jende

I just ended a 10-hour Christmas cookie baking marathon. My sister-in-law and 7-year-old niece participated in the first half, but it got to a point where they just couldn't hang. Amateurs. Anyway, we made: Ling's toffee butter cookies (as delicious as everyone says) Walnut Acorn cookies (and old family recipe that uses walnuts, but is shaped like an acorn) Peanut butter brownies Lemon bars (Martha Stewart recipe -- SUPER rich and probably not worth the millions of steps) Rugelach (Dorie recipe, with a made-up filling of dried cranberries, pecans, cinnamon and honey) Chocolate chip cookies with peppermint bark (delicious and cute) Gingerbread people (niece went a little overboard decorating these) Coconut sandwiches Cocoa cookies with chocolate chips and crushed pretzels (I don't know why, but the pretzels got soft) Almond meringues with grated chocolate We kept my niece busy for a short time making reindeer cookies: she took break-and-bake chocolate cookies and decorated them with m & m's for the reindeers' eyes, a candied cherry for the nose, and mini pretzels for the antlers. They turned out cute.

I'm surprised to hear that you find Papa Joe's prices better than Holiday's. I find the opposite to be true, but I guess it depends on what you're buying. Papa Joe's does have a great selection, though.

They all closed a few years ago. Plum Market in Bloomfield in another one I should've mentioned. Plum Market is owned by the Jonna family, which originally owned Merchant of Vino (and Merchants Fine Wine, on another branch of the family tree).

Cloverleaf in Southfield; Cost Plus Wine Shoppe (not to be confused with the chain housewares store) in Eastern Market; Merchants Fine Wine in Dearborn (the one in Grosse Pointe is no longer owned by the same people, so I can't vouch for that one); and Holiday Market in Royal Oak are my go-to shops. The first two are on the small side, but have slightly esoteric stuff that you don't find elsewhere. The second two are bigger and have all the usuals plus some unique finds. All four have a knowledgeable and passionate staff, which I think is the most important.

What are cheese olives?

Wow, that took me back! I haven't thought of Ritz crackers in years! Love all the ideas, so far but I'm leaning toward various stuff wrapped in dough and baked, like hot dogs, olives, etc.

I'm having a good old fashioned poker party this weekend and everyone is bringing a snack. I'm sure there will be lots of bags of potato chips and some of my more domestic friends are baking, but I want to make a quintessential retro card-game snack, the kind of thing my parents would've had at their parties in the 70s -- I just don't know yet what that is. I was thinking of something along the lines of pigs in a blanket. There are definitely extra points for the trashy factor, but I want it to taste good too. Who's got ideas?

Looks good. Can you give us details?

Rowland Cafe in the Guardian Building downtown uses Illy coffee. Sweetwaters in downtown Royal Oak has good coffee and espresso, but it's their own roast (not Intelligentsia or Illy).

I ended up processing the chestnuts with a little brandy (didn't have any rum), agave nectar and some whole milk to smooth it out. It wasn't perfectly smooth, but still worked out.

I want to make a recipe that calls for sweetened chestnut puree, but all I have is whole roasted chestnuts in a jar. My plan is to throw these in the food processor with some agave nectar (not granular like sugar). Do you think this is a good plan? I know I may not be able to get it totally smooth, but I don't think this will matter too much in this recipe.

That's a great idea nakji! I was too young and/or stupid to cook in the 70's but I do have pictures of relatives sitting around in turtlenecks and woolly sweater vests eating fondue. If you start it . . . I will post! ← Me too! (young and/or stupid but willing to post)

Every year I bah-humbug about the materialism of Christmas, so this year I'm finally taking action by giving homemade gifts to nearly all (I'm counting on my niece and nephew to take care of me in my old age, so they're still getting toys). One idea I have is to make fresh fettucine and homemade sauce. Usually I either eat or freeze my pasta the same day I make it, so I'm not sure how to keep it for about a week until I give it away. My initial plan is to allow the pasta to dry in nests for a couple of hours, then package it in plastic bags and refrigerate it. Any thoughts?

Your wife sounds like my kind of woman! Ladies as we are, we can only be pushed so far.

I somewhat agree with the notion that there are places where you're taking your chances in ordering particular cocktails (or dishes, for that matter), but this intrinsically pisses me off, too. If a bar/restaurant, etc. is going to offer and charge you for something, they have an obligation to do it properly. If they don't have the capability to mix a simple cocktail (which while it may be somewhat obscure, a Sidecar is a simple formula) then they should offer beer and wine only. This also opens up another subject that has long baffled me. Why don't bars, as a rule, list prices for their drinks? Cocktails almost never have advertised pricing, and even wine and beer is sometimes unstated. I HATE having no idea what I'm paying for something.

I wish my disappointing desserts looked half this good! Truly a work of art and I'm sure it tasted even better than it looks.

After all your great suggestions, I thought I should post back on what I ended up doing. I bought a loaf of fresh challah and made Nutella panini served with homemade chocolate ice cream, similar to what Verjuice describes. It was sooo good. The buttery bread slathered with Nutella and fried up in more butter until crispy was amazing. I was eating the leftovers for a couple of days, sometimes with banana slices and/or chopped hazelnuts thrown in the mix.

I'm not a coffee expert, but I believe a cafe au lait is equal parts coffee and milk (but keep in mind this is coffee, not espresso). I use an immersion blender to make my own frothy milk and it works pretty well.

My husband and I have a long layover at Dulles coming soon and we're going to take the opportunity to explore a little in D.C. for the afternoon. We'll probably concentrate on the Mall since we've never been to the city before. Can someone recommend a nice place for lunch? Price isn't really a consideration, but I'd prefer a more laid-back vs. formal atmosphere. I'm woefully unfamiliar with the D.C. dining scene so any help would be most appreciated. I should add that we'll be there on a Saturday.

They sure tasted like plain ol' cheddar cheese. But what is a cheese curd, anyway?

I bought some cheese curds at Trader Joe's today, and having never had them before I'm not sure what to do with them. I ate a few straight up and they pretty much taste like a chunk of cheddar cheese. I've heard of fried cheese curds, so I know that's a possibiltiy, but what else do people do with them?

You might want to find a way to cut the nutella a bit for that one. I've smeared nutella on fresh baked chocolate chip cookies just out of curiosity and found it way too sweet. Then again, I like making desserts more than I like eating them so maybe it wouldn't be too sweet for most people. ← Yeah, I agree. I would probably blend it into the cream cheese and cut way back on the confectioners sugar. I love desserts, but not those that are overly sweet. I think that's why I love Nutella spread on crusty bread. The bread is just like a plain delivery system for the sweet Nutella!

I'm curious. What's the difference? The stuff sold in the USA is the only kind I have had. ← From what I hear, the Euro version does not have hydrogenated oils (US version does) and somehow it's even more delicious. There's got to be a source for the Euro version in the US, though, doesn't there? (anyone know?) I've had Trader Joe's Nutella knock-off and it's very good. I've never looked at the ingredients, because I think it's best not to know how many calories I'm consuming, but I hear TJ's doesn't have hydrogenated oil.

I should've mentioned that I LOVE Nutella crepes, and I agree that they truly highlight the Nutella yet are elegant too. I thought about making those, but I'm too lazy to make crepes with everything else I have to cook. A gourmet shop near me sells crepes, so I could buy them and fill with Nutella. Unfortunately, I do have the Americano Nutella but I'm going to Italy next month and plan to stock up on the real deal! I'm going to check out that book by Contincini and the posts some of you have linked. Thanks everyone!

It was an unusual chocolate chip cookie recipe - a lot of the fat actually comes in the recipe later on in the form of heavy cream. In between the layers is cream cheese whipped and lightly sweetened with confectioners' sugar. It seemed to help cut the sweetness from the cookies. ← Lovin' it!! I just started a topic asking for ideas for incorporating Nutella into a dessert for a dinner party. I think the "giant cookie cake" would be excellent with some Nutella spread between the layers, and such a fun dessert for a party.