ElainaA

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! I have no idea what we will eat New Years Eve, Mainly because, at latest count, we have 34 people coming for brunch New Years Day. I'm not absolutely sure what we will eat then either, but I'm working on it. (It is possible that New Years Eve will be take out pizza. I hope not but it could happen.)

Curls - I was shelling and filling. I'll try Kerry's advice. I am a strictly amateur, seasonal candy maker so my next try won't be for awhile. It was just surprising because I have never had this problem with my cheap molds - and buying this one felt like a leap for me.

Roast chicken with tomato chutney, roasted potatoes and grated beets

Kerry - Thanks for the advice - I'll try this next time. I am wondering if the temperature of the mold might to an issue. Greweling says to heat the molds to 80 F before filling them, although he says this step is optional. My kitchen is cool - usually 667 - 68 F unless the oven and or wood stove are on. The new mold is MUCH heavier than my other molds so I am wondering if the cold plastic is throwing the chocolate out of temper. Since I had never warmed my other molds and never had problems it didn't occur to me to warm this one.

No. I have not put the mold in the fridge at all. The only time i have ever done that is just before unmolding, for 10 - 15 minutes.

For years I have made molded chocolates using either cheap, flimsy plastic molds or flexible silicone molds - with very consistent success. This year I purchased a polycarbonate mold. Today I made to batches of chocolates - one using a combination of the new polycarbonate mold plus a cheap plastic mold and the other using a combination of a silicone mold and several cheap plastic molds. I tempered the chocolate for both batches using the same procedure. The batch in the cheap molds + silicone mold came out perfectly. For the batch in the polycarbonate mold, about 60% had severe bloom. The part of that batch in the plastic mold was perfect. (I was worried about that because it was the last mold poured.) I have never had bloom in molded chocolates before. So - I assume there is a learning curve here? Is there something I need to do differently using a polycarbonate mold? I hope some of the experts out there can give me some advice.

Pork tenderloin, just quickly pan-fried, red onions cooked with honey, vinegar and wine and sweet potatoes with sautéed apples.

My SOD (Seasonal Obsessive Disorder - subtype candy making) is kicking in - I am starting preparation for my yearly holiday gifts. Strictly amateur but lots of fun. Nothing chocolate yet - that starts next week. So far it is pretty monotone but that will change. I'm making lollipops this year - raspberry; saffron, vanilla and ginger with brandy; and salted chocolate caramel. Sesame candy with almonds and orange and lemon zest, and cashew butter crunch Peanut brittle and candied orange peel. You can see the peel-less oranges lurking in the background. Hopefully we will eat them before they dry out.

It's my husband's birthday - this was his requested dinner. Pasta with cauliflower sautéed in olive oil and briefly steamed, taken out of the pan. More olive oil added, garlic browned, anchovies added and mashed and the cauliflower put back in. Parsley and bread crumbs added just before mixing the sauce with the pasta. Plus, of course (it's me) a salad. The wine was a Centine Toscana 2013 - very nice. My traditional birthday present to him is a dozen bottles of wine - this was one of them. It feels like cheating since I get to share the wine.

This is a recipe I cut out of the NYTimes some months ago - a Sam Sifton column. Chicken Shawarma. This is a dress rehearsal for the meal that I am always responsible for on Christmas Eve for extended family. Chicken thighs marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, turmeric, paprika, pepper flakes then roasted with quartered red onions. Served over rice pilaf (it should have been basmati rice but I didn't have any to my surprise). Topped with white sauce ( yogurt, mayo, lemon juice and garlic) and red sauce ( ketchup cooked down with red wine vinegar and hot sauce) with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers and olives. Fried eggplant with garlic, pine nuts and parsley as a side.

We (husband and I) are just back from Thanksgiving in Massachusetts with our daughter. Just the 3 of us, nothing elaborate, just a nice family time. We started dinner with some seafood chowder she had purchased from the local 'chowda' house (the restaurant's spelling, not mine!). The main meal was pan roasted duck breast with cranberry mostarda, latkes (because we love them and will not be together for Hanukkah) with the mandatory applesauce and sour cream and green beans stir fried with lots of garlic and thyme. There was a lovely multi-grain bread from her local bakery, the Hungry Ghost. Micaela (my daughter) had made an apple pie for dessert because it is my favorite and I had taken a pumpkin pie because it is her favorite. Luckily my husband likes both. I used my favorite duck 'recipe'. The ingredients called for are duck breasts and a full bottle of wine. The recipe begins" "Open the wine, pour and sip. We are not adding any to the duck. It's for the chef." I followed the recipe faithfully.

The pate de campagne recipe I use makes 2 loaves. Since I usually make it for a party there has never been enough left of loaf #1 to figure out how long it keeps refrigerated. But It does freeze very well. I do not have a vacuum sealer - I just triple wrap it. I have no idea where my recipe came from - it is written on a much stained piece of graph paper and I have had it for at least 30 years.(I know it pre-dates my daughter.) Besides pork, veal and pork fat, it includes mushrooms, pistachios and prosciutto. I think it is very good but I have limited comparison data. I should be working on that.

The breads here are so beautiful! Right now I am just baking some family favorites to take to our daughter's for Thanksgiving: English muffins. This is my mother's recipe - a family heirloom. The one thing that always shows up at any family gathering. Lavash crackers. To go with cheeses and fruit paste. From The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Mini- pumpkin muffin doughnuts. My husband's favorite. Note: The pictures show the bits I have saved for immediate consumption. The rest are in the freezer waiting for Massachusetts and Thanksgiving.

Dinners this week need to be really easy as I am getting ready to go to our daughter's in Massachusetts for the holiday. Sunday night: grilled kielbasa, potato salad and roasted broccoli. Tonight - a really basic beef stew (but good!) with a not-pictured salad and bread.

Much as I love roasted asparagus and brioche I think I'm with your niece on this one. That looks great - for any time of day.

I take no credit for this - it was my husband's night to cook. Pasta with mushrooms, ham, peas, onion and cream. Parmesan on top. And a salad.

Can I be a grammar nazi and say OVEN IS NOT A VERB!!!! (I know this will probably be wiped out by the moderators but I just had to say it.)

Dinner tonight: Pork marinated overnight with garlic, cayenne and black pepper, sautéed, cooked with rice with saffron, thyme and capers; peas and roasted red peppers added at the end. I think it needed either more saffron or less cayenne. With sautéed green beans with garlic, thyme and pepper butter and lemon.

WOW! Very ordinary dinners compared to what is posted here! A Marcella Hazan night: thin cut beef steaks (strip steak) with tomatoes, olives, onions and garlic. with pasta with garlic and olive oil. And a salad. Last night: chicken breast fillets with 3 kinds of peppers and cream, with rice (with some of the peppers and cream on top. And, of course, a salad.

I am just back from an impulse long week end in Manhatten. (If you live in upstate NY that is"The City") so we arrived home in the wee hours of Monday morning and had to get up not much later given commitments so no time for grocery shopping or even, really (given how sleep deprived we both were) thinking about meals. So: Take some sausage out of the freezer, get a can of (home canned) tomatoes from the pantry and make a quick sauce. Luckily enough veggies survived the weekend for a salad. And since one of my commitments ( retrieving Fanny the wonder dog from the kennel) took me past the Ithaca Bakery, we have a sourdough batard. (I managed to fit in J.B Prince, NY Cake and Pastry Co., the Broadway Panhandler and Kalustyans - as well as a full day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - a good trip.)

I made my husband (the plumber) read this. His comments: "if they are really neat freaks it should be ok. In our house it would not last a year." That's more a comment on me than on the sink!

Spinach ricotta pie from Moosewood Cookbook. Well, sort of. I knew I needed more ricotta but I forgot to stop at the grocery on my way home from work. So this is spinach ricotta-yougurt-sourcream-cream cheese pie. I finished off several partial containers of dairy in the refrigerator - and it tasted just fine. Although I do not use this book very much I am very fond of it - it was a gift from my staff when I left my job at Cornell in 1980. And Moosewood Restaurant is iconic in Ithaca. There was supposed to be a salad with greens, cukes and pears to go with - but did I mention I forgot to stop at the store? No greens or pears. We ended up with a side dish of corn, tomatoes and green pepper with some chili. Good but it could have used more heat. Also a very retro carrot, raisin and pecan salad. Since I like it, I call it retro rather than old-fashioned.

Shelby -If you like Better Than Store Bought, the author has another book - Fancy Pantry - on the same theme - how to make things most people buy. My only caviat is that she doesn't process all her jams or uses very short processing times, which I think is unsafe. I process everything and use standard times from the NCHP site. But the recipes all work. And I love the concept. If your family would consider a different sweet potato recipe, I recently found one with an apple and pecan topping. I haven't tried it but it looks really good. I can't remember where I found it but I have it at home so I can post a link when I'm there if you want. (I am right now "volunteering" in my husband's office - so I can goof off any time I want. ) (I thought it might be from right here but a quick search doesn't find it.) When we still did a traditional, extended family Thanksgiving, I HAD to make the same stuffing every year - cornbread, sausage and pecans - or there was universal outrage.

I use a recipe from Helen Witty's Better Than Store Bought - one of my favorite books. The ingredient list looks a bit intimidating but it really is pretty basic stuff. I make 2 batches each fall - we don't use a lot of ketchup so that sees us through until the next tomato harvest. 8 qts. ripe tomatoes (preferably plum) 1 stick cinnamon (2"0 ) broken 1 1/2 c. chopped onion 1 T whole black pepper corns 1/2 c. chopped celery, with leaves 1 bay leaf 1/2 c, chopped sweet red pepper 1 t. whole cloves 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 t. ground coriander 2 T. salt 1/4 t. celery seed 2 c. cider vinegar 1/4 t. red pepper flakes (or more to taste) 1 T. mustard seeds 1/4 c. sugar 1 T. whole allspice 1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar 1. Wash, drain and quarter the tomatoes. Cook , stirring occasionally about 30 minutes, until soft. Measure 4 qts of pulp into a large pot. 2. Add the onion, celery, sweet red pepper,garlic, salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil. 3. Tie the spices (mustard seeds, allspice, cinnamon, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves, coriander, celery seed and pepper flakes into a square of cheese cloth. Add to tomato mixture. Add sugars. Cook over medium heat until the ketchup thickens moderately. (I've never timed this - it takes a while) 4. Strain the ketchup through a large sieve, pressing hard on the vegetables. Discard the pulp and spice bag and strain again. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. 5. Reheat. If not tick enough boil longer, stirring. 6. Ladle into sterilized half-pint of pint jars, seal and process 10 minutes for half-pints, 15 minutes for pints. Makes 8-9 half pints.