ruthcooks

I vote for the Carrot Pecan Cake with Fresh Orange Glaze offered by Jean Anderson in "The Grass Roots Cookbook". The cake is baked in a tube pan, split into 3 layers all glazed with a cooked and thickened orange glaze. Perfect for people (like me) who can't abide cream cheese icing. Other marvelous desserts from this book are: Banana-Walnut Cake (I omit walnuts from cake and add them to a browned butter icing) Blue Grass Cheese Pie (my favorite chess pie, has light cream to cut the sweetness) French Cookies (one-bowl cake-like bar cookies with coffee, raisins and spices, a chocolate icing; great last minute recipe) The book is from the 70s, has had many reprints but is now out-of-print. Some used copies available on Amazon. Or, if anyone wants any of these recipes, let me know.

There's a recipe here. Comments elsewhere indicate it's similar to an almond cookie with a dollop of chocolate fudge icing. How about ganache?

Probably the reason KA doesn't sell White Lily flour anymore is because they now have their own similar flour product called Mellow Pastry Blend #3549 in the most recent catalogue. Nothing magical about White Lily, just a lower percentage of protein than AP. There's another low protein brand in the South called Martha White, that I always used when I lived there. Or, you can simply mix AP and cake flour, although I don't remember the proportions offhand.

I also love green beans, anyway they're cooked, but here's my favorite way to make them "fancy". Recipe will also be in RecipeGullet. Parsley Butter Sauce for Green (or Wax) Beans My children used to love wax beans, while I find them practically tasteless even when from my own garden. The original use for this recipe was to make wax beans edible(and very pretty), but now I use the sauce for green beans, which I love. Leave the beans whole, and the smaller, the better. 2 lbs. fresh green beans, ends trimmed Salt Parsley-Butter Sauce: 2 T. butter 2 T. flour Salt and white pepper 1 C. chicken broth 2 egg yolks 1/2 C. heavy cream 1 C. chopped parsley Cook beans to the desired state of doneness in a wide bottomed pan or skillet of salted water. When beans are done to your liking, drain them well, return to hot pan, cover and return to stove. For electric stove, the residual heat of the turned off burner will be enough; for gas, leave over lowest heat. (To make ahead, beans may be blanched, shocked in cold water, drained and refrigerated. When ready, heat well in a tiny bit of water, covered .) Sauce: in a two-cup measuring cup, microwave 2 T. each butter and flour until bubbly. Add chicken broth and microwave until it boils, stirring once or twice to combine. Season well; broth must be somewhat over-seasoned. Stir egg yolks into heavy cream and stir into sauce. Stir sauce into hot beans and cook with stirring for 1 or 2 minutes while sauce continues to cook, but not boil. Or simply stir in sauce, cover and remove from heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley just before serving. Note: the wide bottomed pan is necessary to have enough hot surface to sufficiently cook the egg yolks in the sauce.

Parsley Butter Sauce for Green (or Wax) Beans Serves 6 as Side. My children used to love wax beans, while I find them practically tasteless even when from my own garden. The original use for this recipe was to make wax beans edible(and very pretty), but now I use the sauce for green beans, which I love. Leave the beans whole, and the smaller, the better. 2 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed Salt Parsley-Butter Sauce: 2 T butter 2 T flour Salt and white pepper 1 c chicken broth 2 egg yolks 1/2 c heavy cream 1 c chopped parsley Cook beans to the desired state of doneness in a wide bottomed pan or skillet of salted water. When beans are done to your liking, drain them well, return to hot pan, cover and return to stove. For electric stove, the residual heat of the turned off burner will be enough; for gas, leave over lowest heat. (To make ahead, beans may be blanched, shocked in cold water, drained and refrigerated. When ready, heat well in a tiny bit of water, covered .) Sauce: in a two-cup measuring cup, microwave 2 T. each butter and flour until bubbly. Add chicken broth and microwave until it boils, stirring once or twice to combine. Season well; broth must be somewhat over-seasoned. Stir egg yolks into heavy cream and stir into sauce. Stir sauce into hot beans and cook with stirring for 1 or 2 minutes while sauce continues to cook, but not boil. Or simply stir in sauce, cover and remove from heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley just before serving. Note: the wide bottomed pan is necessary to have enough hot surface to sufficiently cook the egg yolks in the sauce. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables, Sauce ( RG1123 )

Parsley Butter Sauce for Green (or Wax) Beans Serves 6 as Side. My children used to love wax beans, while I find them practically tasteless even when from my own garden. The original use for this recipe was to make wax beans edible(and very pretty), but now I use the sauce for green beans, which I love. Leave the beans whole, and the smaller, the better. 2 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed Salt Parsley-Butter Sauce: 2 T butter 2 T flour Salt and white pepper 1 c chicken broth 2 egg yolks 1/2 c heavy cream 1 c chopped parsley Cook beans to the desired state of doneness in a wide bottomed pan or skillet of salted water. When beans are done to your liking, drain them well, return to hot pan, cover and return to stove. For electric stove, the residual heat of the turned off burner will be enough; for gas, leave over lowest heat. (To make ahead, beans may be blanched, shocked in cold water, drained and refrigerated. When ready, heat well in a tiny bit of water, covered .) Sauce: in a two-cup measuring cup, microwave 2 T. each butter and flour until bubbly. Add chicken broth and microwave until it boils, stirring once or twice to combine. Season well; broth must be somewhat over-seasoned. Stir egg yolks into heavy cream and stir into sauce. Stir sauce into hot beans and cook with stirring for 1 or 2 minutes while sauce continues to cook, but not boil. Or simply stir in sauce, cover and remove from heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley just before serving. Note: the wide bottomed pan is necessary to have enough hot surface to sufficiently cook the egg yolks in the sauce. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables, Sauce ( RG1123 )

Another 14 for me: 1st order: *--Lucy’s “Lobscouse and Spotted Dog (haven’t started reading it yet) --a Suzanne Somers book for $5 (cause I was too cheap to spend $35 for a used copy to check out the similar Montignac diet) --Cindy Mushet’s dessert cookbook *--Just discovered, a cookie cookbook from The Good Cook that got shoved in the closet a couple of months ago when the carpet was cleaned 2nd order: --Dom DeLuise’ “Eat This It’s Good For You” (full of pastas and lots of other things in heavy tomato sauces, which I never make) --“Nathalie Dupree Cooks Great Meals for Busy Days” from a TV series --Rosengarten’s “It’s All American Food” for $5! --Malgheri’s “How to Bake” --One of the Southern Living compilations *--a rhubarb pamphlet, too late for this year’s crop Just ordered: *--4 diet books, mostly Schwarzbein Principle—I’m checking out all the diets to find the one that sounds most reasonable AND which I can most likely stick to. *marked books were bought new. I usually buy everything “used, like new” unless it’s priced at only a couple dollars higher new. Love those deep discounts, but sometimes it pays to order new books for the Amazon free shipping.

The first time I ever saw fresh figs was in a market in Charleston while on vacation. I had no idea what to do with them, but something--the texture, the smell--reminded me of bananas. So I ate them the way I grew up eating bananas, sliced in a bowl with sugar and cream, for breakfast or snack. Yum.

I have never liked honey, it's just too assertive and too sweet for me, whatever kind it is, without being mixed about 1 to 4 with soft butter for biscuits. And I'd still prefer any kind of fruit jam. Once, however, I found a mild "Honey Jelly" in an airport shop and liked it very much. Now it's gone and the question is "which airport?" The odds are on Nashville, but I don't suppose I'll be flying there any more now that my son has moved.

Re: fudge vs. pralines Pralines are supposed to be grainy, so there's hardly a way to ruin them unless they get too hard to remove from the pan (in that case, add a little rum and beat well), or if you don't cook long enough. Fudge, on the other hand, is ruined when it becomes grainy due to crystallization of sugar on the sides of the pan. If this happens, add a little milk or cream to the cooking pan, add the ruined fudge and start over again. Do this until you get it right. If it's too runny, cook some more. Softball stage for fudge is 234 degrees F. Remember to remove the pan from the heat while testing. I've made it so many times I can tell by looking at the bubbles. Another use for runny fudge: sandwich between soda crackers. My mother used to make these for school lunch boxes when there was no other dessert to be had.

Forgot my biggest aversion: "tender-crisp" If its tender, it ain't crisp; if its crisp, it ain't tender. We should use the French "a point" meaning it's not crisp, it's not tender, it's at that perfect moment in between.

Broccoli Salad with Tomato-Onion Mayonnaise Serves 12 as Salad. This is one of my favorite salad recipes, which is saying a lot since I usually don't like broccoli at all. Very unusual and good on a buffet of other salads. Rated intermediate for the length of time required, not the skills. 2 lb broccoli heads, trimmed and cut into florets Mayonnaise: 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 T butter 2 T oil 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped OR 1 cans tomatoes, petite cut, drained 2 tsp sugar 3 T basil chiffonade 3 T oregano leaves 1 c mayonnaise Garnish (optional) Black olives Cherry tomatoes Cook broccoli in heavily salted boiling water until it is on the verge of becoming tender. Drain and shock in cold water. Drain well. Sauté onions and garlic in butter and oil until onions are transparent. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, basil and oregano. Simmer uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is evaporated. Cool slightly and stir in mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Combine broccoli and tomato mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and/or olives and/or more basil chiffonade, if desired. Note: for making the day before, refrigerate broccoli and tomato mixture separately. To cut calories, reduce butter and oil and use only one-half cup of mayonnaise. In that case, leave a bit of liquid in the onion-tomato mixture. Keywords: Salad, Intermediate, Vegetarian ( RG1115 )

Broccoli Salad with Tomato-Onion Mayonnaise Serves 12 as Salad. This is one of my favorite salad recipes, which is saying a lot since I usually don't like broccoli at all. Very unusual and good on a buffet of other salads. Rated intermediate for the length of time required, not the skills. 2 lb broccoli heads, trimmed and cut into florets Mayonnaise: 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 T butter 2 T oil 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped OR 1 cans tomatoes, petite cut, drained 2 tsp sugar 3 T basil chiffonade 3 T oregano leaves 1 c mayonnaise Garnish (optional) Black olives Cherry tomatoes Cook broccoli in heavily salted boiling water until it is on the verge of becoming tender. Drain and shock in cold water. Drain well. Sauté onions and garlic in butter and oil until onions are transparent. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, basil and oregano. Simmer uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is evaporated. Cool slightly and stir in mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Combine broccoli and tomato mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and/or olives and/or more basil chiffonade, if desired. Note: for making the day before, refrigerate broccoli and tomato mixture separately. To cut calories, reduce butter and oil and use only one-half cup of mayonnaise. In that case, leave a bit of liquid in the onion-tomato mixture. Keywords: Salad, Intermediate, Vegetarian ( RG1115 )

On one Naked Chef show,Oliver had a friend who was playing basketball downstairs. Friend came up to help cook, did NOT wash his hands before OR after he wiped the sweat from his brow. No matter--they both started finger sampling the salad dressing multiple times. I wouldn't eat Jamie's food on a bet. Especially that time he was making a semi-freddo and folded the raspberries directly into the raw egg yolks. Yuk! All music as a background for food shows bugs me as I'm trying to hear the host talk. But the worst offender, even though played on breaks is Doc-plus-sidekick-of-the-week on Emeril Live. Let's NOT "give it up for them," let's get them outta here. But why should I care, since I gave up watching Emeril after about 4 months when I first got Food TV.

This topic was inspired by a quote by JAZ in the TV Food Phraseology thread: I don't like that one either, too cutesy for words. Here are some others I can't stand: "scratch" The first time someone asked me if I "made it from scratch" I didn't know what the hell they meant. When it was explained to me I was offended because I make everything from scratch and wouldn't consider making something from a box or mix. "smoking" when you mean "steaming" Novelists who don't know a lot about cooking are always saying this. If you've just pulled a sweet potato from hot coals it may be smoking, but other wise the correct word is steaming. "munching" The dictionary says this word means "to chew vigorously and steadily; to chew noisily" but to me, munching means continous and mindless chewing of small bits of things, like popcorn or peanuts. People often misuse this word as a synonym for eating. Whatever it means, I "eschew" it, and it's companion "munchies". What food/cooking words offend you?

I share the previous opinion of the Bound'ry. Too much show off and way over- peppered. Down the street a little is South Street (Cafe?), if it hasn't closed since I moved to PA. It's more New Orleans than Southern. Kinda open aired--although in Nashville's humid summer you might want to eat inside. I've had several wonderful things there including a wonderful bread pudding with Bourbon Sauce and a fantastic shrimp-fresh corn-cream cheese frittata at Saturday brunch.

Congratulations on the new job opportunity, Lucy! I'm watching your diet with interest, since it's the one and only time I've ever seen diet food look attractive. Because I have traditionally "dumped" diet books after I've bought them, I didn't want to pay $35 for a used copy of a Montignac. I did put out $5 for one of Suzanne Somers' books so I could get a few more ideas. Do you--does anyone--know the differences between the two? I'm sure there are some, since she surely could not have copied his diet verbatim. Any diet separating fat and carbs is discouraging to me, since I look at carbs as a great excuse for indulging in my favorite food, butter. Also, I like something sweet with the main meal, but I can get around that with a sweet salad dressing made with a little Whey-Low (cookies made with Whey-Low don't seem to affect my blood sugar at all). I'm diabetic, and I know that eating carbs for breakfast tends to raise the blood sugar very fast, which is already highest in the morning. Breakfast cereal is a disaster any time of day, but no problem, since I don't like it. I have, however, been eating more fruit now that summer is here, and it's not affecting the blood sugar. Perhaps I could eat the fruits/carbs at lunch, when my blood sugar is lowest. The doctors say that when you are taking insulin, it's very difficult to lose weight because the insulin keeps telling the body to store more fat. I've just about decided the only help for that is to eat better so I require very little insulin. By nature a slug, I have started a slow but sure "fitness" program but do I ever hate it. I know I feel better, but nothing makes me want to get up in the morning, especially when it has to be followed by testing blood, taking pills and insulin, eating, showering and hair washing (bad case of bed hair), sometimes cat and dog feeding and pill-giving (my daughter's pets) before I can leave the house. The program is just now getting to the aerobic stage, since I started 4 months ago with physical therapy to increase my muscle strength and chiropractic for the ever present back pains. The pains have lessened, and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, and am determined to heal myself. As the statistics you quoted indicated, I am one of those who eat much less than other people, so didn't want to start the life-changing diet part until I could exercise. Every year since I quit ballroom dancing for 5 or 6 hours a week, I've gained 10 pounds. Alas, I ran out of money, developed some kind of shoulder pain lasting two years (finally diagnosed as a diabetic condition), and gained weight so my feet can't take dancing any more--or at least, not now. If this is the plan I decide upon, I'll get the Montignac book. Keep up the good work.

Nothing significant in over a week?

Look up my mushroom squash recipe on e-Gullet. Use tiny ones for appetizers, or if they're large squash, use squash rounds.

I can't count the times I've torn off strips of foil and tediously patched them together to make a length that will fit around a piecrust edge that is browning too fast. Recently, reading something about foil on another topic, I realized that all you have to do is lay a square of foil on the pie, press down to indicate where the crust starts, fold the square of foil in quarters and cut out a circle in the center. Lay the entire piece-with-the-hole on top of the pie and fold under the edges around the outside of the pie pan. Duh.

I catered for the crew of Florence Henderson's show one season...we always had a salad for her; she was very nice about the food and would often come out back to compliment my partner and me. Never watched the show.

I don't use package mixes, but used to buy a cake mix once in a while to make cupcakes to send to school for the kids. Every single time I had a cake mix in my basket I would see someone I knew at the grocery. Very bad for the reputation.

Here's one: eating the pointy tip of a piece of pie as your first bite results in bad luck. I never pay attention to this advice...hey! maybe that's what's responsible!

If you just want to make a little bit to try it, pour a cup of heavy cream into a quart jar and shake it while watching television...good project for kids if you have any around. I've also made whipped cream from butter and milk, but the little gadget got lost in a move. Butter is better from cream, and cream is better from butter. How can that be?

snowangel... When I was small, my mother crushed pills and gave them to me in a teaspoon of powdered sugar. I didn't learn to swallow them until I was married and my husband (ex, of course) insisted. Crush easily between two teaspoons.