billieboy

Since my wife passed on I have become a pretty good cook and I have learned what is good and what is not. I buy so little processed food that I can almost say "never" My wife did not bake nor did my Mother so I have had little experience in home-baked goodies (until recently thanks to Dorie Greenspan) A while ago I invited a neighbour over for some stew and she brought with her some biscuits warm right out of the oven. They were fabulous. I asked if she could teach me to make them. With much amusement she told me the recipe was right on the back of the Bisquick box.

Don't know if it is a misprint, but Amazon Canada shows it available on Oct.9. Just a couple of weeks away. http://www.amazon.ca/Ad-Hoc-Home-Family-Style-Recipes/dp/1579653774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254255362&sr=1-1

Just an update. The World Peace cookies were also a success. It is just wonderful that a complete baking newbie could have all these first-time successes. A credit to a great, well tested cookbook. One serious complaint about the Applesauce Spice Bars though. The book states they will last 3 days at room temperature. Hell, they never made it through the afternoon. Second time was as good as the first, so it was not a fluke. Hey Mom! I can bake

I have never, ever baked a thing in my life but because of this thread I purchased Dorie's book and also Sherry Yard's "Secrets of Baking" which I have not looked at yet so cannot comment. I have tried two things from Dorie's book. The peanut butter cookies and Applesauce spice bars. Both were a resounding success. I am now the hero of my senior's apt. bldg and suddenly have a lot of friends Thank you Dorie and all who have participated in this thread. BTW, I have read each and every post while waiting for the book to arrive. I now feel confident to try more involved baking. Again thank you Dorie. Bill

Kohlrabi? http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&ei=V8...=title&resnum=4

I use this book as my reference. doesn't do me much good as I can't get the ingredients in my hick town anyway http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Ingredients-Fo...35238532&sr=1-1

How long does an opened jar of pickles last in the fridge....forever. The onions are in vinegar, same as the pickles. The only thing extra in the pickles will likely be citric acid which is there to increase the acidity. Vinegar does that. Relax and enjoy.

Soy sauce (light and dark) Sichuan chili bean paste dried chilies whole Sichuan peppper fermented black beans Chinkiang or Black Chinese vinegar sesame oil Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry a few spices (cassia bark and star anise will do to start with) potato flour or corn starch fresh ginger, garlic and scallions salt, pepper and white sugar (which you are likely to have in your kitchen anyway) Useful extras: pickled chili paste, sweet bean paste, Tianjin preserved vegetable, pickled mustard greens, dried mushrooms, dried cloud ears, brown sugar. From page53 Hope this is what you need. Bill

I am glad you started this thread. That book is right near the top of my "Must Buy" list. I will be interested in the replies.

I've created topics several times similar to Utenya's here, but using FatGuy's conclusion that the Chinese food in America is something that's been "dumbed down", (or, "Americanized") to please American tastes by the Chinese people who are cooking it in restaurants. So I've always wanted to know (and have asked several times) if this means that in France, the Chinese food there is "Frenchified" to be more appealing to French tastes. While this could be something much (much) simpler than the concept of "fusion", it has always struck me that it could be culinary bonanza. Why, just imagine if the Chinese chefs who found themselves in France eventually resorted to thinking "We'd better throw some Foie Gras in here, or nobody will eat it!" However, for as many times as I've been in France (and Italy, for that matter), I have never wanted to give up the opportunity for a French (or Italian) meal to check this out first hand. I seem to remember that eventually in one thread where I posed this, I got the answers from Gulletteers that the "Chinese" food in other Western countries is as terrible in it's own way as "American Chinese" food is here. But I'm still hoping that some day somebody'll post the story of going for Chinese food in France, and finding it "Frenchified" to please the local tastes. One can dream. ← It is my understanding that Chinese rarely eat dairy products. Can you imagine a French meal without cream and cheese

Katie, Tell us more. Inquiring minds want to know! Tim ← Forgive me for jumping in http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/07/internat...artner=USERLAND If you google olive oil fraud you will find alot. The Canadian one (CBC) names names.

I think Anna hit it on the head. Your granny was likely a great cook (everybody's was) and she had a drawerful of recipe cards for a good reason. She needed to refer to them too. Don't beat yourself up. If people like your food.....you are a good cook.

I don't know if he has the answer, but I think he is on the right track. We all have different make-ups. Some can eat anything they want and never gain a pound, others...well you know. This might help http://www.veg.ca/content/view/128/110/ Hope I'm not preaching

I agree. Gave up on bread knives a long time ago. My 8" chef does it just fine. One less thing to store.

If you want to be safe and sure in your canning follow the instructions on this site. Everything has been tested and is up to date. I took their online course and feel very secure canning everything from salsa to chicken stock. It is the University of Georgia http://uga.edu/nchfp/ Editid to coreckt spelink

What will work for you is a 4000 - 6000 grit waterstone, however they are expensive as hell. You could buy a good knife for that money, However, places that sell to woodcarvers like Lee Valley, have very small waterstones meant for small carving chisels. They are called slips. A few minutes with one of those and your knife will look like a mirror.

The smoke alarm telling me that dinner is ready.

I have not made jams, but have done a ton of savory and pickled things. Follow the Bernardin (Ball Blue book in the USA) instructions for safety and you will not kill yourself. You can fool around with sugar and salt and substitute foodstuffs but NOT repeat NOT!!! with the acid/food ratio Like most of us, you are probably allergic to Botulism Oh also, there is a new book not yet released which interests me. "The Farmer's Wife book of Canning"

It looks very nice and I would love to have it, however, by the time I got it up to Canada, with shipping and taxes and exchange, it would be about $700CDN. Very much out of my price range. I will put it on my next year's Christmas wish list

Thank you Judiu. The cream cheese ones do not interest me, but two of them are with cheddar (my weakness) I wonder if the other ingredients are necessary...Evaporated milk, mayo etc. I think I will try shredding up a pound, mix in the peppers and physically press it back into a brick. If all else fails, use brute force

I love living in this small town, but I sure do miss the availability of some ingredients that I could get in The Big Smoke (AKA Toronto) One of the things I miss is jalapeno cheddar cheese. I was wondering if I could make it? Melt down a lb of cheese and mix chopped peppers in it. Pour into a mold to get the block shape back and refrigerate. Would I ruin $8 or 9 worth of cheese? Would the texture/taste be completely ruined? Bill

Thank you. Makes perfect sense. What a wonderful site this is. Ask a question about Chinese food and a gentleman from China answers you. Bill

I notice in most, if not all, of my recipes, call for white pepper. Why? Forgive me if it's a dumb question. I am new to cooking Chinese food, but very interested in it. Thanks Bill

Would like to have a beer with: Mario Batali Morimoto Would like to have a midnight snack with Nigella Lawson Would like to kill!!! Those idiots on Food Jammers The sureal ass Edited for spelink

Thank you so much for this link. I am an beginner in Chinese cooking and this site has some great recipes. I will be absorbed for a month at least Bill