MelissaH

Most interesting was probably the "potato" salad that turned out to be a breadfruit salad. Best was probably the vegetable soup that was concocted out of leftovers on what passed for a chilly day there. Little Cayman is a very small island, and when I was there, the weather had been such that the supply barges hadn't been able to get through for a couple of weeks. Thus, much of what we ate came from either the pantry, the freezer, or (like the breadfruit) was grown on the island. MelissaH

I'm back, and did not encounter any bananas whatsoever. I saw unripe papayas hanging on trees, and an ackee tree also. No mangos or avocados where I was. I did have my first two encounters with breadfruit, and if nobody had said anything, I would have sworn I was eating potato both times. The trip managed to do something unexpected: de-Coke me. What I drank on the airplane home tasted way too sweet, for some reason! MelissaH

Whew! I'm safe, because I love all of the above, except ackee. I can't say anything about ackee because I've never had an opportunity to try any before. Next week, I may be able to modify that statement. Thanks, all! MelissaH

I don't know how or why I don't like bananas. My parents claim I ate them when I was very young. I don't remember eating any, though. I don't like the texture. I can't stand the smell. And I can't get close enough to even think of tasting. This holds true for any variety of banana that's called a banana, even the little red bananas or the finger bananas that sometimes show up at Wegmans. When I was teaching organic chemistry labs, I had to get someone to cover the day we did the ester synthesis, as isoamyl acetate (banana oil) is a favorite of lab coordinators everywhere. I still can't walk inside the chemistry building on campus on the days students do this lab, and my husband always warns me if I'm going to be in the neighborhood. Elizabeth, I think you might have just given me a subject for tonight's nightmare! MelissaH

I'm going to be traveling to the Cayman Islands next week, where I will be fed by other people. (The institute where I'm staying employs a cook.) I'm looking forward to the adventure, but I have one concern. I cannot eat (or even be near others eating) bananas. The smell alone is enough to start me gagging. Am I likely to have a problem with bananas everywhere, or hidden in innocuous dishes? Will I have to specifically ask about whether every dish contains bananas? Plantains, amazingly enough, are fine, either ripe or unripe. And other tropical fruits are delicious. It's just bananas that drive me bananas. I'm hoping I won't be asked to eat turtle, but my problems with that are all in my head, I think. MelissaH

My gut instinct is, no. I think I'd re-process in a pressure canner, to be safe, unless you have space in your fridge or freezer. Then again, when I process my MIL's apple pie filling (apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, water, lemon juice), I always use the pressure canner even for that. MelissaH

Doesn't Penzey's also do several versions of onion, as powder or dehydrated chunks? MelissaH

Your early-morning airport shuttle experience in Tucson is right up there with my early-morning taxi to the airport experience: we phoned it in the night before, I was waiting at the gate of the apartment complex in plenty of time, the cab didn't show, and when I called them, they told me that "nobody picked it up." I wound up having to wake my sister up at 4:45 to drive me to the airport, which was exactly what I didn't want to do. Transit troubles aside, if you get back to Tucson, the Mexican food is terrific. I'll ask my sister the name of the market that she took me shopping to, which was very international and lots of fun to wander through. And glad to see that you found an acceptable breakfast at DIA, since early mornings aren't conducive to eating much of anything! MelissaH

Thanks for all the help. My MIL is glad to have a starting point. MelissaH

Agreed with everyone telling you to do the chef's choice at Poca Cosa. And definitely don't miss the Desert Museum. Last time I visited my sister, the whole famiy enjoyed the botanical garden as well. MelissaH

I talked to my MIL this morning, who tells me that her other son would like to make a candy with the texture of a gummy bear, but clove-flavored rather than fruity. Has anyone heard of such a thing? What would be a good place to start? My MIL is an experienced hard candy maker, every year doing batches flavored with cinnamon and clove, and I suspect this is where the idea arose. My knee-jerk reaction was that you'd need some kind of fairly neutral fruit as a base, maybe apple, to get the body and texture right, and then you could add some clove oil to bring in that flavor. (Well, my first reaction was "Yuck!" because clove-flavored anything isn't my thing. This was my first productive thought on the subject.) I was thinking maybe an apple pate de fruit recipe? Or would gelatin be a better bet? Thanks, MelissaH

I own this and like it a lot. I'd consider it an "entry level" sort of book, though and not really comprehensive as it's not that long and covers a number of types of desserts (tortes, strudels, tarts, cookies, puddings, etc.). Pretty sure, but not certain, that it does not have weight measures, if that is important. Depends on what the OP is looking for. No, no weight measurements, unfortunately. A while ago, I'd e-mailed the author to ask him what a cup of flour weighed, as he measured it, and he gave me a kind of snarky response to the effect of "These recipes were written for volume measurements so that's what you should use." But it is an enjoyable read, in any case. MelissaH

I feel like I need to lunch with you sometime. You seem to find all the best stuff! MelissaH

I'm afraid I already have plans to be elsewhere on those dates, so you'll have to take me off the list. But I'll be watching you from afar, and wishing I could be in two places at once. MelissaH

By salt - are we talking fine like a Morton's table salt or Kosher. If Kosher the coarser Morton's or the more fine Diamond Crystal? Also if you can pin down the level of salting it would be great. I am planning some for the holidays. Thanks! I keep Diamond Crystal in my kitchen, so that's what I use. As far as level, that I think is up to you. Taste, taste, taste! MelissaH

I've made JAZ's recipe with pecans several times and it's just as crack-like as with walnuts! Yup, pecans work just fine. I find I like this procedure much better than those calling for an egg white. Don't forget to salt afterwards. MelissaH

I don't have the new edition, but I was able to look inside on Amazon. Based on what I saw, there are now weight measurements, in both grams and ounces, as well as volume. This might be enough to push me over the edge to getting the new edition. MelissaH

Proportions, please? MelissaH

I don't like bagel guillotines. I play hockey a couple of mornings a week, and after that I don't have the energy to drive the hour or so home from the rink without a boost. So I stop at a supermarket along the way, grab a packet of almond butter from the stash I keep in the car before heading inside, purchase a bagel, and then use their guillotine to slice it before spurting the almond butter on. Best case: the guillotine smashes the bagel while it slices through. Worst and more often case: the inside of the bagel gets shredded and compressed and the bagel gets smashed in the process of slicing. So lately, I've started asking the people working in the bakery section to please slice the bagel for me with a knife. They complain about doing it, and I've had them tell me they aren't supposed to do so, but they usually do it anyway. End result: an unsmashed, uncompressed, sliced bagel. My preferred technique, when I have a knife, is to hold it upright, thumb on one side and fingers on the other, and use a sharp serrated knife to slice through. But keep in mind that what I get around here is a subpar upstate bagel! MelissaH

If you wanted to clarify it, how would you do so? Filtering through a coffee filter? (That strikes me as potentially painfully slow.) Or maybe a gelatin clarification? MelissaH

My GE Monogram self-cleans the oven and racks nicely. (It seems like the racks themselves determine whether they can safely handle a self-cleaning cycle. And this was one of the reasons we chose this particular range.) After a self-cleaning, I just have to wipe the ridges that the racks slide on with a bit of oil afterwards, or the racks don't slide. The manual warned me about this. I typically use grapeseed oil, which doesn't burn and smell at typical oven temperatures the way other oils can. As far as other smells, I did get a little odor the first time I self-cleaned. After that, I haven't had any issues with odor. Because the oven does not have an electronic control panel, it's something I only do when I'm home and awake; the fan turning off is my signal that the self-clean cycle is complete and it's time to turn the oven off. I should note that we did have a problem with the latch sliding shut and not releasing. We think we've traced the problem to a bad solenoid. The first time, a quick re-clean cycle (on for an hour, then off to cool) got it to unlatch. The second time, we pretty much had to dismantle the oven and take the door off to get it to unlatch. However, with a little (ahem) hardware modification, we've made sure that a stuck latch will never again stop us from opening the oven. We've also purchased the part that we modified, so that if we ever need to, we can replace our latch with one that's intact. MelissaH

My husband's classic T-giving dessert is pumpkin cheesecake. I also like Dorie Greenspan's All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake. MelissaH

I almost always take leftovers home. Like many of you, my exception is if it's something that is fried or otherwise won't reheat well. Most of our lunches are recycled from dinners. MelissaH

Your brownies look delicious. (I particularly appreciate the nuts in them, as I like nuts in my brownies, but my husband doesn't, so I usually leave them out or I'll eat the whole batch myself.) Do you prefer yours cakey, fudgy, or somewhere in-between? MelissaH

I know people are saying earlier rather than later. However, I'd just like to point out that I'll likely be in Philadelphia for some committee meetings on August 17 of next year, and I'd have no problem hanging around for a few extra days to eat. MelissaH