andiesenji

I just missed getting one last month that was a single sandwich size and in beautiful condition. this one I was outbid at the last minute by a friend who has a craftsman home in Pasadena and has completely redone the kitchen as it was when the house was first built. Silly me, I happened to mention the sandwich grill being on eBay and she jumped at the chance. I did beat her out for a toaster of the same era that is also a beauty.

Read through some of the recipes on this site. There are quite a number of camping recipes using foil packs and even cooking bags inside fild packs for even juicier results. Back in the days when I was young enough to go camping, hiking and fishing in the High Sierras, I used to make up aluminum foil packets of "stew" and when we got to Bishop, before starting up into the high country we would put them in on top of the engine (old 59 Jeep) and by the time we got to Convict Lake they would be done for our first evening's dinner. Trout, fresh-caught and cooked in foil with some butter and lemon slices (and maybe some dill) tucked inside the cavity is ambrosical, especially if eaten with the fingers right off the foil, burned fingers and all. Stuffed pork chops, in a triple layer of foil, buried in the coals for about 35 - 40 minutes 9or more if they are really thick) are better than cake.

If you infuse raw garlic in oil you must refrigerate it. However, you can get a much more flavorful oil and one that is safe to keep at room temp if you pour the oil into a deep vessel, add the garlic cloves and "roast" it in the oven. You want to do this at about 275 degrees for at least two hours, because you don't want the oil to boil, you want to get it to the point where the garlic is roasted and actually carmelized in the oil. For larger volumens (I generally do 6 quarts at a time) you need to "roast" it longer. It is easy enough to fish out a piece with a slotted spoon, mash it onto a piece of bread and taste it. You can then pour the hot oil into sterilized (and dried) bottles and seal them or simply put the oil into sterilized pint Mason jars, add a few of the garlic cloves to each jar, place the lid and tighten the ring. As the oil cools you will hear the "ping" of the lid sealing. This is now safe to store on a pantry shelf. You also do not have to refrigerate it after opening if you are going to use it up within a month or so, it will keep quite nicely at room temperature. I use a very good olive oil when I make this as the flavor has to be optimal for the final product to be at its best. Andie

I collect antique or "vintage" appliances and many of the old ones were "dual-purpose" having a set of waffle irons and a set of plain plates, some had reversable plates. Many of these are works of art in and of themselves with beautiful art deco detailing. Some have been so well cared-for that they look nearly new with bright shiny chrome and bakelite handles, feet, etc. I have them all checked and rewired before use. There is a wizard of small appliances in the west valley who has been doing my small appliance repairs and restoration for 35 or more years. Sometimes I take him some really oddball items but he is always up to the task and does the job every time. I recently got this one made in 1931 for a really bargain price. By the time Fred gets the plates cleaned, it will look like new. Note the nifty art deco design. At that time esthetics were as important as efficiency.

Actually the VillaWare does not have an on/off switch either. However I have mine plugged into a power block that has on/of switches for each individual receptacle. My big Cuisinart (20 cup) has an admonition to not leave it plugged in when not in use and it also is plugged into this power block as is the Vita-Mix blender. This power block, with a short, heavy extension cord is made for shop equipment and rated for 60 amps and has its own overload breaker. After having a kitchen fire many years ago caused by coffeemaker, I have been somewhat of a fanatic about electrical safety, particularly in the kitchen.

I have two, the VillaWare Pro press which I bought myself and the Glass one pictured next to the VillaWare which was a gift. I use the first for "normal" thickness sandwiches and the glass one for very thick ones on very crusty bread or rolls. Most of the Foreman ones I have seen used for panini smash the sandwiches on the hinge side because the tops do not "float" enough. There is a less expensive one sold at Amazon, the Breville, that a friend has and it is much better than the others she tried and is less than $50.00. I know she had a Foreman that she returned to the store and was going to order the VillaWare but came across the Breville and decided to try it. She says it has an adjustable top so doesn't smash the back half of the sandwiches the way the Foreman did.

Back when I worked in my mother's bakery in the 50s, our Hungarian pastry man made a torte using hazelnut "flour" mixed with sugar and eggwhites beaten just to a froth, then poured into flan rings on a sheet pan so the layers were only about 1/2 inch thick and baked in a slow oven just till set. These were not hard like a meringue. They were then set aside on a wire rack to dry then were stacked, usually with a filling of some type of jam, thined a bit so it would soak into the cake, or a thin layer of chocolate or pastry cream or a combination in alternating layers. I haven't thought about these for years. I probably have a recipe somewhere in my old notebooks but it will take me some time to look for it. I know it was very simple, just enough egg whites to hold the dry ingredients together and they were not beaten to the point that they held a peak and they did not rise much, if any, in the oven. Oh yes, he would make sure the layers were level by dampening the bottom of a cake pan that was slightly smaller than the ring, setting it on top of the batter and giving it a turn and quickly lifting it off. I had never seen that done when I was in baking school and thought it was an interesting technique. He spoke very little English and had difficulty explaining some of the things he did but was very good at demonstrating. He also made the best "thousand-layer" pastry I have ever tasted in my entire life. (And have never been able to duplicate.) It was not a typical puff pastry dough - it contained egg yolks and sugar as well as a little yeast. In some ways it was somewhat similar to a traditional Danish dough but puffed a lot more. It was a very tender, melt-in-the-mouth pastry.

The I Hate To Cook Book and all the rest of Peg Bracken's wonderful humor, even though I have always loved to cook. I like humor and especially humorous food writing. Mary Lasswell's novels, all of which included a great deal of food discussion, description and enjoyment. I have re-read all of them many, many times. They are my "escapist" stories for when I am feeling blue or out of sorts. There are others, but these are the mainstays.

Quite a few years ago I made a dessert - a cake - which the Frugal Gourmet did on his show. I had taped it and wrote down the ingredients and made the cake, which was delicious. Unfortunately I lost my notes on the recipe and can't find the tape on which I recorded it. I recall that it was a recipe supposedly related to Catherine de Medici (ancient quisine) and I tried to find a reference to it in his cookbooks and to other cookbooks but wasn't successful and forgot about it until I read the title of your topic. It is a spectacular cake, more of a confection that actual cake, and I made it with home made angel hair pasta. As I recall it contained cream and a lot of eggs, chestnuts and spices but other than that and the pasta, my mind is a blank. My great grandmother, who kept extensive notes in her journals of her travels, made many references to dishes she came across in Italy, France and Spain, especially during the 1860s, 70s and 80s. She made notes about the ingredients but few notes about the methods, probably because most cooks of that era knew how to do some of the things that are such a mystery to us now. There was a chestnut and fig "pie" made with farfalle that had been cooked in a light syrup instead of water that she and our cook recreated. I can remember that the "extra" pasta was allowed to dry and we kids snacked on it. Somewhere in my vast collection of cookboks is a little cookbook on pasta that includes recipes "from start to finish" - - including desserts with pasta. I will look for it this evening when I get home.

This is yet another application for the large crockpots. I render lard in either a large crockpot or one of my old electric roasters. The temperature is controlled nicely and you don't have to attend to it constantly. It will happily cook all by itself over night or during the day when you have other things to do. Those little bits of meat that are strained out can be saved and used to flavor corn bread, or whatever - - - You won't have a problem discovering what to do with it, even if just put on a biscuit.

I just thought of another "twist" to this subject. There are so many new cooking appliances and gadgets coming into the market recently, you might contact the manufacturer or distributor reps and explain the ideas you have for the show and see if they would be willing to offer their new appliances or whatever for you to use and show how they work in real, uncontrolled situations, i.e., being used by someone who has not been specifically trained to use them. They provide appliances and supplies to stores where the appliances are demonstrated and that has a very limited audience. You would have a much larger potential audience and thus a greater potential customer base. Just look how successful the telemarketing of "niche" appliances has been. I know just from reading the messaged on eG that a lot of people have never considered buying a particular appliance because they did not believe they had a use for it. Once they hear or see how versatile these things can be, they realize it can be a real time-saver. The rice cooker/steamer for instance, which has been discussed recently. Regarding your "vintage" kitchen. You might consider that there are collectors who are on the lookout for all those "vintage" or "retro" kitchens. I wish I could get in touch with Mick and Leah Ausberger who actually "sold" their circa 1950s kitchen so they could remodel it prior to selling their Studio City home. They are now living on a sailboat somewhere in the Pacific, out of touch 99% of the time. I know they would be happy to explain how they did it. Anyway, they advertised the sale of their entire 1950s kitchen which had enameled steel cabinets and counter tops, in white and green, green glass fronted upper cabinets, a Naugahide upholstered "breakfast nook" as well as real vintage (pink) major appliances and all the small appliances they had owned and taken excellent care of since inheriting the house and furnishings from Leah's mother. They had several offers and finally sold the kitchen for a hefty amount. The buyer, a dedicated "retro" collector, had it disassembled and trucked away to someplace in Malibu. I know that often people think of old appliances as just "junk" but you only have to look at some of the online auctions to see how much collectors will pay for this stuff. I have two "antique" stoves in perfect working condition (to code) and have had people call me and offer outlandish amounts of money when they see the photos that were taken by the restorer several years ago. One is an enormous Roper Town & Country range, robin's egg blue (at the very beginning of the "pastel" appliance era. It has 8 burners plus a center griddle, three ovens and two broilers. It is almost five feet long so most kitchens of today are not large enough. (It also weighs a lot because the frame is cast iron.) So take a carefull look at your kitchen and see if it is worth more than you know.

I think they are all very similar. I have two packages in the freezer but other than a sticker that says coconut milk, all of the printing is in characters that I can't read. I trust the grocer to know what he is selling. I use it in all kinds of rice and grain dishes. Hot breakfast cereal made with diluted coconut milk is very, very good. I also use coconut oil for cooking/flavoring some things as I find that keeping to a sort of flavor "theme" with some things is a great advantage. Coconut oil is quite expensive but to me is worth it. I mentioned it on another thread, (Chewing The Fat) it adds a great deal to some foods.Coconut oil

There are so many ethnic grocery stores down your way, it seems to me it might be feasable to have some ingredients from a different one each week and then go into a restaurant kitchen of a different type and cook a meal. This would not put too much burden on one store, they would get publicity (just look at what Huell Howser has done for some Mom and Pop places he visited) and the restaurant would also get publicity and if you timed it for a time or a day when they are closed, they would have publicity and with no loss of covers. Many small restaurants are closed on Monday. I would ask the grocer to choose things that would make a complete meal and then let you try to put them together, along with some staples from the host restaurant, (might have a "fusion" thing going). I don't like the short timed versions of this. I think there should be some type of time limit but one should have a reasonable time for the decision of what to prepare and to execute.

The coconut "cream" she is referring to is probably the frozen coconut milk which is very thick like cream but has no sweetener added. It is available only in Asian markets. I often buy this, thaw it and dilute it half and half with water. It tastes much fresher than the canned stuff but is not as handy to use but you should really try it to see if you like it better. frozen coconut milk For some desserts, it is far superior. I make a coconut sorbet which I use to top pineapple upside-down cake (a sort of pina-colada dessert) and this works as well as fresh grated. Back in 1991 there was a problem with contamination but there has been a big change in how the material is processed and it is tested at every step to be sure of purity.

For most rice dishes I use half and half, coconut milk and water or coconut milk and chicken stock, etc. If I am cooking sticky (Thai Sweet) rice I use mostly all coconut milk, with just about 1/4 can of water to rinse out the can after emptying the coconut milk which has to be shaken well because there are always some solids that settle into one end.

I suggest you try this site: Recipes by Ingredient Enter "Coconut Milk" into the "Search Ingredients" window and you will get 2 + pages of recipes. I have made the Jamaican curried bananas and it is unusual and very tasty. I have also made the grilled pork satay with curried peanut sauce and it is a favorite. The coconut flan is also easy and very good. (Salerno's coconut flan). I use coconut milk in the liquid to cook regular rice, brown rice, a mixture of grains and seeds and nuts and also for stewing chicken or pork. I have a friend who makes a killer dish with scallops poached in coconut milk. She doesn't have a recipe as it changes every time she makes it, uses different seasonings from curry to chipotle peppers.

I reuse it, however I usually bring it to a boil and add more vinegar and sugar. I've never had a problem, however I keep the pickles in the refrigerator.

I have tried many varieties of honey cake and this is the one that I like best: Marcy Goldman's honey cake

I use both crockpot/slow cookers and pressure cookers quite a bit, depending on the food, the time available and the amount I have to prepare. I have several slow cookers and use them for candying citrus peel, ginger, fruits, and for making jams, fruit butters, sauces, reducing wines, carmelized onions, etc., - I could go on and on. The pressure cooker is great for cooking tough cuts of meat with good flavor so as to extract as much flavor as possible in a short amount of time. I then put the meat and bones (now softened) throught a meat press to extract as much liquid as possible then clarify this and cook it down still more to concentrate it. Some people say that classic stocks require long, slow cooking but sometimes that is just not feasible and for some applications this works as well, if not better. I also use a big pressure cooker for canning things that are not safe canned with the open kettle or waterbath method, i.e., low acid foods, meats, etc. I have a lot of books on both subjects, however there are excellent online recipe sites: CrockeryKitchen andJust slow cook recipes. For pressure cooking I rely a great deal on Miss Vickie's website and Diana's Kitchen. I rarely need to look through a book unless I am looking for a rather obscure recipe.

I have to step in here and agree with Aunt Minnie. This was the biscuit-baking philosophy of our cook when I was a child. Lily Pearl Jennings was a Gullah woman from the Carolina lowcountry and a supurb cook. She was hired away from a home in Charleston by my grandfather when he moved to Kentucky in 1920 (having emigrated from England, he stayed for a time with a cousin in Charleston and, ingrate that he was, stole their cook right out from their kitchen.) Lily Pearl believed in patting out the biscuit dough as she said she could feel the 'spirits' that "do make them biscuits to rise" and they did not 'set well' with being pummeled with a batten (rolling pin). The fact that she had as broad a palm as I have ever seen may have helped a lot. *** She baked them in a heavy black rectangular steel pan that weighed nearly as much as cast iron and which always was placed in the oven to heat till the lard began smoking. The biscuits had been cut and covered with a cloth and left to rise for 10 minutes or so. The pan was taken from the oven and immediately the tops of the biscuits were dipped in the melted fat and then placed in the pan, sides barely touching, to bake. These steel pans were the same ones she used for her "light" rolls, yeast rolls that were incredibly light, almost sweet, buttery tops. I have tried for most of my life and have yet to achieve the height of rise in those rolls that Lily Pearl achieved in those old black pans in a wood stove. It isn't much consolation but no one else in my family has been able to duplicate those rolls either. *** I am sure about the palm because it was applied to my posterior many times when I was into mischief in the kitchen, which was often.....

Actually there is little difference in the flavor extracted from the fresh as compared to the dried leaves. If you are measuring by weight you have to note that the fresh leaves weigh a lot more than the dried. So you use twice the weight. The volume is also changed. However it takes only a couple of days for the leaves to dry, just strip them from the stems, put them in a wire colander and toss them every so often as you walk past. If you are in a humid climate put them in your oven (in the colander) with the light on. This will give enough heat for them to dry.

With the grains, seeds, etc. the food starts out in the liquid which boils away until there is just steam. Have you never had couscous which is cooked in a steam basket over the meat etc., which is stewing in the bottom of the couscousierie? The steam definitely carries the flavor into the couscous.

I buy the "bulk" slabs in the meat department at Vallarta Supermarket. I just got a 2 pound slab for $3.56. Of course it contains the seeds which have to be strained out after it has been softened in water but it is very fresh and quite tangy. I use it in a number of condiments I make - including my variation of an Indonesian sambal. I also include it in some of my homemade mustards, ketchups and etc.

All rice cookers do steam - You can also use the small bamboo steamers in the rice cooker, as long as they are above the water level. I have a little round wire trivet that will fit in the bottom of the smaller rice cooker and on which I can stack two of the small (6 inch) round bamboo steamers - no need to use their own lid as the top on the rice cooker holds in the steam. I also have a couple of "berry baskets" which are little colanders which also fit into the rice cooker and can be used to steam anything you want to keep out of the liquid. Someone gave me an oval steamer/cooker that has a separate water chamber at the bottom and two stackable plastic grids above, one divided in half, with a dome cover. I have never used it but it looks like it would work quite well. As for flavor, you get out what you put in. I cook all kinds of grains and seeds as well as rice in various liquids for different flavors. I season baby potatoes with rosemary, salt & pepper, parsley, then toss with butter. Steamed dumplings can be made in any flavor, savory or sweet. I have a very large steamer that cooks 20 cups of rice, the Zojirushi "Neuro-Fuzzy logic" rice cooker, 10 cup, a slightly smaller one and a 5 cup for small jobs. I use the smaller ones for steaming dried fruits and vegetables prior to adding them to yeast or quick breads or to other recipes. This makes them tender without becoming soggy as they are when soaked. Dried mushrooms also...... some spices and herbs also benefit from steaming before crushing, if I am going to use them in an infusion instead of directly in a mixture. Once you get into the routine of using the steamer you will wonder how you ever got along without it.....

Peter Reinhart's books, any or all. However I would start with Crust and Crumb.