momlovestocook

Richard I've made the brownies twice(in a 9x13 pan). I can't recall the exact time I cooked them, but certainly not more than the times stated. I didn't have any problems getting them out of the pan(I used parchment paper up the sides as well as on the bottom). They were definitely fudgey-dh said they were the best I have made. Not sure what could have been the problem other than overcooking. I also used chocolate chips instead of the nuts. Oh, I made Suze's cake last week and some mousse. The cake was okay(kinda like a big brownie)-not sure if I'll make it again, I prefer the nutella tart or the Pave. The mousse was excellent of course. We're trying to watch our waistlines(well see them shrink instead of grow LOL) so not sure what I'll be making next. I am doing a book club beginning of next month and have some frozen chocolat tart dough so may use that for some mini tarts. Sandra

I'm going to make Suze's cake today. I only have a 9" cake pan with 1 1/2" sides. Does it rise a lot? Should I pull out my spring form pan? As usual, all the desserts look spectacular. Sandra

Great blog-I enjoyed the last one too. I saw some pocky at a grocery store(small town Canada go figure) a few weeks ago and pointed it out to dh. I'm driving by there tonight, I'll have to pick some up now. I showed my daughters the pictures of Mcdonald's in Japan(they are 5 and 7) and they loved it. These blogs open up the world to us(especially those of us who have rarely travelled). I was wondering how much time you spend on cooking each day? I stay at home and make most of our meals so I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen. Sandra

Not sure if food is your answer. I used to work in labour and delivery(before having my own children. I was overdue for both-went into labour after my doctor's exam for both of them. What you should do is have sex!!!! It helps soften the cervix. Not sure about the castor oil-a friend of mine tried that and NOTHING but trips to the bathroom. Good luck The baby will come out even if it seems like it never will LOL. Sandra

I made the pita bread dough this week. I cooked up half of it the day I made it and only two of the eight pita's puffed up. I cooked them directly on my pizza stone. I have only made pita's once before(a recipe from epicurious) and had better luck. The recipe says you can keep the dough for a week in the fridge and use it as needed so I have half the recipe to use up. Just wondering if you have tried this recipe and have any tips for getting the pitas to puff up. The other recipe had the rolled pitas resting for 30 minutes before baking-would this help with Julia's recipe? Sandra

I have made icing with fresh banana before. It was a banana cake with chocolate banana icing. Here's the recipe(It's from a parenting magazine and fairly sweet since it's geared towards kids) 1 1/2 cups icing sugar 2 tbsp butter softened 3 tbsp cocoa powder(I guess you just leave this out) half a ripe banana 1 tsp vanilla You can either mash the banana and mix it all together in the mixer or just throw it all in the food processor. Sandra ps I remember that cake from A&P-my mother bought it all the time for my Dad

I knew I saw someone boiling the hazelnuts on a cooking show and talking about the baking soda. I finally remembered it was on an episode of baking with Julia. I just got out my book and it said the baking soda is what takes the skins off but doesn't say why. Sandra

I second the cupcakes in ice cream cones. I've made them and they are not delicate. I just cooked them in muffin tins to keep them from tipping over. One way to transport is to cut holes in the bottom of shoe boxes and pop the cupcakes in there. I know it's not "baking" but kids love gummy things on bamboo sticks. The cost is fairly low and people will pay a dollar for one at the local farmer's market. You can even take that idea and scale it down to top the cupcakes. Put a couple of gummy candies on tooth picks and stick them on top on the cupcakes. I made a couple brownie pizzas for my dd's end of school bbq in June. You can also make the pizza using cookie dough. Sandra

Here's another duck recipe using chocolate recipe here Sandra

Let's see bigger kitchen aid with more than one bowl a cake stand that turns marble area for kneading dough and rolling pie crusts waaaaaay more counter space waaaaaay more counters to put all my gadgets in double ovens(mine is really small) gas stove okay, I'll stop dreaming now Sandra Oh and that mis en place guy and the one who will clean up(guy who plays the gardener on desperate housewives would do in a pinch LOL)

Hi For our romantic supper, I'm making dh the tart Grenobloise from Herme's book. For the kids to bring to school, I'm making heart shaped sugar cookies and may make heart shaped marshmallows. Sandra

Hi I made the brownies yesterday. They came together fairly quickly and I baked them in a 9x13 pan. I can't tell you what they looked like or how they tasted since I took them to school for my dd's class and not one came home. I used chocolate chips instead of nuts since the school is nut free. Dd said they were good. Guess I'll have to make them again so I can get a taste. I'll be making the tart Grenobloise for valentine's day(dh and I are celebrating saturday after kiddies go to bed) Sandra

As I am browsing through websites tonight planning what to cook for our romantic valentines dinner in a couple of weeks and looking for something for tomorrow night as well, I started wondering, what do I enjoy most. I love searching through cookbooks and websites for ideas. Coming up with a menu then finding the recipes I want to work from. I think this takes me the longest. Do I enjoy the finding of ingredients and putting them together to make something that is hopefully tasty and worthy of the effort. Or, is it the eating that is the most fun. I would have to say that I enjoy the planning best followed closely by the cooking. How ironic is it, that the eating, while highly enjoyable, comes in last. What do you like most? Sandra

Nice looking loaf Patrick. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors-since I am the only one who really likes it, I don't tend to make lemony things. Since I only take a little sliver of anything I bake, it would go to waste. here's the link to a lemon bar thread lemon bar thread Sandra

Hi I haven't tried anything new out of the book. I did use up the rest of the sweet tart dough that I had in the freezer today. I made mini tarts in my mini muffin tin, cooked them and filled them with a bittersweet whipped ganache and topped them with a toasted hazelnut. Not sure what I'll try next. May take a little break to shed the holiday pounds!! Sandra

It's not only the food products in the grocery store that have decreased in size. One of the worst ones is toilet paper. I think(with three females in the house) that we go through a roll a day! They have decreased the number of sheets per roll and charge the same. Tampax lost a lot of customers about 10 years ago when they made the boxes smaller but charged the same amount. There were a lot of upset women out there. I know every now and then I notice that a prduct has been downsized but guess what-I'm paying the same or more for it. Off the top of my head, one is potato chips-the bags just keep getting more air in them and less chips. I guess as long as the companies keep getting away with it, nothing will change. Sandra

I finally got a bundt pan for christmas. I asked for the mini bundt pans(that make 6 small ones) and ended up getting a small bundt pan that is half size of a regular one. I used it for the first time this morning with this recipe sour cream chocolate bundt cake Tastes great but was little too much batter for my pan and it overflowed(I only made half the recipe). I had a feeling that would happen so cooked it on a cookie sheet.(sometime I am smart LOL). May not look pretty but it does taste good(from the nibbles of the cake that overflowed). Next time, I won't fill it so much! I am no longer a bundt virgin!!! Sandra

I eat soup everyday for lunch. I think it's partly comforting because my Mother would usually have a pot of soup simmering on the back of the stove when I got home from school on those cold winter days. One thing I like about soup is you can make it without a lot of fat and add lots of veggies to make it healthy. I make a basic vegetable soup and I can toss in some leftover meat, cheese or cooked beans depending on my mood. Sandra

Go for the mini Pave's. I made one in an 8 1/2 inch loaf pan and one in a 5 inch disposable pan. The small ones are kinda cute and the kids had to eat the smaller one first. Seth, I have never soaked a cake with syrup before. I had less than a tablespoon left when I was done. I'll see how moist the second pave is today(I think I overcooked it a bit) Sandra

The macaroons look awesome Elie and the Pave is supurb Seth. I made a Pave today as well. And here's a cross section. The ganache just melts in your mouth. I was surprised how light it feels considering how much butter and cream there is. I was wondering as I was going through the steps of making the ganache if it would be worth the work-it was. Not sure what I'll try next. I do have some sweet tart dough in the freezer to use up. I was thinking of making little tartlets with the dough and filling them with the chocolate mousse. Gotta get through the cake first though. Sandra

Happy New Years!!! Dinner was great. The kiddies went to bed around 8:30 and we started in on the appetizers. We had Prosciutto and gruyere pinwheels, the trianges are just extra pastry brushed with butter, s&p and parmesean and the best part was the brie in puffed pastry. I just bought a small round, cut it in two, put some of my homemade crabapple hot pepper jelly in the middle, topped with dried cranberries and toasted almonds. We could have made a meal out of just this. Next came the soup-Tomato fennel soup with gremolita. I also added some shaved parmesean. This was very good although the raw garlic came back to haunt me later LOL. I didn't bother with a picture of the spinach salad-I figure everyone knows what spinach and roasted peppers look like LOL. It was just a nice sweetness after the tomato soup. Next was the main course. I made a paste of butter, shallots, garlic, lemon rind, juice and s&p and put this under the skin of the hens. I just put some olive oil on top. Not as brown as I would have like but good all the same. Couscous pilaf and glazed carrots finished it off. By the time dessert rolled around, I forgot to take a picture of the chocolate souffle-It was very good with an expresso ganache in the middle. We finished off a bottle of white wine and rung in the New Year! All in all a success(although I am not used to eating so much and was very full). I forgot to put my homemade rolls on the table. Oh well, the kids had them for lunch today. Sandra

Well, I'm finalizing my menu tomato fennel soup spinach roasted red pepper salad cornish hens-probably brined and then cooked with lemons, thyme and garlic israeli couscous pilaf glazed carrots and maybe some roasted asparagus dessert is chocolate souffle cakes from fine cooking holiday magazine most of these things can be prepared ahead of time so I will not have much to do but serve. I'd like to make an appetizer with some frozen puff pastry(It's already rolled out) but not sure what to make. Any suggestions I'm going off my perpetual diet for the night so I want it to be good LOL. Sandra

I was thinking more formal-soup, salad, main dish, dessert. I don't think we've ever done a nice formal dinner like this before at home(about time to start after 14 years LOL) Sandra

I was thinking of making a romantic dinner for dh and serving after kiddies go to bed. I'm looking for ideas of what to make. Nothing too complicated, ie that will take hours to prepare. The only foods off the menu are seafood(I'm allergic) and pork. I do eat fish, chicken, beef, etc. Wine selections would be nice as well since I know very little about that. I am not a novice cook and have a well stocked kitchen. thanks for any suggestions. Sandra

Wow Both the black forest cake and pine cone cake look so good it's hard to find the words to say how good. I may join you on the Pave Seth(although I do not have the exact pan size-I saw one that looked about right but only had metric on it and then I thought do I really want to spend 15 dollars just to make a cake???). I figure I can just use one bigger and one smaller pan and go from there. Maybe I'll make it for New year's Eve. Sandra