ruthcooks

Absolutely. Well, maybe more of a cook than a chef, making menus I plan, using my recipes, cooked the way I cook them. Private Chef Clone

Ham salad. A casserole with rice, broccoli and a thin bechamel. Ham and scalloped potatoes. The aforementioned bean soup. Ham "meatballs" with Cumberland sauce. Usually not a problem. If I've made raisin sauce, I can eat ham until it's gone.

Almost all my dinner party stress comes from having to clean the house: I hate cleaning and will put it off until I find myself cooking and cleaning at the final hour. For about a 7 year period in my life I had a cleaning service, and was that wonderful. About crumbs. You are inviting PEOPLE to your house to EAT FOOD and you don't want any CRUMBS. Isn't this like taking a bath and not wanting to get wet? I am speechless. About shoes. I am amazed at the idea that it's rude NOT to take off your shoes. One of the reasons we wear shoes is to prevent our feet from being exposed to the dirt on the surfaces we walk on. Now it's turned around? Jeez, how appetizing to look at someone's big hairy toes and feet covered with bunions, hammer toes and the like. I'm not too keen on wearing some community slippers where such toes and feet might have been--and you probably won't want me to bring my own slippers which have been walking around on my floors where "dirty shoes" walk. So keep your shoes on at my house and give me a warning if I'm not going to be wearing mine at yours. About RSVPs. I was involved in a large group of people where this topic came up. The older people in the group were concerned because the younger people would not RSVP. When polled, the younger (under 30) people generally 1) had no idea what RSVP meant, 2) didn't see what all the fuss was about, and 3) had no concerns about preparing food for an unknown number of guests. Of course, their idea of food was chips and dips from the grocery. The older people's view was, 1) not replying is very rude, 2) you should make an immediate decision, notwait to see if you get a better offer, or if you feel like it when the time comes. Each group was flabbergasted by the other's viewpoint. About clean up. It ruins my enjoyment of food to rush right out to the kitchen and tackle the dirty dishes. House rule: no one is allowed to do dishes. I'll stack the soakers in the sink after guests are gone, and take my time with them in the morning. Do I vacuum when guests are gone? HA HA HA HA HA. I'm exhausted. I go to bed.

I recommend the APPCA. I was a member for several years, back when it was just APCA. Have you checked out their Visitors Forum on the website? Lots of information there. I can't see buying the videos as an extra: it's like buying a book and then having someone read it to you. One of their greatest advantages is the Member's Forum, where ideas are exchanged freely. Seminars and the yearly "summit" are great for people who need morale boosting, and for networking. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have. And please do call Candy Wallace, she is very accessible to anyone interested in the personal chef business. Edited to add: No, you don't really need the backing of an organization to start, but you'd better really enjoy re-inventing the wheel! Just a tip on where to buy the best/cheapest liability insurance can save you thousands.

Here you go: Roz's Cheesecake Here's how you do it: go to recipe and copy the URL. Return to post and click on the little [http://] box above your post. Follow directions. The URL will appear in the text of your post, but whatever you call it (Roz's Cheesecake) will appear in the actual post.

hey! why not? good one. do tell on the buttercream - do you add it to whole butter, or brown, chill and then beat? ← Nothing fancy..I just brown the butter in the pan, beat in several cups of powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla and several tablespoons heavy cream. I don't measure, but usually start with 1 stick unsalted butter. The frosting has a sticky texture at first. No need to get it stiff as long as it won't run off the cake, because the butter will get hard when it cools. My favorite uses: with toasted walnuts on banana cake, and on peanut butter cupcakes. I always refrigerate the cake, and keep cupcakes in the freezer.

Browned butter with asparagus Browned butter and pecans or walnuts with broccoli or zucchini Browned butter and toasted almonds with Brie on crackers, or, better, on toasted baby bagels Browned butter in a simple powdered sugar buttercream Browned butter garlic bread Browned butter in butterscotch pudding Almost anywhere. It's one of my "secret ingredients" although I haven't posted on that thread.

What I would do with all that chicken left over from the "skin" meal is: Make white meat chicken salad with homemade mayo, finely chopped celery and chopped eggs. Maybe grapes. Make Escalloped Chicken with the dark meat. This is layers of bread dressing/stuffing and chicken, topped with a thick layer of eggy Sauce Supreme, baked and served cut in squares with pepper jelly on the side. Make Matzo Ball Soup with a stock from the bones, wing tips and misc. bits, saving a little each of white and dark meat for the soup. Each dish a favorite of mine and each one I'd rather eat than plain roast chicken--except for the skin, that is--unless you're making gravy from the drippings. This is really torture as I haven't eaten much today. P.S. I agree about Cornish Hen skin, no comparison. Turkey skin, however, is a bird of a different, er, skin. Let's see...Roast three turkeys...

Here are some items I've found difficult to locate over the years: Ladybug Cookies, raspberry please. Best commercial cookie I've ever eaten. Fine chocolate sampler assortments. Candied chestnuts, and chestnuts in syrup. Honey Jelly. Orange Jelly. Marie Sharp's hot sauces.

Note to Carrot Top: cook three chickens.

How about making a smoothie with another juice or fruit added, along with dairy and ice cubes? Or make prune jelly with unflavored gelatin, serve with a bit of whipped cream.

I don't remember why the "duck" in your name, but perhaps you'll have to change it to a swan, after all that weight loss. Congratulations!

(Asians. Not Orientals. Unless she's serving a room full of noodles or rugs. ) ← Guess my age is showing. Sorry if anyone's offended.

Sorry, Randi, I didn't mean to criticize either. I thought it was other people, perhaps the ones who hired you, telling you what you should cook, regardless of the desires of the Seniors. I perfectly understanding getting bored cooking the same thing over and over. My first restaurant was by reservation only, and people ate what I felt like cooking. Only once or twice in several years did I repeat a menu, although many recipes were repeated. Making up menus is my favorite thing, much more enjoyable than cooking.

Randi, I don't know why people are objecting to having potatoes more often, if that's what the Seniors want. If these were Orientals, not one person would object to giving them rice every time! The biscuits weren't a disaster if they loved them. A question: why didn't you take out the chickens first thing so they could thaw?

I always used Cognac for making vanilla, or brandy if I was feeling cheap. You could use the same beans and just top off the bottle with more liquor for a good long while. Because I can be a klutz, I poured off a smaller bottle for daily usage and kept the bigger bottle in a safer place. Nowadays I don't bake enough to make it worth while.

Me, too, Kim. I've noticed in your posts that you and I often share preferences in food tastes. Wonder if being supertasters accounts for that? If I eat the "bitter vegetables", I like preparations with cream, butter, cheese, etc. to temper the bitterness. I don't do alcohol because of medications, but back when I did I preferred sweet wines, mixed drinks with sugar and/or cream, and sweet liqueurs. I drink coffee and tea very weak, with sugar and/or cream. I have no tolerance for hot peppers, although I can tolerate a little hotness when the heat comes from other sources, like paprika. I'm not fond of highly spiced foods, either, whether sweet (spice cake) or savory (curry). Black walnuts taste like aspirin, and English walnuts not much better. Kinda like having a curse.

Other old, probably cheap, cheeses were called rat cheese, hoop cheese and Longhorn (a type of mild cheddar, I believe). Some are still available if you look for them. The "surplus" cheese the government gives out (or did, anyway) to the people on welfare is also very good, and I've known people to buy or trade items with the recipients to get it. I had some hoop cheese several years ago made by the Amish in east Tennessee and it was wonderful.

Shouldn't that be ROTTEN eggs (which are always raw, of course)?

I don't remember this, but have no problem wrapping two sheets of extra strength foil around the bottom and outside of the cheesecake pan when using a water bath. I've never experienced leakage.

Here's one I wish was over: piling the GD meat on top of the GD mashed potatoes (or polenta or whatever starchy veg). How are you supposed to cut the meat without smooshing the potatoes all over your plate? Foods touching is one thing: piling them up in the middle of the plate is another. Disgusting.

Homogenized simply means that the fat won't separate out; it has nothing to do with shelf life.

How far we have come from Jellied Chicken and Calves' Foot Jelly. Back when, pre 1950s, ladies--or their cooks--packed cooked chicken pieces in a loaf pan and added strong gelatinous stock to the top. Chilled, this was cut in slices and served at luncheons. The beef version, made with calves' feet, contained no meat. The jelled stock was considered a fit food for invalids. Chicken Jello, anyone?

Rose Petal Ice Cream

I want the ingredient list in bold--or at least big--type. Mostly, whether or not I make something depends upon whether I like the ingredients and whether I have the ingredients on hand. What's with the itty bitty and/or italic type? I need to be able to read the list without a Halogen bulb. And tell me a story about the recipe, I love stories. Not too keen on the origin of some grain from Mesopotamia, however. I don't need color and I don't need pictures if your description is wonderful.