LizD518

I made a small batch of lime granita the other night when I had four limes sitting around and no plan for them. I used half sugar and half splenda, then added a touch of blueberry vodka as well. It was really, really good. The only issue I had was when I took it out of the freezer to stir and I sloshed sticky, lime-zest laden liquid all over the place. I have a feeling I'll be finding traces of that for a while! Vietnamese coffee sounds awesome. I may have to look up that recipe tonight and try it out.

I use Penzey's boullion paste instead of homemade stock. I make chicken stock a couple times a year - sometimes I even buy a chicken so that I can roast it and have the bones, but I don't really cook with stock all that much. And when I do, it is usally in a preparation that has so much else going on that my palate really can't tell the difference. I guess I could use water in those cases... Popeye's makes the best fried chicken breast sandwich I have ever tasted.

I only order Dominos for a very specific taste-craving - their thin crust ham and pineapple. It is akin to having a carr's water cracker as the crust for your pizza- for some reason I like that. I like H & P from other places, but only Dominos does the thin crispy crust like that. Do they still do that crust, or have they improved that too?

I had my cholestorol checked for the first time just about 2 weeks after starting South Beach. Overall I was at 217, with good cholestorol at 68, and bad at 149 - one point away from being over the recommended range. I was wondering how this diet was affecting my numbers, and how long it takes for dietary changes to take effect. Butter and olive oil are my two favorite fats to use, with olive oil far and away what I use the most. However, I had done a lot of baking and eating of baked goods around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Prior to South Beach I hardly ate cheese at all, but with SB I was eating a lot of low-fat cheeses like mozzarella sticks. And for the first two weeks, stuff like oatmeal is forbidden. I also drink a decent amount of lowfat (1% or skim) milk - around a half cup a day, plus yogurt. Protien is almost always chicken, turkey, lean pork and occasionally shrimp and fish. I guess what I tend to wonder is if this is a really horrible diet that I need to focus on, or if I am naturally pre-disposed to higher cholestorol. I keep meaning to check with my Mom and find out more about my family history.

I use both ground cinnamon (I like the Vietnamese too) and stick cinnamon from Penzeys. Penzeys sells both hard stick and softstick cinnamon. The softstick package says Ceylon Cinnamon and crumbles very easily. I used it to infuse some cream for cinnamon ice cream and it really flavored it beautifully. The hardstick cinnamon barely imparted any flavor at all after several hours of infusing (overnight in the fridge).

Almost. Brioche and challah dough certainly.Sandwich dough, yes. Cibatta dough, not really, it's much too wet. Technically you could with baguette dough or sourdough bread as well, but they will be more along the lines of crusty rolls, not soft dinner rolls. Shaping for rolls? most rolls are 2 - 3 ounces in dough weight. Take a chunk of dough, and roll it on the counter under the palm of your hand, with your fingers cupped. Don't be afraid to exert pressure. The dough should spring up into a tight ball in your hand and be smooth. Rolls are usually baked at around 400, brushed with some sort of egg wash and take anywhere from 12-18 minutes. Thanks Marlene! I think I am going to attempt rolls on my next batch of bread - whenever that turns out to be! I made two small loaves of Whole Wheat English Muffin Bread this past weekend. I was going to make English Muffins and decided as it was rising that I didn't feel like standing over the griddle and cooking them, so I just divided the dough in two parts and made two small loaves. They didn't really rise all that much in the oven, but they have a nice tight crumb without being too dense and they taste great!

I have recently been eating a lot of string cheese and I must confess that I have stayed away from Poly-O because of the low-rent name and packaging (subject for another thread??). I've been buying Sargento and the regular is pretty good. The low-fat is noticibly firmer/drier and saltier. I will try the Polly-O when I pick some up this afternoon.

Bumping up this topic to ask about baking with whole wheat flour. I am trying to move towards whole grains in general (and limit sugars, but that is another topic) and I'm wondering if I can just substitute WW for regular flour one-for-one. I have looked at a couple of bread baking books and there is a lot of info out there about whole wheat, but it is one of those subjects that instantly causes me to zone out when I try to read about it. I think my attention span in getting shorter... If anyone can put a few whole wheat basics in bullet-form form me, I'd greatly appreciate it!!!

I'll be home all day tomorrow as we get dumped on here in Delaware. I need to make bread and to roast a whole chicken that is in my fridge. The leftovers of the chicken will go towards chicken stew with dumplings and the carcass will be added to the one in my freezer to make stock. I've also got some leftover cauliflower and sweet potato soup in the fridge to eat up. It is perfect with a nice big hunk of crusty bread!

I have what may be a silly question. Can I take any bread dough and make rolls instead of one or two large loaves? Further questions: Shaping - any tricks or anything to keep in mind? Rule of thumb for baking times and temps? Thanks!

For cookbooks, I have a totally different approach. A lot of the books mentioned here are very good for less-experienced cooks, but I think they still assume a general foodie-level of interest, and I got the impression for the original post that this guy is very basic, never-cooked-more-than-pasta type. I would actually suggest Rachael Ray or Alton Brown if he is someone who likes the theory, albeit presented in a fun way. Thinking back to how I cooked when I first got out of college and on my own, I started with stuff like frozen stir-fry kits and experimenting with different flavors added to boxed macaroni and cheese, then as I gained more confidence and watched more food network (including Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, Ina Garten and Mario Batali) I started expanding my repertoire bit by bit. Now, 15 years later I cook entirely from scratch, love to cook Indian and Thai, and bake bread and sweets, but it took time to build up to that. I also have friends who are impressed by the simplist things I do, like using dried beans instead of canned, and they are more accomplished cooks. I think throwing people into the deep end by going from all take-out and pre-packaged to saying "here is all you need - go forth and cook" is to present a very overwhelming picture. YMMV

Yet another cauliflower soup recipe here - I was led to it when I saw the post on Tastespotting.com. Cauliflower and Sweet Potato soup with light coconut milk. Sweated onion and garlic, added the cauliflower (whole head of florets) and diced sweet potato (1 small) and stock of choice (veg or chicken). Puree when vegetables are tender, and add light coconut milk to thin to desired consistancy. Recipe called for turmeric as the only seasoning. I added salt & pepper, of course, and a little sweet cury powder for more depth of flavor. I think toasted cumin would work instead of the curry powder for people who don't like curry. So good!

I remembered another one. There is apparently a huge market for frozen pizzas with rising crust and gourmet varieties, etc... But it is frozen pizza, how good can it really be anyway? That is why when I go for a frozen pizza, my favorite is Tony's Original Thin Crust Cheese. There is just something about that flat, sort of tough crust and bland cheese that I just love. I can eat a whole one in one sitting without blinking.

Except for the flour, this looks almost exactly like the date nut balls my mom and I make almost every year for Christmas. We use puffed rice cereal (rice krispies) in the batter instead of nuts as well, roll it into balls or logs and roll those in chopped nuts or shredded coconut. One of my favorite holiday treats!

My friends and I are going to have chocolate fondue to celebrate a birthday here at work. I've been put in charge of the chocolate. I think I am pretty clear on a recipe, but I have a couple of questions on heating that I didn't find addressed while reading this thread. We are going to hold it in a slow-cooker for service - should be good for temperature control. However, I don't own a slow cooker myself, so I'm either going to have to make it in the slow cooker that morning or make it at home, chill it and then bring it in and re-heat it. I'd rather make it at home and re-heat only because it will give me an opportunity to test the flavor and consistancy before serving. Is that feasible? How solid will it likely be after chiliing if I you a 50/50 ratio of cream to chocolate with maybe a splash of liquor or espresso powder? Should it re-heat smoothly or will I have to really watch it? Also, I am thinking light cream and bittersweet chocolate as we like darker chocolate here. Will that work well?

No pictures, but I had an Indian dinner last night with recipes from "The Food of India". Black Eyed Peas with Mushrooms and Tomatoes: Really earthy and delicios. The hottest of the dishes I made Punjabi Cabbage: Stirfried cabbage finished with butter for some nice richness Kheema Matar: Recipe called for ground lamb, but I made it with turkey. It was delicious, although I made it less hot that the recipe called for. Served it all with some plain yogurt to help cool the heat. I like med spicy/hot foods, probably much milder that some others around here!

Well, it is a competition, not a realistic cooking class - I guess that wouldn't turn out very fun to watch. Although, with good editing, I think there could be a number of highlights that would send us into gales of laughter. I have been enjoying it so far, but I'd think the ultimate challenge should not be to have them cook for food critics, but to have them choose a recipe of their choice (maybe from a pool of selected recipes of a certain difficulty level) and to produce the recipe, as well as appropriate side dishes, with no input from the professional chefs. I think this would show that yes, they really did learn something. Even better would be if they had chosen said recipe at the very begining of the competition and produced it then, so that there was a comparison.

I come back to this thread every so often for a good laugh, and have even contributed a story of my own. But I have to say, at one time I thought a lot of these stories were greatly exagerated, until I recently saw the new Food Network show "worst Cooks in America". It sounds like a few of those cooks may have been the culprits of some of the atrocities of this thread! No new horrible meals to contribute...knock wood...

I just made this bread and it came out great - probably my best loaf of bread to date. Thanks!!

I just read through this thread and I am starving right now. All I want is a huge plate of white cheddar boxed mac & cheese, made with sour cream instead of milk & butter, and mixed with taco-seasoned ground beef. And a side of tater tots. Double-stuff Oreos for dessert!

I triple the vote for Dominos Thin Crust - I'll have mine with ham and pineapple please. I also love boxed mac & cheese - Annie's is my brand. Every few months I crave it like no other thing. One of the frozen vegetable brands also makes (used to make) a frozen vegetable and pasta dish in a bag with white cheddar sauce. Just throw it into a skillet with some water - delicious! I hate the thought of most offal, although I have tried sweetbreads and foie gras. There, I've tried it, now stop bugging me! Raw shellfish makes me shudder I can't figure out how to stirfry vegetables properly. Mine are always overcooked according to accepted standards. And I like them that way!

This past year I finally semed to get a better handle on consuming all that I bought. I started shopping at a local farm market (not to be confused with a farmer's market with different purveyors) that had a small, but quality selection. Because I wasn't shopping in the huge Asian market with tons of new and unusual produce, I didn't have so many ideas running through my head. I used to want to make so many things that I would buy all the stuff and never get around to making it all. This year, I am starting to eat better in the wellness sense. And to keep my mind off all the things I "can't" have, I am going to make the stuff I can have the best that it can be. And cook and eat more fish at home.

Amy, I haven't made a lot of Biryanis, but the one in Madhur Jaffrey's "Indian Cooking" is delicious.

I make a very simple tomato sauce - just butter, onion, a bit of garlic, and whole canned tomatoes, and puree it with a stick blender because I like the texture better. When I actually am making a pasta dish it is a versatile sauce that I can add additional ingredients to to suit the dish. This is also when I reduce it so it clings to the pasta. I usually prep the sauce in a second pan while the pasta is cooking, adding any additons and reducing, then toss in the almost-finished pasta and a little of the pasta water and then reduce that to the final consistancy while the pasta finishes cooking. I find that this has really helped me achieve a totally integrated dish like I would find in a resturant, vs a dish of pasta with some sauce on top of it.

I love all of the responses to this topic. Since I am starting the South Beach Diet on Monday, I guess the thought of perfecting my pasta and bread skills is pretty much out. But I've decided to approach this diet not as a ban on foods I love to eat (bread, pasta, ice cream) but as an opportunity to perfect my skills on new items - like not being so afraid to cook fish, and to take advantage of the lovely books by Eric Ripert, Thomas Keller and event Alinea that are sitting on my bookshelves. So here is my list: 1. Something from Eric Ripert "A Return To Cooking" 2. Something from the Alinea cookbok 3. Something from "The French Laundry At Home" 4. A souffle - I'm allowed all the eggs I want! 5. And because what is life with a little indulgence - Macrons! I've tried them a couple of times, and I have a long way to go!