cakewalk

The recipe is not unlike Laurie Colwin's Nantucket Cranberry Pie: http://cooking-books.blogspot.com/2009/02/nantucket-cranberry-pie.html The first time I made this, I also looked at the recipe and thought -what? no leavening? how can that be? I made it anyway, and it's very good. But you're right that the photo looks too "cakey" and smooth to have come from that recipe, there seems to be a bit of a disconnect there.

Chocolate and pear is such a nice combination, and it looks great with that ice cream on top. Have you ever made anything else in that pan? The pears make it a very heavy, and also uneven, cake. I think that might have something to do with the difficulties you mentioned, and I'm wondering if the same thing happens with cakes that don't contain chunks of fruit. With some cakes, I find it is better to leave them in the pan. This might be one of them.

Did someone say cranberry bar recipe? With real cranberries (not dried)? Can you share it here? It will be much appreciated! I love cranberries, and I'm also in the camp that buys many bags when they appear in October/November. I still have a bag or two in the freezer from last year. A couple of weeks ago I made cranberry jam and cranberry chutney. I'm also one of those who mentioned I've never seen commercially frozen cranberries. Nice to see that someone's getting wise. (But I'll still buy at least ten bags come November.) I never realized that freezing them for too long could ruin them. I guess I use them up too fast.

Preparing the tamarind was indeed a pain in the butt, but it was a very interesting pain in the butt. I'm glad I did it, but it is unlikely I'll ever do it again. What kind of tamarind chutney did you buy? I'd like to use up the rest of the paste I made, but I may well succumb to buying a jar of tamarind chutney, especially one that comes recommended.

@sartoric, please tell me about your tamarind chutney. I have quite a bit of tamarind paste left over from my Fun with Meatballs, but I have no idea what to do with it. Maybe I can make a chutney?

Whatever I use, the first slice is a bust. If it's on a flat surface it is easier to slice, but taking a whole pie out of the pie dish is not something I would risk. Bye bye Miss American Pie. I hate those triangular pie slicers, especially if the pie has a top crust, I think they do more harm than good. I like to use a small serrated knife. Works fine, but only after that first slice is removed, usually in pieces.

Nice, @sartoric. I had to Google gochujang, but that was a good idea. I liked it a lot but felt that it needed some zing.

A couple of weeks ago on a whim I bought a package of sweet potato noodles. I had no idea what they were or what to do with them, but they looked interesting. So I did some Googling and found this recipe: https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/japchae-korean-stir-fried-sweet-potato-noodles-30269 Or, more accurately, I found many recipes that were similar, and chose that one. I always love it when I buy something that I haven't the faintest idea about, only to learn that it is a staple somewhere. I made it this afternoon and just ate a small bowl of it. Delicious, and I'm about to get a refill. (No pix, looks pretty much like the photo on the website.) I didn't have shiitakes, alas, but did have baby belas, so I used them.

I recently ordered The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook (America's Test Kitchen). It hasn't arrived yet. I don't have any gluten issues, but I've been curious about gluten free baking, particularly gluten free breads. It seems that I'll have to start amassing an entirely new set of pantry staples. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

Haven't checked this blog in a while, but here's what she's been doing: http://www.aglaiakremezi.com/pickled-huevos-haminados-slow-cooked-eggs-with-plenty-of-onion-skins/

200 C sounds high for a loaf cake, that's almost 400 F. I'd try 175C, more of a medium oven. If the temp is too high it tends to overcook the outside while leaving the inside not done properly.

Yes, found it. Thank you! Nice blog.

How do you make the beetroot leaves curry? When I get beets with the leaves still attached, I'm always wondering what to do with them. I usually just slice them thinly and saute with onions and other greens I might have. But this sounds more specific. The meal looks lovely.

If granola bars interest you, this article/recipe for granola bark might be helpful as well: https://smittenkitchen.com/

That's a very inventive take on a pineapple upside down cake. I'm curious about how the cake itself came out, texture wise. It looks like it has a nice crumble on the top (bottom?) and sides.

@Kasia - are there special foods and desserts associated with this particular day in Poland?

I've had wrinkly tops happen when I mixed a bit too much and the batter is a little too liquidy. Sometimes it will happen only with the last bit of macaron batter in the bag, because that batter has been handled a bit too much already. But it's always hard to tell why macarons behave badly sometimes, and other times not.

I'm not a big cheesecake fan, but it has much more to do with texture than flavor. I prefer the dense, cream cheese, NY style cheesecake. I'll also eat the ricotta cheesecakes, which are entirely different. I don't care if they're citrus or vanilla flavored, or whatever. But cheesecake in any of its forms will never be my first choice of dessert, because the general "non-solid" texture is not what I usually go for. I sometimes opt for cheesecake because I'm curious, I want to see if "this one" will be different. They're often well made and "good" cheesecakes, but still, not my thing texture-wise.

It's quite common in the Jewish Sabbath dish called cholent, although it's most often used in the Sefardi version, which is called Hamin and seems to exist within the name you've mentioned. Essentially, eggs (still in the shell) are added to a pot of meat and potatoes that is placed in a low oven on Friday night. It cooks all night and is eaten for the Saturday mid-day meal. The eggs take on a very particular flavor, texture and color. I've never heard anyone mention a set amount of time or a set temperature for the cooking.

Bingo. To a degree I think this is also part of the rural/urban difference. Many pantries in New York City have said that their shelves are now emptier than they have been in a long time, a reflection not of a distribution problem but of the fact that more people are having hard times, and there are more takers and fewer givers. People who have never needed a food pantry before find themselves suddenly in need.

I think this thread might be helpful: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/38117-dinner-for-40/ The situation is very different, especially in terms of budget, but there's a lot to learn there in terms of cooking large amounts, shopping, recipes, etc.

I can't help thinking if you don't like the oats you can just add some flour and maybe a bit of water and it will make one luxurious starter.

Interesting. I have never noticed this to be the case. Au contraire!

@sartoric - what is chocolate pudding fruit? (Great name!)

Definitely better than a blow torch!