JanMcBaker

I'm not so much grossed out by this commercial as annoyed by it for different reasons. It's the one showing the 'chef' in the restaurant kitchen on a busy night, and then show him yawning on the bus, going home at who knows what hour. Then they show the guy cooking AGAIN at home, and he 'cooks' this microwave rice-- I can't even think what brand it is now! And his incredibly lazy or incompetent (I haven't decided which) wife or girlfriend nasally whines 'thanks sweetie' when he hands her a plate of food. Let's see, what do I start with? I'm not a chef, but I cannot imagine any chef or cook worth his or her salt 'preparing' some microwave rice dish. And while it's nice for couples to eat together, come on! The guy's already spent probably most of a day cooking at work, and if it's even just a halfway decent restaurant, he's probably not getting home till 11 or 12 or so. And she just sits her butt under her blanket waiting to be fed. She's supposedly a grown woman! Can't she feed herself? Maybe I'm just making too much out of this ad, but it sure annoys me!

I like the recipe on the Nestle's bag, and I've never had any complaints! Here's some tips that seem to contribute to my success. I don't skimp on creaming the butter and sugar together. Oh, and I always use butter. I make sure it's well beaten before adding the eggs. If I'm using nuts, usually walnuts or pecans, I make sure to toast them first. Toasting really makes a difference-- makes the nuts crunchy of course, and brings out their flavor more. Something that Shirley Corriher recommends when toasting nuts is to mix in a tablespoon or two of butter right after you take the nuts out of the oven. That is good too, but just toasting the nuts is often enough. I always bake the cookies on baking sheets lined with aluminum foil. It makes for easy clean-up, it makes it a lot easier to just pull the entire sheet off the pan and let it cool on our kitchen table which basically acts as a heat sink. And it also makes it easy to place dough blobs on foil while a pan is in the oven. Oh, and a small ice cream scoop makes it VERY easy to do mass quantities of dough. I just bake one pan at a time in the oven. I tried doing two at a time, but with all the checking and turning and rotating, etc., it was just a lot easier to do one pan at a time. That gave me time to place more dough on foil, remove cooled cookies from foil, or test finished ones. I think the most important thing that I do to end up with great cookies is to PAY ATTENTION WHEN THEY'RE BAKING. Don't automatically rely on the times given in the recipe for this, or anything else you bake for that matter. There's all kinds of variables that can affect the time needed to bake something-- moisture in flour, in the air, is your oven being a PITA that day, etc.? When I start baking a batch of CC cookies, I'll go about 8 mintues or so at first for the first 1-2 trays. I check and see if more time is needed. If it looks slightly paler than what you would consider done, take the pan out. It'll still cook a bit more out of the oven. It would be handy if you had a timer that counts minutes AND seconds. Sometimes all a pan may need is 30 seconds more. Care about what you're baking. That will go a long way to helping you get the results you want. Good luck-- and have fun! After all, even if they don't turn out perfect to you, others will still be impressed and delighted that you BAKED SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH!

OK-- yes, I'll admit that sometimes I do make chocolate chip cookies for less than admirable reasons! It's no big secret-- just the recipe on the bag (you know the one I mean) and I do follow the recipe, but so many people rave over them! Or they say theirs never turn out as good. Yes, I do like to hear the raves, and see how quickly they disappear. But I just don't understand-- what do other people do to theirs that they don't turn out the same?

Don't forget-- if a sandwich from DiNic's is still under consideration, you'll have to get it long before the Market closes as he usually sells out loooong before 6PM. However, they can pack the meat separate from the roll if that's an option for you.

IQF shrimp. It's soooo handy being able to take out just a few shrimp, instead of thawing some off a 5 lb. block!

Yes, this is great Wendy! I want to see it all-- your work area and produced items, and yes! Include area bakeries! I just love to see that kind of stuff from all over the country. It's especially gratifying to see evidence that the entire country hasn't succumbed to fast food places and mass produced blahness, even if I never get there. It soothes my soul. Oh, and don't forget to include more kitty pictures!

Thanks for all your suggestions, even yours Andrew! Alternating water and food with the beer sounds like the way to go. But just to be on the safe side, I think I'll forget driving for that evening.

I'll keep your recommendations in mind. Thanks!

ooohhhhh..... Hillary's was gooood.... Peach Courvoisier was my favorite flavor!! And the only one I ate without any topping...... And my sister loved milkshakes with Rachel's brownies and Bailey's Irish Cream.

Hi-- I'm interested in attending the Brewer's Plate this Sunday at the Reading Terminal Market. With such an abundance of brew to be available, and myself not being an experienced, regular beer drinker, I'm concerned about pacing myself and not ending up a drunken mess. Anyone have any advice on how best to do this, or care to share what worked for them? Are you out there, Rich? Thanks!

If you're referring to the deli on Krewstown Rd., that's actually Stein Boys', or more recently, Steve Stein's Famous Deli. It's their only location, so I don't figure there's any relation to Famous 4th St. Deli.

Not exactly a scientific reference, but I like Merle Ellis' 'Cutting up in the Kitchen' for a meat reference. While he doesn't go as far as naming genus and species, he does give a nice breakdown of what cuts are what in different animals, suggested cooking methods, what to look for in a particular cut, etc. It is out of print, but I believe copies can be found on Amazon. If you're interested in produce details, Aliza Green's 'Field Guide to Produce' is quite a nice, easy to carry book with a lot of produce information-- scientific name, alternate names, description, what to look for, how to cook it, what it goes with, etc. It also has a great center section with color photos of a lot of the entries. Then you can point out to the checkout clerk, "no, it's escarole, not romaine. See?" She's also just come out with 'A Field Guide to Meat'. I haven't had a chance yet to look at it much, but I'll bet it's just as detailed as her produce guide.

OK-- I know that all cooking is basically some kind of chemistry-- a combination of ingredients and some kind of catalyst to hlep bring about the finished product, but still...... It still seems like magic when I put these gloppy blobs of chocolate chip cookie dough in the oven and come out with these wonderful smelling, and even better tasting, airy disks of chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs and flour. And when my Hollandaise sauce comes out right-- that seems like damn near a miracle, let alone magic! Sooooo..... what's magic to you in the kitchen? Either how it all comes together, or when you're amazed that it all comes together at all?

Lordy me.... reading all these posts about butter has got me fantasizing about my favorites...... Let's see...... When I make potato salad, usually with red potatoes, I make sure to boil 1 or 2 extra. When I'm slicing the potatoes, I'll cut one up a slice at a time, while it's still warm-- it can't be so hot to melt the butter-- sprinkle salt and pepper and put a slice of butter on it. Yum! For some reason it tastes better that way than when I cook potatoes specifically just to have as un-salad potatoes. Anothor is a roll and butter and a cup of coffee. Specifically, slices of a Portugese roll, or really good onion rolls. Bite of roll and butter and then a sip of coffee.... The butter can't be melted into the roll-- I need to bite into the butter, then it melts in my mouth with the coffee... Love that combination! Oh, and the onion rolls HAVE to be loaded with onions-- inside! Not just sprinkled on the outside. One more is, when I'm making chocolate chip cookies.... At the start, creaming the butter with the sugars. Invariably bits come flying from the bowl and that butter/ brown sugar combination is soooo good! And of course, shrimp, crab and/or lobster and butter. What a match!

The Reading Terminal Market does special events, and catering I believe. I don't know any details, but you could check www.readingterminalmarket.org for information. I'm sure they'd have contact numbers on their site. Good luck!

Is it a pretty big place? If so, sounds like it might be where the Schwarzwald Inn used to be. Olney and Mascher would be about right, or 2nd and Olney.

My first eGullet road trip and it was great! Thanks, gang, for making my first trip such fun! Loved the people, and the pizza was FABULOUS! My favorite was DiFara's. Different tastes are still going through my head: the combination of cheeses, the smoothness of the artichokes and how well it worked on pizza ( I never had artichoke on it before, and was also afraid it would be that watery, strange acidy flavor), those wonderful, oily mushrooms, the thick cut, spicy pepperoni. Damn that was good pizza! I was truly trying to think of some way I could have brought a pie home in the van-- and I would have if I could! Even a reheated DiFara's pizza would be worth more than a lot of other places' fresh pizza. Seeing one of the prior posts, I just assumed that one of the reasons for getting a lot of toppings was so we could taste a lot of toppings without having to get a lot of pies. Spumoni Gardens was nice, but I'm just not a big fan of Sicilian pizza in the first place. However, the salad with that lemony dressing was great! And a nice break among the pizzas. By the time we got to Tottono's I think I was bordering on pizza overload so it was kind of difficult to really appreciate it as much as I think I would if we had had it earlier in the day. However, it was good-- loved the sausage, onion and mushroom one. And I found that I'm still not a fan of anchovy pizza. However, in this case the anchovy wasn't as salty as others I've had, but it tasted more fishy to me. Rather disconcerting to me on a pizza, and a bit unsettling to a rather full tummy. Yes, I know- I was also one of the ones who got a hotdog at Nathan's a little while later, AFTER ganache! All in all though it was a great experience! Thanks again to everyone, and hope to see you again soon!

When you keep a pepper grinder and a container of Kosher salt in your desk at work. Oh, and a couple of those itsy bitsy bottles of olive oil and tabasco.

When your siblings recount assorted childhood memories and you're embarrassed that you can't remember them. So you search your memory to see what you do remember and you discover-- -- That time in grade school that they let us go early because of snow and I found a navel orange in a snow drift (yes! honestly!) and I had never seen one before and wondering over the size and intense orange color, the navel and how thick the skin was and how it tasted. -- That time Dad brought home the first Golden Delicious apples we ever had and wondering again, never having seen a non-red apple, and marveling over how sweet and crisp it was. -- Mom's spiced pears, made with pears from the tree in our back yard. -- Mom's tomato relish, when Dad brought home half a bushel of tomatoes. Reeaally good on a bologna sandwich. A bit messy, but really good. -- Mom trying Julia Child's recipe for kidneys, after watching the French Chef. It was probably good, but I wasn't a fan of kidneys. Still remember that taste. -- Actually getting up the nerve and going to restaurants by myself when I was a lot younger because I just had to, even when I was more shy. --Remembering my scalp getting sweaty from some especially tasty and REAL ! sweet and pungent dishes in some Chinese restaurants. --Trying Craig Claiborn's hazelnut cheesecake recipe ( but no nuts because I just didn't feel like it) and discussing changes for it with my Mom-- less sugar, and condensed milk worked well since we didn't have heavy cream on hand. Geez, I miss Mom. --Helping serve samples and doing clean-up for cooking classes at the Reading Terminal Market and still not getting tired of seeing some of the same chefs preparing the same dishes. -- Arranging to go on a Brooklyn pizza trip one day and to LaCroix for Sunday brunch the next day and not thinking there's anything weird about it. -- Still smarting over that time several years ago that, for some godforsaken reason, I passed up the chance to get, oh probably $300-400 worth of Le Creuset for about $80 at a local thrift shop. -- Pleased about the knives I got for about $10 total at the same thrift shop-- the owner must not know cooking! I think it was about 4 knives, including F. Dick and some German one. I think a butcher must have died. Also pleased about getting a couple wine glasses there for $1.50 each-- they look like Reidel ones I've seen. BTW, how can you tell? -- Realizing that I'm never going to have enough cookbooks.....

I forget how she found out, but my sister checked out those weird little critters on the Quizno's ads-- they're called spong monkeys. And that's all I remember about it-- been a while since she checked them out, and haven't seen those ads lately anyway! Let's see.... and while I'm in the confessional, yep, I do like those RL biscuits too. I do like Egg McMuffins and the hash browns. Just can't take the McD burgers though..... I'll add more shameful snacks as I think of them.

How about shortbread? Easy to make, rich tasting, and not chocolate!

Yes, thanks! I have used 'ice cream scoops'-- I LOVE them for cookies, and I have used them for muffins. Even used small ones to fill whites for deviled eggs! But with muffins I usually get that crown and a bit of overflow on the top of the pan-- which is fine with me! It gets a bit crisp and caramelized.... yummy!

Oohh, can I play too? Sounds like fun!

I use spray also, and spray it over the kitchen sink. I also spray the whole top of the pan, at least the last time I made muffins I thought I'd try it- and it worked well. The muffin overflow didn't stick at all! And Sinclair-- thanks for that tip about checking for water in the ingredients! Now I just have to remember to keep an eye out for it when I shop.....

No, haven't tried other than plain vanilla yet-- forgot to check what to do with the cocoa and liquer! But when I was mixing up my first batch the other night, there was a new container of cayenne pepper on the counter that hadn't been put away yet...... sweet and hot? Sounded interesting to me-- might try some in part of a batch. But definitely cocoa next ! And thank you Neil for the advice concerning the buttercream.