Emily_R

Have to say that this is a book I would be very, very reluctant to relinquish! Not sure it's the ONE but it's right up there with books I don't want to live without. Hi Pierogi and Anna -- On reading this I took the book out of the library... Just wondering what your favorites from it have been? Looking forward to trying some of them... Emily

Robyn -- that raspberry tart is gorgeous! I'm trying to astrally-project a slice right here into my house... Yesterday I made these chocolate dipped fruit and nut balls from Orangette -- http://orangette.blogspot.com/2005/12/coming-of-age-in-cookies.html -- They are delicious, and will make them again with just a few modifications... I think I would make them a tiny bit smaller, add a bit of orange zest, skip the powdered sugar, and dip the whole things in chocolate, rather than just drizzling chocolate over the top. That said, they're really good, and seem to be improving each day. Also made some orange anise biscotti, to dip in all the tea I've been drinking lately... I love this recipe -- http://skinnygourmet.blogspot.com/2008/06/orange-anise-biscotti-with-white.html -- and never use the white chocolate on them.

Hey folks -- I've been wanting to try this, and found a fantastic set of step-by-step videos on how to hand-pull noodles... Here are links to two videos, and the guy's website with descriptions, recipes, FAQ's, etc, (Part 1 -- kneading dough) (Part 2 -- pulling dough)http://www.lukerymarz.com/noodles/index.html Emily

Ok folks -- you were right! Overcooking, and Lisa must also have been on the mark with her explanation that the chemical reaction causing the green ring was just taking overnight in the fridge to express itself. I tried again, with the bring-to-a-boil-then-turn-off-the-heat method, boiling two eggs and leaving them in for 12-13 minutes. Iced them down immediately after. Ate one right away (once cooled) and it was cooked through and delicious. At the other egg the next day (after it spent overnight in the fridge) and... No green ring! Thanks for the suggestions -- and for shaving several minutes off of how long it takes between wanting a hard boiled egg and eating one! :-) Emily

Has anyone else mentioned stuffed mushrooms? The easiest (and yet still my favorite) are cremini mushrooms caps, spritzed with olive oil, stuffed with boursin, and baked at 375 for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is browned. My only problem is that I typically try to eat as many of these as possible, and barely manage to leave any for guests!

Hmmm. Interesting. I appreciate the comments and will do a test shortly -- will cook two eggs for 11 minutes, two for 13, and two for 16. Will chill all immediately in an ice bath. Will open one of each up immediately, then will refrigerate the rest and open the remaining eggs the next day to examine. My hunch is that 11 minutes will be not done enough for my taste -- I like the yolk cooked fully through, with no trace of the brighter orange / pastier consistency that comes right before that point... But we'll see! Can you tell I'm just aching for anything to distract me from end-of-the-semester work? Emily

Around 16 minutes.

This weekend tried two new recipes, both of which I think are gift-worthy. First is a fantastic peanut brittle recipe from Food and Wine, which totally lives up to its header notes... It somehow manages to be both sweet and buttery and delicious, and yet not *too* sweet. Perfection. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/best-ever-nut-brittle Other recipe was for espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies, from Smittenkitchen's site. These were also delicious, and the flavor actually improved the second day... The coffee flavor is quite intense. My only note here is that I would probably add just a smidge more sugar to the recipe, but if you like your shortbread just barely sweet, leave it as is. I think I might also try making a batch of these with a tiny pinch of cinnamon, making them into cappuccino shortbreads... http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/espresso-chocolate-shortbread-cookies/

I don't see how it can be a chilling issue -- they are chilled in ice water, and are room temp or cooler when I eat the first one, which has no green ring. How can subsequent chilling past that -- further chilling once they are already at room temp -- be causing the ring?

Ok, I'm stumped. I make a batch of hard boiled eggs (using the bring eggs and cold water to a boil, turn off heat, let sit method), and then chill them quickly in ice water. If I eat one right away, they are perfect -- not even a hint of a green ring around the yolk. However if I then take those same eggs and refrigerate overnight, the next day, I've got a big green ring. I know this isn't a life-or-death sort of question, but it just seems scientifically puzzling. Considering the eggs are already cooled when they go into the fridge, I just don't understand what would account for this late-stage greening of the yolk...

Just chiming in to say I love love love love the Nunez de Prado extra virgin olive oil, and haul it back from Whole Foods in NYC whenever I'm there for a visit. I use it for salads, light sautes, finishing soups, on bread, etc. That said, I use a standard Wegmans light non-extra virgin olive oil for cooking where I'm not looking for the flavor of the olive oil to come through, or where it will be cooked so long that the flavor of a good extra virgin is likely to dissipate.

Oh YES! YES YES YES! Snickers Ice Cream bars are absolutely a miracle food. The ice cream bars are totally incredible. I don't understand what miracle of chemistry it is that allows the caramel to stay totally fluid while the ice cream is still frozen... Not to mention that nougat flavored ice cream is incredible. Perfect, and SO much better than if they were made out of vanilla ice cream.

Totally agree on the goldenberg's peanut chews and the new packaging! Love the famous chocolate wafers -- I can't even buy them because of my total lack of self control. Agree with the original poster that a snickers is a well balanced and tasty sugar-delivery machine... My addition to this list would be pepperidge farm's Genevas. I hate the milanos, but the cookie consistency and the chocolate quality on the Genevas is perfect. Ooh wait -- and after eight chocolate covered mints. Loooove.

Hey folks -- Does anyone know the best way to store homemade croutons? I'm wondering if in the freezer is the best bet, and then a quick heat-up in the toaster oven? I'd love to just make a big batch and store them, rather than having to fry up fresh ones every time I just want a quick dinner salad... Emily

I've got to say, along the lines of fooey's comments, that I find that the Ghiradelli box mix brownies taste better than pretty much every from-scratch brownie I've ever had. In this case, its not a matter of being fooled, but actually preferring the box version. I don't see the shame in it... To the extent that I really think it tastes better, its de-facto therefore not an inferior product to me.

Hi folks -- Reviving this thread to post about a new dish I made tonight. Called zucchini salad with lemon and feta, it is made up of shredded zucchini, lemon, feta, olive oil, mint, and dill. Served with a side of sliced tomatoes it was heaven -- fresh, flavorful, and by far the best use of zucchini I've had in a while. The recipe link is below -- I probably doubled the amount of mint and dill... http://cookingwithmichele.blogspot.com/2009/08/zucchini-salad-with-lemon-feta.html

My meatloaf improved dramatically when I jettisoned from breadcrumbs and replaced them with bread soaked in milk (my recipe sounds very close to the one Marco_Polo described above. The bread/milk makes incredible difference in moistness and texture. Same goes for meatballs.

I think its interesting that sometimes the dishes that become your reputation makers aren't the ones that are even your personal favorites. About six months ago I brought a batch of chocolate Guinness cupcakes with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting to a party. I knew they were good, but somehow, the memory of them has stuck with several people who were at this party, such they have been mentioned swooningly several times, and people inquire hopefully if I'm going to bring them to various events... Meanwhile my BBQ ribs, which I think are particularly excellent, and were enjoyed by this same group of people, don't seem to have made the same kind of impact. Here's the link to the recipe... http://pinchmysalt.com/2008/11/05/chocolate-stout-cupcakes-with-vanilla-cream-cheese-frosting/

We have a macintosh tree on our property, and this was the first year that I've noticed the same thing you did -- a few of our apples had red flesh just underneath the skin. I don't think this would be a cross-pollenation issue, as the source of the pollen should not have any impact on that piece fruit itself -- the cross-pollenation would be reflected in the seeds of that apple.

Djyee -- that sausage and potato dish looks amazing! I'm just wondering -- don't the sausages dry out after such a long time cooking, especially with pricking them at the start? Reading the recipe it seemed like it would be nearly an hour on the stove... If you tell me those sausages stayed moist, I'll definitely be giving this a try soon!

I don't know about a cake, but from my experience with crockpots, they tend to really keep in the moisture, resulting in lots of condensation and dripping from the lid. I can't imagine that would be very conducive to producing a crisp crisp! I think crisps are delicious at room temp, and would just skip the crockpot all together...

Cumin! Cumin cumin cumin! I guess that would be followed by thyme, oregano, coriander, ground ginger, and ancho chile powder.

Thanks Mizducky -- this is a big help. I will try the steaming method and report back!

My favorite is a combination of basmati rice, roasted corn, fresh basil, red onion, pecans, and diced jack cheese, with a simple vinaigrette.

OK. I still don't have a decent pepper mill and I don't have a decent mandoline. I wonder if Unicorn is available in Canada...or is it just online? ← On the www.unicornmills.com FAQ site, it says that they will ship out of the US, and to contact them for shipping costs...