Emily_R

Chris -- can I ask roughly how many 1-inch puffs that recipe you posted makes?

Just made this recipe for maple kettle corn tonight, and it is OUTSTANDING. Easy, not too sweet, and the coconut oil gives it a little je-ne-sais-quois... Highly recommended. http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2010/12/maple-caramel-corn.html

Condiments. Almost all condiments. Ketchup and mustard actively make me gag. Mayo is enough to completely ruin a sandwich. Sigh. It is an affliction. Parents, get your kids started on condiments early in life! Agreed with those above on rice pudding. Its a texture issue. Oh, and lastly -- sour dairy. Sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt, creme fraiche, etc etc. Gak.

Hi Everyone -- When making chicken stock, adding chicken skin of course results in lots of fat that needs to be skimmed off when the stock is cool. I'm wondering if the skin does in fact add flavor (and so I should keep it in and keep skimming), or whether it adds relatively little flavor and I can leave it out... Emily

Good to know rajoress -- and I figured I would use a smaller pan -- I hate when caramels are too thin. Tikidoc -- that apple jelly looks fantastic -- I just wish the shipping wasn't so pricey!

I have the world's easiest and most delicious recipe for black bean soup. It is almost ridiculously easy, but I personally have rarely tasted a black bean soup I liked better. When life has wiped me out I often make it and a pan of cornbread, which can usually be into the oven in just about 5 minutes. Here's the soup recipe (my own -- it has been heavily adapted from an old cooking light recipe) 2 15 ounce cans black beans, drained 1 15 ounce can of low sodium chicken broth (I usually use homemade chicken broth from my freezer, but its not essential) 1 cup of good salsa, whatever spice level desired (I also use homemade salsa here, but its not essential.) 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder (look for salt-free chili powder, because otherwise with salt in the canned beans this can get too salty) Handful of cilantro, if you have it in the house Dump all the ingredients in a pot. Whee! Simmer for about 10 minutes, then partially puree with an immersion blender. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream.

Ruth -- I'm glad to hear those caramels were good - they are on my list of things I'm making to give in a Christmas treat box... And love those turkeys -- adorable!

Eating an improvised lunch right now and it is so good I had to report... I pan fried some homemade pancetta, then browned some shredded brussels sprouts in the pancetta fat... Added lemon juice, and some cooked red rice, pan fried a little more, and then topped with shredded romano cheese. It is killer good!

Chow had this video (http://www.chow.com/videos/show/chow-tips/128387/what-to-do-with-leftover-stuffing) demonstrating how you can turn leftover stuffing into a waffle -- this seems like genius to me! Crusty stuffing goodness... I only wish I had a) leftover stuffing and b) a waffle maker. Sigh...

I wish I had some suggestions for you, but instead am just hoping you could perhaps share your coconut truffle filling recipe? I'm a huge coconut lover, and am hoping to make some as gifts this Christmas. I have been planning on trying out a caramelized white chocolate and coconut milk ganache, but would love to hear what you've come up with!

Hi Linda -- I guess it depends what you call very small -- the meat is cut in 1 inch chunks, though I'm not super careful about it and sometimes they are bigger. The chunks hold up though -- they don't fall apart, so that I think they would be fine to then roast with fat in the oven. Also, my posole recipe only calls for 1 cup of liquid in it, and that combined with the juices from the pork makes something very liquidy when I take it off the heat. So I think you'd be fine with just 1/2 a cup of liquid for an 8 minute cooking time, particularly if you have a low-venting pressure cooker (something that doesn't use a 'jiggler')...

I agree with everyone else about the amount of liquid, but I'm surprised at how long people are cooking their pork for. I have a recipe for a pressure cooker pork posole, which cooks chunks of pork shoulder for 8 minutes on high pressure and then uses a natural release. The pork is totally cooked through and tender after that amount of time. 25 to 35 minutes seems like it might be overkill to me.

Can someone tell me what Sloe Gin tastes like? I looked on wikipedia but it wasn't really clear on the taste. Does it bear any resemblance to regular gin (is there any juniper in it?)

I don't have a recipe, but it seems like you could try making a coconut pudding with a recipe like this one: http://gohawaii.about.com/od/luaurecipes/r/haupia.htm and then just folding in whipped egg whites? Was there flaked coconut in this pie?

So I have the world's easiest (five ingredients!) black bean soup recipe, and I have yet to make a recipe that I like better. It is a recipe that I have heavily modified from an old Cooking Light recipe. The whole thing can be start-to-on-the table in 15 minutes... And everyone I've served it to loves it. I often make cornbread as an accompanyment. 2 16 oz cans of black beans, or 1 29 ounce can, drained and lightly rinsed. 1 cup good salsa (I use my own home-canned salsa) 1 can reduced sodium chicken broth, or two cups of homemade chicken broth 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp chili powder Dump all of the above in a pot, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, and then partially puree with a stick blender, leaving some beans whole. Garnish with cilantro if available (if I have some, I'll also throw some in when its cooking), cheddar cheese, and sour cream if you want it...

Last week I made this Roasted Celery soup from Food 52 -- it was outstanding! Subtle, savory, and simple to make... Highly recommended! Roasted Celery Soup

Oh,and one other note. Don't make the mistake I did in my second batch of stock, and throw a garlic clove in there. Not good. Even with a shorter cooking time, the pressure cooker seemed to really amplify the garlic flavor (over what I'd expect with just a regular stovetop simmer)...

I hate to sound blunt, but you are 19 years old and they are paying you 7.75 an hour. You absolutely do not have any moral obligation to this family to stay working for them. And if they were willing to sell a dessert that was obviously spoiled, I can't see why you'd want to stay, since the owners clearly don't share your values about quality. I'll let someone else answer about how reflective this is of the food industry, but very little I've heard about it makes it sound like it provides a great quality of life...

Well as luck had it, I had enough vegetable scraps to do two batches. I cooked one for about 28 minutes, and another for 8 minutes. And there was essentially no noticeable difference between the two! Yay for shorter cooking times.

Hi All -- I'm about to make a batch of vegetable stock with scraps I've been saving in my freezer... I was planning to use my pressure cooker for this, but when Iook online I see widely varying recommendations for how long to cook the stock for under pressure. Recommendations range anywhere from 5-10 minutes to 45 minutes. Any insight here on how long to cook it for to get the most flavor from the vegetables but not to over-extract it and get something bitter (if that's possible?) Thanks! Emily

I vote for making a huge batch of meatballs and inviting all your neighbors over for spaghetti dinner!

Its interesting -- I had a bad sugar pumpkin experience last year -- I bought one to make one of those baked pumpkin recipes, where you fill it with bread and gruyere and white wine and bake it. The pumpkin was awful -- stringy and flavorless...

I'm confused -- what kind of squash are you using? And they weren't decorative gourds / squashes, were they? Butternut is my go-to because it is never stringy and pretty much always sweet and buttery. But I've had the stringy watery experience with Kabocha squash, which I know some people love but I just don't...

Thanks Bojana -- that is great to know -- will try it soon!

Hi all -- I'd like to make the carrot soup, but the amount of butter in it is a turn off to me. Do you think I could cut down on the butter and add a tablespoon or two of water to the pot?