baroness

Another way to eliminate odors is to burn candles; unscented work as well as the scented types.

I think goodies can be the perfect gift, especially for people with a lot of possessions, and those who live in smaller spaces. Once consumed, they leave no trace (unless they were packaged in a great tin or whatever), and they show the time and love you expended to make them. Just be aware of any dietary or other health restrictions.

I slice the sprouts thinly (1/8"/4mm), toss them with a bit of olive oil and thinly sliced garlic to taste and roast at about 400 degrees until well browned. Addictive.

"Fix It and Forget It" is/was a slogan that appears in the instructional video, and, I suppose, the commercials. As far as different models of the Showtime go, there are several different size capacities. Mine has a dial timer; some have digital timers...I'm not aware of any other changes. BTW, if you want the extra accessories (kebab rods, rib baskets, etc.), they can often be picked up through eBay at great prices. As for clean up, HOT water + Dawn Direct Foam + a brief soak.

I have a Breville that is stainless steel, save for a small plastic window on one side with measurement markings. It detaches from the heating base for easing pouring, and heats very quickly. Purchased from amazon.com a few years ago.

What a great start! I just checked and there are 75 apartments in our building, so that means lots of cookies. Lior, what an interesting recipe. I'll have to see if I can find sorghum molasses. Tepee, I would NOT have thought of fruitcake (cookies), but it's a great idea and unlikely to be done by anyone else. JeanneCake, the gingerbread sounds lovely. We have several 'classic shortbread specialists' in our congregation, so I'll leave that to them as they make it so well. AnnieC, oatmeal sounds good as well. I've never baked with Splenda, but it's a valid point to consider the diabetics. Vanessa, I'd love the viennesi recipe. If I do shortbread, it will have to be a flavored variety; see above. Merstar, cinnamon sounds great, and jam thumbprints are so pretty. Maybe I could do part with coconut, part plain. Thanks all! More ideas are welcome; I can always pass them along to anyone else suffering baker's ingredient block!

I've volunteered to bake a lot of Christmas cookies to be added to others' efforts, divided, and packaged to distribute while caroling at my church's senior citizen housing on the 23rd. Many of my favorite cookie recipes are not suitable for this audience. I'm looking for recipes that: 1. Don't contain seeds, whole spices, coconut, or other irritants to denture-wearers, etc. 2. Don't contain alcohol (as any leftovers will go to the church school or feeding the homeless). 3. Are not chocolate chip, brownie-type, or other normal/popular types that others will bring. 4. Hopefully can be made NOW, and will improve with a little aging! I have a great Spritz recipe, but what else can I bake? Thanks!

In these paranoia-filled days, will customs allow the cake to enter? You may wish to check regulations before you bake.

These are great knives for the money, but beware the sharpness - it's verrrry easy to cut oneself! They also make a 'tomato knife' which has a storage sheath.

I'm not David, but I can tell you that the drip pan on Showtimes (Popeil) cover the entire floor of the unit. It looks like a broiler pan. David's pictures of the browning are accurate....I think it's time to buy another chicken!

I bought a factory-reconditioned Showtime from Amazon.com several years ago, having never seen the infomercials. My UPS guy was all excited when he delivered the box, as his brother owned one--think he hoped I'd invite him back for dinner! In any case, it does a great job on whole poultry, chicken cutlets, fish, vegetables...can't comment on red meat as I don't do it. Not as bad to clean up as one might think if you have a sink full of hot, soapy water ready to soak the parts. I would suggest buying a set of heavy silicon oven mitts to wear while unloading the food.

What about fishs eddy?? Just a taste...

As a former Pillsbury employee, I can vouch for the extensive testing that is done before a recipe or product is released to the public. Any variable you can reasonably think of is tried and evaluated. These 'corporate' recipes are dependable, and can serve as a starting point for experiments//variations.

You will need more fresh yeast than the dry; the only bread recipe I could find quickly (not a no-knead bread) states 2 Tablespoons dry or 3 oz. fresh yeast . You'll have to handle the conversion to metric...... For flour, use the higher gluten type, the Grano Duro.

Northern Spy and Prairie Spy, available at Greenmarkets and orchards, are wonderful for baking as well as eating raw.

I would do the pasta when I need it, not ahead. By the time you warm it up, it could have been cooked fresh. It takes so little time to cook, and you aren't using up refrigerator 'real estate' to hold it over. If you have plenty of room, why not finish the mac and cheese except for baking? Potatoes need to be cooked directly before mashing. Again, they don't take long to cook if cut up. Or, I've heard that mashed potatoes can be heated or kept warm in a slow cooker. Cutting up most vegetables early is not a problem, save with potatoes. I've never had carrots turn color, but maybe I'm just lucky. As noted above, having a schedule and lists to refer to can ease the stress.

Providing the foods placed in the servers are hot, this type of server will keep them warm. They work better than sterno (for a home setting) and are less messy and potentially dangerous. Don't expect to heat anything up by using the server, though.

Mitsuwa is worth an occasional trip. However, if the Foodmart International you praise is the one in Linden, I disagree. I made my first visit last week and spent a grand total of $6.19. They may have volume of particular items (I liked the towering pyramids of cans), but no breadth of selection whatsoever. If this store had been the focus of my trip, I would have been highly annoyed at the investment of time, gas, and tolls involved.

I have a Sanyo micom/fuzzy and am very happy with its performance. Steel-cut oats turn out great whether set up the night before (with the timer set for breakfast time) or cooked right away, with NO soaking. Of course, it makes delicious rice, quinoa, barley, etc. as well--even bread pudding!

The newspapers here have had $2.50 coupons, and one of the local grocery chains offer a $5 rebate. So, I have a Handi-Vac set for the grand total of $1.04 (sales tax and postage for rebate).

I found this recipe in a google search; perhaps it will be a starting point: Sarah Bernhardts

Claudia Roden, hands down!

For dried fruit and nuts, either Trader Joe's or nutsonline.com (in NJ, so next-day delivery is the norm!)

Mary Ann Esposito has a number of taralli recipes on her ciaoitalia.com site; go to the Recipe Box section and search for taralli.

Welcome! I would bruise some fennel or anise seeds with a mortar and pestle to add to the cake batter, and perhaps add a bit of anisette or the like to amplify the fennel flavor. In my experience, cooked fennel (the vegetable) is very mild.