Ann_T

When I baked bagels yesterday I put together this pictorial to help some friends who were having a problem with shaping their bagels. Bagel Pictorial Ann

Good advice Sony. Another way to cut down on smoke is to use a roasting pan that is just the right size for what you are roasting, be it a large turkey or a small chicken. If you use a pan that is too big than you get much more spatter which causes all the smoke. I very seldom set off the smoke detector anymore. Ann

Yes, that is exactly right Glenn. Roasting a chicken or a turkey at 500°F requires only about 10 minutes per pound give or take a few minutes and I always let roasts rest before carving. Ann

Patrick, I keep coming back to look at your photos. Shouldn't do that so early in the morning. I'll be craving chocolate all day now. Could you please tell me where I can find the Caramel Brownie recipe? Thanks, Ann

I don't know why your bird was tough. It could have been because it was undercooked or maybe it was just a tough old bird to begin with. But I do have to disagree with Glen. Sorry Glen. I've been roasting chickens and turkeys for years now following Barbara Kafka's instructions for high heat roasting. Whether a small 3 pounder or a 20 pound turkey, they go into a 500°F oven and come out wonderfully moist and tender. I use the same method for roasting prime rib and beef tenderloin with equally great results. I'd throw the rest of the chicken in to a pot with some chicken broth and make a soup out of it. Ann

Wow that is one beautiful machine. Here is the one that I have. It is made in Italy. I bought this about 12 years ago when we lived in Sault Ste. Marie. A friends husband made the best Italian salami I have ever tasted, and I needed a good slicer so that the salami could be sliced as thin as possible. It got used a lot back then. But for the last 6 or 7 years it only gets used a few times a year. Sometimes I drag it out to shave leftover Prime Rib or tenderloin to make beef dip sandwiches. Ann

I tried this method this morning. It worked wonderfully for me. I love my poached eggs on the hard side. But I over cooked the two I made for my husband so I fed those to our dog and quickly cooked two more for him but used the traditional method of poaching them right in the water. It was quicker to do this than to start over with the plastic wrap. But I'll definitely try this again though and just time it a little better. Ann

Eggs Benedict with fried potatoes. I didn't have English Muffins so I just toasted some homemade french bread. My favourite is dipping the potatoes in the Hollandaise sauce.

I like to add a few pork ribs to a pot of pasta sauce "Italian Gravy". Ann

You could use them in this Greek Lamb dish. Substitute the Beet tops for the Chard. I've made this recipe using Chard as well as spinach.

Robert, you aren't the only Wegman Groupie. Wegmans was my favourite grocery store when we lived in Dunkirk, NY for a couple of years. I was about 50 miles from Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA and a little less from Jamestown, NY so I had lots of options. I would drive to one of these places at least twice a week just to shop at Wegmans. Tried to kill a a few birds with one stone and hit Preimer Liquors when in Buffalo and have lunch at a favourite Indian Restaurant. Ann

You could poke a hole down the middle and stuff with prunes and apricots and marniate for a few hours in a mixture of white wine, sage, thyme, minced garlic, salt, pepper. Brown the roast and some carrots and onions, deglaze the pan with reserved marinade add a litte beef or chicken broth to the pan, cover and braise in the oven. When cooked, transfer the meat to an oven proof pan and brush pork with dijon mustard and brown sugar and return to a 450°F oven until the coating is bubbly and crisp. Strain the pan juices, skim off the fat and make a sauce. Ann

What a feast. Everything looks sooo good. When I die I'm coming back Italian. Ann PS. I'd like to know what is in the ravioli filling too.

MamaC thanks for posting your recipe for Cozonac. The recipe I used for the Croissants is Julie Child's recipe. It is in her Baking with Julia Cook book. And it is posted on a number of websites like this one.. I used the other half of the recipe to make Chocolate Croissants today. It was worth making this recipe to just to have these.

My favourite is Rhubarb Pie or Rhubarb Crisp. But I'm a purist. I like it on its own without other fruits mixed in.

Has anyone else bought any of the Mario Batali line of cast iron pots? I was in the market recently for a new roasting pan. After doing a little homework and finding some good reviews, I bought Batali's roaster and the Dutch Oven. I've used them both a number of times now and I'm very happy with them. One of the deciding factors was that these are safe in the oven at 500°F. They are very heavy. The roasting pan weights just under 12 pounds.

Not exactly dessert, but I made Croissants today using Julia Child's recipe. I love to bake but I've never made Croissants before. Shaped and Rising Inside

I love eggplant but for some reason I don't cook it very often. Last week I made a eggplant lasagna. Basically a traditional style lasagna with layers of breaded eggplant between a top and bottom layer of noodles. It's wonderful grilled as part of an Antipasto Plate Or as an appetizer/first course in puff pastry. Individual Eggplant Lasagna

I'm not an expert, but I bake bread, Italian and/or French, every week and freeze it. I wrap the loaves in paper towels before putting them into freezer bags and haven't had a problem with the crust becoming soft or soggy. Ann

Thanks Ling. We moved from Vancouver back over to the Island in December and I haven't been posting here much. I've missed reading about your eating escapades. I thought of you recently when I made a Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding. I'm trying to get caught up on all the wonderful pictures here and on the Dinner thread. Mama C, This is the pastry recipe that I use for most pies/tarts. Very easy to work with and you can use it for both savory or sweet pies. Ann Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pastry Butter & Lard Pastry 2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco) 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water (note: if using for a sweet pie, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar.) Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard using a pastry knife or in the food processor. Add ice water and mix with a fork. When the mixture comes together form into a ball and cut into two pieces. Form each into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Wow is right. Mama C, your pastries look soooo good. Alinka, thank you for posting the link to your cookies. I wasn't going to ask you for that too. I picked up some rhubarb at the farmers market yesterday and made a rhubarb pie. Ann

My favoruite apple cake is from the cookbook 'Savoring Italy' by Michele Scicolone. Very moist and buttery. Apple Cake - Torta Di Mele Al Burro Ann

I haven't been reading or posting for the last 6 weeks or so as we were in the process of moving. I haven't had time to look at all of the dinner posts that I missed but I'm trying to catch up. I've looked a many of the pictures and there are some amazing meals. Alinka, I'm drooling over those cookies. Megan your latkas look so good. Wonderful picture too. And Shalmanese, I love your stirfry with sesame seeds. I don't usually cook Chinese food, but tonight I made Lemon Chicken. And now that we are settled in and all the boxes have been emptied I've started baking bread again. My husbands favourite. Ann

Wonderful Pictures. My husband would love those Scallops and the tuna and white beans are calling to me. Susan thanks for the link to the pasta cookoff. Great thread. Haven't done a lot of cooking in the last couple of weeks. Last nights dinner was lamb shanks with braised baby artichokes and baby lima beans. I started the beans earlier in the day and then finished them off with the lamb. Not very colourful but tasted good.

Lunch yesterday at Go Fish.