claire797

I've always liked cauliflower, but this thread and the lure of "tastes like French fries" prompted me to jump on the roasted cauliflower bandwagon. I bought a few heads earlier this week and have been going to town. French fries? Well, no. I didn't find the roasted cauliflower anything like French fries, but it's good in its own right. Tonight I tried a variation that is definitely worth sharing -- Roasted Sesame Cauliflower. It's the basic recipe, coated with a rich sesame glaze which caramelizes nicely along with the cauliflower. Here's the recipe. You can play with little or more of the amount of glaze -- I used the full amount of this recipe for half a head, but think that you could probably use this same amount for a whole head. But to be safe, you may want to double. Also, this recipe does contain orange juice concentrate, but you don't taste much (if any) orange. Roasted Sesame Cauliflower 1/2 to 1 head cauliflower 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced 1-2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger (or more) 1/4 (or WAY more) red pepper flakes 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I use the roasted kind) 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with no-stick spray 2. Carefully slice cauliflower into quarter inch thick slices. Florets will fall off, lumpy slices are okay. Adds character. Just make sure you get a few flat ones. 3. Put cauliflower in a big bowl 4. In a large, no-stick saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for about 2 minutes or until water evaporates and mixture looks thicker. 5. Pour thick sesame mixture over cauliflower and toss to coat. 6. Lay cauliflower on prepared pan and sprinkle with sesame seeds 7. Bake for about 25 minutes, stopping halfway to stir and turn a bit.

I spend a lot of money on Carbwise, Zone and Strive Bars, so I would love it if somebody could come up with a protein (low carb) bar that actually tastes good! The good low carb bars I've tried have a somewhat crunchy/chewy texture much like the ones mentioned above or Genisoy's "Crunch!" bar. So far, the recipes on line seem to be more similar to Atkins Bars, with that chalky, soft texture. I've done some surfing around and found a few recipes, most of which use whey protein (either vanilla or chocolate), and peanut butter. A few of the recipes also use cream cheese, butter and Splenda. So far, none of them sound that good enough to convince me that I need to buy a canister of whey powder.

With the weather, I've been trying more soup and stew recipes. They've never been a particular favorite of mine, but they are fun to make. Bon Appetit (November) has a good recipe for Smoked Chicken, Corn, Black Bean Stew which is good. I made it yesterday, but I think I used the wrong peppers . It was still good.

Fritz, 2:00 in the morning? I hope you got some sleep . Glad you liked that recipe. The last time I made it was for an Austin egullet get together where everyone agreed it was one of the best carrot cakes ever. One of these days I'd like to try Sherry Yard's carrot cake recipe which she includes in her book The Secrets of Baking. It's unique in that she uses almond meal in place of a good portion of the flour. In fact, the base of the recipe is really just a financier. As for the icing recipe, she ices it with some rich, butter, cream cheese recipe she got from some sort of diner. Sherry Yard.

Here's the part that got me rattled. "Be specific. Be a detective and ask questions," McDonald says. "Request that your food be grilled dry. Dry is a good word, because if you say `without butter,' they'll put on oil. And if you say `without fat,' they'll put on olive oil." You'd think a chef would know that olive oil is a fat? Why should I have to say "dry" when I mean without fat? Asking for the chef to make me a "dry" chicken filet just feels wrong -- especially when there are other fat free seasonings that could be used. Blanching vegetables in oil? Now that is horrifying. When I go out, I expect chefs to use way more fat than I do in the kitchen, but blanching in oil ?

Is this sort of like a pigs-in-blanket thingy? Do they really make industrial sized cans of Vienna Sausage or are they opening lots of little cans? Inquiring minds want to know. Was is some variations on a kolache, perhaps?

They fixed up the corner store Like it was a nightclub It's permanently disco Everyone is dressed so oddly I can't recognize them I can't tell the staff from the customers Sorry guys, every time I see this thread the They Might Be Giants song gets stuck in my head

Claire, which ones did you make? I've heard good things about the all cocoa powder ones. I need to put this book to work again sometime soon. Poor thing has been neglected. Shame on me! Hi YP! Nice to see you :)! I made the recipe she calls "The Best Brownies". It's really an interesting book and I'm enjoying reading it. Her "Bittersweet Decadence" cookies are next on the list.

I've made her brownies. They're excellent -- deep, dark and dense. She says the top will be glossier if you let the brownie batter sit overnight in the refrigerator, but I haven't tried this yet. I also recommend her Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake which is relatively low-fat. I'm generally skeptical regarind low-fat desserts, but this one was better than a few high fat fallen chocolate souffle cakes I've tried.

This is the ultimate carrot cake, and I do believe it meets all of your requirements.....or at least mine! It's flavorful and rich, but not heavy like a carrot bread. It's got plenty of raisins and walnuts and does not dare leave out the pineapple like so many other carrot cake recipes. The icing is good too. It's got the cream cheese AND the butter AND the lemon juice, unlike those sad-sack cream cheese icings that use only cream cheese and sugar. This one's the best. You could play with it if you feel so inclined, but it really doesn't need any crystallized ginger or maple or other foofiness. The cup and a half of butter ensures goodness in every bite. Note: I always plump the raisins in the juice from the drained pineapple. Mrs. Fields Carrot Cake 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour 1 tbs Baking soda 1/4 tsp Salt 2 tsp Cinnamon 1 cup Light brown sugar, packed 1 cup White sugar 1 1/2 cup Butter, softened 3 large Eggs 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract 3 cups Grated carrots 1/2 cup Crushed pineapple, drained 1 cup (6-oz.) raisins 1 cup (4-oz.) chopped walnuts ICING 16 oz Cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup Salted butter, softened 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon) 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract 3 cups Confectioners' sugar Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars. Add butter, one egg and vanilla; blend with electric mixer on low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. And remaining eggs, one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Add carrots, pineapple, raisins and walnuts. Blend on low until thoroughly combined. Pour batter into prepared pans and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake in center of oven for 60-70 minutes. Toothpick inserted into center should come out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then invert cakes on rack and cool to room temperature. Icing: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth add lemon juice and vanilla; beat until combined. Add sugar gradually, mixing on low until smooth. Place one layer on a cake platter, and with a metal spatula spread icing over the top to form a thin filling. Place second layer over the first, rounded side up. Coat the top and sides of the cake evenly with remaining icing. Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing.

I've been submitting one a day too. How on earth on they going to choose a winner? There are so many options.....

Thanks for the review! I'd like to give them another try since we were obviously there on a bad night, but like you said, there are so many other places. I don't know what it was about the pork. I eat pork tenderloin all the time and it usually doesn't taste gamey like this one did, so maybe we just got a bad cut. Who knows. If and when I go back, I'd like to try the flat-iron steak. BTW. This may have been posted already, but I think that Crimson is closed for good. We walked by it one evening and they said "closed for remodeling". Someone else that the "for remodeling" part was a ruse and it was going out of business. Is this truth or rumor? Last I heard, they were doing well.

Funny you should post this. Yesterday I bought a few cups of Callebaut chocolate chip from the bulk bin at Central Market. When I got to the car, I decided I needed a sample and proceeded to dig through the groceries and bring the chips up to the front seat with me. The chips had been in the sun for about 1 minute and had already started to melt, unlike the Nestle morsels, which tend to withstand the trip from grocery checkout to parking lot a bit better ;). Could those chips have been the same ones you sell to ice cream makers? They certainly seemed to have a lower melting point. Oh, and they are definitely the best chocolate chips I've tasted lately. NVentura, your method of making the ganache, freezing it and chopping it up when needed sounds like an excellent way to have the frozen chocolate on hand when needed. I like to do things in steps -- chocolate one day, ice cream the next -- so thanks for the tip.

Jenifresh, thank you so much for your comments! I feel compelled to run to the kitchen and try this. What I've been doing (until this point) is shredding good dark chocolate with a microplane zester and adding it to the just-out-of-the-machine ice cream. It makes a very good chocolate mint ice cream, but I still prefer chunks. I've avoided trying to make them myself because I didn't know how to get them to melt properly. Thanks again.

I grew up eating strawberry shortcake with those pre-packaged mini spongecakes. My mother would put each spongecake in a bowl, cover it with sugar soaked strawberries and then douse the whole thing with Cool Whip. I grew up thinking that was how strawberry shortcake was supposed to be -- spongy. I never liked it much. The bad image I had of strawberry shortcake ended in 1999 when a friend in CT served it this way: Huge, split buttermilk biscuit A little butter Sprinkling of sugar Fresh whipped cream with a little more sugar Good strawberries And that's the way I make it now, only I throw in blueberries. I do use angel food on occassion -- usually when I'm trying to keep dessert light, but I definitely prefer biscuits. Wendy, I love the idea of putting orange zest in the biscuits. I'm going to give it a whirl next time.

What an absolutely gorgeous pie. Great photo!!

MK, I think that's the best looking white cake I've ever seen! Wow! (The KA cake, that is!)

Well, I heard the same story, but it took place at Luby's in Houston and it was Barbara who was waving. . Seriously. That was a great story! Bush's aside, I think it's neat that you and your girlfriends cut school to go eat au gratin at the Pelican Club.

Jess! How was the Pelican room? Did you bump into any of the Moody's? ;) We're doing a weekend trip to Galveston soon and it's on our list.

Based on a good number of PMs from people needing to cancel, I think we may need to do a raincheck on Castle Hill. Oddly enough, many of us have had last minute obligations. At this point, I'm going to cancel the reservation. Hope to see everyone on Wednesday at the nacho crawl.

Hey Dude, I think you just blew your image of cranky and mean ! Egypt, huh? Wow.

Anybody else need to cancel? Since we're having another event next week, it's understandable. Let me know so I can set reasonable expecations for Castle Hill. Thanks!

Our reservations is set -- 6:30 at Castle Hill under the code name Claire. Looking forward to see you all! If anyone wants to jump in at the last minutes, no problem. Just shoot me a PM or an email.

What if you tagged your dessert names to correlate with something going on in your life or kitchen the day you made it? For instance, say you made a peanut butter cake on a Friday, you could call it Care-Free Friday Peanut Butter Cake. Or if you invented it on a Monday, you could call it "Case of the Mondays Cake". That would be a little goofy, but it would be fun. Or to take a more straight-forward approach, your names could correlate with the season. Not necessarily the exact seasonal ingredient, but a feeling or mood or event associated with that particular season. You'd still have to write down your variations, though. I've been experimenting with lots of different desserts and while I think I can remember what I did, I find that is NOT the case. I like desserts with "Study In ______" but it's one of those things you should only do once or twice.

I'll make the reservation for 6:30.