Ladybug

Slight change of plan - my 6 year old son snuck into the freezer today and hacked off a piece of the cake and ate it, still frozen rock solid. It only took him a minute because he snuck outside to eat it so I wouldn't see him. I was NOT happy. But, since the cake was all hacked up anyway, I hacked another piece off and microwaved it for 30 seconds to thaw it. It was much improved! I don't have time to get into details, but it seemed fluffier somehow and also more chocolate-y. The texture was very similar to a box mix cake, with a fine crumb. I like it. I'd give it a 4.5, to leave room in the event I find something better in the future.

I baked it but I haven't eaten it yet. It's still in the freezer. Actually, to be completely aboveboard here, I did taste a piece fresh out of the oven (I baked a separate, smaller pan besides two 9" rounds) but since it hadn't been steamed and then frozen I don't think it counts as a representative example of what you produced. I'm furiously busy this week, but hope to thaw the cake and frost/fill it next weekend. My impressions on the piece I ate (that shouldn't count) is that it sliced nicely, was pleasantly cocoa-ey and almost undersweetened. I think I'll use a frosting that's on the sweet side when I pull the cake from the freezer. My first impression was that the cake had been seriously mis-named - nothing about it made me think of fudge or a brownie, although what I ate was pleasant. I think Hershey's Best Chocolate Cake had a better taste but not a better texture - it's fallen apart on me when I've used it for a layer cake recipe. In the interests of accuracy, I think I shouldn't compare it to another cake simply from memory and I'd like to wait to thaw these cakes until I can bake another variety so I can compare them better. Take all my comments with a grain of salt, remembering that I'm not a professional baker and that I've probably only baked about 20 chocolate cakes in my whole life.

Hey, pepperAnn! I like the lollipop/cookie pop idea, especially after seeing Sinclair's Easter table on the Easter thread. Thanks!

Now, now, Marlene! I'm definitely not a professional. This will be fun and certainly a home baker will know what they like and what they don't - you don't have to be a professional to have taste buds!

Dana - I will try that recipe! Thanks! Sinclair & maggiethecat - I've actually been meaning to try Jaymes' recipe too because it really sounds delicious. Rachel - it looks like peanuts and pecans are big here according to the site you found - I'm wondering about peanut brittle? Chocolate covered peanut brittle? hillvalley - I like the idea of dipping half the Rice Krispy treat in chocolate! Evil! tsquare - Tom Douglas sounds like somebody I need to know about. I'll look it up. Thank you! Thank you, everybody! I love you guys!

I've thought about including sodas or juices, but I'm not sure if these people have refrigerators in their hotel rooms and some people are funny about drinking this stuff room temp. I'll check on the local chips, though! Thank you!

Joni, thank you! I'm going to look up that recipe now. NolaFoodie, I actually am getting my basket ingredients at cost. It's been a blessing for staying under budget. I hadn't thought of a donation box - thank you! tsquare, how do you spice those glazed nuts? I'm just starting to explore this - I've only made glazed nuts once so far. My husband said, "These aren't good enough for the bags," and then he ate the whole entire pound of nuts in 2 days. Every time I turned around he was eating more nuts. I even set some aside to bring to church so I could get a friend to try them and he ate those too! I liked those but I couldn't help but wonder when I tried them if there was a better spice combo out there. I tried chocolate shortbread cookies once at home and I think my recipe was just average because the shortbread was just average. I've made cheese crackers at home before and again, I got an "average" result. It needs to be better than average if I'm going to subject other people to it. It's hard to find good recipes for something like cheese crackers because it's not something I've made often. I always end up buying crackers for these gift bags instead because I guess I'm too lazy to make them!

FWED: I have got to try the fruit jellies. I've never made them and they sound like a great change of pace and delicious as well. Could you post a recipe? (Oops, see below . . .) I will try the marshmallows again. I think I only waited 8 hours to let them dry last time because I was too impatient to play with them. How would you wrap those? Sinclair: I don't think you're being duddy! Consider my audience! I think the microwave popcorn would be great in the bags as long as there were microwaves in the hotel rooms. I'd have to check on that. How would you dress up the Rice Krispie treats? My husband loves those too. My husband actually prefers them plain. My Dad used to make them and he'd mix in peanut butter and spread chocolate chips over the top when they got all melty. I'm definitely going to explore the breakfast cakelet idea. I'll have to test some recipes. I have a good recipe for zucchini bread, but I've never found a banana bread recipe I'm happy with. I've made many decent banana breads but nothing spectacular. I have a nice recipe for a pumpkin ginger muffin, but that might be too exotic for the average palate - I don't know - and plus, even though it tastes great, it's a very moist muffin - so moist that I think the outside would peel off the Saran when it was unwrapped. I like the idea of doing nuts and the recipe I just tried I added a little cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to. They turned out great, but I'm wondering if I could improve them with a different blend of spices. I really appreciate everyone's ideas. This is just what I needed - fresh ideas! Edit: FWED, I found Jaques Torres' recipe online here. They look wonderful!

Whoops - I forgot to mention that I do always include fruit. It's almost always two apples and an orange - usually a Golden Delicious or Granny Smith and a Fuji or Gala. I tried peaches once and red pears a few times, but they bruise so easily that it's difficult to get them to the recipient in good condition. I thought of wrapping them in bubble wrap some cutesy way but have yet to try it. I also generally include nuts, crackers and/or pretzels. I love the idea of a date nut cake! I have some mini loaf pans that would make a cute sized loaf. I can't help but think of banana nut bread or a carrot cake-loaf too. I also have a recipe for granola that I've been meaning to try. I like that idea too. I never thought of Purell or wetnaps and it's an excellent idea. Thank you! I shall clickety on your link next. Thank you!

These gift baskets are for pastors and their wives to make their hotel stay during a church conference more comfortable. I've specifically been asked to include the water, tissue, and mints because they can bring the water with them when they preach, etc, tuck the tissue in their purse in the event they need one, freshen their breath after lunch . . . you get the drift. The snacks are to nosh on between meals. The way it works is they give me a budget - usually $10 per bag, sometimes more, I buy all the stuff, make the bags/baskets, submit the receipts to them and they reimburse me. Originally, I did the bags at cost. Lately, they've been insisting on paying me for my trouble. I don't mind doing it for free because it's for a good cause and the process is fun but I must admit that the thought of getting paid for it is a rush. ("Wow! They think I'm good enough to get PAID! What will I do with the money?!") I'm asking what sort of thing you would make under those conditions I listed above because I need some new ideas. No one has complained that they're tired of the old things and would probably complain if I stopped making the toffee, but I just feel like it's time to do something new. I thought of making caramelized walnuts for the bag and tested chefette's recipe that's posted on this site. It was wonderful and definitely worthy to put in these bags - but I wonder what percentage of the population likes nuts? I'm worried about that. If someone has a specific recipe for something they suggest, that's wonderful. If they don't, that's fine too. I can test and tweak recipes; I'm mainly interested in some fresh ideas. In particular, I'm thinking of something lighter that does not include the same flavor profiles as the toffee, cookies, and muffins I already make, which basically consist of dark chocolate, nuts and caramel. My skills - agh. I used to think they were pretty good until I found eGullet. Now I realize I'm a total, complete amateur compared to you, Sinclair, and eGullet's other pastry people. I'm comfortable with a candy thermometer, but not good enough to go without one. I do nearly all my baking now by weight. I can make pastry well enough to wow my crowd but would be considered average by you. (Actually, the fact that I make my own pie dough wows them before they ever taste it.) My cake decorating skills need work, but I think I'm getting better with piping. I have never tempered chocolate but I'd like to try. I like to think I have an artistic eye and I'm quite patient with fussy details. I am adventurous - I'm willing to try new things and willing to embrace new flavors but I do worry that my audience is not adventurous. I have made nightscotsman's strawberry marshmallows and I was completely blown away, but I had a problem getting them to look as nice as they tasted. I've only made them once and hope I'd do better the next time - I suspect I didn't let them dry long enough before I started cutting them. I'd love to see someone do that so I could get a better idea of how to go about it.

I've been making gift bags/baskets for church functions for a couple of years now. Generally, I'm asked to make about 20 bags with a budget of $10 per bag. That's not much to work with and it's even less when you figure in the cost of the bag or basket itself plus tissue paper and other decor. I've been asked to always include water, pocket-sized tissue packs, and mints plus any other kinds of snacks I can dream up. My question is this: what would YOU include in such a bag? Remember, everything has to be able to remain fresh for several days at room temp, must use cheap ingredients, must be able to be wrapped up in Saran (it's cheap and plus gives a good view of the product) and has to appeal to the general public. My standards right now are Rose Levy Beranbaum's Mahogany Buttercrunch Toffee, a tweaked version of her Mrs. King's Irrestistibles, a flourless peanut butter cookie and pecan pie mini muffins. All of these recipes are solid and have gotten rave reviews, but I'm tired of making them. It's all nuts, chocolate and caramel flavors. It seems so redundant somehow. And again, it all has to be about CHEAP. Ideas, anyone?

I have made Beranbaum's chocolate angel food cake also - and it's the best angel food cake I've ever made. It's very moist and as nightscotsman said, not overly sweet. I wish I had some now!

I don't know the answers to your questions, but it seems a shame to see this slide off the board without being answered.

Buttermilk biscuits - I've yearned to master these as long as I've been cooking and I've never managed it. I've tried lots of different recipes and have actually turned out some nice biscuits - but none of them were what I was after - tall, fluffy, very buttermilky-tasting cut out biscuits with craggy tops. Hardees makes a better biscuit than I do and that smarts.

I have very long hair but I usually wear it up and out of the way. Nevertheless, every couple of months I find one of my hairs in the food. I've always been embarrassed to find it if anyone else is eating but I've also always wondered. How unsanitary IS hair? I mean, it's on your HEAD, not your tail. How dirty is it? I understand the possibilities, but I'd be much more worried about someone's hands in my food. Another thing I've always wondered - what about ARM hair? Some people appear to have rugs on their arms and that must get into the food. My husband worked in a pizza place once and when they mixed the sauce the Parm would get hung up in the bottom of the Hobart. The boss told them to SHUT THE DOOR, then roll up your sleeve and stick your arm right in the sauce to unclog things . . . up to your elbow. My husband has hairy arms and his boss had even hairier arms. ICK! I've seen some hairy folks in my day and some guys even have long "finger hair" on their hands.

Off topic: Bergerka, what do you think of American Idol? Do you follow it at all? On topic: How often do you guys eat dessert?

I'm concerned about the Atkins diet. My husband has been on and off it in the last year or so. He lost 20-25 lbs but has gained it back since then. His cholesterol pre-Atkins was 219 and now it's 274. The doctors didn't get too alarmed about 219 and even said, "Oh, now we don't worry unless your cholesterol is at least 230." (This sounded really ignorant to me.) But now, everyone is ALARMED! (BTW, this was a fasting cholesterol check.) He's having to do a 3-day blood pressure check now and afterwards has to discuss his results with the doctor and probably will get put on meds. His BP yesterday was 130/79. One of our friends went on the Atkins diet for maybe 6 months and lost 45 lbs. Her cholesterol went up 50 points - she knows the pre-and post- numbers and they were taken almost immediately before and then during the diet. She quit the diet immediately. So, what's happening here? I read the Atkins diet book and it says these numbers should IMPROVE. Are there some people this doesn't work for? I've heard other people say their numbers have gotten better. What's going on?

Could you pour in a layer of batter and freeze until firm enough to pour in the next layer? I have never frozen cheesecake batter before and it might be a bad idea.

I've braised and roasted a pork butt before. It was fabulous. It was hard to move it from the crock pot to a pan, but it can be done. I painted it with tonkatsu and roasted for about 30 minutes. The crust was beautifully caramelized and crunchy and the inside was meltingly tender. It seems like grilling it might be harder (I didn't turn mine over), but I bet it could be done successfully.

My Mexican friend used plain old Mahatma long grain, and she used the knuckle method of measuring water. I've never been comfortable with that method, so I laboriously measured my tomato sauce and water to 1 and 3/4 cup to 1 cup of rice. It turned out the same as hers, so I guess that's pretty close.

I have a friend who is Mexican and her mother makes this kind of rice. She sautees the rice in oil - 2 or 3 tablespoons - until it's definitely browning, then adds a small can of tomato sauce and water to make up the rest of the liquid. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I like adding a clove or two of garlic (minced) toward the end of the saute. It is a bit bland, but in a comforting way. It's meant to be a side dish, a supporting player to the main. The funny thing is that this friend insists that no matter how much rice you're making, you only use one small can (8 oz?) of tomato sauce. She admits the rice turns out less "red" if you make more, but this is how her mother does it. I like it.

We make these and call them steamers - basically hot milk, maybe a dollop of half and half, sugar and flavoring. Sometimes the flavoring has sugar in it (so obviously delete the sugar) like dulce de leche, plain old caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, etc. My recipe varies according to what we have on hand. I've made them for a long time for my youngest daughter who is small for her age. The doctors worried about her weight, so I was trying to fatten her up. These helped because at her age then (about a year old) she was much more inclined to drink than eat. She'll probably always be small, but I'm sure these helped her pack on a pound or two! My two older kids love them too but don't get them as often. I just tried a new one with milk, half and half and some of the syrup leftover from macerated strawberries. It makes those strawberry milk powders pale in comparison.

I would absolutely love to hear about your wife's progress. My mother-in-law is due to have the same surgery sometime this year. (She's on a waiting list.) She's already asked me for help - but not to cook! My father-in-law says he'd be embarrassed to go buy baby food for her and she wants me to do it. I'm wondering if baby food is going to provide enough nutrients/protein for her. I'd like to know everything about her surgery so I can help her if she needs me. She doesn't cook now because she doesn't get around too well, so if I brought her some things she'd probably really appreciate it.

I love to cook a huge chuck roast or pork sirloin roast in a crock pot and then make two or three dinners from the results. With the pork, I use part of the meat to make shredded pork sandwiches with a vinegar-based BBQ sauce and coleslaw. With beef, I may use part of the meat to make stew. For leftovers, I almost always use a truckload of garlic, a healthy dose of salt and then saute it to make fried rice, a stir fry, or I use it as a filling for tortillas, etc. Last week I made soup with leftover chuck roast - I sauteed it with the garlic and salt, plus ginger, some onions, red peppers and mushrooms, then added beef stock and bok choy. It was amazing. There are so many variations! I've been meaning to try filling an empanada with this crispy, garlicky meat and maybe an olive or two, but I haven't tried it yet.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken from the Barefoot Contessa Wilted Cucumber Salad from epicurious Rice - just plain ol' rice It was all very nice, though. I'd never tried the chicken recipe before or the cucumber salad.