Pam R

My concern was that I was under-mixing. But you may be onto something. I should try a batch in a mixer and see if they are any different. BTW, my mother returned from a short trip last night. On her first day away she came down with the flu and hasn't had anything to eat in 5 days. She didn't want anything to eat last night other than some toast, but I gave her some cookies and she loved them. Definitely a winner in my family.

I wanted chocolate chip cookies. I don't have a stand mixer (at home), so I had to resort to the old wooden spoon to mix the dough. I was a little concerned. I also had no pecans, but I can totally get how great the cookies would have been with them - especially with the saltiness which I loved. My picture doesn't do the cookies justice. I think chocolate chip cookies are a good test. When I gave somebody a couple of cookies to try, the response I got was "These are chocolate chip cookies!" I don't understand the questions about puffy cookies. These were perfect - a little crispy on the edges, soft and chewy in the center.

Darn that Costco! Today I picked up: The Canadian Cookbook, History, Folklore & Recipes with a Twist (by Jennifer Ogle) Includes recipes for bannock, Nanaimo bars, butter tarts, Quebec sugar pie, wild rice pilaf and yam latkes. Oh Canada!

If they have lemonana I'll make a trip out there too.

Allspice Crumb Muffins . I love allspice - so I decided this would be the first recipe I tried in the book. Good choice. As I was getting everything together I wondered if there would be enough allspice (I really love allspice), but I went ahead and used the specified amount. The note on the side said to let the muffins cool before tasting, as the flavour will be stronger. Of course I couldn't wait - I had to compare warm and cooled didn't I? (and they smelled so good!) They were good hot but they were great cooled - perfect amount of spice. Definitely worth the time it took to brew some coffee to go with them.

It's been a while since we've posted here. I'm attempting Lamb cholent for tomorrow... I'm just not sure if it will take a sweet (apricot, honey, sweet spices) or savoury (lemon, rosemary/oregano) turn. But the lamb chunks are in the fridge almost thawed and the white beans were left to soak before I came to work this morning. We're down to three of us for dinner tonight so it will be a simple meal. I'm in the mood (I've been in the mood for the last 2 weeks) for turkey schnitzel - so I think it will be that, with maybe mashed potatoes and some veg and salad. Challah I won't be baking, but we have local bakeries that make lovely ones. Chicken soup - we made a huge batch at work this week so I'll grab a litre. It's winter here and comfort food seems just right tonight. Shabbat Shalom. Take care.

Last week brought 2 more for me (due to technical difficulties with certain online stores I'm expecting duplicates of both of them to arrive within a few days - but only count them once - I think my sister may benefit from this incident.) Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan The Jewish Kitchen, Clarissa Hyman I'm really looking forward to getting into both of these.

We made a big batch of chicken soup at work on Wednesday. And I really wanted soup, but I didn't want chicken soup. So I turned it into wonton soup and made it dinner Wednesday night. It was so good - really hit the spot . (A little soy sauce was added after picture taking.)

Dorie, Thanks so much for sharing your time with us this week. I hope you've had as good a time participating in the conversation as I've had reading your responses. Your thoughtful posts have shown once again how much you enjoy what you do - and that you care about the readers enjoying your recipes and books. I'm so looking forward to trying many of the recipes (my book is plastered with post-it notes!) - and I have no doubt I'll enjoy them. Take care, Pam

Appreciated, but not required! All you need to participate is to cook and tell. Oh, I'm in too.

I agree with Patrick. They're fine for pie, though not my favorite. We had a baker that used only Red Delicious in her apple strudel... it was very good. I would use them in baking - but I'd mix them with something tart and firm.

Hi, Let's get back to the topic (reviews in Open Mouth) please. Thanks, Pam

Knish dough, replacing the egg yolks with more whites, can be used for strudel. Toss some breadcrumbs onto the pulled dough before adding the filling and rolling. It helps to keep the layers defined.

I missed your post in July! Did you use the schmaltz? Do you still need guidance? It's a form of schmaltz. Schmaltz=fat. It'll be great with the chicken. I hope you didn't throw out the bits of skin. Once browned they make a coveted treat - grieven - aka: Chicken Cracklin'.

What's a Pogo? Corndog?

I appreciate your sharing the above post. I still get frustrated when things don't work out as I had imagined they would. I think a lot of people find baking intimidating and give up on it after a couple of tries. It's nice to hear that you've been there with us! As for the knishes - don't give up on them! There's nothing better then a fresh, home-baked knish. (There may even be a knish demo right here on eGullet to help you out !)

Dorie, In another topic you mentioned that you bake all the time (daily?). Assuming you're not always working on a new cookbook, do you find yourself constantly trying new recipes? If not, do you have 'fallback' recipes that you make repeatedly? What might those be? Thanks, Pam

Well done indeed! It looks fantastic. I'm curious about the caviar - do they 'pop' or is it more of a melting in your mouth?

Hi Dorie, I am from a family of 'food people', and I think a lot of my interest in food was ingrained in me at an early age. I'm curious - were you raised in a house filled with good cooking and baking? "Food people' are often raised in families who appreciate good food and inherit the appreciation or they grow up in homes with with no appreciation and rebel. Do either of these fit the bill? Thanks, Pam

Add 2 for me. Claudia Roden - The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking

In Israel they have ... falafel buffets I guess. You get a pita with falafel balls in it, and you load it up with all sorts of salads and cooked vegetables, hummus, tehina, harrisa, schug, etc. In Winnipeg, the local Israeli falafel place offers the 'Israeli' - with fries in it and the "Canadian" with sweet potato fries in it. Don't knock it 'til you try it. This picture shows some of the items available at stands

It's officially winter in some places - like here. After a long day and a slow drive home, I opened the fridge and freezer to see what I had. This is literally a cleaning out the produce drawer sort of soup. I had 1/2 of a leek and 2/3 of an onion. Started slowly cooking them in a mix of canola oil and butter (I'm out of olive oil). Then I peeled and cut up the last carrot and celery rib - added them to the sweating onions, with some kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for a few minutes. Added about 1 liter of veg. stock and some water, brought it to a boil, then reduced to simmer. I had one russet and one red potato - both had seen better days - peeled and cubed. Added to the simmering pot. Roughly chopped the 1/2 cauliflower and set it aside until the potatoes were just tender. Added it along with a couple handfuls of frozen green and wax beans. I added the last 2-3 Tbsp. of cream in the fridge... then another 1/4 cup or so of half and half. It needed some thickening - a slurry of flour and the last of the 2%. Cook it out - thickened but still missing something. Shred the last 2 ounces of Swiss cheese and stir that in, toss in a couple of frozen cubes of basil and parley. Excellent. Hit the spot - and I'm always pleased when a truly delicious dish comes from no planning and just seeing what's hanging out in the fridge..

potato bread potato soup twice-baked potatoes stuffed with all sorts of good stuff potato gratin potato crusted something (fish) potato croquettes potato knishes potato perogies (always, unbelievably popular) Shepherd's Pie homemade potato chips potato borekas

Are they kosher? Would explain being closed on weekends... Do they offer different toppings for the falafel (cauliflower, cabbage, fries, etc.?)

Does anybody have a hard copy of the article? A fellow Manitoba eG'er and I were wondering who contributed to the Manitoba section a couple of days ago. The list includes mostly things that have been appearing on lists for years (or decades). I don't think any of them would be on my list.