highchef

why don't you take andi's idea, but bake them in mini cup cake pans? you don't really need rice paper, just grease the pans. I like the idea of the paper .... though I don't really know why. they should fall out pretty easily. Cheesecake to me is basically eggs and cream cheese, if the pans are greased enough they should be fine. If you want them on a stick, because of the weight you will have to have 2 sticks. My solution for this problem is to use commercial chopsticks. If you want them to be round, then I cannot figure that out. Molds I have cannot be baked in. good luck. btw, how are you going to stick on the goodies? melted choc. is good, but if you do this right with tempered choc. it will be set before your guest can add their own goodies, or where you just going to do it all before hand?

There is another way. Cook the filling in a well greased pan ( same size of course) separtely from the crust. put the two together....and pipe the edges w/whipped cream..this works well with pumpkin, etc. good luck.

an appliance guy told me that when they have to clean out old refrig's etc., they put ground coffee in trays in the units and close them up for a 'while' and then they are fine. i find it works for icechests, and have used it for a freezer. this is fresh ground, not used. use the used in the flower garden.

To start, I have a 21 yr. old child who went out to his first 'place' 6 months ago. We gave him the bed etc...but had to buy another bed for his brother who was taking his room. He was with me when I bought the new bed for him, but since I was keeping the frame etc..he was clueless. So I told the guy, sure, I'll buy the bed, but I'll need frame for it .can you do something for me in that????' so..got the new frame (for the old bed) for nothing..guy threw it in. today, with same child/man. 1 single pack of lamb chops in Sam's. 24 bucks... the packaging was not right and the chops had turned a little grey...son watches as I catch the eye of the guy behind the glass. When he comes out I asked him nicely to repackage the chops, as the wrap seemed to be comprimised. With a smile he says 'sure, mamn'..and then comes out with the chops trimmed, double wrapped, and marked off 4 bucks. My son thinks it's charm, looks, whatever. I think it's grace, and just being nice. I tell him he can do the same things I do, just don't try too hard. He say's I don't try at all.. I say it's just confidence. He says that the ladies always get their way, in resturants, bars, etc. I really think that what I do as a 40 something y/o woman means something... it's good to know that if there's a 40$ piece of meat that's brown that you can get it for less, but I also know that if a 21 yr old person walks in with some comfidence, and know that they can do the same things that I do, just by instinct, that they can do the same thing. As long as they are just being aware, and not smart ass. The child sometimes looks at me like I'm the devil incarnate....but I know he loves me and still learns something.. what's your story? what do you tell the kids to look for in the veggie isle..what do you teach your kids about food? wash it first? ( yes) Wash your hands before you put them in that bag.(yes). but, there are all sorts of tricks out there. even if we don't quite know we're doing, we're teaching our kids stuff. What stuff have you taught your kids? What things do you know, that you want to write down and haven't what do you want the kids to know? What haven't you shown them? What else is more important than sharing your family history and foods?

I have made 2 crusts, the one for everything and the sweet tart. I'm making the fillings for the pumpkin/pecan pie now, and I have an almond 'thing' I put together to put in the tart. I'll take pic's and let you know how the tart/almond/honey thingy I put together comes out. the only part of the latter from the book was the pastry shell, but hey..we have to improvise now and then, especially when the 'pumpkin paste' that sis got me from Williams Sonoma had mold on top...now I know why she got such a good deal on it. I made the tart shell and pre-baked, then had to devise a new filling for it. It's basically eggs, almond filling and bourbon. I was sooo p.o''d I poured a shot for myself. I have high hope for the recipe straight from the book, though I know I over rolled it. It was not as evenly dispensed with butter as I would have like. Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks Mrs. Greenspan, for a really great book! I am still cooking..have 2 cranberry upsidedown cakes for tomorrow to get together and the rest of the meal. Cheers!

Well, there's this and where there's one recipe, there's bound to be more. btw, someone told me just yesterday that carrots that you buy with the greens still attached were sweeter than the ones in the package..I guess thats because they're fresher??

I love Julia Child's recipe for green beans..blanched for 7 minutes, then shocked. Pan dried. Sautee w/ butter and fresh parsley and s&p to taste. yum

Why don't you bake the potatoes wed. morning, and then go ahead and put the dish together, then bake off thurs? You can make it tomorrow even, it should be ok in the frdge for a day or two. I agree it's easier to put together when hot, especially when you use butter, it mixes up easier, but you really can bake sweet potatoes and freeze them in the skins until you want them. Better yet, make 2 cassaroles and freeze one for Christmas. Sweet potatoes are really cheap this week, so I'm doubleing up when I bake them and putting the ones I don't use in ziplocs to have next month. Cheers!

Weekend edition of the Wall St. Journal's pursuits section has a food section. this week's articles are about remembering mom, grandma, etc. through their recipes and how sometimes they're so hard to decipher from the note cards. If you didnt' learn to cook your fav's while they were alive, it might be a bit difficult to translate measurements, ingredients etc. to modern equivalents. They list web sites that can help with all that, I believve there are at least 4. If you can't find a copy and need those sites, let me know and I'll post them here.

I saw a note in Gourmet this weekend about McCormick's site that lets you put in the date code and it will tell you how old your spices are. The newer jars are labled with use by date, but some whole spices are good for a few years and may not have the new dates on them, yet still be good. It's a good reference page for a general idea of how long you should keep them. the page is here if you'd like to check it out. It cracked me up when I saw the age of the small tins...man, if you have any of those they've got to go!

I re-read Kitchen confidential (bourdain), also Fork It Over (Richman) and I really enjoyed Heat. I've also read, although not a new book, Beard on Food. It's almost like a flashback for me..interesting train of thought and commentary. Beard has an almost simplistic idea of food. That is a word I would not have used for him 20 years ago. Maybe I should say 'clean'...I don't know, but it's certainly before the likes of E Bulli etc. Let's just call it slightly retro. I read cookbooks like novels sometimes, if they've got interesting forwards to the recipes and info on the hows and where they came from, or the ideas that sparked them. Dorie Greenspans is one of those. I really am enjoying it. I've also taken out many of my Time-Life books on food to go back to basics on a few things..like candy and bread. this is really too funny, I was JUST thinking last night, about this year my main interest in books seems to be cooking related!

I made cream scones this morning. The recipe calls for currants, which I'd be shot for with my kids, so I used cinnamon chips instead. Note that there is an omission in the directions as to when to add the currents (cinnamon chips), so go to the next recipe and follow directions for adding the nuts. That is after dough comes together and before kneading. I'm not exactly a scone novice, so it didn't faze me, actually I kneaded a couple of times and then added the chips, then finished. I wanted to put in finely cut up candied ginger, one of my favorite additions to scones but again the kids are out of school and I needed to feed them. (they don't like ginger...yet.) Dorie is so right about the technique with the bisquits. Cold and a light hand make a light bisquit/scone. This is the perfect all around classic scone recipe, and it loves additions. I've made the pie crust (good for everything) for thurs. as well. the recipe says it can stay in the fridge for a few days (5) so this is the beginning of my Thanksgiving baking. The crust will be for the twofor pies. I can't make the fillings until wed. but this part will be out of the way. The cranberry cake also has to wait until thurs. a.m. but I have all the things I need. I've been so focused on desserts though, that I've totally forgotton to buy my turkey, make cornbread, or basically buy any ingredients for dinner itself! oh well. There's time yet.

I am planning on making the 2 for 1 pie this week for Thanksgiving. It's pumpkin and pecan pie all in one. I do the same type of thing with sweet potatoes but since I'm having them as a side, I'm doing Dorie's version. Today I'm making the crusts and partially baking per her instructions and freezing. Wed. I'll make the fillings, and Thurs. I'll put the thing together. In between I'll read the picture posting tutorial and try to be ready to post. I've also decided to make the cranberry upsidedown cake this week thanks to you guys..how can I pass on a dessert that's seasonal, easy and delicious???? edit: I have never buttered my pie pans before. Is this something I've just missed in other recipes, or just my own stupidity? I did not grow up baking at mom/grandma's knee so it's quite possible that it's one of those things that other people just knew from watching...

mix up as written. put in fridge. take out 3 hrs before cooking to let rise. you can make this as individual rolls, put 3 small balls together and make parker house rolls or, my personal fav. is to make about 2" balls and set them touching in a pan with sides so they rise together and only the mouonded tops brown. brushed with melted butter they a fluffy, yeasty clouds from heaven.

Chrisamirault posted a topic on finding your nearest turkey farm here and I used his link to find this farm in Dayton. There is a phone number, and the site says they've 'added' turkeys, but they may not be ready to sell them in any number. You might want to find out when they're going to be available for future reference. They do sell organic eggs though, and if you do a search yourself using Chris' link you might find others. I'm in S.W. La. so this was closest to me, but still too far to run over before Thanksgiving. I think HEB in the Woodlands sells organic free range birds, I know they sell the chickens as I buy 6 at a time when I'm over there. And you have Whole Foods....lucky you.

Any heavy pot will work best, regardless of the coating. Many swear by cast iron, but it's pretty much whatever you have on hand and what you are comfortable using. Gumbos in South Louisiana are made in everything from thin aluminum stock pots to cast iron dutch ovens. Though the roux is usually made in a smaller heavier pot then transferred to the lighter one once the trinity has been incorporated. Time wise, I don't see how LC would contribute anything. Heavy pots do transfer heat more evenly, and that is the only difference. My guess is that psychologically, the light enamel does show color changes more readily than a well seasoned cast iron pan does. ← I was referring more to the depth of the pot, not the actual material of a heavy pot... ← Because? Maybe the heat is more intense given smaller sides? More rapid heat transfer? Nah, I doubt that. I think, having done both, that using the pot you're making the gumbo in to make the roux gives you one less pot to clean. You do need something like a 'rouxstir' though. long handled angled wooden paddle to keep your arms out of the pot and harms way. ( they're called cajun rouxstirs ..roosters..get it? but a looong handled spoon works just as well) I use a LC pot for regular gumbo/roux and a large gumbo or stock pot for party size outside cooking roux/gumbos. The stock pot is not cast iron (stainless) and it does just fine.

I asked this question another way to Dorie Greenspan when she was kind enough to be here. It's on this thread. She seconds Joy Of Cooking. The list is pretty good..

However, a dark roux for a gumbo is a big time commitment, with no potty breaks, so I can see a definite advantage to making a mess of it ahead of time... ← At my age I understand about potty breaks, but.. Even a dark roux isn't THAT long. Is it? ← It's not the 25 minutes that it takes, it's the constant attention. There is a split second that a roux can go rougue on you..that's usually when tha baby cries, or the boys get into 'it' in the back yard and there's a bloody nose, or you see something else that needs your immediate attention. Most things in cooking can be done in quick little stages, with time in between. Once I had my first child I didn't try to make a roux again until all of them were old enough to send upstairs/outside and put under dire threat of tremendous pain if they interrupted the process. A burnt roux smell is a bitch to get out of your house. That's enough for me! I confess to freezing it still, but now only when I make it for the upcoming turkey gumbo. That way I don't have to leave family and friends etc. to make another for Christmas eve seafood gumbo...it just saves me that much time when there is so little of it.

This seems like a neat idea. How on earth would you get such a gig? I can't think of a single person I know who employs a private chef.... ← I know a few hired 'cooks' for some of the old families here..old rich families I should say. Actually, I know several lawyers who made it big on tobacco money who have full time cooks as well. But that's not the type gig I'm talking about. Every celeb has their own chef, or most of them do. My guess is that they're hired via agents or hired away from a resturant that the 'star' went to and like the food. Didn't food tv do a show on Sting's chef??

I think this depends on what your final product will be, as you said. In many soup recipies the goal is clarity, or a pure white result that you won't get if you press the solids in the stock. That's never an issue with me, as I'm always going for the biggest bang for the buck. Heft. And to further cloud the question (pun intended) you have seafood stocks, as Fat Guy mentions that require pressing...hell, I've got recipes here where you grind crawfish shells up, add it to the stock, simmer longer and THEN strain. I think it's a question that's up there along with to boil or not to boil? Les Halles cannot stress enough not to, the encyclopedia of cajun and creole cuisine states for veal, chicken and beef to bring to a rolling boil. But back to the press/don't press...I think if anyone would have a definative yes/no declaration on that it would be someone like Martha Stewart. Need I say more??

I think it's time for you to be a private chef. and do it for people who appreciate it and pay well.

If I had what you have.... Oh my. enjoy it.

DAMN ITTT!!, I just bought 130 bucks of chocolate, ready to do the Holidays, and now I'm thinking of Les Halles, Can you people get with the program? I am still waiting for an e-gullett challange to Tony's 'tripes "les halles''' where he promises, with pictures sent to him..a personal letter of commendation and devotion. I'm still trying to talk some of my cajun friends into this, but a letter just aint enough...for me, but hell...I'm trying to get them to do the work, so it's fair..

I second good chocolates,investigating a new area of the world every month and showcasing it w/recipes, and good vanilla as well. forms of all kinds, cookie, molds, cakes etc. Wafer paper aka rice paper, what a pita to find...salts, w/recipes on how to use them in baked goods (flur de sol carmels (sp), Dorie Greenspans's World Peace Cookies for example). Cheese...for sweets as well as savory. Hard to find? don't sell cheap 1 1/2 " deep pans, they can get them anywhere. Sell at least 2" sides and explain the difference. There are too many recipies in good cookbooks that have been thrown out because people do not have the right pans. Sillpats, those things I put around the sides..what the hell are they called, and PARCHMENT..pre cut in ALL sizes. Basic cooking: I like Le Creouset (sp, probably, I know..I'm lobbying to have spell check here!) but I also like very lite plastic bowls. I know, I know, heavy bowls are great, but try lifting them to the mixer while you're making a cake that requires you mix liquid and dry in thirds, or fourths....I found a great little measured batter bowl in melemane that has saved my life. Now if someone would make one that was for dry measure, but with a pouring spout...I would be her friend for life. (why is this cat so draped on my left hand? anyone who has one, please let me know, I think she's jealous of the computer..makes it hard to type..now she's biting..old b...")

I've been trying to picture this. Does it make a tree form you think? if they're still in the box, then are the directions and recipes still inside? It might be cool to play with during the holidays on a buffett..I'd keep them for molds if they're not in the way. I can kinda relate though, if you haven't even unpacked them for 22 years that they're just taking up space. I have a cookie cutter/cake set my mom gave me 20 years ago I suppose with the thought that I should make it for my then infant son. I never had the time and with 2 more kids it didn't get any better. I almost gave it away, but the younger boys are at an age where they want to help and think the set would be cool. We still haven't 'played' with it yet, but it's something we'll check out after the soccer season ends and then see if it's worth keeping. It's still taking up space in the cabinet....