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Darienne

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Posts posted by Darienne

  1. My favorite is a combination of basmati rice, roasted corn, fresh basil, red onion, pecans, and diced jack cheese, with a simple vinaigrette.

    Anything that combine all those ingredients has got to be excellent. :biggrin: Thanks.

  2. Wild Rice Salad

    Boil Wild Rice in slightly salted water until it "blossoms" (bursts open).

    Rinse, drain and cool.

    Add:

    Halved Sliced Black Olives

    Whole brined Green Peppercorns (drained)

    Golden Raisins

    Sliced Almonds

    Chopped Fresh Tarragon

    1-2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

    S&P

    Chopped fresh tomato

    Red Wine Vinaigrette

    Proportions are to individual taste and appearance.  Careful on the green peppercorns, they're supposed to be like little island surprises of spicy taste sensations.

    I'm tellin' ya, this stuff is addictive!

    doc

    Sounds fabulous!!! :rolleyes:

  3. My pie-making skills are very tiny. This Christmas past, inspired by a photo in RLB's Pie and Pastry Bible, I made the Christmas Cranberry Galette. Mine was very delicious, but looked a little askew. :unsure:

    My favorite pie though that I make at the drop of a hat is from an old Culinary Arts Institute cookbook from 1982, Cooking with Cheese. It's a lemon cheese pie which calls for only 1 egg and 9 oz of cream cheese and still tastes wonderfully tangy and rich. I add a bittersweet ganache on top...not in the recipe...and it's a delight. :smile:

    My friend, Mel, makes the best Jamaican meat pie in the world with a curried pastry crust is making us one immediately because we kept their two dogs all weekend...allergic son problems. The curried crust is my favorite part.

  4. I made ganache with milk chocolate, and it came out very nice.

    I did just make the Gianduja Gelato and I did the Stracciatella and it's very good, nice texture. My only thought is that it's a little sweet for me, could be because of the milk chocolate.  I did use El Rey's 41%, but maybe cut back on the sugar next time.

    I am still going to try the orange szechuan one soon.  I have too many yolks left over from all these white cakes and buttercream I'm doing.

    As for the sweetness, I regularly cut back on the sugar amount suggested. And truthfully, I don't enjoy milk chocolate at all.

    Let me know how the Orange Szechwan turns out.

  5. A couple of really neat things that I do have: super magnets for the fridge.  They are knobs so you can pick them up and they hold really well and I often fasten my recipe to my stove hood or somewhere nearby to have it on hand while cooking.

    I have some "super" super magnets that will hold anything to anything steel or iron.

    I bought them at the feed store and they are called "cow" magnets. The purpose is to be fed to a cow so the magnet will settle into her first stomach and attract and hold any bits of metal that she may ingest, such as nails, pieces of wire fencing, etc., and thus protect the rumen.

    They are incredibly strong - the one I use on the pantry fridge will hold a thick stack of papers.

    The only place on the kitchen fridge that will take a magnet is on the side.

    You should be able to find them at your local feed store - I usually get the "ceramic" ones but do have a couple of the alnico round ones.

    cow magnets

    I love the concept. Thanks for sharing it. Perhaps the cow magnets are the same as the earth magnets from Lee Valley. I love that they are knobs and so I can handle them.

    I also use them in the vehicles. Affix a metal disc to the dash somewhere and then I can hang up the 'In Town' list, or the maps and suchlike when we are traveling.

  6. Sounds really nice, Darienne. I am keen to try that orange/pepper ice cream, the flavor sounds complex and interesting to me and your description of it is very appealing :)

    Hi stuartlikesstrudel,

    The whole field of 'cooking' is quite new to me after a lifetime of avoiding as much of it as possible and so the descriptive part is new too. I like that word 'complex' and I think it does apply to this ice cream. First it tastes like 'this' and then it finishes up like 'that' after passing through another phase of the 'other'. I've wondered just what others have meant when they spoke of say, chocolate, having a complex taste. Thank you.

    This ice cream is probably one of the most amazing food items I have ever made. But then both the DH and I love Szechwan and eat it constantly...part of my new cooking life. He helps with the mises and I do the cooking.

    I am intending to try this flavor combination in a ganache soon.

  7. I don't know anything about making ice cream, but had a small portion of Full Tilt's (Seattle) vanilla vegan. Made with coconut milk. Tasted like coconut cream to me - off texture - smooth but sticky? Think I'll stick with their ice cream (local blackberry cinnamon (not local) this time.)

    Hi tsquare,

    I've really only tasted my raspberry-coconut gelato so I can't give you a full report. However, the doggy crowd starts to descend upon us today for the weekend...weekend?...and I'll get back about this ice cream after the weekend.

  8. While at the site, I also "discovered"  measuring pourers.  Egads!  These are terrific.  I bought the set, which included  Teaspoon,  Tablespoon and Ounce, and also ordered the Two Ounce.

    After I got them and used them, I ordered three more sets for myself and one for my daughter.

    pours

    Why, why, why did you have to post about those? I was hoping to leave Winnipeg without spending my usual fortune at Lee Valley, but now I'm going to have to pick up some of those pourers! And you can always find more to buy there (hence spending a fortune.).

    Curses on you andiesenji! :angry:

    But thanks! :biggrin:

    That makes two of us about to buy them!!!!!!! :wink:

  9. My Lee Valley catalogs are out of date. Barbara, confectionery partner, stops by every time she goes to Toronto and picks up stuff on behalf of herself and friends. (Just phoned, am getting new catalogs, the pourers are in them. I'm gonna get me some.)

    I've been looking at their mandoline for a long time now...yearning...

    A couple of really neat things that I do have: super magnets for the fridge. They are knobs so you can pick them up and they hold really well and I often fasten my recipe to my stove hood or somewhere nearby to have it on hand while cooking.

    Another one that those with arthritis especially might consider buying...I couldn't live without mine... the Lee Valley Jar Opener. Like magic. I have gifted many with this one.

    Also my knife blade guards. We travel a lot and the knife guards are invaluable.

    No, I don't work for them or get discounts for touting their wares. Thank you Andie :wub: so much for showing me those pourers and getting me back into new catalogs.)

  10. Finally got my Unicorn Magnum pepper grinder. Holy cow can that thing pump out the pepper, and so easy to load! Why did I wait so long!?

    OK. I still don't have a decent pepper mill and I don't have a decent mandoline.

    I wonder if Unicorn is available in Canada...or is it just online?

  11. Try a recipe for rice pudding with dried fruits, but moderate the pudding into a lighter, not so sweet dressing. I might even try this with a dollop of Marzetti's cole slaw dressing and a few celery seeds... HTH!

    Thank you judiu,

    Learned a few things. HTH means hope this helps. Found a Marzetti's cole slaw copycat recipe...never heard of Marzetti. (live in deepest, coldest Canada).

    Sounds like a plan. :rolleyes:

  12. Just made the most incredible ice cream Found it on line from Cathe Olson. Would love to get her new book: Lick It! Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.

    It's her Blackberry Ice Cream but I made it with fresh frozen raspberries instead. The other ingredients are coconut milk and sugar or agave. I used sugar. Of course, I used the usual bits learned at the feet of Paul: pinch of salt, substitution of a quantity of light corn syrup, etc.

    I think I've died and gone to heaven. (Yes, I am the same person who has never really cared for ice cream at all...but REBORN thanks to homemade ice creams and gelatos.

  13. Hi Darienne,

    Limoncello is available from most supermarkets, I belive you can make it using vodka infused with lemons, it's supposed to be quiet simple although I've never tried it! You could use a good lemon cordial I suppose or perhaps just sweetened lemon juice?

    the method I use is as follows;

    flaked almond

    1 large lemon

    Limoncello

    about 150g blueberries

    small tub of whipping cream

    small tub of creme fraiche

    small tub of mascarpone

    icing sugar

    corn flour

    water

    madeira cake

    cut the cake into about 1/2 inch cubes and place in bottom of a glass dish

    sprinkle with limoncello so cake soaks up the liquid.

    mix about 1 tablespoon of cornflour with some cold water then on the stove place blueberries and about a cup of water heating gently (you can add more water if needed) add the corn four mix a little at a time until the blueberries juices are thicken and coat the back of the spoon, try not to over cook they need to just release their juice but not burst, so you should then have a thick blueberry sauce with whole berries in it, you can add a little sugar if you have a sweet tooth but I never do.

    Spoon the blueberries over the madeira cake and add a few flaked almond is you like a crunch, I don't always it depends! cool in the fridge.

    Whip the cream and then add add about 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche and 1 tablespoon of mascarpone mix together and add icing sugar to taste, then add 1 tablespoon of limoncello and the rind of the lemon mix until light and fluffy, I do this so often I can't give exact amounts but you can add a little more of the mascarpone and creme fraiche if you think it needs it.

    Spoon over the blueberries and top with almonds.

    I also use the topping as a desert on it's own served with amaretto biscuits.

    thinking about it I suppose you could soak the cake in a lemon syrup made from the lemon juice as an alternative to limoncello and if you still wanted the boozy kick just add a little vodka! :biggrin:

    Hi Jossa,

    Wow! Sounds like a lovely dessert.

    a) we live in Ontario and if Limoncello has alcohol in it, you won't get it in a supermarket. Friends in Utah were making Limoncello from lemons and vodka as we were leaving in May.

    b) the cost of mascapone puts it out of my snack bracket unless I make my own

    c) wouldn't know where to find creme fraiche in our small nearby city. Again I could make my own and have done so

    d) ditto for the cake...except that I have never made one

    e) root canal work yesterday on top of everything else going on precludes making this cake for the weekend.

    HOWEVER! I will make it one of these days and thank you so much for sending it. :wub: A close friend has a birthday at the end of August and this sounds like a wonderful surprise cake for her.

  14. (The ice cream sandwiches went to the kids down the road this morning)

    This morning I finished the Orange-Szechwan Pepper ice cream. Third time I have made it. Love it when I get to redo something and get it right. Except this one has been right from the start. The joys of discovering cooking late in life... :wub:

    While packing it into the container for storage until the weekend, I, of course, took a little taste.

    Hmmm... :hmmm: where was the pepper? First taste. Orange but no pepper. Lasts about 2 split seconds. Wham! The pepper hits. Love it. :wub: I can hardly wait to see the looks on the faces of my guests when they try it and wonder...for about two split seconds...where the Szechwan part is. :laugh:

    Next. Redo the vanilla and then some raspberry gelato.

  15. I think that the one thing that changed my life more than anything is my big KitchenAid Pro 600 stand mixer. Refurbished, I paid $230. I picked up the beater blade, too. You know...one of those things that scrapes the bowl for you. My cake making has become much easier. :)

    I bought two of those blades in the fall, one for me and one for a friend. But because life took one of those strange turns, I haven't used my Cuisinart in months. I am really looking forward to trying it.

    Marshmallows...I need to make some marshmallows.

  16. Citrus zests make life worth living. I can think of few recipes which aren't improved by the addition of orange zest. Well, I exaggerate as usual.

    No doubt you all have one already, but I didn't have a proper stainless-steel rasp and zester holder until recently and I used it for the first time last night making DL's Orange-Szechwan Pepper Ice Cream.

    It was a dream come true. :wub: I was so excited with no one to tell. Never, never again to fight with the box grater.

    So I thought I would share it with a few thousand of my closest friends.

    What's your favorite new kitchen toy?

  17. Hummus is a main stay in our family. Also salmon salad. The drawbacks with both is that you can only pack them into a tortilla at the last minute or you get the major sop factor.

    Although, I pack salmon salad into a sour cream type container and then top it up with shredded lettuce. Love it.

  18. I make this one a lot, after first tasting it at a baby shower. 

    Thank you jgm. :smile: It sounds pretty good.

    You know, it just hit me. All the salads I am planning to make or have made are in a certain mode, vegetable and dressing with vinegar/ lemon juice/ etc.

    Does anyone have a rice salad that incorporates fruit in some way? Little orange pieces, walnuts, sweeter dressing (but not too sweet)? Thanks.

  19. Susan Branch had a recipe on her website a while back for 'happy rice'.

    It had diced pears, nuts and raisins in it and was really good.  Can't

    remember what else.  Maybe you could google it and see if u can find it.

    Much searching later...it's no longer on her website as far as I can see and it's not on google either. Thanks for trying.

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