Pam R

What's the crisp part of the crisp? Could you tell me more about these? What's in them? I have one recipe in RecipeGullet for Pecan Cranberry Biscotti. I'll look for my other recipes (I put them together for an article two computers ago!). When I've got the carrot cake written up (also for a column) I'll get it into RecipeGullet. The great thing about the carrot cake is that there are so many good, moist ingredients in it, that the cake meal is hardly detectable. I was told it was 'killer'.

This is my usual Passover baking list: Chiffon Cakes Mandelbrot / Komish Kichel Mousse Pavlova / Meringues Flourless Chocolate Cakes Brownies For the last couple of years I've been trying to come up with some new things - not groundbreaking stuff, just some different options that you wouldn't necessarily think of for Pesach. Last year it was cream puffs, the year before a plum cake. Biscotti seemed like a good idea - and they worked beautifully. So, I've been playing around with some ideas - every-day recipes that I thought would translate well. Now that we have baking powder, soda and icing/powdered sugar for Passover, it makes things easier. Carrot cake with cream cheese icing: Lemon meringue pie with an almond/cake meal crust and lemon curd: But now I'm wondering what other people bake. Or do you bake at all?? I know a lot of people who buy a lot of chocolate for Passover so they don't have to bake anything - but not the member of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters! I know it's early - but let me know what you're planning.

Roasted Bell Pepper Soup with Garlic Croutons. I roasted a bunch of yellow and a couple of orange peppers until black (you can use red - I'm not crazy about green) - peeled them. Sauteed some onions, and into the pot went the peppers, a couple of chopped potatoes and chicken stock. Simmer until everything is soft and puree with the immersion blender. Salt and black pepper. I used to do this with vegetable stock and added some cream at the end - but this was dairy-free. Bread cubes tossed with olive oil and lots of fresh garlic then toasted.

Made a few batches of chicken stock/soup over the last couple of weeks. Followed the instructions from my Demo - raw bones, cold water. A mix of wings, necks, backs and two legs (because I wanted a little meat for the soup). I'd use feet if I could get them. Skim, skim, skim! After a few hours of cooking (with carrots, parsnip, onions and celery), strained and ready to be chilled and de-fatted. Chilled - chicken jello! With some dill added towards the end, all I need are some noodles or rice. Leave out the dill and use in other recipes.

I think it's an interesting idea too. I also think it would help in those situations when you cater in a facility that doesn't have a good kitchen - or a kitchen at all. You know - when you're doing a sit-down dinner for 100 and there's only one small home kitchen. Or a cocktail party for 200, when you need to pass hot apps and there's no oven at all (love those). We have a kitchen, but don't have our own banquet facility so having a kitchen-to-go is a fantastic idea.

That is truly shocking. I also would have expected them to be familiar with perogies - aren't they made in every church kitchen across Canada? (or is that only on the Prairies?)

I haven't seen the book - but it sounds great. I have heard of (though don't think I've been) to Shallots. While I obviously do 'traditional cooking' I'm very interested in non-traditional kosher cooking. That's actually what I focus on more than the traditional stuff. Thanks for the recommendation! Anything else?

You don't need a covered roaster. You need a pan and a roll of aluminum foil. Though I agree it's not roasting, it's more of a steamy situation. Bed of onions/carrot/celery - seasoned turkey and a cup or so of water/stock. Cover tightly with foil and roast (steam). Don't worry about turning your turkey over - cook it breast side up. When almost done, remove the foil and roast uncovered to crisp up the skin. (Cook at 400 for approx. 13 minutes per lb. - 15 minutes or so uncovered.) Et, voila. Moist meat, brown crispy skin. All I use are frozen birds. They are kosher, so let's call them brined.

I've been happily oblivious to the savory sugar taboo. Though I often (like others) use honey in a savory dish, I don't hesitate for a second to add a little sugar to a soup or sauce if it needs it. But - for some reason - I can't get on board with adding sugar to a chicken stock. A parsnip or extra carrot add enough sweetness for me.

Use the sour salt for borscht. Boil the wild rice in plenty of water until it's puffed up and opened. Use it in soup (a turkey broth with vegetables and wild rice is great - or the creamy version) or make a salad with it. We make one with toasted almonds, dried cranberries and oranges - the dressing is olive oil and a vinegar (balsamic, red wine, a mix, fresh oj), fresh herbs (oregano or basil), honey, S&P.

That's just what I was thinking! Thanks!

At home, I pull it back. At work, it's pulled back when I'm working in the store - back and under something (hat, bandanna) in the kitchen. Yet, when I do TV spots, it's down. It looks better down - and if I'm on TV, I want it to look better! Sometimes my food is prepped by a food stylists for me, sometimes I do it all on camera - and I've never had a host (and especially the crew) not eat the food. Mind you, they usually help with the prep and their hair is never pulled back. TV is not the real world.

I just got a case of Halvah filling/spread (meant for baking!) delivered today. Anybody else doing halvah hamantashen? Or is it too much?

We used to make a double chocolate cheesecake - bottom layer dark chocolate, top layer white. Adding the melted chocolate to the batter makes it quite stiff. You could try adding some melted white chocolate to your coconut layer - then just pour a lime layer on top and bake.

see the entry a couple ones up from this and pm Pam R. Or if I was nice, I could post it! (Which I meant to do last year! ) Clickety.

Let me add my two cents. I agree with Abra completely. You have to be very careful about thinking of this as a hobby and not doing all of the homework. Check with your local authorities (start with the health department). Find out the rules. In many places you must have a food handler's certificate or licence to even think about selling food. Most places don't allow cooking out of your home. You can look into renting a kitchen (church, community center, licenced food establishment, etc.), but that has it's own problems. Do your research. Find out what the rules are in your area. And though catering may seem like a fun thing to do, let me point out that it's hard, hard work. Our company caters parties for 10 to 1000 - and the parties for 10 can be just as challenging as the events for 1000. Logistics, equipment, staff - there's a lot to think about.

Chocolate Hamantashen Fill with your favorite fruit or chocolate fillings. Makes approximately 3 dozen. 3/4 c sugar 3/4 c margarine or butter 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2-1/2 c flour 1 tsp baking powder pinch salt 1/4 c cocoa powder 1. In the bowl of an stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the sugar and margarine/butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix in. Add the baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and flour and mix until just combined and a ball of dough forms. 2. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, shape into rectangles about 1" thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. 3. Once the dough has chilled, roll out one section, about 1/8" thick on a well-floured workspace. Use a cutter to cut approximately 3" circles. 4. Place approximately 1 teaspoon of a filling of your choice in the center of each section. Bring three sides of the dough together to make a triangle. Pinch the 3 corners together and place on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper). 5. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 9-12 minutes, until the bottom turns golden brown. Keywords: Dessert, Kosher, Cookie, Jewish ( RG1946 )

In the last year I've only added a couple of new books to the kosher library: The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York, Claudia Rodin The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes And Stories from Around the World, Clarissa Hyman I've got a hankering for some new books. I'll be going through the suggestions already given (thanks!) but I'm wondering if any new books are on your radar? Any book I can't live without?

I forgot to post this a couple of months ago. I received an email asking me to fill out an online survey. I don't remember the specifics (sorry!) - but they asked some questions on a specific group of shows. (Do you watch show XXX? Do you like host XXX?) I haven't heard anything since. Anybody else get any surveys?

I always cover the bowl with plastic wrap - just flour the top of the dough so it doesn't stick and it works perfectly.

Happy New Year, Ah Leung! I'm really looking forward to this week. Like everybody else, I'm amazed and inspired by your cooking demos. A couple of questions. Do you cook other styles of food - or is it mostly Chinese? Do you get back to Hong Kong often? I was raised on 'Canadian Chinese' food - and always loved it. But a too brief trip to Hong Kong showed me what I was missing! Hong Kong is one city that I'm desperate to get back to.

I'm with you on the roses. I do not like the flavour of roses - or lavender for that matter. But I just ordered some orange blossom water - I've never used it. I'll withhold my opinion on it until I've tried it.

I think that a Costco that provides bags is the exception to the rule. No brown paper bags or plastic bags. 9 times out of 10 I go to Costco as a small business owner. I have lots of poultry boxes (waxed cardboard boxes with good handles) at work - I always try to have some of these boxes in the back of my jeep when I go to Costco or other wholesales. The thing that annoys me at Costco - as a business owner, I wish they had a 'business lane' - like the express lane at a grocery store.

First batch of hamantashen of the year. This is also the first time I've made a yeast dough. I've never had a yeast dough hamantashen - and they're very different from the type I'm familiar with - but I liked them! Filled with homemade poppy-seed filling - they'd be good with a sweet cheese filling or blueberry. (I'll hold off on posting in the Passover topics for a couple of days .. don't want to scare any of you.)

I get good gel from raw chicken. As Dave says, simmer it longer and it should gel up some more. Wings, necks and backs are my choice for chicken stock.