miladyinsanity

I've not found any reason to bother hunting for lard, but I'm crust-challenged in a slightly different way. My pate sablee comes out like flaky like pie crust and it's not supposed to be like that.

I think there is a small problem with this statement... doesn't sound too good. ← Nah. It just tells us quite clearly he's been living in the UK for awhile. And it's not true! I've to help wrap and the pyramid one never turns out right for me.

I make them in a 9 by 9, and it seems to work fine. Very nice cuts too, if you wipe in between slices--I didn't need the hot water trick.

Have you had young ginger? Old ginger can be very harsh on the palate.

I've seen them wrapped like this, and yes, it's a regional variation. I just cannot remember where my cousin's in-laws are from off-hand. I told my mother we should wrap them like this 'cause it's easier. She told me that I wanted wrapped like this because I wanted bigger dumplings--true. LOL.

(sidenote: Doddie, when I was in Seoul a few years ago, my brothers and I did the same thing at the COEX!) Peter, you HAVE to write a book. I'd buy it in hardcover and there are very very very few writers in this world I do that for.

Actually, it's not strange at all. I do the same, even with the Korova cookie. I know, sacrilege! But I'm after a cookie here, not chocolate glued together with cookie dough. If I wanted chocolate, I've bars of it in the house.

Hmmm, so tons of sugar is essential for crackly tops? That explains why I never get crackly tops.

Prasantrin, this is the recipe I used, but no pics from me. The only thing I did different was that I halved (I think...it was awhile back) the recipe. But just after I hit the send button yesterday, I went visiting in the blogosphere and found this recipe. I don't think I've enough cheese or potatos, or I'd make that this weekend.

Hm... I haven't decided what I'm making this weekend yet, so I may make the layers just to find out how they turn out. I figure I can store them in tupperware for a few days if I cannot decide what to fill them with.

I know it's not really bread, but like tonkichi, I like cheesy mochi balls. Anybody have a recipe? I've tried looking, but I don't read Japanese and the only ones I've found in English involve grilling mochi and putting cheese on top. I decided that Brazilian Pao de Queijo would be a good substitute, except that it's not. It's not hollow like the cheese mochi balls I get at the Japanese bakery though.

Would I get the wafer layers you are talking about from this recipe, do you think Ludja?

I use Claudia Fleming's chocolate tart dough recipe: 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar 1 large egg yolk 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

I believe in cake for breakfast. But I'll settle for tart, pie, bar-type things including brownies and cookies, in that order. Waking up in time for breakfast does not make me happy, so I need cake to ensure that no one does something that turns me into a murderous maniac. Seriously, I do eat cake for breakfast quite regularly. I don't usually have a savory breakfast unless I'm out the door early enough to pick something up on the way to school, and then it's usually something with bread. I do not do rice for breakfast, unless it's coconut rice (nasi lemak!) or glutinous rice or porridge.

Anybody up for trying Allergy-free brownies? It has no eggs, no gluten, no nuts, and no dairy. I'm really tempted, but I don't have a lot of the ingredients. I have made the switch to brownies with whipped egg whites. I'm going to try and tweak Medrich's Cocoa Brownies for whipped egg whites as well.

How about a chibouste? Chocolate pastry cream, lighten with Italian meringue? If you want a wafer crust, I think you can use Thomas Keller's TKO cookie recipe--it's supposed to be an adult Oreo. I can dig up my chocolate tart crust recipe if you want to try that.

I just loooove your sense of humor, Peter. Also, Scud sounds like a pretty nice older brother. Okay, so compared to me, anybody would be a nice older sibling, LOL. About the cornstarch tenderizing meat... My mother adds cornstarch to her meatballs as well, and they really are noticeably softer when she adds cornstarch versus when she does not.

I'm slightly puzzled. Grass jelly doesn't have much of a taste! (At least, I'm assuming Vietnamese and Chinese grass jelly is the same thing)

On the contrary, it does for some people. My mother doesn't eat salmon because she thinks it is fishy. She doesn't eat the part of the fish near the stomach either. But she eats ikan kembung. And are freshwater fish generally more fatty than fish from the sea? Because I do find that freshwater fish more fishy than fish from the sea.

Vanessa, I was just about to post on this problem too! I switched recipes, and I still have this problem, but it seems to me that switching to an all milk rather than half milk and half water dough helped.

Um, I'm not a chocolate-making person, but well, wouldn't that be kind of pretty?

Hmm why is that? lol, that's probably what I did the whole entire time while straining the stock. So much to learn.... ← Because solids are pressed through the sieve that cloud the stock. You might want to check out the Cooking forum's stock thread.

Will you share the recipe? Please? I will offer you my first born child in exchange.

I'd honestly settle for someone to do the clean up. But since money is no object, I'd totally go the whole hog and get someone to cook for me.

I think the Choya you mentioned in your first Xi'an post is a Japanese plum liqueur, or umeshu. I personally wouldn't drink it with a meal, but it's nice over ice. It is very warming, and it's supposed to be good for women. I think one set of grandparents came from Xi'an, probably my maternal ones--at least Ah Gong anyway.