Kris

I like this idea! I'm hosting a small baby shower brunch in two weeks and I think this will be a cute and clever game. I've been fretting over a menu as well. But since it's a brunch I think I've narrowed it down to: Creme Brulee french toast Assorted quiche Fruit kebobs with some type of dip Chicken tarragon salad stuffed cherry tomatoes (or on mini croissants - I'll see) Sausage Belgian waffle station with assorted syrups and freshly whipped cream Coffee, tea, mimosas, O.J. Some type of coffee cake or other cake I'm still debating on whether I should have a mini bagel w/cream cheese assortment with a smoked salmon platter. But that might be overkill.

Glad it worked out for you.

I've ordered and used Choco-pan before. I thought it tasted pretty good (I ordered the carmel flavor). Working with it was a bit tricky since you have to roll it thinner than other commercial fondants. But once I got the hang of it, it worked well.

Ditto.

Originally hubby and I were going to have Easter dinner with my parents, siblings, niece & nephew. However a vandal scuddled those plans, so the car is still at the mechanic. So we're home for Easter this year and I'm making a little something for the two of us: Glazed baked ham (hubby's favorite) Braised brisket - an odd choice for Easter I know, but I love brisket and since there is a large Jewish population in my neighborhood & it's Passover, there were a lot of them available. So, I decided to try something new. I've never made a brisket before, so wish me luck! Baked macaroni & cheese (with some smoked gouda cheese mixed in with the cheddar) Scalloped potatoes Roasted asparagus I may try my hand at a tres leches cake too.

Yes, the raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice-cream was divine. I loved it! But alas...they don't make it anymore. I also used to like the blueberry/vanilla combo and the honey vanilla flavors, but those are history as well. HD is my favorite brand of commercially made ice-cream. The flavor I buy on a particular day is totally dependent on my mood and what my taste buds are craving at that moment. But some of my favorites are: Chocolate - just plain old chocolate, which is what is in my freezer as I type this. Vanila Fudge Strawberry - it tastes so pure to me compared to other commercial brands, with real strawberries and a natural looking strawberry color Chocolate Chip cookie dough Cookies and Cream Rum Raisin - I love the fact that the raisins are rum soaked. Chocolate Chocolate Chip I've tried the dulce de leche (too sweet) and tres leches (didn't like at all - the flavor seemed insipid and lacking).

I have a Canon i9100 printer that prints the icing sheets used for photos, logos and other artwork that can go on top of a cake. This particular printer takes 6 edible ink cartridges made by photo frost -cyan, magenta, yellow, black, photo magenta & photo cyan. It's a popular option with my customers. For some reason, people just love seeing their picture (or pictures of their loved ones) on cakes. I order my icing sheets and additional cartridges from http://www.icingmagic.com They have free shipping in the continental U.S. and great customer service.

This is an interesting discussion. I started out my baking career using Duncan Hines mixes but I always felt a little smidgen of deceit inside. I wasn't entirely proud of the fact that I used cake mixes for my customers' cakes. So I embarked on a mission to find some really good scratch cake recipes. I really wanted to be known as a baker as well as a decorator so on the quest I went.... I found good recipes for most of the cakes I make. However, I'm still searching for a good white cake recipe. I haven't found one yet that hasn't been dry and crumbly. I do get more personal satisfaction baking from scratch and I prefer the taste, crumb and texture of a scratch cake. I find the texture of cake mix cakes too "smooth" and the consistency too fluffy and airy - like there's no real substance in my mouth. I also don't like the smell of artificial chemicals when I open the cake mix box. But many, many people out there grew up on cake mixes and love the texture of them. So I guess everyone has to do what works for them and their clientele.

I've had Make My Cake's red velvet cake and I wasn't THAT impressed. It was just okay. But I like Cake Man's better. I know I'm late for the original poster's question, but another good red velvet cake can be had at Amy Ruth's restaurant. It's a soul food spot on 116th Street off Lenox Avenue.

I have fond memories of ice-cream cone cupcakes...my deceased paternal grandmother used to make them for my sisters and me when we were kids. She would ice them with canned frosting (YUCK now - but we were kids, what did we know then?) and put sprinkles on top. I loved them. Maybe I'll try making them for my 7 year old niece and 5 year old nephew one day. Cupcakes are great aren't they? They're the perfect size for snacking (not as much of the "guilt factor"), you don't need a fork and plate, they're so cute and can be made in a variety of flavors. I made cupcakes for my Superbowl party...I bought football themed cupcake liners and filled them with my butter cake recipe. I used a #233 pastry tip to pipe "grass" shaped vanilla buttercream icing (tinted green) on the tops of them. I stuck a little plastic football on top of each one. Then I stacked them onto a cupcake tree. It was such a cute presentation.

Wow! I'm just the opposite. I make a delicious scratch butter cake and I swoon over the batter. I just love it. A cake mix batter can't compare. Plus I hate opening the box of cake mixes because I can smell the chemicals. It makes me slightly nauseous. As for frosting in the can, I think it's an abomination. Particularly vanilla. But I guess everyone has their own taste!

I've been to this one! It's pretty good. Also the buffet at Copeland's (145th, bet. B'way and Amsterdam) is good too. I think it's Tuesdays - Thursdays.

I most certainly do sneak in my own food to movie theaters. I hate buying movie theater popcorn and concessions. I usually sneak in bottled water. Sometimes candy too. But on occasion I've even snuck in cold cut sandwiches and chips. Last weekend I was taking my 7 year old niece to see Curious George. She loves movie popcorn, soda and other theater crap. But I refuse to pay $10 for a small popcorn and small soda. So I told her we'd get snacks at the local deli before entering the theater. I then got a lecture about how you're not supposed to bring outside food into the theater and that "it's against the law auntie." So I said in a snippy tone, "Fine, we won't get any snacks then." And I didn't buy her one damn thing in that movie theater either.

I made IMBC, but not Rose Beranbaum's recipe. When I pour the sugar syrup, I do so directly from the saucepan (with a handle) into the KA mixer bowl. I use the wire whip beater on the "stir" speed and I slowly & carefully pour the syrup down the side of the bowl. I avoid the moving wire whip entirely.

I TOTALLY AGREE!

Yummy! Oxtails are one of my top 5 favorites meals and I particularly enjoy them cooked "Jamaican style." I made some over the weekend and they came out delicious. And they were quite meaty too...I found some HUGE oxtails and I bought 4 pounds worth. They took 5 hours to cook in my crockpot (on high). I learned a trick from a Jamaican co-worker who makes really good oxtails...season them at least 2 days beforehand and refrigerate until ready to use. I used salt, pepper, ground allspice (used in a lot of Jamaican cooking, which they call 'pimento') & dried thyme sprigs. I also coated them with browning (also known as burnt sugar or baker's caramel - you can even use gravy browning such as Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master) which gives them the dark color that I love. I didn't cook them with any vegetables except sauteed onion and fresh garlic. I just wanted the meat, not a stew. They are greasy though but if you refrigerate them overnight, the fat will congeal and is easily skimmed off.

There's a ton of Golden Krusts in NYC and I've been to many of them. So far, I haven't had a bad plate of oxtails (my favorite), rice & peas and veggies. The beef patties are okay. The fruitcake (also known as black cake) is hit and miss...sometimes it's good, other times it's dried out. I love the kola champagne in the glass bottles too.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally agree. I was laughing up until the point where he started in about the chocolate stick. What a loser! As for me, I'm married now. But in my single days, I wouldn't have dated a man who was a vegetarian. Even now, I told my husband that if he became a vegetarian, he'd have to cook for himself.

Thanks for the pictorial rjwong. You have firmly convinced me that Green Bean Casserole as made from the can(s) is something that I NEVER want to attempt to make, much less sample.

http://www.icingmagic.com/catalog/product_...?products_id=37 12 count cupcake tray - $72.50 for 100 with free shipping in continental U.S. They're disposable, hold a dozen cupcakes, you don't need a sheet cake box, they're cheap (72.5¢ each) and see through.

I have the KitchenAid professional 6 quart mixer bought in 2003. It cost $369 at amazon.com. There was also a rebate where I could get a free attachment if you send in the UPC code, receipt and a filled out form. I got the slicer/shredder attachment. I haven't had any major problems with it but on a few occasions I'd turn the mixer on and it wouldn't start right away. So I'd have to switch it back to off and start it again. But overall it's worked fine. I don't use it to make bread dough though so I don't know if it would hold up to that. I also have a 4 1/2 quart KA bought for me in 1991. I don't use it as often as I used to. But it's still in good working condition, has never broken down on me and I even once used it to make the batter and icing for a 350 guest wedding cake.

I use powdered buttermilk cultures in my cakes, pancakes & waffles. It comes out great! I find that using the powdered vs. the liquid "buttermilk" produces a cake with a lighter, slightlly fluffier texture. I prefer it actually and there's no waste. I buy it by the case. http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html

From reading this thread, I've gotten several ideas on things I want to try making from scratch now.

I'm looking to make homemade salsa, but I'm looking for a killer recipe. Care to share?

What convenience foods did you previously purchase but now make from scratch? Why did you come to the decision to stop purchasing the convenience food and to start making it yourself? I used to buy gravy in the jar, canned chicken broth and cake mixes. Now I make all three from scratch. With the case of the gravy and canned chicken broth - sodium levels were the issue for me. I'm trying to watch my intake (due to water retention and blood pressure issues) so I decided that homemade gravy and stock was the way to go. Plus I realized how easy it was to make them! I always hear about how daunting it is to make homemade gravy but once I started doing it, I didn't find it to be so. If I get lumps, I use a strainer. No big deal with that. In the case of the chicken stock, it's time consuming. But that's what my slow cooker is for. The most time consuming part is roasting the bones for the stock. The rest is easy. In the case of cake mixes...I always had a problem making a scratch yellow cake. But once I found a recipe that worked for me in terms of taste, moistness and ease, I've stuck with it. I also find that I have more satisfaction in my baking when doing it from scratch. In the case of all three items - improved taste is a big plus as well!