Young2Cook

I just bought a bottle of Creme de Violette, opened it and THEN read the label - it's "full" of artificial coloring! And it's on its way back to the store....

Are these these the black beans from Spain? I bought them in Europe and they were ok at best. They're black but they really have more in common with kidney beans. The closest thing I've tried would be Black Valentine but BV's I eat on their own. The tolosanas I wouldn't. I'd cook or serve with meat, etc. ←

Thanks Abra, for starting this thread. As for your bean photos, just don't let the Supreme Court see them. We all know porn when we see it.... Actually, I came to the thread looking for some information on Tolosana Beans. Does anybody know anything about them? There are a couple of brief mentions on the web which say they're good with seafood - or blood sausage - but everyone seems to just be quoting everyone else and no one seems to be especially convincing.

Cloche saucers seem to do that...... after mine suffered a similar fate, I resorted to using the dome on top of my pizza stone. Works well, but I think auto-steam I get with the closed LC doufeu gives a better loaf.

I had good luck just doubling the recipe in a lazy way: 6 cups organic white AP flour, 3 cups filtered water, 2 tsp DC kosher salt, but only 1/4 tsp Red Star yeast. Let it sit for 18-20 hours, turned it into a bran scattered baking dish for about 45 minutes, then rolled it into a hot, cornmeal scattered LC doufeu that had spent 45 lonely minutes in a 450° oven. Baked covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 20+ minutes until it looked right and had the right sound when knocked. I agree the flavor isn't as full as loaves that start with a biga or have more salt, but that's for more experimenting. I've also made it with marinated chopped olives (not as tasty as when done with kneaded dough), sourdough, 1/2 whole wheat (home ground) and all whole wheat (too heavy.) So far, my fave is the 1/2 whole wheat. Isn't this a great recipe to play with?

What is the minimum amount of yeast I can use for the maximum amount of flavor? VERY nice looking sandwich - are you sure you're a beginner? Given how attractive your bread is, perhaps a good starting point is asking which loaf you preferred in terms of texture and flavor? In my somewhat limited experience, there are so many variables in terms of grain, different additions, and climate, probably even the pH of your hands in shaping the loaf, that what works in one location for one person may not turn out the same for another person or place. But....if you preferred the 1.25 tsp loaf, why not do a series of loaves, each using 0.25 tsp less yeast? I'd be very interested in your results.

Wonderful topic, thank you! Could you also include clues about how to choose veggies that we did not grow up eating? For example, lotus roots or bitter melons or....(the list goes on indefinitely.....)

Interesting game rules, and interesting also how many of the earliest memories, the ones around age two, seem to involve mouth feel. Mine does too. I was about two, sitting in our next door neighbor's kitchen, eating soft boiled eggs in a bowl with pieces of equally tender soft bread to dip in the egg mixture. The color and textures of that memory are still vivid. It's also likely my earliest memory, taste or otherwise. /Deborah

What do I regret? Let me count the ways...if I had it to do over, given our cooking style, I think I'd opt for a 3 bowl deep stainless or two separate sinks. Of course, you have to have an extra mile and a half of counter space to accommodate a three-holer, but you've got one to wash veggies in, one to put dirty dishes in and a third tinier location for the garbage disposer. We recently put in an extra high gooseneck sort of faucet. Liked the way it looked, thought it would make washing deep pasta pots easier, yada, yada.... If you go this way, just make sure that it will fully slide back to the, um, upright position. As it is, ours tends to dangle low on its hose, not a sweet sight. A suggestion on the disposer switch, we put it behind a small hinged panel that runs in front of the sink and above the undersink storage. This way, the person who has their hand down the disposer (trying to fish out the artichoke leaves before all hell breaks loose) can gracefully hold the panel shut so no one else inadvertently turns on the electric pig.

Will now. Thanks for the idea. /Deborah

":Do you know if there were swirls of almond paste as the filling of the cake? I've found a few recipes online with this feature that look good. Also, a recipe that I've been wanting to try is an almond ring cake (that also uses almond paste) in Deborah Madison's, "The Savory Way". I can't find the cookbook right now to describe further details." Good question about swirls. I hate to confirm how long it's been since I tasted this coffee cake, perhaps 40 years. I don't remember the details, just that the flavor and texture were great - and that the whole ring was large, perhaps 24" or more across. My mother would purchase sections of it most of the time. A whole ring was really pricey and reserved for very special occasions. I'll check out Deborah Madison's recipe; thanks for suggesting it.

A version appeared in the LA Times and then in The Best American Recipes a couple of years ago. I've made it and I can vouch it has the same "DNA" as the original. To die for, and to find oneself in heaven. The recipe I'm seeking now is the coffee cake ring, also wonderful, although more special Sunday brunch than celebratory dessert. Thanks for helping in the search.

Now that is the sort of picture we need to see - you must have been adorable. And wise, even then you alerted for good food!

Years, ok decades, ago, Blum's of San Francisco made a fabulous almond-filled coffee cake, which was sold in the restaurant of a Los Angeles department store (Bullocks Wilshire? Saks?) I remember my mother referring to it as "Racetrack" and indeed it was circular. Karola Craib of the SF Chronicle wrote "Blum's never gave out any recipe,swore employees to secrecy and, in affect, took the recipes to the grave when the company went under." All of my efforts to find the recipe have come to naught, but the fact that the recipe for Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake has surfaced after all these years gives me hope that someday Blum's Racetrack will again be seen in the land. Does anyone have any leads on this lost recipe? Thanks, Deborah

We all have pity on you for being in such a dire circumstance and hope you hold up as well as can be expected! The mango portion of this recipe got raves (actually the shrimp were pretty good too) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105002 /Deborah

Sethro, thank you for this one, I'll try it next time I'm feeling strong enough to take on ricotta! I ended up making a cream enriched version of DiPalo's ricotta cheesecake, with some changes: a thin ground biscotti/melted butter base, a half teaspoon of almond extract, and a couple ounces each of chopped Valrona dark chocolate, candied kumquats (very good) and finely diced marzipan folded in at the end, then brulee'd the top. It was good, but not great, mostly because of the mouthfeel/flavor issue you mention. If I were to try it again, I think I'd try processing the batter (before the additions) to smooth out the texture a bit more. In the end, I'm still loyal to the cheesecake I knew growing up. For me, it's Proust all over again. The basic recipe appears on the web in various guises, but this was my mother's take on it. Grambea’s Cheesecake (simple and delicious) 5 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar 1 pound cream cheese 1 pint sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon, or a little more, lemon juice The Oven: Preheat to 300°. The Crust: 12 double graham crackers, crushed. Reserve 3/4 cup to sprinkle on top. To remainder, add 3 tablespoons melted butter. Put the mixture in the bottom of a springform pan. The Cake Itself: Cream the egg yolks and the sugar. Add the cream cheese and cream some more. Add the vanilla and the lemon juice. Fold in sour cream. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks (but not dry) and gently fold them into the mixture. The Cooking: Bake for one hour. Do not open the oven door to peek! Entreat all parties in the house to tread lightly and not slam things around. Cheesecakes hate controversy. After an hour, turn off the oven and leave the cake in for another hour with the door propped slightly open (a knife does a good job.) The Wait: Run knife around the edge of the cake, remove sides of pain, cool cake further .....and place in refrigerator overnight to mellow.

This is clearly not good news....I'm committed so I'll report the results. So far I've made fresh ricotta and candied kumquats. I'm thinking of chopping the kumquats and adding some dark, dark chocolate. What could go wrong?

A friend's "Tuscan Bridal Shower" is tomorrow and I've committed to making a couple of cakes. I've got a recipe for an Italian carrot cake that I really like but the second cake should be a cheesecake, simply because she's addicted. Seems like it should at least include ricotta. Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for an Italian Cheesecake? Thanks, Deborah

Another vote (after all, it is the 4th!) of thanks for sharing your family, food, kitchen and region with us all. The pictures of kids with the kids really got to me. /Deborah

I love boiled (pronounced "balled") peanuts, but I only eat them when they're warm. I've boiled them myself, and that's the best way. After that, look for a roadside stand where the kettle is brewing away -- there's few traveling snacks more satisfying. However, many times the peanuts have been boiled at a remote location, brought to a store, and stuck in the refrigerator. I personally don't care for cold boiled peanuts. ← Couldn't agree more. Totally addictive, can't stop eating until the bag is empty. "The best" seem to come from a couple of slow moving guys sitting by the side of the road, looking like they're more interested in boiling peanuts for their own pleasure than anything else. Haven't gotten any really decent ones in California and I've never seen raw peanuts here to try to make them myself.

Wonderful blog, enticing enough to keep me reading until past 2 AM. Do you do boiled peanuts in your part of the South?

Thanks for posting the links, Toliver. Maybe we could pin a list of "best of . . ." threads to the top of the forum, so that when new people come to the forum, and they have what they think is the best recipe for X, Y or Z, they would be encouraged to post it. Or maybe not. ←