Velma

Thanks very much to both of you for responding I will report back on the results of these recipes and let you know how they turned out!

I feel like with my sister that we have been blanketing the internet with this question but we aren't making much progress! I don't know if anybody has ever had English crumbly fudge and it is sort of hard to describe. It is roughly like boiled frosting that cooked too long and set up but that doesn't really do it justice. I am wondering if anybody has ever made English fudge and if they have a recipe they would be willing to share

Are you maybe thinking of Cafe Gelato next to Q's Chinese Restaurant?

Answered my own question by having lunch there today. It's not worth the trip, not for the food or ambiance. ← Sorry A Patric. I maybe could have saved you a trip out there. It sort of used to be a novelty to eat there when it first opened but it has definitely seen better days. The original owner sold it a couple of years ago and that has been the nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned. The prices have risen steadily since then while the food quality has declined and the service the last time we were in was downright surly. I think it was a labor of love for Mary (I think that is her name) who opened it originally but sadly, that is not the case any longer.

... The refried beans were much better than anything at other Columbia restaurants... ← You are right-his refried beans are amazing. I wonder how he cooks them? I guess I'm an American who has been raised in fear of lard and I'm sort of curious if he uses lard in them. On the other hand, I really don't want to know. I just want to continue eating them in relative ignorance because these are the first refried beans I have eaten in a long time that actually have flavor. Much different than the abomination they used to serve at Los Bandidos years ago that they called refried beans.

I forgot about G&D. I have tried it, but as I recall, I didn't find it to be special really. Maybe I'll have to try it again to see if that was just bad luck. Thanks ← You are right-I would not call it special either but I had the serious misfortune of having to eat some Dominoes Pizza recently. I guess when I said decent, I was comparing it to something like that!! After successfully avoiding Dominoes for years, I had forgotten how vile they are.

Have you tried the pizza at Crossroads G&D? It is thin crust and pretty decent.

I probably should have called it Middle Eastern food because it is owned by the people who own the Middle Eastern grocery down by the Mosque (I'm assuming they are still the owners-I have not heard anything to the contrary.) Anyway, it isn't new-they have been open for four or five years I would guess. It is in the shopping center in the south part of town where Hemingways is. I have to say that I only get the hummus and baba ganoush because I crave it and can't find it anywhere else in town. My husband ordered a falafel wrap with lentil soup and he really liked both of them. I have also seen things like Kofta on the menu, offerings with chicken or lamb, and they have other soups and salads as well. In addition, they have a wide variety of teas as well as Turkish coffee. If you need a caffeine pickup, WOW...the Turkish coffee will do the trick!

I have been in Taqueria Rodeo several times and sincerely hope they make it because the food is terrific. It is a welcome change from the other Mexican Food places we have in town. There is (or was) another Mexican food restaurant/grocery store in town in what used to be the Paris Road Bar and Grill. I assume it is still open. We went in right after they first opened and at that time, it was a little frustrating because they had no menus, did not speak English and we speak no Spanish. I have no idea what we ended up ordering but I have to say that it was out of this world. Truly a treat. I wish I could figure out what it was! We went to Casablanca today for Mediterranean food and I was glad to see them busy. I have heard that the Cherry Street Artisan sells gallons of hummus each week but I much prefer what they make at Casablanca. They leave out the cumin which makes all the difference to me between edible and inedible hummus. I'm not a big fan of Jack's Gourmet. I guess I had heard for years about how wonderful the place was and after finally going in for a special occasion, it seemed to be pretty ordinary. I edited this because I wanted to put in a plug for McKenzie's restaurant as well! I have no affiliation with them but it is a restaurant we can actually walk to which makes it nice for us. They are located on North 63 in the little shopping area with Jasons Frozen Custard and the Movie Gallery. It is a small intimate restaurant with steaks, chops and some seafood selections I believe. It's a nice romantic place to go on date night with my husband! The owner used to own at least one restaurant downtown and I want to say it was Fat Otters but I will need to check my facts on that.

In a couple of weeks, I have to attend a Saturday morning wedding and Thursday is my last available day to prepare any food. I found a recipe for cherry tomatoes scooped out and then stuffed with a mixture of chopped ham, roquefort cheese, sour cream and so on. If I make these Thursday night and keep them under refrigeration, would they be in good shape Saturday morning or would they fall apart?

Reading this made me sigh deeply, Velma. Ah, I'd love to be even a little mouse in those shops! ← This is decidely off topic but speaking of mice and rats, have you heard about this new animated movie coming next summer? For some reason, it strikes a chord with me-I feel his pain! This sounds like a must see movie for a food lover like me. http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/ratatouille/

I miss the little individual desserts from Dallmayr's in Munich I miss the apple strudel in Vienna... If I could only get on a plane right now, I could be there by morning! I really loved this post because my whole vision of food and how we eat in this country changed when I started traveling overseas. It was an eye-opener for sure and not a good one. I began to see all those mass produced grocery store desserts in a whole new light and it gave me a determination to become a better baker. Yes, this thread really strikes a chord with me. Great topic!

She was probably on one of those weird diets (I've been on them too) where they tell you to avoid carrots because of the high sugar content. It is amazing how you can fool yourself when you want to!

Okay, taking a deep breath. I hope this is the place to ask a really lame baking question. I bought some 8 inch and 9 inch round parchment paper cake pan liners so that I would not have to cut out circles any longer. So, last weekend, I got out an 8 inch liner and put it in the bottom of my 8 inch cake pan but the liner is a little bigger than the pan. It goes up the edge of the pan a little bit. I assumed that it would just cover the bottom and not go up the sides at all. So, I got out my 9 inch pan and the 8 inch parchment paper fit that perfectly. I checked my package and pan size to be sure I was looking at the right numbers. Is an 8 inch round parchment paper meant to go in a nine inch cake pan?

Ok, you mean rolled fondant, don't you? Now I'm confused.

Well, my problem is that I'm very stubborn when I get my mind set on something so, I just have to try some poured fondant now out of complete curiosity. I won't inflict it on anybody else but, I simply must know what this stuff tastes like!

Thanks Mayhaw Man. That answered lots of my questions.

Maybe like a Lucky Charm's marshmallow??

I offered to learn to make rolled mint fondant for my sister's wedding (I was just going to bring a small cake) and she said that the person making her main wedding cake said that fondant tastes like melted chewing gum. Ok, I guess I've never tasted it then. Is it that bad? If so, maybe I won't waste my time learning. I don't have a business of any kind. I was only going to do it because I've always been curious about it but now I'm not so sure.

You know you are an E-Gulleter when you go through 24 eggs in a weekend trying to make a chocolate genoise.

The dinner is ALWAYS the same. Two foil pans will be on the table. One will be filled with shredded beef and the other with shredded pork and bottles of barbeque sauce will be next to that. Then there will be some white bread with Shedds spread, baked beans, lettuce with italian dressing or cole slaw and tasteless blackberry cobbler. I have had this meal so many times that I have lost count.

This week, I wanted to try my hand at a homemade version of Hostess cupcakes so I found a recipe in Great Cakes by Country Living. I think they ended up more like Ding Dongs but anyway, I made the chocolate cake recipe and baked it in 18 oversized muffin tins. While they baked, I made the filling which consisted of a thickened milk and flour which looked like white gravy and this was beaten in with powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. When the cupcakes cooled, I turned them upside down and filled them with the cream and put them in the freezer overnight. Then the next day, I made the glaze using melted chocolate pieces and vegetable shortening. I iced the flat top where I made the insertion hole and iced the sides. My co-workers seemed to like them!

Thanks very much for your thoughts on this. It was a Betty Crocker butter recipe yellow cake and I really didn't expect any problems. Over the weekend, I made RLB's lemon chiffon cake with Herme's lemon cream with no problems. On Sunday, I made a loaf of lovely cinnamon bread from James Beard's bread book. That worked just fine. Then over two days, I worked on a filled homemade cupcake like the Hostess cupcakes and those I took to work. It was a great baking week until this happened I should have quit while I was ahead. I think I'll start a separate thread and ask what everybody else baked this week (or maybe it already exists and I just need to find it.) Thanks again!

I wanted cupcakes in a hurry last night so I made them from a mix and the only change I made was to substitute 1/4 a cup of rum for some of the water. So, I ended up with 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of rum. These are the most deformed cupcakes I have ever seen in my life. They look like atomic mushroom clouds and they are so warped that they won't even stand up-I have had to stand them on their tops. I guess my question is this: could the rum substitution have caused this cupcake disaster?

Isn't there a scene in some old Jack Nicholson movie where he can't order what he wants in a diner so he has to order a sandwich and then have them leave most of the ingredients off? My memory is very fuzzy on this.