JFLinLA

For what it's worth, the Lauren Groveman Challah recipe from the Baking with Julia Book is my standard challah recipe. Note that it includes butter and milk for a really yummy taste but, I have made it before using mocha mix and margarine and it's still great. I have a batch in the fridge as we speak for the first rise. Tomorrow I will divide in half and knead golden raisins into one.

For what it's worth, the Lauren Groveman Challah recipe from the Baking with Julia Book is my standard challah recipe. Note that it includes butter and milk for a really yummy taste but, I have made it before using mocha mix and margarine and it's still great. I have a batch in the fridge as we speak for the first rise. Tomorrow I will divide in half and knead golden raisins into one.

Tomato sounds yummy. Could you share that recipe? (I'm planning to bring a tomato salad to the beach for our Tashlich picnic dinner. There is truly something special about doing this at the Pacific Ocean.) I'll check out JC's vichyssoise. Apple ginger borsche? Sounds good. Can you share that too?

Don't have the recipe in front of me but you know -- onions, garlic, red wine, tomato paste, etc. Will cook long and slow ahead, chill, de-fat, slice and leave to soak in yummy juices.

Cold soup? Okay. I don't make a lot of soup . . . though I always think I should make it more. Gazspacho doesn't really go with the meal. Any other suggestions?

So I got to this a little late but just decided that I will make dinner for Wednesday night for my family of four plus my neighbors who will just be arriving back in town that afternoon after delivering their oldest to her freshman year at college (the notes of Sunrise, Sunset are welling in the background). I'm usually the baker in the family but will do a brisket . . . there's a recipe I've been meaning to try. Could someone enlighten me on the differences and the terms first cut, second cut, point cut and the pluses and minuses of each? Will also make 2 round challahs -- one with raisins, one without. An apple caramel cake for dessert. Still need to decide on a vegetable. I may skip the soup altogether. I know it's traditional and yummy but it's just too darn much food and it's damn hot here in So Cal.

Oy. Just back from 10 days out of town. My parents are still away and I won't see my in-laws till this weekend. Still doing laundry from the trip and need to get the kids ready for school. In the words of Scarlett O'hara, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

Kevin: Thanks. So, if I take a regular cheesecake recipe for say an 8" or 9" round pan, it should convert to an 8 or 9 inch square? And then I can scale from there? Is that how it works? Maybe a double recipe for quarter sheet size? I'm usually pretty fearless in the kitchen but, for all the baking I do, I just haven't done a lot of cheesecakes. Don't know why. I should just go for it. I appreciate the help. Jody

Mmmmm! Bite-size squares. I always love to serve things this way. Could you explain how to prepare such a cheesecake for a home baker?

Sad? Not really. She lived a long full life, and what a life it was. She lives on through the impact she has had and continues to.

As another one of the home bakers, let me chime in with some ideas of how to structure and on-line class: I'd start with some basic recipes -- ganaches, butter creams, etc. The differences in different types of recipes. Italian vs. french vs. uncooked butter cream. Yolks vs. whites. Which are easier/harder to make, store and which hold up better. What they do and don't work well for. That's a class right there. Then move on to basic frosting -- crumb coating, glazing, getting a smooth or textured finish, etc. After that, some basic piping and other decorating skills. If we want to get really ambitious, we could move on to more advanced piping, decorating with marzipan, fondant, etc. but the above would be a great, great start. To make things easier, people wouldn't need a pile of cakes to practice with. I took a hands-on fondant class this past winter and the teacher had a bunch of styrofoam disks she covered to work on. Anyway, what's great about eGCI is that it's always there. Life is hectic and, even if I can't play along at the time a class is in session, I can check back when my schedule allows, read through the Q&As, and go at it on my own. Yes, I've got RLB's book but even for someone who bakes as much as I do, these fine points of difference between her vast arrays of frostings can sometimes be daunting. Let's face it, I've just come to trust you guys.

Russ, can you chime in here? He did a thing some months back in the LA Times on the various fish buying places around town. You might try scrolling through the Digests of the LA Times food section here.

Isn't that on Pico in West LA? East of Overland?

If everything is better on a stick, how about red (strawberry), white (vanilla) & blue (blueberry) marshmallow kabobs?

Holy cow and totally gorgeous! Congrats all around. PS -- Can we move this to the baking forum so Steve can get wider appreciation?

Best Cannoli -- Nicolosi's on Ventura in Encino. They are not in the case as they fill them fresh for you when you come in so be sure to ask. Best Italian Deli -- Sorrento's on Sepulveda in Culver City. Many, many good things there. Any of the fresh sliced deli meats I've gotten there have been great, the fresh mozzarella was fab, lots and lots of other good stuff. (Except, skip the cannoli here and head to Nicolosi's. Too bad they are not closer together.) For a selection of great burger places, see JSChyun's summary of the article in today's LA Times in the digest posted on this board and for a link to the full article. Langer's on Alvarado just west of downtown LA for great hand-sliced pastrami and fabulous rye bread.

Thanks FWED for experimenting with this. At least I know I'm not crazy. Or maybe we are crazy together. Since your results were similar to mine in terms of the cookies spreading, I gotta think there is a problem with the recipe in the book. Anybody else give these a go. I think we have a mystery on our hands.

See what I get for going out of town last weekend. It's taken me all week to catch up with all of you and find this thread. Not much to add except, for those of you who missed the Joan Nathan recipe for sweet cheese latkes from Hanukkah, Shavuot is the perfect holiday to try them for. Unless you want to wait until December again. If you have any cream cheese left, this is a great one. Even if you don't have any left, go get some. It's a great recipe anyway.

First of all, thanks to everyone for all their input. In response to specific questions/comments: Sinclair -- They tasted great, it was really the way they looked that upset me. Not what I had hoped for or how they are pictured in the book. Of course, tasting great is subjective so, if you want a cookie/curd concoction that will make you pucker, this is it. Steve -- Regarding convection ovens, yes. I've had mine for a year and a half and have become pretty adept at it with the recipes I use. Or at least I thought so until this one. As for the next time, I think I only want to vary a few things at a time and see how it goes. So, I will definitely shape then freeze the dough before baking. I will probably do some of the mixing by hand. I may increase the oven temp 25 degrees. Will definitely check it against an oven thermometer. If any of you try this, please let me know how you do.

Yes, I tried not to beat the dough too much. I'm off to brown some butter now. I need to pick up some more limes and will try to bake again later this week. I don't completely understand the fat to sugar to flour thing. I do understand the cold dough, hot oven theory. It's one I subscribe to. That's how I bake my chocolate chip cookies so they don't spread -- actually from frozen balls of dough. Thanks for all your input and even willingness to try them out for me.

Kew: You will give us a report on your results, right?

Okay, here's the lime-meltaway recipe: 1/2 pound of butter, melted, browned then rechilled till solid. 3 Tablespoons lime zest 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar (plus more for dusting) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups flour sifted With the paddle attachment, cream butter, zest and juice until cream colored. Scrape down bowl and add sugar and salt. Cream till smooth and lump free. Scrape down, add flour on low speed and beat just till incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic and chill. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on lined baking sheets. Press thumb into each ball to create a concave center. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden brown. Dust generously with additional powdered sugar. Cool, then fill indentations with lemon curd.

I decided to make this recipe from S. Yard's book for Mother's Day. It's on page 321 but is really a combination of the cookie recipe on page 187 and the curd recipe on page 75. As with any first time with a recipe, I followed it exactly. Unfortunately, the Lime Meltaway cookie part of the recipe did not retain it's shape. The cookies spread out completely into thin, crispy disks. So rather than having a nice little indentation to fill with lemon curd, I ended up sandwiching the disks together with the curd. Tasty, yes. But not what I was going for. I baked these at home in my Kitchenaid convection oven which I was pretty sure had been properly preheated. (I believe it was even at least 10-15 minutes after reaching temp before I put the dough in.) I have plenty of curd left and would like to try again but would appreciate any advice. Here is what I am planning to do for the next attempt: 1. Check that the oven is at the right temp with the thermometer I have. 2. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time. 3. After shaping the balls of dough with the thumbprints, freeze (or at least re-chill) the dough before baking. What do you think?

Well if you'll let an amateur chime in -- I'm planning on making a strawberry tart for Mother's day this coming weekend -- I'm using the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets though I'm using Nightscotsman's recipe for strawberry marshmallows. Those are already made. I also made some lemon curd for the lime meltaways from S. Yard's book.

LA Times Food Section -- April 28, 2004 No time to post the links to the individual articles this week but here's the link to the LA Times Food Section. From there, you can easily get to any of the articles summarized below. You can now lift recipes directly from Amazon.com. Some cookbook authors like it, others don't. Russ Parsons tells you why. Charles Perry tells who is doing amazing things with seafood cocktails. Recipes for Santa barbara spot prawn martini with Thai spices, Cafe Atlantic's shrimp cocktail, and Dungeness crab with mano and red grapefruit. In a companion article, find out about the history of the oyster cocktail and a recipe. In response to his colum on rude customers, David Shaw talks about what constitutes bad service and when you should complain. There's a quick rundown of the book winners at the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Barbara Hansen tells everything there is to know about lemon grass including recipes for Lemon grass drink, Yum takrai (lemon grass with dried shrimp and cashew), and Lemon grass-coconut rice pudding. Find out how to grow your own if you want. The Wine of the Week is 2002 Alphonse Mellot 'La Moussiere' Sancerre. For her review this week, S. Irene Virbila gives 2 stars to Opaline and its new chef, Jason Travi. In Restaurant Journal, Leslee Komaiko tells who likes to dine upstairs or downstairs at different restaurants. You can also catch up on the latest news about Cobras & Matadors, Amuse Cafe & Tamayo.