chefcyn

So many soups, so little time! One of my weird favs is Tomato Cranberry Soup--It can't be easier than water soup! 1 can jellied cranberry sauce, 1 can tomatoes(not Italian or other seasonings, but just plain, peeled tomatoes--I use petit diced because it's what I have the most of. Combine in a saucepan and heat until the cranberry sauce melts, then puree with either an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Return to the saucepan, heat to just a simmer, and serve hot with a garnish of heavy cream drizzled on, I used it for Valentines with a heart drizzled on in drops or squeezed out from a fine-tip bottle and spiderwebbed with a skewer. Beautiful ruby red color and very interesting taste--no one could tell me what it was made of unless they heard the name.

Chocolate chips. Lay them in the wide part of the triangle and roll. They melt but keep some of their structure--just like in cookies. The No-fail Fudge recipe from Marshmallow Fluff tubs multiplies out well for large batches--but probably better suited to Church Bake-sales than real business.

I had a pint of Peach sorbet and one of my bosses scooped some out and put it back in the refrigerator instead of the freezer. Needless to say I found it the next day, melted, separated and yucky, so I stuck it back into the freezer, then took it out frozen and chopped it up into the food processor, pulsed it smooth and refroze it. It was fine and smooth and creamy, like new. I've done the re-processing thing after a week in the freezer with other home-made sorbets with great success, though it seldom lasts that long! I make them out of fresh squeezed blood oranges, or frozen berries, thawed, pureed, strained, or whatever other fresh juice I have on hand, and add an equal volume of simple syrup made of equal cups of water and sugar, heated to dissolve and then chilled (I keep a 2 qt jar of it in the fridge). I use a little more sugar for very sour juices like lemon or grapefruit, to taste. No hygrometer, no egg-in-syrup-test. But, I do make it in small 2 qt batches which go fast. I can see the need for more precision if you need to be in real production.

The Mexi-ideas are already here, but here's one more: Take chicken wings and dredge them in a mixture of 12 parts cocoa powder and 1part cayenne (which is like a cup of cocoa to a hefty pinch of cayenne more or less to your heat preference), salt and black pepper to taste, and a teaspoon or two of good chili powder. Then dip them in an egg wash and then into a half and half mixture of flour and yellow cornmeal. Fry in a hot skillet of peanut or other high temp oil, to brown, then finish off in the oven at 375 for about 15 min. Or spray them with pan spray and bake for 20 min or until done. Frying makes a crunchier crust, but baking reduces some of the fat calories. (almost negligible relative to the whole recipe though--so why bother!) You can use other parts than wings, but these make a great happy hour or big game snack. I called them Coco-Loco Wings. Feel free to use the name, but if you make a million bucks, you must share!! ;)

This is the method I'm familiar with as well (although the dish towel trick is nice!), and it works like a charm and virtually effortlessly. You'll have cans of Dulce de Leche to your heart's content this way. They even keep on the shelf unopened once they're cooked! But it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT to refrain from opening the cans until they are thoroughly cooled. ← Also critical to keep them covered with water the whole time.

The Zip-loc containers are definitely reuseable--I wash them in the DW on the top rack over and over.

A little tasteless what?

If you can get the combs away from the hive without being stung to death ;) it's relatively easy to process the wax to use--but you'll want the honey, too. That's a little more difficult. We used to borrow a centrifugal extractor from an apiarist (bee guy) to do our small hive. Our combs were on frames and very regular. You use a "hotknife" to skim the wax off the top of the cells, then the frames are placed in the extractor and spun around at high speed. All the honey flies out and drips down the sides of the barrel into a funnel into a bucket. You heat it and strain out the bee parts and bottle it. Then the wax is all empty of hiney and you just heat them to melt it, strain the liquid wax through a seive and let it harden in aluminum cake pans. Then it can be cut into blocks and wrapped to store. With your big comb, you could heat the whole thing and the wax might separate from the honey, then cool it all and lift off the wax layer, melt and strain both parts and go from there. OR, you could look in the yellow pages for an apiary in your area and ask them what to do with it. They may come out and remove your bees for you for a fee and thus save the walls of your house form damage. Where there are honey bees, there are often carpenter bees who drill holes in your house letting in all manner of bad things.

I have some things to give away if anyone can come get them and has a use for them--I have pictures if someone is interested: 1) a very old Blodgett Pizza Oven 4 horizontal doors high 2) an electric grill about 6' long 3) a two-basket fryolator with a cover (?) 4) a complete commercial dishwasher These items are old, and haven't been used for at least 10 years, and must be taken away. If someone wants them and feels the desire to contribute a little tax deductible $$ to the monastery, that's welcome but not necessary--just take the stuff out. You'll need an electrician (or knowledge) to remove the grill, it's hardwired in, ad well as the plumbing and electrical knowledge to get the DW, the oven is Gas, etc. There's also a really cool looking white enamel refrigerator unit (I think 6-8 doors) with the chunky chrome hinges and handles, etc. I don't think the compressor works, but it might, and it would make a cool storage or display cabinet in any case. It's all in Thompson, CT, right off I-395 in NE CT and you can PM me for more info.

I got a wonderful "real" vintage double boiler on Ebay for less than $12--it has an aluminum bottom and a glass top part and lid, and is big enough to do a family-sized batch of Pastry cream or butterscotch pudding in! I also lucked out one day at a Salvation Army and got an antique copper and thick white porcelain one in fabulous shape for $3!! That doesn't happen every day! Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and have your eyes open ;)

After incorporating the egg white, the mixture never really hardened. Nor was it white -- it is a straw color. After adding everything and pouring into a pan, the syrup separated out to the bottom. I tried putting it back into to the pot and heating it again, and the whole thing deflated. Any suggestions? ← There was an extensive thread on Torrone and nougat in another Forum I belong to, this link will show you a recipe for the more white Nougat with nuts in it that is more like the commercially produced ighter-colored stuff. http://www.baking911.com/candy_nougat.htm Apparently the darker type is more traditionally made at home in Italy, possibly Sicily in particular.

Thanks, everyone, for all the info!

Here's a good recipe--I only cook for 5 right now, so I divided it in half--it worked fine. King Cake (6 serv) 12 serv (1) 2 packages dry active yeast (1/4) 1/2 cup sugar (4) 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (3) 5 egg yolks (1/2) 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F) (2-3) 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour (1) 2 teaspoons salt (½) 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (½) 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Vegetable oil (4) 8 ounces cream cheese (1 1/4) 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar Juice of (½) one lemon (1) 2 tablespoons milk Purple, green and gold sugar sprinkles Plastic baby toy, whole almond, pecan half, or favabean Combine the yeast, sugar, butter, and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the milk. With the mixer on low speed, beat the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast. If the yeast mixture doesn't begin to foam after a few minutes, it means it's not active and will have to be replaced. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until it lightly comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and climbs slightly up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix well. In another small bowl, combine the remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. Mix well and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out (15)30 inches long and 6 inches wide. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal all sides completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring. Place a well-greased 2 pound coffee can or shortening can in the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Press the plastic baby toy into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm, draft free place. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. Preheat the oven to 350 deg.F. With a sharp knife, make several slits around the top of the ring. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. After baking remove the coffee can immediately. Allow the cake to cool. Drizzle the cake with the sugar glaze. Sprinkle the cake with sprinkles, alternating colors. Cut the cake into individual pieces and serve. Yield: (6) 12 servings Prep Time: 2 hours 40 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

You can also grease the laof pans for any breads like banana bread, zucchini bread, etc, and pour in a half cup of seeds and roll them around to coat the sides of the pan before you put the batter in(as you might do with flour). It adds a nice crunchy flavorful crustiness to the outside of the loaves. The Fanny Farmer Baking Book has a recipe for Honey Whole Wheat Sesame Bread that is out of this world. If you can't find a copy (it's out of print I think) I can send you a copy of the recipe)

What was it and where did you find it? It sounds interesting.

Can ya share that recipe? I've been craving a good Walnut Pond Cake and the bundt pan is waiting on the counter!

This one looks light and delicate, perfect to go with a nice cuppa! Spice Chiffon Cake Bake at 325 for about 60 min makes 1 9" tube cake 1 c + 2 Tbs sifted cake flour 3/4 c sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 c light vegetable oil 2 egg yolks 6 Tbs water 1/2 c egg whites (approx 4) 1/4 tsp cream of tartar Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Make a well int he center and add the oil, yolks and water. Beat with a spoon for about a minute until the batter is smooth. In a large bowl, whip the whites and the cream of tartar until very stiff peaks form. Do not underbeat. Pour the batter slowly over the whites folding in with a rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into the UNGREASED tube pan. Bake at 325 until the center springs back when touched. Invert pan on a rack and let stand until cool. Loosen the cake around the sides and remove form the pan. Frost with whipped cream or leave unfrosted and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar if desired.

Here's my new favorite: Maple Walnut Cheesecake 9" springform pan 1 1/4 c chopped walnuts 1 ½ c graham crumbs 1/3 c + 1 1/4 c sugar 1/4 c melted butter 1 tsp cinnamon 2# room temp cream cheese 5 eggs 3/4 c heavy cream 1/3 c maple syrup 1/4 c flour 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp maple flavor 1 jar(5 oz) walnuts in syrup-garnish ** Whipped cream and maple sugar candies(optional garnish) Preheat oven to 350. Toast walnuts until lightly browned, 3-4 min. remove from the baking sheet to cool, reduce the oven temp to 325. Place a roasting pan(large enough to hold the cheesecake pan) on the bottom rack and fill halfway with hot water. Wrap the outside of the pan in plastic wrap then sit the pan on a double layer of foil(wide sheets if you can get it)and come well up the sides to keep water out when baking. Combine crumbs, 1/3 c sugar, butter, cinnamon and ½ c toasted walnuts. Press into the bottom and 1" up the sides of the springform pan. At medium speed, beat the cream cheese and the remaining sugar until fluffy, about 3 min. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the cream, maple syrup, flour, vanilla and maple flavor and beat until blended. Pour half of the batter into the pan, place into the water bath and bake for 40 min, sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and pour the remainder of the batter into the pan. Bake 30 min more or until the center jiggles just slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Turn the oven off and let the cake stand in the oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, run a thin sharp knife around the edges to loosen (so the sides won’t stick as it cools and shrinks, causing cracks) and cool completely at room temp. Refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight, in the pan, covered with plastic wrap. To serve, garnish with the wet walnuts and whipped cream and maple candies if desired. ** Boil walnuts in maple syrup or half maple syrup and half cornsyrup for about 5-8 min. Keep in the refrigerator until needed--they are great as a topping for ice cream, too! _________________

We used to stuff them with a mixture of finely chopped ham and a little finely chopped, pimento stuffed green olives, there were sauteed shallots and onions, too. I could look up the recipe if you need one, but I've made it by just finagling the ingredients and it's terrific. They get placed in a baking pan with some nice chunky tomato sauce in the bottom, covered and baked, then uncovered and browne up just a bit. Yummy!

Any idea why it's not dishwasher safe? Mine has been through the dishwasher a zillion times, and still works fine-though the chlorine in the soap has dulled its finish. Usually I just rinse and drop it in the dish rack anyway. I don't know who keeps putting it in the DW

Or, you can start with homemade ricotta! http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/ch...e-ricotta1.html If you can find sheeps'milk somewhere it will taste one way, cows' milk another, but the technique is the same and it looks pretty easy to do. The above method doesn't mention the "re-cooking" which is what ricotta means, and this recipe: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage...oft/ricotta.htm looks completely different. Anyone have better info about making ricotta?

I make my sorbets in an "old fashioned", though electric, ice-and-rock salt ice cream machine. I mix the juice and the syrup together and chill, then pour it into the machine, run it for 20 min then scrape out and freeze the sorbet in an airtight container. It's smooth and creamy and scoopable. I've made every imaginable flavor including chocolate to great success (at least the plates all came back licked clean and no compaints other than, "what, no more?".

If you're pre-baking the shells to fill later, form them on the underside of the muffin tin by turning it over and draping the circles over the humps and gently pressing them to shape. They'll come off easier and have a nice appearance, and they are less likely to shrink down inside the cup part of the tin. You can flip them right onto a rack to cool and make some more. Then, just before you serve them, fill them with your prepared filling and chill--no soggy bottoms. Of course this won't work if you're baking the filling in.

So where is this terrific position located? East Coast, West Coast...Timbuktu? I'm interested but I live in CT and wonder how long a commute it would be

This is fabulous! I use it every time I make pumpkin pie now! The cream cheese crust is also an excellent change from the regular pie crust for this pie!