cakewalk

This year I made membrillo (quince paste). There's a lot of information about this on eGullet and all over the web. I had never cooked with quince before. It turned out to be a very nice "nibble" with cheese (Manchego is the classic, and the one I used, but I think it would go well with many others) and crackers.

I don't think glass conducts heat very well, so you might be whisking for a very long time.

I've used them in black forest cake (and in ice cream, but I thought that was not so successful, they're too wet). Drain the syrup, which is delicious. I put the syrup in a zip-loc and freeze for later use. Haven't done this in a while, but I reduced the syrup, cooked with star anise and cloves. Very nice over sponge or pound cakes, actually it's nice on anything (or all by itself). The basics were from Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts.

I found this: http://hamelmanchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/06/tech-note-high-extraction-flour.html He gives a good explanation of what it is. Once he starts with the math, my little brain just shuts down. Let us know how it performs if you bake with it. It does sound like a nice "middle ground" between WW flour and regular bread flour.

Sunset Cookbook of Breads was my first bread book, back in the early seventies. It was the first time I ever used yeast, and I learned a lot from that book because it was so straightforward. Its presentation plainly said that I could do this, there was nothing to be afraid of. I think that's an important quality for all cookbooks, not just beginner's books. I lost the book somewhere somehow, but several years ago I bought a used copy, mostly for nostalgic reasons. I rarely use it, but I love having it. The Vegetarian Epicure was another great one, as has been mentioned above. I lost that book too. I still remember her zucchini quiche. I also loved the first Moosewood Cookbook, say what you will, and learned a lot from it. My favorite recipe was Sri Wasano's Infamous Indonesian Rice Salad, I'll never forget that name. Great split pea soup, too. The James Beard Cookbook, that wonderful little paperback, was (and is still) a gem. One of the things I remember most about the book is Beard's enthusiasm. It came through everywhere without being gushy. The man really loved good food, and just couldn't comprehend why others did not. Except for the Sunset bread book, I used the others all throughout the eighties and beyond. I was in my late twenties/early thirties, and that's when I became more interested in food. I later added many more titles to my shelves, but these are the books that got me started.

Picking up on ElainaA's idea of Italian themed goodies, it might be nice to include items from various different countries. Must all the baskets be the same? Maybe a different country in each basket? People can swap if they like. Certain items could be standard in all baskets, and then also include items that are unique to each basket revolving around a theme. Not sure if that makes things more complicated or less, but it could be interesting. I think the zucchini bread is a very good idea, in my experience people always love to get home-baked goods.

Just some things that come to mind: 1) Read Richard Sax's "Classic Home Desserts," in which he talks about differences (mostly regional and seasonal) in crisps, cobblers, grunts, slumps, pandowdies, etc. "Fruit and dough -- these are the essentials." The rest is commentary. 2) Often the change in amounts of sugar is due to the change in sweetness (or type) of fruit. What's puzzling (as you mentioned) is that those recipes all call for Granny Smiths. But also, the different items (crisp or pandowdy, etc.) will call for the dough to be in a different place: under the fruit, over the fruit, in the middle, etc. So a different level of sweetness might be needed because of the different preparations. 3) Unlike most baking, which tends to be very precise, the crisp/cobbler family is flexible. (Even arbitrary.) I'm not familiar with the book you're using (great title), but the recipes you mention seem to reflect that flexibility. (Except in type of apple, I don't know why he sticks to only granny smiths. But I'm not objective, I dislike granny smiths and never use them in anything!) 4) He couldn't sell a book that had 5 apple cobbler recipes that were all the same! 5) Let your own tastes guide you. (And may the force be with you!)

I think it depends on what level you're at and what you're baking. Sounds like you'll be making a wedding cake and that you have a lot of experience under your belt. So I agree with the others, you want a heavy duty turntable, one that won't shift around while you're working and that you will continue to use forever. I have a Wilton. It is a piece of plastic and it is very lightweight, for sure. But it works fine for a plain old layer cake. I've used it for cakes of four layers and not had a problem. But I make 8-inch cakes, sometimes 9-inch, and usually just 2 sometimes 3 layers. So depending on the frequency of use and also the size of the cakes you're making, in some cases the Wilton can be a good option. It's also quite cheap, so for anyone who is just starting to learn about cake decorating (and I am still a beginnner), I think it's a worthwhile purchase.

I hope this link works. 14 pages of roasted cauliflower! http://forums.egullet.org/topic/31042-roasted-cauliflower/page-14?hl=cauliflower#entry1955808

Roasted cauliflower is sort of an eGullet icon. How do you grate cauliflower? Sounds dangerous to the knuckles.

Cranberries can be frozen. Around now I start buying bags of cranberries to last me through the year, they're one of my favorite things. Dried cranberries are like another animal altogether, I don't particularly like them. But fresh cranberries, now you're talking. I find that most recipes overdo the sugar in an attempt to counteract the natural tartness of the cranberries. I like the tartness, and tend to reduce the sugar in cranberry recipes. You can try pears instead of apples in the crisp. I used to have a recipe for cranberries with chicken, it was a one-pot thing, I'll have to search for it.

Guavas. I think the smell is revolting. When I lived in Jerusalem and they were in season, I couldn't stand walking through the open air market because the smell was so pervasive. Never mind on the bus, where everyone had a bag of guavas festering in his basket. Revolting texture, too. Horrible little things.

Oh I am no spring chicken, that's for sure! I think it should be feared by young and old alike!

Interesting. On the stovetop? Was it a gas stove? If so, the little oven probably had a tray of metal on the bottom, separating it from the direct flame underneath, which would have been kept at a low flame. This is typical, a thin metal tray on top of a low flame. The tray is called a "blech" (which means "tin" in Yiddish and German, think of Die Blechtrommel, The Tin Drum). I think now most people use a crock pot or other slow cooker to make cholent. Such modern conveniences!

I've never had salmon croquettes. I remember when this thread was first started, I was really taken with it and vowed to make some. Well, that never happened. But now I am determined. So many recipes to choose from! But I will shoot for pan-fried rather than deep-fried, which I hope is acceptable. (Deep-frying scares the daylights out of me.)

I think I'd have to add cholent to this list. It's on my mind because I just got back from my synagogue, where they served a cholent (vegetarian, no less) that was really delicious. (They aren't always.) In brief, since cooking is not permitted on the Sabbath (sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday), and there was need of a hot meal mid-day on Saturday, people would bring pots of meat, potatoes, grains, etc. to a communal oven on Friday afternoon where it would simmer overnight, and then go pick it up on Saturday for their family meal. You can read a bit more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholent Communal ovens are a thing of the past, so it's usually started on Friday afternoons and left to simmer on a hot plate overnight for lunch the next day. (The house smells incredible when you wake up in the morning, that's for sure.) I haven't made it in ages, but every once in a while I have some elsewhere, and when it's good boy is it good. There's something about letting it simmer overnight that adds so much flavor. And it's certainly a classic one-pot dish.

I live in a huge NYC apartment building, and I love giving out treats to the kids. I have several bags of mini-sized candy bars: Mounds, Almond Joy, Peppermint Patties, Twizzlers (my favorite), a few others. Last year I ran out of candy, so I ran downstairs to buy more. I love seeing the kids, they enjoy it so much. I grew up in a huge NYC apartment building (many years ago), and we loved Halloween and everyone gave out treats, so what goes around comes around. Or what comes around goes around. Or whatever. There goes the doorbell!

I use standard (non-organic) supermarket lemons. I definitely notice a difference. I like to use them in grain salads (rice, cracked wheat, etc.) I've never used Meyer lemons, so I can't make the comparison.

Agreed. Understanding each ingredient's role, while necessary, does not really lead to working without a recipe.

How Baking Works by Paula Figoni is a good start. You can download it in pdf format. But nothing will replace baking. Bake a lot and take notes.

I am loving this thread. The fritters, the pie, everything. I have about three pounds of apples in the crisper. Whatever shall I do? Since I also have cranberry's I think I'll still with David Sax's Apple Cranberry Crumble.

It does look lovely, kind of like when you mix sour cream into borscht and it turns the most beautiful magenta color. But blood does usually turn brown when it dries, so I guess there's no exception in baked cakes. What are your quantities there? How much blood in relation to flour, eggs, etc? (It's unlikely I'd ever use it, but I am curious about it.) Interesting that you couldn't taste the blood. Certainly give you a good shot of iron, though!

And here I was thinking it might be a good way to make red velvet cake without all that food coloring.

If the starter works, instead of dumping half before you feed it, freeze it before you go away. Then you can thaw it and start the feeding process again, it should be fine.

I use it quite a bit. I roll cookie dough in between two layers of wax paper. I use parchment only to line baking sheets. If I'm sifting anything I usually sift it onto a sheet of wax paper, I find it very convenient. I don't use it as a replacement for foil or cling wrap, I use it for different things entirely.