Marlene

I love Riedel glasses. We have several of the Vinum Extreme. Now if there was just a Canadian link!

Finally on Monday they will begin the total destruction of my kitchen in order to build my dream kitchen. As I've been packing up this week, it occurs to me wonder, short of eating out every night. what I'll be able to cook for the next 6 weeks or so. i will have a fridge, convection microwave (i've never used the convection part), a toaster oven and a Hamilton Beach combination deep skillet, griddle. No stove, oven or dishwasher. And a husband who won't eat leftovers. I'll be operating mostly out of my dining room for prep, so won't have a lot of room. Any ideas on things to make?

Macaroni and Cheese A twist on an old favourite. 1/4 c butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1/4 c flour 1 T dijon mustard 1/2 tsp each, salt & pepper Dash cayenne 2 cans, 385 mls each, evaporated milk 2 c old cheddar cheese, shredded 3 c elbow macaroni, cooked 1 c bread crumbs 2 T parsley 2 T parmesan In large saucepan, melt butter. Cook onion for 5 minutes until very soft. Stir in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir, 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk. Reduce heat and cook 3 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes, stirring. Stir in cheddar cheeseuntil melted and sauce is smooth. Add macaroni and stir until well combined. Pour into buttered 10 cup casserole dish. In small bowl, combine bread crumbs, paremesan and parsley. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Intermediate ( RG136 )

Cheese Potato Puff This can be made a day ahead, making it a great dish for entertaining. 12 med potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 c shredded cheddar cheese 1-1/4 c milk 1/3 c butter 1 tsp salt 2 eggs, beaten Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash. Add 1 3/4 cups of the cheese, butter, milk and salt. Cook over low heat until butter and cheese are melted. Fold in eggs. If making a day ahead, refrigerate at this point. Spread in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and broil 5 minutes or until golden brown. Keywords: Dinner, Side, Potatoes ( RG135 )

Tortilla Crisps Incredibly addictive. 3/4 c butter, softened 1/2 c parmesan 2 tsp parsley flakes 1/4 c sesame seeds 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 12 6 inch tortillas Combine first 7 ingredients. Spread each tortilla with a thick layer of the butter mixture. It will seem like too much, but it's not! Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Place on ungreased baking pans. Bake in a 350 oven for 12-15 minutes until crisp and brown. Makes approximately 96. Keywords: Appetizer, Easy, Mexican ( RG134 )

Killer Eggnog 12 egg yolks 12 egg whites 1-1/2 c sugar 1 qt milk 1/2 qt heavy cream 1 qt dark rum Beat egg yolks together with 1 cup of the sugar. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Mix yolks and whites together adding cream and milk. Blend until smooth. Add rum, mix well. Pour into punch bowl, sprinkle nutmeg on top. Chill before serving Keywords: Cocktail ( RG133 )

Strawberries with Cointreau Cream Very Easy, yet elegant looking 8 oz fresh strawberries 2 tsp sugar 2 T Cointreau or Grand Marnier 1/2 pt whipping cream Reserve 4-6 strawberries for decoration. Crush remaining strawberries and sugar with potato masher. Pour Cointreau and cream into a mixing bowl, and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold strawberry mixture into cream. Put into parfait or sherbert glasses. Slice reserved strawberries and garnish tops of dessert. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, British ( RG132 )

Monkey Bread for Bread Machines Great for kids after school. Pan variations include cupcake pans, mini loaf pans. (spelt flour can easily be used instead of regular flour. Use 1 oz less of water) 1 c water 2 T butter 1/4 c sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 3 c bread flour 2-1/2 tsp bread machine yeast 1/2 c buttter, melted 1/2 c brown sugar 1 c raisins, optional Place the first 7 ingredients into the baking pan of your bread machine in the order directed by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle and press start. When dough is completed, place dough on floured surface and knead 10-12 times. Melt the cup of butter and stir in brown sugar and raisins if using. Cut dough into 1 inch chunks. Drop each chunk into butter mixture, 1 at a time. Loosely layer coated dough pieces in a 6 inch bundt pan or loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm draft free place for 20 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly Place plate over pan, and turn upside down. Slice and enjoy! Keywords: Snack, Easy, Bread, Bread Machine ( RG131 )

Red Wine Casserole Prepare 2 days in advance of serving 4 T flour 2 lb sirloin, cubed 2 T each, oil & butter 1-1/2 tsp garlic puree 1/2 tsp majoriam or thyme 1/2 tsp each celery & dill seed 1 c dry red wine 1-1/2 c water 2 tsp cider vinegar 2 beef boulion cubes 8 oz pkg refrigerator biscuts 1/4 c melted butter 1/4 c parmesan cheese 1 c diced carrots Season flour with salt and pepper. coat cubes of beef. Heat the 2 tablespoons each of butter and oil in deep skillet and add garlic and meat. Brown meat. Add seasonings, liquids, boulion cubes and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Add carrots, simmer 1/2 hour longer. Pour into a casserole dish, bring to and refridgerate for 48 hours. To Serve: Bring Casserole to room tempurature. Dip biscuts in melted butter and parmesan and place around rim of casserole dish. Bake uncovered in a 425 oven until biscuts are browned and casserole is hot. Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, American, Beef, Intermediate ( RG130 )

Welsh Rarebit An old classic. Basically cheese sauce on toast! 1 beef oxo cube 1 c boiling water 1/4 c butter 1/4 c flour 1 c milk 1 tsp dry mustard 1 tsp worchestershire 2 lb cheddard cheese, shredded Fill double boiler base and bring to boil. Drop oxo cube into cup of boiling water, stir to disolve. Melt butter in double boiler top and add flour. Stir until smooth. Stir in milk and oxo water. Cook until smooth and thick. Add mustard, worchestershire and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Pour over toast. Keywords: Lunch, Easy, British, Main Dish ( RG126 )

Beef Stroganoff A beef Stroganoff without mushrooms. Serves 6 2 lb beef sirloin 6 T butter 1 c chopped onion 3 T flour 1 T ketchup 10 oz beef stock or broth 1 cloves, finely minced garlic 1-1/2 c sour cream 1 tsp beef demi glace Pepper to taste rice or egg noodles 1/2 c red wine Trim fat from beef. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in skillet. Brown beef, and set aside. Add the rest of the butter to the skillet and sautee onion and garlic until golden. Add flour, ketchup and pepper. Stir until smooth. Add broth, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stiring occassionally. Add wine and sour cream, stirring until combined. Return beef to skillet, simmer until beef is heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice or egg noodles. Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Easy, Beef ( RG125 )

Nacho Dip An easy appetizer to put together. 8 oz cream cheese 250 ml sour cream nacho cheese sauce mix 2 peppers diced 2 tomatos diced 8 oz salsa shredded cheese Mix cream cheese, sour cream and nacho cheese sauce mix together. Place in the bottom of serving dish. Pour salsa on top. Top with shredded cheese, diced peppers, diced tomatoes and olives if desired. Chill for at least two hours. Keywords: Mexican, Appetizer, Easy ( RG105 )

There's white and "whole grain". They are both great.

Since I put my flour right into Tupperware containers, I don't have the package in front of me to give me the ingredients listing. But if a flour like spelt holds more water than regular flour, it make sense to use less, because otherwise you've got soggy dough. Next package I get, I'll look it up. I use spelt because my son's friend is allergic to wheat, so I do a lot of bread baking when he is here. The first time I used the regular amount of water, and it was a disaster. Using less but not much less seems to work fine. I honestly can't tell you why!

I bake with spelt all the time, and I tend to use slightly LESS water than a recipe calls for. I notice a slightly nuttier taste, but certainly not unpleasant, and I don't find it any heavier than regular flour. I just usally substitute spelt flour for regular flour in a recipe with about an oz less water, and it comes out fine.

I did this over and over again, until I bought a coffee maker that wouldn't work until you put the pot under it. That was great, except I kept forgetting to turn the damn thing off. Coffee would burn down and then BAM, one exploded pot. After 6 exploded pots, I went out and bought a coffee maker that had to have the pot under it to work AND turned itself off after two hours.

I guess this means I won't be moderating a recipe forum in the near future! On online cookbook sounds really great though!

There's MasterCook, or the one I use is called Cookin. cookin software They both have recipes, and the cookin software allows you to input recipes, set up new categories and will re-size recipes for you. I have the Mastercook as well, and I find it cumbersome to work with.

Here's another one: Shredded or thinly sliced cabbage (if I get really lazy, i'll buy the prepackaged stuff) 1shredded carrot 3/4 cup miracle whip (ok, ok, I KNOW! Use mayonaise if you must ) 1/3 cup sour cream 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard 1/4 teaspoon celery salt 1/4 1/2 teapsoon garlic salt or powder Place coleslaw in bowl. Combine all remaining ingredients and toss.. Refridgerate before serving.

Interesting. The windmill symbol on the bag of chips is the same one used by Old Dutch, a chip maker in Western Canada. Old Dutch makes some of the best chips I've ever tasted. They briefly made a foray into Ontario, but were stopped cold by Lay's and Hostess. Every once in a while, Lay''s brings out their Roasted Chicken chips which are my very favourite ever.

I have just finished putting all my spices into Tupperware spice containers. Right now they are on the shelf in my pantry, but my new kitchen (contruction starts beginning of Feb) will include a floor to ceiling pull out spice rack as part of the cupboard layer (mirroring the floor to ceiling pull out bar cupboard ) I usually through spices out after a year. I like the Tupperware, because they do keep the spices nicely fresh. For example, it takes parsley much longer to get that dull gray look

I'll make this in the next day or two and report back.

They suggest Hales, or even Rogue Chocolate Stout or St. Peter's Cream Stout. They say whatever you use, make sure it's a full bodied and roundly malty beer.?

I couldn't decide whether this belonged in the Beer Forum, the baking forum or the Cooking Forum! I just received the quarterly edition of Food and Drink, an Ontario publication put out by our Liquour Control Board. In it, they have a recipe for chcolate cheesecake, and one of the ingredients is Porter beer. I've never heard of beer being used in a cheesecake recipe before. Anyone else? (Although the picture looks yummy!)

The Costco's here in the Greater Toronto Area all used to be Price Clubs, they all carry the Kirkland signature brands (Meat only became available a couple of years ago, their boneless pork chops are amazing). Sometimes there are really good deals and brands available. Of course, none of the Ontario Costco's carry wine. Stupid Ontario liqour laws.