to this site Melinda Lee's recipe archives. You will find Rick Bayliss' recipe for Tres Leches Cake and his version of dulce de leche. It is something to do with your homemade dulce de leche............. as if you had a problem...

Or stainless steel.

Y??Y®?Y?(Yù@(Y+?^how I handle the items listed and I hope everyone else will chime in with their tips. Ok speaking to the items specifily mentioned. I would remove my charlotte even if I assembled it in a springform pan, by freezing it, then heating the sides of my pan to release. When frozen I can easily pick-up the whole cake and place it on a cardboard circle. Place it in my cooler to let it defrost to a semi-frozen state then slice it perfectly. ←

I don't think I have ever tried Parmalat. I used to buy their non-fridge, shelf-stored milk but it disappeared from stores several months back when there was a problem with a factory. Have you ever tried Guerrero y Meza? It is difficult to find, even here, but occasionally the carniceria near my home has it - they keep it at the checkout stand as it comes in little, easy pocketable, tins. It has a picture of a smiling goat on the label but the text is all in Spanish and I read only a little. It is made in Iguala, Mexico. It is the best I have ever tried, except for Mrs. Obregon's. It has so many layered flavors that one moment it tastes like caramel and the next like chocolate, there there is a slightly smokey flavor that sneaks in at the end. They had it last year about this time and I bought a box for the Hispanic kids that come around for trick or treat because they would much rather have that than candy. Timer just went off, back to my cooking....

Once you try the traditional stuff you will know why some people like to make it from scratch. There is a world of difference in the product. Have you ever tried the real stuff that comes in a jar or in little tins? The flavor is far more complex with a hint of the bitterness one gets with true sugar carmelization. I used to make the canned stuff but haven't for years. It is really so easy to do it in the crockpot that I would much rather do that. I don't ever want to settle for second best when I know a better product can be obtained with a little more effort. However that is just old, obsessive me!!!

I saw this thread yesterday and went over to my neighbor who makes the stuff from scratch. I posted her recipe a few days ago. She says the soda is to keep the mixture from becoming grainy.

A few months back I picked up Marlene Koch's "Unbelievable Desserts with Splenda, at Sam's Club for $12.88. It is a small book but has a lot of great recipes using Splenda, including a fresh peach custard pie that I made on several occasions when the peaches were in season. I also made in once with apricots. Excellent. I also made a citrus chiffon cake which I took to a party and everyone loved. However, the best recipe so far, and one which I have made several times, is the Unbelievable Chocolate Cake. It has only 160 calories per serving, 22 grams carbs, 8 sugar, 3 gms protein and 7 grams of fat. for a Diabetic exchange it equals 1 1/2 servings of carbs, 1 fat. I haven't checked its availability on Amazon, but in my opinion it is a great little book. Regular retail is $19.95 so the deal at Sam's was very good.

Splenda's new product, Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, is half and half, sugar/Splenda. It is excellent for use where plain Splenda is not quite right. It weighs out the same as sugar, which is helpful for recipes based on weight instead of volume (as are most of mine). It works great in beating egg whites and I have made a classic 7-minute frosting which turned out great. You can label it "reduced sugar" frosting. I don't really have a recipe written down as I have been making this for 50 years but this site has a standard recipe. 7-minute frosting I am also a Type II diabetic.

You can use any kind of liquor as long as the proportions are the same and you can substitute it for the sherry too. The amount of alcohol is critical as that is the preservative that keeps the stuff from spoiling or getting moldy. My aunt said that she used Galliano one year when she had a bottle that someone had given her and she had no other use for it (doesn't drink anything except an occasional Ezra Brooks bourbon and water). She said that she often uses "whatever is handy" meaning that if someone leaves a bottle of something at her home after a party, she feels free to appropriate it for her baking. That is, anything but scotch. She says that it may be sacrilege to some but the smell of it always reminds her of her husband's old boots. (He was a petroleum engineer.)

I have tried getting a peach charlotte out of a regular cake pan when a helper assembled it in one by mistake. Not a pretty sight. I use them for desserts that have ladyfingers or decorative elements around the sides that stay in place when the springform is eased away from the sides. Some things just are easier to do with a springform and I like having the option of using them.

Okay folks, Here is the recipe for pork mincemeat cake from my aunt. I spent over an hour on the phone with her while she dictated the recipe. I typed it out then called her back and went over it line by line to make sure I have it exactly as it should be. Should I also post it on the fruitcake thread? Meemaw's Pork Mincemeat Christmas cake. Pork Mincemeat 1 1/2 pounds (prepare at least a week ahead) See below for recipe. currants or sultanas 15 oz chopped pecans 2 cups vanilla 1 Tablespoon rum or brandy 1/4 cup (or a mixture of the two) butter melted 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 cups eggs, separated 3 extra large baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons water 1/4 cup cake or pastry flour 3 cups 1. Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan (can use bundt pan) 2. in a large bowl, combine mincemeat, currants or sultanas, nuts, vanilla and liquor - set aside 3. In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar and egg yolks: beat well. Combine baking soda and water, add to mixture. 4. Sift flour over mincemeat mixture, stir to mix well. Combine contents of both bowls; mix well. (Batter will be stiff) 5. In small bowl of mixer, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. 6. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 275° for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until done. (Cake will pull away from sides of pan) 7. cool slightly, remove from pan. Cool completely and wrap to store. (Wrap in cheesecloth - *spritz with rum, brandy, flavored brandy or flavored liquor - then wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil) Place in cake tin. Cake keeps very well. * I keep a small spritzer bottle in the kitchen just for liquor - the alcohol will evaporate rapidly from cooked foods and will evaporate in about 3 days when used on baked goods like this cake - for people like me who have an allergy to alcohol. This method uses much less alcohol than pouring it on the cake and there is less chance of having soggy lumps saturated with liquor. There is a commercial rum and brandy mix that is usually only available during the holidays. With the addition of vanilla - about 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of the liquor, this gives a very nice flavor to this type of cake. Cherry Heering or Peter Heering the cherry liquer is also an excellent flavoring for fruit cakes. ------------------------------- MeeMaw's Pork Mincemeat 1 pound lean cooked pork cut into strips 1/3 pound pork fat cut into strips 1 pound dried apples cut into pieces 1 pound Sultanas or golden raisins 1 pound mixed peel 1/2 pound citron 1/2 pound dried pineapple 1/2 pound blanched almonds zest and juice of one large orange zest and juice of two lemons zest and juice of one grapefruit 1 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground 1 teaspoon allspice, freshly ground 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2/3 cup sweet sherry 1/2 cup brandy 1/2 cup rum Gather the first 8 ingredients on a tray or platter. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Using a food grinder with the coarsest blade, alternate ingredients as you put them through the grinder so they are combined in a Dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold everything. After grinding, mix well with your hands. Add the next 8 ingredients, cover tightly and cook for 2 hours. Remove from oven. Place a metal colander in a large pan, line with cheesecloth and spoon the mixture into the colander. Stir gently, turning the mixture over to drain away most of the liquid fat. Return the mixture to the cooking pot. Add the sherry, brandy and rum, stir well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 20 to 30 minutes. Ladle into sterilized jars, cover tightly and store in a cool place for one week prior to use. Once opened, store in refrigerator.

I want to add that shortly after I became a member in April of this year, I fractured a vertebra in my low back plus rupturing two discs. One of the things that kept me sane when the pain in my leg was so severe I couldn't concentrate on reading a book, was being able to read the posts from people here who are as passionate about food as I am. Sometimes I had to get up and walk around or lie down in my recliner between posts, but the subjects kept my interest and distracted me from the pain. It was a lot better than taking Oxycontin.

Or go down the street and have a meal at Knott's Berry Farm, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. I had dinner there year before last during the Christmas holidays (I relocate to OC for two weeks during the holidays, staying with friends in Yorba Linda.) It was quite good. I have eaten there many times over the years and forget during the interims just how homey and satisfying plain home-style food can be. When the kids were still at home we used to go to Knott's for Halloween then have dinner at the restaurant. We also went to Disneyland every Christmas season.

Not old, old, but Spago in West Hollywood is not bad. And of course there is always Musso and Frank Grill on Hollywood Blvd. That one has been around forever, well, since 1919. You never know who you will see there. The waiters are (famously) somewhat terse, but people expect it. When I relocated to Southern California in 1959 that was the first restaurant I went to in Hollywood. My dad took me and I saw Jimmy Stewart at one table, Maureen O'Hara at another and as we were leaving Aldo Ray walked past us. I was excited to see real movie stars. Then I went to work for a doctor that treated a lot of people in the industry and soon learned they were just regular people with jobs that put them in the public eye. During the years I worked as a personal chef I even worked for quite a few.

Check these out. I have the tilting turntable which I like very much. However if you don't need one (much easier on the back) you can get one of the flat ones at a very reasonable price. I bought mine here: Shop here.

To me sweet rice is one thing, it is sticky, but the "Calrose" short grain rice grown in California is also very "sticky" in that it clumps together easily and it is not sweet. It is often used in sushi. You can read a bit more about it here.

Last February, when I first tried the Frieling line of springform pans, I immediately tossed out all my old Kaiser pans and replaced them with the Frieling and the new Kaiser leakproof pans. I have used them with and without a waterbath and love them. They cost more but in my opinion they are worth every penny. Buy one and try it, which is what I did, and see for yourself. Chef's Catalog has them. I bought the Kaiser La Forme leakproof pans at Discount Cooking. I also tried the Nordicware leakproof but it did leak, the only one in this line I use is the extra deep (5 inch deep pan) I also bought the square and rectangular springform pans in the Kaiser La Forme line. They aren't completely leakproof but otherwise work well.