bluechefk

i picked up a ton of delicious sour cherries this morning at the farmer's market; some are going right into the freezer, but for the rest - can anyone share a recipe (or source for a recipe) for the perfect cherry pie?

how about sour cherry turnovers, using puff pastry sheets? you get the same effect as a pie, but don't need as many cherries for the filling.

the weather's creeping up into the 80's and 90's already, and i'm developing a craving for some homemade popsicles anyone interested in sharing their favorite recipes? i'm pretty good with the basic fruit kinds (although i welcome anyone's input on those), but am especially interested in creamy popsicles & fudgicles. oo, oo! or how about the 2 flavor kinds, like creamsicles and root beer float popsicles! - i'd LOVE to know how to do those!

i second the cherry blossom powder/extract request. have a great time!

there's a great rhubarb-mint marmoletto in one of the Babbo books - very fresh tasting & not too sweet. and i know that i've tried a marcus samuelson recipe for rhubarb sorbet - it was delicious, but i can't seem to find the recipe in my files; maybe if you googled it? i'm getting ready to try out a strawberry-rhubarb mini strudel, to be served with toasted almond semifreddo - if not that, maybe a rhubarb meringue tart?

i often make anzac biscuits, which have a texture similar to the cookies you describe - thin, but not too thin; a little chewy; lots of oatmeal flavor. i don't have my recipe handy at the moment, but i'd be happy to find & post it, if you like. i'd bet you could find tons of recipes if you google 'anzac' though.

if you do, it must be the h ouse next door i let my starter ferment overnight in the fridge & am heading downstairs now to warm it up & get on with the bread - will have my husband photograph the results & report back later!

excellent - SAF instant is what i use, too, and i happen to have some on hand. thanks again for your help - i'm just about to start my first test batch right now.

thanks, shane - this is exactly what i was looking for. one question - i read through a number of recipes for cuban bread online yesterday; they called for all kinds of combinations of all purpose flour, bread flour, and hi gluten flour. your formula doesn't specify - i'm assuming i should use bread flour, but can you correct me if this is wrong? also, are you using fresh, dry or instant yeast in your formula? thanks!

anyone have a good recipe for pan cubano? my chef has asked me to make this, and not only have i not made it before, i don't think i've ever tried it at all i've started researching it, and have found a couple of recipes that look like they might be ok - still, if anyone eGulleters have recipes or tips to share, i'd appreciate that most of all! kerry

thank you for the whipped cream cake recipe - not only am i adding it to the 'potential new menu item' list, i'm also thinking it'll be perfect for my husband's approaching birthday. and yes yes, if you find a Topfentorte recipe that you're happy with, please do post it - i'd love to see it!

heyjude - thank you so much for the ebinger's info! i have molly o'neill's book, and never realized that the ebinger's recipe was inside - i'll dig that out asap & start experimenting. thanks again!

Thank you again to everyone for all of the mouth watering suggestions - i must have a couple of years worth of menu ideas, or at least enough to get me started. dorie - i think i have all of the books you suggested, except for the judith fertig - and i'll be looking to add that one to my collection asap! question about the blackout cake - i've heard of it quite a bit, but was never lucky enough to taste it. was the cake frosted with the pudding, too? or did it have another kind of frosting? - ganache? fudge icing? that's one i'd like to try for myself, for sure!

ludja - i've put the jean anderson book on hold for myself at the library, but in the meantime, would you be willing to share the vanilla/vanilla cake recipe? i'm also a really big fan of the pure vanilla flavor. oh, and i think i've made those apple crumb squares, btw! a long time ago, i worked for a german baker at a little cafe in harvard square. she taught me lots of classic things - i'm still mad that i lost her cheesecake recipe. all i can remember is that it had a shortbread crust, was made with cottage cheese & raisins, and had a piped meringue lattice topping. mmmmmmm

this is the baked lemon pudding cake recipe that i always use - i've long since forgotten where it came from. i bake these in individual ramekins now, but when i was a kid, we made it in a big glass loaf pan. Baked Lemon Pudding Cake yield: 8 ramekins sift together: 1 1/4 oz. all purpose flour 5 oz. sugar pinch salt pinch nutmeg, freshly ground stir in: 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest combine: 8 oz. buttermilk 2 oz. fresh lemon juice 1 oz. melted butter 2 egg yolks whisk wet into dry until mixture is smooth. whip to stiff peaks: 3 egg whites 1 3/4 oz. sugar fold gently into lemon batter. divide evenly into greased ramekins. bake in hot water bath at 350 until cakes spring back when lightly touched in the center, and tops are lightly golden brown. refrigerate until cooled - cakes will fall a little as they cool.

oh, lemon pudding cake! that's one of the first desserts i learned how to make, and it still says 'summertime' to me. i don't have a good recipe for a chocolate pudding cake, so if you're willing to share that recipe, i'd love to see it - thank you! also, any other flavors would be interesting - wonder if you can make a vanilla pudding cake?

OMG, dr. pepper floats - now i'm going to be obsessing about those all day! which is not a bad thing now that you mention it,maggie, i did manage a pretty good version of a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie once - although i'm damned if i can remember exactly how i did it! if i can dig out my notes on that project, i'll be sure to come back & report on it.

Thank you so much for all the great ideas! - so much there to think about, lots of suggestions that bring back memories and lots of new things, too. i don't think i've ever had a dessert involving pretzels, but i know that i must correct that asap i have to admit that i'm a little envious of people's dessert memories - my mother didn't cook AT ALL; my grandmother did, but her specialties were things that didn't have much appeal to a 7-year old - chokecherry preserves? pickled watermelon rind? i can appreciate all of those things now, but at the time, my idea of culinary heaven was cap'n crunch in front of the tv! after reading through all of your great suggestions, it seems like there are a few clear front runners for starting off this dessert menu - butterscotch pudding, coconut cream and lemon meringue pies, coconut & chocolate layer cakes - and some facsimile of a Hostess Fruit pie i'm also really in love with the idea of making my own Moon Pies, even if i'm doing it just to make myself smile. (towards that end, if anyone has any great recipes for a Moon Pie cookie base that they'd like to share, please do!) so now i have the really fun task of starting to research & test all of these recipes. and i'll definitely be looking up some of those eGullet: Best of... threads! thanks again - kerry

ok, i'm embarassed to admit it, but i've never really been sure just what an egg cream is...

ooooo, moon pies i'm loving the idea of making those from scratch! never had a banana one, though - what were those like? which part was banana flavored? - the filling? the cookie? hmmmmm (pastry wheels turning in brain, smoke coming out of ears...)

point pleasant - cool! i grew up in long branch, where the boardwalk WAS the social scene of the town! my big memory is on italian ice - served in those little paper cups that would turn into soggy mush by the time you got to the bottom of the ice? i remember flattening the cup to make a point at one hand, and just drinking off the melted lemony, sugary slush on the bottom

well, i'm in the western states, but we're actually interested in regional desserts from all over the country. so desserts that i remember from growing up on the jersey shore will be up there on the menu right next to the one's remembered by the texan sous chef :-)

woo hoo - starting a new job after a year of unemployment! the concept is 'american regional classics' - and yes, that's kind of vague my chef describes the menu as containing foods that remind you of things you ate when you were growing up - stuff you ordered at your local luncheonette, stuff your mom made, stuff that reminds you specifically of where you grew up. not necessarily retro - and not kitsch either: fried chicken, deviled eggs, green chili, chinese spare ribs, red velvet cake, etc. doing desserts this way should be a blast - i'm already thinking about how to make the perfect Ho-Ho! here's my question, then - what do you think of when you think of the desserts you grew up with? maybe store-bought things that were only sold in your area (like Moonpies, or Tastycakes)? or maybe something your mom or grandmother made & you loved to pieces? recipes are welcome, if you'd like to share, but even more than that i'm looking for ideas, memories, stories - anything you've got!

i save all of my scraps - toast them, sieve them down to fine crumbs, and then store in the freezer. they're useful in all kinds of ways - decorate sides of cakes or tops of cupcakes; mix with butter for cheesecake crust; sprinkle on tart or pie shells before adding filling, to soak up some of the excess moisture - can also use them in strudels this way; mix w/butter and bake on a sheet pan until crisp, then break up & use as crunchy bits in mousses or ice creams. when i find myself with just waaaay too many crumbs in the freezer, i make a batch of hermits from an old recipe i have - don't have that handy at the moment, but if you like, i can look it up & post it. and of course, i use the most delectable cake scraps as Decoy Dessert - keeps the line cooks & wait staff from nibbling on my finished desserts

i love lemon pudding cake - the kind that seperates into 2 layers when you bake it, cake on top & pudding on the bottom. my mom and i used to make it together when i was a kid, and it's always the first thing i make when i feel summer in the air. after that, i'm a sucker for cookies of nearly every kind - esp. crunchy, sandy kinds. a particular favorite is a toasted pecan & chocolate chip shortbread cookie which we made in a restaurant i worked in years & years ago. let's see - what else? a really good apple pie; tart lemon bars; and just about any fruit with a nice cinnamon-y streusel crumb topping on it