Tmnoland

I'm in for the apple tart next weekend as well. I may deviate from Julia a little bit and use McDuff's apricot glaze. I really like the shine; nice eye candy. How do you do it McDuff? -therese

I forgot to taper my ends. I'd love to do the brioche, but not sure if I'll be able. I've got several things working against me. I don't have a heavy duty mixer or Popeye arms for that matter. Also, looks like I'm going to be out all day Saturday. I guess I could do the brioche by hand; they didn't have stand mixers 100 years ago. Don't know if I'm that brave. -therese

Uh oh, I just ordered my copy yesterday. Guess I'll hope for the best. I got a used copy for $16.00. From the description it sounds like it's a bookstore overstock. So, essentially a new book. I hope anyway. I may have let it get a bit too brown, but it tastes great. Hey I got a picture to post! And they said it couldn't be done. --therese

It is such a perfect day to bake here, snowing like crazy, I decided to make the challah and a big pot of french onion soup. The bread's about ready to go into the oven, so, if I can figure out how to post a pic , I sure will! No problems with it so far. *knocks on wood* I also did all my kneading by hand. --therese

I'd love to throw my hat in the ring also! (albeit a little late) I loaned Baking with Julia from the library and loved it. Recently ordered a copy off Amazon. Very cool idea! I'll be watching this thread with interest. Isn't it funny how once you start baking bread, you get hooked? You start out baking a simple loaf of white bread and before you know it you have three different types of flour in your cupboard, your oven's lined with quarry tiles and you’re shopping for a peel. Gotta love it. -therese

Yes, my grandparents ate it. Yes, my parents ate it. I'm going to be a rebellious daughter here and take a stand... NO THANK YOU. --therese

Vodka, vermouth, olive Rare steak, butter, blue cheese ooooh I love compound butters on steak. mmmmm. --t

You whiners! If you had Cool Whip, you had it good. We had "Dream Whip". It came in a freakin' box, fer cryin' out loud! People have sought therapy for less... oh yeah, mom did dream whip. It topped the pies that were made with those pie crust stick thingys. She INSISTES to this day that she can't make pie crust from scratch. Yet I know it was a ton of work getting those pie crust sticks to merge with the water enough to form any thing resembling pie crust dough. ugh. --therese

The only thing I can think of off hand that was pretty horrid was burned flour gravy, browned up further with Kitchen bouquet. gak! When we were growing up if my Mom wasn't wild about something she was eating she would say "It's okay, but...I wouldn't want it everyday". To this day my brother and I use that line to mean this sucks! --therese

I've heard of ketchup packets but NEVER cheese. "What's that smell?" "Oh, it must be the cheese I have in the glove box." -t

Recently found Violet Crumble at World Market. mmmmm - one of my faves. What would the middle be? Sort of a buttery, caramelized sugar thing. Yum. --therese

My only problem with self rising flower is that I don't use it up fast enough. It's hard to tell how old the leavening is in it, so I don't like to let it hang out for long. This may be a dumb question, but short of ruining a full recipe is there a quick test to tell if the baking powder still has some kick? I'm going to have to find a good biscuit recipe that calls for self rising flower. I've always wanted to be able to quickly throw biscuits together in the morning and the self rising flower would save a little time. My grandmother was one of those wonderful/infuriating people that could throw together huge, fluffy biscuits with out a recipe. ugh. --therese

Very funny story. Glad you shared it Jane! As a teenager, I seem to remember making two big batches of marshmallo fluff by totally botching a divinity recipe. I made it wrong the first time, tried again, botched it up AGAIN and, not knowing exactly what divinity was, assumed it was marshmallow fluff! “Do you want a piece of divinity?” “Oh, no thanks, I don’t have a spoon.” Years later I figured it out. --therese

I do the same thing when I'm handling chicken. I flip the bird around with the baggies. Slip my hand out of the bag when handling salt shakers, turning on oven etc. Works for me. And Pariah, what’s that old joke? If blood stains are your problem, you’ve got more problems than laundry. Lots of good tips here. --therese

Holy mackerel Ronnie! Everything looks awesome! I’m so glad you posted a report here. I reeeeally love to cook, but the sheer volume and complexity of your menu leaves me stunned and in awe. Congrats on another year well done! -t

Hey, have you been spying on me? Thanks for the laugh. I can honestly say I've never seen a chicken samich bring out such vehemence. I think I'm getting indigestion from the stress level. -Therese

I think I'll have me a samwich for lunch today. Do we have any white brad? oops, better go worsh my hands first. --therese

French onion with lots of gooey moz. Italian wedding soup. I love they way the pork sausage and basil wake up the chicken broth. Yum. -therese

Have you ever seen one of those gawd awful, single serving, microwavable, shelf life of a gazillion years, Hormel Chili containers pop so hard in the microwave that they blow the little plastic top off, leaving little chunks of dried up chili everywhere!? ick. "Alright! Who's mess is this, and more importantly, how can you eat that !@#$?!" And ya know, they really should put dates on those little mayonnaise packets. I never use those things. Scarrry! --Therese

Yes, the original is gone. The name of the candy bar has an interesting history in Britain. Click here. On the other hand, the Marathon may be making a comeback, sort of (which is related to the British ties to the candy bar): Click here.

Sadly, the Delicia Bar is no longer being made. Here's the list of favorites that are no longer with us: Click here.

Love the sour skittles. They're one of the last hold outs for keeping "green = lime". I hate the "green = green apple" thing. It's just such a disappointment to grab a green sucker and have it be apple. But that's just me. As for chocolate like candy bars, I love Mallo Cups. Awful hard to find though. -therese

Saw the pizza show last night. I really liked it. I agree though about the extreme close ups, a little annoying. His enthusiasm for the food is really contagious. (Thought he was going to kiss that Italian lady square on the mouth! ) It fits nicely after Cooks Tour - just luuuuv those travel shows. --Therese

Rio looked wonderful. Another great show. What was that oh so catchy tune Tony was humming tonight? (As he walked away, on the boat etc.) It's gotta be from a flick. Am I right?

Just got one from Santa! FG's posts have been invaluable. At this point I'm still tinkering with roasting times, but I'm astounded at how much better my coffee is. I still don't have a French press, (for shame) but I'm working on it. Just haven't had chance yet. I also have to find a local source for green beans. For the record I bought a FreshRoast from The Coffee Project. Love it. It's very easy to use. mmmm roasting smells. --therese