K8memphis

I completely understand your upset-ness with the poorly labeled pastry flour. I'd be mighty miffed too. But that leads me to this question. There is a ww flour that is real good and there is that stuff that is graham crackery be it pastry flour or otherwise. So it is the stone ground stuff that is not graham crackery. Was yours listed as stone ground? Because I haven't done any serious baking with ww flour in eons but the deal used to be to get the stone ground. Because otherwise they remove the bran completely and add it back in later which causes the grittiness. I think I am remembering this correctly. But the stone ground grinds the germ in with the whole thing and it is blended or rather ground properly and all is well and it is ww but not gritty 'cause it all got smashed together. This all coming from a dusty old mental file. In other words, if you wanted you could get a Good ww pastry flour that would make your tart shell sing with that beautiful butter. But I hasten to say again that they are at fault big time to not label that flour properly. But that gritty stuff should all be tossed somewhere. Edited to say-- no it's the germ they add back in I think. Something they take out then add back in & it's gritty grainy that way. But stone ground flour is muy better.

I used to bake with margarine (oleo) a lot--worked great. But then when all these spreads came out I stopped using it because they do not perform at all well. I used to keep my eye on one real margarine that still worked great. If memory serves, it was Blue Bonnet which I don't know if they even make it any more. Shortening in a cookie, holds the cookie better, it has better support than butter does--and it adds no flavor--I mean it is a neutral flavor that can be dressed up. Like Alana said, there's no water in shortening like there is in butter. However, now with the non trans fat shortening it is softer and doesn't hold as well as trans fat shortening. [i just want to throw up my hands and scream! I mean the devil is in the details in baking anyway and they go and eff up all the ingredients. grr] But also like Maggie said, some cookie recipes are just not the same if you switch the shortening for butter. Most cookies do well with butter but not all. Oleo is indeed margarine. I'm encouraged that rational people can discuss shortening as a viable ingredient without poo pooing it. Random factoid, Mom told me they used to include a little packet of the yellow coloring with the white margarine and they had to mix it in to make the margarine yellow. Interesting huh.

Well I was just coming down with a doozey of a cold when I was making my Thanksgiving apple pie. And umm, at the last minute I remembered the vodka thing and of course, we were out of vodka. But I had some Hot Damn which is a cinnamon liqueur. Well, I'm mostly writing to say that the whole thing wasn't as good as my normal traditional apple pie. The cold, my sinuses were slammed, couldn't think, the changing up of the recipe, the whole thing didn't work out. Now it was still better than most apple pies but it was a far cry from my usual extremely awesome apple pie. So maybe I'll try again for Christmas...but honestly, y'know the old 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' if I make another one this year, I'm deleting the vodka. Well, maybe I'll just make a little bitty one with the vodka...we'll see.

Yes. If you find your cakes are drying around the edge while waiting for the middle to get done then this idea is for you. signed, awesome cake baker

Beyond adorable!

Whoops I missed the lactose intolerant part--well skip the butter part I guess then? I guess filo with olive oil is ok--never tried it.

Umm, cook your little tartlette dooeys upside down. I love rustic filo stuff. Y'know, slather each layer with butter and use scissors or a cutter and place your filo over the upturned tart cup thing. Then you can put the veggies in on site. I'd not only cut them thin I'd dice them. Or slice thin then cut them with a cookie cutter so they can be layered in sweetly. Maybe something like that.

That's awesome! Thanks for posting.

I do absolutely love that style. However not being as agile as an engineer I keep my writing more horizontal and a bit more sequential trailing down the page as opposed to across. That kind of style is what I use to make a shopping list for when I am for example baking many things for Christmas-time baking and I need butter and sugar and eggs and various & sundry ingredients for lots of products. I list the ingredients across the top of the page, the name of the recipe down the left side of the page. And draw lines hither & yon and put the quantities I need in the appropriate box and then tally them up at the top. I just go through each recipe once and done. Write it all down on one happy concise sheet. This avoids forgetting to buy stuff at the store. Even though the store is close by it destroys my rythm to have to stop & drive over. I believe this is why God invented husbands. So my main ingredients will be written first then the more random ingredients trailing out to the right. So the flour & brown sugar should have been written before choco chips & cocoa. The totals are up at the top so they are easy to see. Of course a real list would be many more ingredients and many more recipes. That graph paper thing worked out great though. I usually get a ruler...tmi...

Knead some shortening into your gum paste. This is what works for me. Or maybe you need to add more sugar or cornstarch if it is sticky. Of course you should be able to roll this paper thin.

Can you add some shortening? Some white fat of some kind? See if that won't revitalize the current batch. And of course you want to knead it thoroughly before each use. Generally speaking, gum paste is at it's stretchy flexible best when it's rested overnight. Are these hydrangeas going to be used as single little flowers or are you mounting them on wires to make the big fluffy big headed blooms of hydrangea? If the former, I just add some cornstarch to fondant and use that for little blooms of flowers, single rose petals etc. But for making the big full hydrangea heads with wires, I'd use gum paste.

Oh yes of course. And believe me the degree of difficulty is still there. Look at the last white little pawn on the right, it's a two part mold and see where that one's off. I made beaucoups of pieces and picked out the best ones. That's also why the brown chocolate ones are in the distance in the photo. They are worse to keep pretty than the white ones. Maybe I should use darker chocolate? I just used inexpensive choco 'cause this was a freebie. These were like the little clear molds that have a certain amount of flex to them. If I had the real nice real hard plastic molds it would be easier I think. Just scrape it off clean with a bench scraper. I'd really like to do one with filled pieces But boy I'd hafta practice. A lot. Edited to say, Thank you! And boy I wish they were perfect.

Allll chocolate. The chess pieces are not filled or anything. It's a 14 inch chocolate sugar cookie iced in chocolate then covered with candy clay/chocolate plastique. This was my first one. It was for a fall festival giveaway so it's not super perfetcto. But I think it's pretty cool nonetheless. I also made a Louis Vuitton purse cake sculpture and I wanted everything to be as fresh as possible so that's my disclaimer. These are bloodshot eyeball cake truffles. Actually it's overbaked fruity banana bread that I had tossed in the freezer to keep the carmelization from pulling the moistness into the crust. Then they were grated and combined with white chocolate buttercream icing just enough icing added till they would hold into a ball & then dipped. The ganache was made with the melted remains of a skinned sugar free eskimo pie (chocolate covered ice cream square) because I had no milk on hand.

My husband used powdered sugar instead of flour to dust some catfish before cooking it. Bwoowhahahaha, gughshzeesh, it tasted like poo. He just happened to have picked up the wrong random bag of white powdery stuff in the cupboard.

Well for sure. Hey, here is a kick ass recipe that even in the short tragic little life of my tea-room I had repeat customers coming in for it. It's awesomely delicious. All secrets included. Creamy Chicken Artichoke Casserole from a recipe given to me by Vickie Wingfield 2 cups cooked chicken ( I use a whole chicken) 2 cans cream of chicken soup (the kind with the herbs is great for this) 1 cup mayonaise (not miracle whip) 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I use juice & zest of one lemon) 1# grated cheese like cheddar or colby 2 cans artichokes -- not pickled (could use 16 oz frozen broccoli instead) one quarter of a box of saltine crackers (I use two sleeves of Kroger brand wheat saltines) 9x13 pan (I use my lasagna pan) (stock from cooking chicken--optional) 350 degrees for 30 -45 mins till nice & bubbly Place chicken in bottom of dish cut or pulled into bite size pieces (If you have reduced the chicken stock dab it over the chicken here & there evenly at this point) Then layer the artichokes on top. (half or quarter artichokes if you want) In a separate bowl, combine the soups, mayo, lemon & cheese and spread that over the artichokes & smooth with a spatula Then crush a sleeve of saltine crackers into crumbs right in the wrapper. Pour them into a skillet containing two tablespoons of butter -- heat, stirring constantly until they brown a bit. You could even stop here & bake the next day or two. Be sure you keep the chicken properly--don't let it sit out too long. Keep it hot or keep it refrigerated. Sprinkle fried cracker crumbs over the stuff & bake 350 degrees like 30-45 mins until nice & bubbly around the edges. The day before assembly or that morning, I toss my whole chicken and a coupla cups of water in a crock pot with onions, salt & pepper, at a minimum. If I have it I also add, roughly chopped celery, carrots, lemon, 5-6 whole cloves and a bay leaf.I just cook the stuffins out of the chicken until it falls off the bone. When you pick up a leg it just comes off. So remove the chicken from the stock let it cool some. Set a strainer into a container and pour the stock in and reserve the stock. Discard the vegetables caught in the strainer. You can put everything in the frige if you want at this point for assembly tomorrow. Take the stock and remove the yellow fat that just sits on top of the cold stock. Put the stock in a pot and cook it down until it reduces to about 12 ounces or so ( like a cup to a cup & a half-ish) That's how I do my chicken. But you can use any kind of chicken. But that's how I do mine. This can be served over rice, jasmine rice made with chicken broth is amazing with this. Umm, I usually serve this over pate choux or puff pastry. Or serve just as is. : ) You could leave your chicken in serving size pieces too if you want for ease of serving. I'm sounding like Suzy Homemaker but honestly, my husband does the cooking here! haha Take Care, L&P, Kate

When I was at the Pastry Forum they said you give people a certain ratio of known flavors, then you can inject something new. I think chocolate covered bacon is off the chart. Way way off the chart. Like some of that weird ass freaky ice cream they make on Iron Chef, some of it is surprisingly good while most of it sucks.

I found it! http://www.onestopcandle.com/Merchant2/mer...egory_Code=CMFD click here

already molded chocolate bacon

What about some kind of fruit leather with a strip of fondant in the middle?

Why not be authentic and use real chocolate covered bacon? It has apparently become quite a big thing, I have seen it on tv and read about it here and elsewhere in the blogisphere. It even has the acronym CCB, kinda rolls off the tongue like EVOO. Mind you I have yet to taste the stuff so I can't vouch for the flavour impact it might have on your desert. ← Worlds are colliding, Peter. I just think I need some kinda flour with it. I mean I can see eating a blueberry muffin or pancake with bacon on the side. Then maybe a chocolate chip muffin. But just straight bacon and chocolate? Scary! Well I haven't tried it so I'll reserve judgement but I'm not looking forward to it either. How about chocolate filet then? Chocolate Ahi tuna? Chocolate fois for the ultimate? Chocolate covered truffles? Now that's a maybe. Yuck yuck and double yuck.

You can add color to the chocolate. You want to get the right kinds of color because some of them will cause the choco to sieze. Powdered color is always ok. Or just ask for the right stuff at the cake/candy supply store. Foam I don't know about. I think I'd experiment with piping gel for a greasy look. Honestly, I think I'd mold a strip of bacon out of fondant or gum paste that will dry hard and use that to be the mold, lay plastic wrap over that. Or make a mold out of silicone or buy a mold or use real thick bacon. And I think using the end of dowel sticks to make the bacon ripples would give a closer to life version. Me, I would pipe the chocolate onto the form and then tamp it to get it to release the piping lines. Agh yeah, you might wanna get a mold for this. 'Cause tamping it is gonna make the frilly parts thin. No no no you can still use the saran wrap over a piece of bacon or dowel ends if you can then use the underside up. Geez I'd use fondant.

I'm not up on the science of the baking powder thing either and it's not affected my baking. Ignorance is baking bliss I guess. I would rub the orange zest with the sugar for a while like P Herme suggests for lemon zest to bring out the oil to it's fragrant best. And I'd use orange juice concentrate in there somewhere. And to me, more important than the baking powder issue is that cocoa replacement. Cocoa does something to a formula. I use a big tablespoon of cocoa in one concoction type recipe I made once. I left it out the next time I made it. The cake sucked compared to how it comes out with subbing the big tablespoon of flour for cocoa. So to me, if you're gonna get scientific, that cocoa replacement is more important. Especially without any eggs in there. And I saw some interesting egg free cake mixes at the store yesterday. They were just under five bucks and I can't remember the brand name. But that is certainly an idea for you. They had white and yellow and chocolate of course. I'll make note of the brand name next time I go. But check your grocery store like by the protein drinks and diebetic foodstuff.

Thanks, Bekki. I never found much in the 30" department googgling. I didn't seem to be hitting the commercial sites or something. Never found much on ebay. But only needing three could be an issue too. Probably wasn't putting in the right search criteria or something. Yes they need to match or at least harmonize with each other. And I wanted a honey color to add warmth. This is for a light grey stone foyer. The floor in the bookstore will be that deep red/brown wood color and there's a counter in the far corner of the foyer that same color. I thought tables that deep dark color would be too austere. And if purchased on line, I wasn't sure how the tables 'felt' y'know what I mean? I was fixing to contact some local cafe's corporate offices to inquire. However however however, would you believe I found perfect darker honey colored 30 inch table with two chairs for A HUNDRED BUCKS??!! I quickly got three sets stuffed into my little car. Hey, it's not teak or redwood ok. But it was perfect nonetheless. Oh yeah and once we got the door way roughed in we realized only one table would fit on that side not two. Probably need to get some more chairs...Umm, but I scored at Garden Ridge here in Elvistown. I got the cutest frige on the planet on ebay though. And loungy type sit-and-sip-your-coffee-and-read chairs at Ashley furniture. So you know how cheap they are?? Three leather chairs, delivered for like a tad over a thousand dollars. Nice ones. The deal is you have to wait three weeks--comes right from the factory--no warehousing costs. We got the floor all ripped up putting in the plumbing. Huge pile of let's make mud-pie mud fodder in the middle of the floor and two big holes outside on either side of the sidewalk. Sheesh I hate all that plumbing stuff. The jack hammers blew our ears off, man. Anyway...it's looking more like a bookstore plus coffee, tea and snacks...

I love the savory version of it. My girlfriend makes it. It is wonderful. She gave me the formula but I think I'll just enjoy hers, looks too complicated for me. It's got 5 or 6 different cereals and it's got some graham or cinnamon stuff or something but truly it's savory and I know I'd love the puppy chow version but can't eat as many sweets as I'd like to. But I bought some at a Fresh Market the other day for some friends. White chocolate 'puppy chow'. Oh I like the chow mein noodles dipped in butterscotch too!!!

Oh I'm quite proud that you used my recipe that I got from V. Wingfield many many moons ago. For the little time that I had the tea-room open, I had repeat customers coming in for that stuff. I served it like a grand eloquent open face sandwich bursting out all over the pate choux 'bun' with the little pate choux lid sliding off to the side. It's wonderful good. The last time I made it for a Christmas potluck thing I had to email the recipe out to several people who requested it. Now I usually add the reduced chicken stock to this. You really can't screw it up. Yay!!! Cool!