ChocoMom

I can't speak about empanadas, but pasties are a staple around here. Traditionally, you'd use equal amounts of ground beef and ground pork. mix with diced carrots, potatoes, onions and rutabaga, Season with salt and pepper, If you've got your pie crust laid out flat, you'd scoop the meat/veggie mixture onto one half, leaving some room around the edges to seal. Now, Grandma Saimi used to top the mixture with a pat of butter, then fold over the dough, and seal by pressing a fork around the edges. You can brush with an egg-water wash, if you'd like There is no gravy to speak of inside this. My kids douse them ketchup, and some folks like gravy, but the meat is very moist inside and gravy isn't really necessary. Up here, they used to take pasties down into the copper mines for their meal. Very easy to carry. They can be wrapped in foil, or wrap in parchment paper and ziploc, then frozen. Years ago, when my kids were toddlers, (I'd get my parents to babysit) and I'd spend one or two days a month buddy-cooking with my neighbor. In one day, we made 40 pasties, and 20 1-gal Ziploc bags of spaghetti sauce. =)

Franci...your cakes are beyond beautiful! Your business is sure to be a phenomenal success!! PanCan....That cake a AMAZING! My nephews would kill for that! Kim....That cake, those brownies....there are no words. Just me, drooling on the computer keyboard again. I've been working on too many chocolate orders to have much time for baking goodies. I finally managed to get some bread dough made yesterday, only to throw it into the oven without allowing it time to rise. Thankfully, hubby and kids weren't too discriminating last night at dinner, and they happily devoured that brick/bread.

There is a Finnish baked pancake that's popular around here..It is called Finnish Kropsu. (Which I believe means "baked pancake") 3 eggs 1/2 c sugar 1 t salt 2 c milk 1-1/4 c flour Melted butter oven 375 for 20 min mix all ingredients with mixer (*or immersion blender), except for the butter. 1/2 stick of butter, melt in pan. Use either a 9 by 13, or a large round iron pan. Once the butter is melted, add half of it to the batter and mix. once mixed, pour the batter onto the remaining hot butter in the pan and bake. My FIL does not make the baked one; his are more like the pannukakku batter, only he makes them into ultra-thin, crepe-like yummies that we drown in syrup, or sprinkle powdered sugar on. They're mighty tasty. All the kids and grandkids "make reservations at Grandpa's" for breakfast when they come to visit, because they know he'll make those for them.

I won't bother to post the Nisu recipe....it looks exactly like EsaK's. I did find a few others while digging around.... Rieksa is a Finnish flat bread my hubby's grandma used to make, and passed on to my MIL. These recipes are old, so not converted to g's. Oven: 350 Bake time: 25m 3c White Flour 1 1/2c Barley flour 3t. baking powder 1t baking soda 2c buttermilk 1/4 c sugar 2t salt 1/2 c shortening Mix as for pie crust. Flatten in ungreased pan. Bake. ... This is right out of the old book, as is. We always make the dough into a circle. and baked it on either a pizza stone, or a round pizza pan. Another one was Joulu Limppu bread. Seems like we ate it around Christmas time. (Not a clue what that translates to- as I am not the Finnish one.) But, it makes 5 loaves. There's some serious carb-loading going on here.... but it's right outta the book. Oven: 400 for 20m, then 300 for 45m. 1 1/2 Qt warm water 10 large potatoes 3 c rye flour 3/4 c molasses salt 1 cake fresh yeast 1/4 Oleo 1/4 lb lard white flour Topping recipe (follows) Cook and mash potatoes. Mix with warm water and rye flour and let sit overnight. *I am assuming the potatoes are peeled.* Dissolve yeast with small amount of warm water and add to rye flour and potato mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Knead in enough white flour so dough doesn't stick to hands. Let rise. Shape into loaves. Bake at 400 for 20m, the 300 for 45m. Topping: While bread is still warm, spread with a mixture of butter, water, brown sugar and dark syrup which has been boiled. Runny mixture. I can't make this stuff up. This is exactly how its written. No measurements on the topping, so I guess- just wing it. ??? Grandma Saimi used to make Fish Head stew, Head Cheese, Blood Sausage, and Squeaky Cheese too. Don't know where those recipes are. Not sure that hubby would like me to resurrect the FIsh Head stew one, either. There was something he mentioned about fish eyes that grossed him out as a kid. Now, Fish Mojakka is tolerable. If you want me to post that, I certainly will. The directions are a little on the long side, but if anyone wants it, I will be glad to post.

@Smithy.. I'd have to dig the recipe out, and after I am done with this round of chocolates...I will. (Gotta get a few orders done asap.) Those two words confused me also. I believe "Pulla" comes from the main Finnish dialect, and Nisu is from another (or the other way around). I know there are a few different dialects...One is the standard Finnish (which is what my FIL speaks), another in Sweden, and another in Norway. I only know a few words in Finnish....mostly swear words (thanks to FIL), some foods, and the word "welcome". Uncle Carl looked up all my kids' names in Finnish, and that's what he'd call them by. I only learned 2 out of the 5.

Having married into a Finnish family some twenty years ago, and living da U.P. amongst mostly Fins, I learned to make Pannukakku years ago. Learning how to make it was pretty much a condition of marriage. (That, plus enduring the stream-fishing adventures with Uncle Carl aka Kala.) Its a staple for alot of folks. And, out of that batter, with some tweeking, you'll get Finnish pancakes- which my FIL excels at making. Birch syrup is amazing. Some friends down the road from me make it, and sell it locally. Not sure if they have a website, but it would be under "Niemela Family Growers". They do fantastic maple syrup, as well. Another addictive food is Nisu (or Pulla in Finnish). Its a sweet bread containing ample amounts of cardamom. My FIL enjoys it with a light icing; my kids like it slathered with butter. We usually braid it, and that's how you'd find it at most all the stores and bakeries up here. Sometimes, you'll find the Nisu with raisins or sliced almonds..but I never make it that way. edit: We just celebrated Heikkenpaiva up here, and welcomed the Finnish Consulate General to the festivities. LOTS of Finnish foods in great abundance there were!

Sounds like the El Rey and the Askinosie need to be on the next chocolate order. Mmmmm. FWIW, the Guittard Soie Blanche 35% is my workhorse -white chocolate. I've used it in conjunction with Notter's Key Lime, and my own takes on Passionfruit/Mango, French Silk, Strawberry Cream, and Irish Cream. (Sometimes for the shell, sometimes for the ganache.) Pectin is called for in the Key Lime, along with an ample amount of lime juice and zest. I've not had anyone tell me it's too sweet. A bit tart, in fact. I've found that espresso powder (in ganache) is also effective in cutting or balancing the sweetness of white chocolate.

Made the sloppy joe, as planned. 5 or 6 pounds of grass fed ground beef....gone in a flash. Snicker Salad....ditto. Its so silly, but so irresistible! SIL made the 7 layer dip, and brought chips...so that was nice snack during halftime. FIL bought an ice cream cake from DQ...which the younger crowd promptly devoured. I was pretty shocked. Even after a couple of beers, FIL was pretty tame during the game...Except after that facemask in the first half. Even though he's a Bronco's fan, he thought 21 should have been ejected- and he was pretty colorful while making his point. OY! The day before this, he came over with MIL for his birthday dinner. I made about 10 pounds of BBQ'd short ribs; fried potatoes (from the garden), coleslaw, baked beans, and rolls. Since he has to watch his sugar, I did an SF cake for him, with coconut and pecans. Not my cup of tea, but, he liked it plenty. I had a bottle of that sparkling grape juice stuff out for the kids at dinner. FIL thought it was wine, and drank almost the whole bottle. Gotta love him!

Love the Goldilocks comparison, Curls! And, I'd echo that exactly. The shop I made chocolates for downtown required a variety of options, as the customer's tastes were so diverse. The never-failed-to-please, fly off the shelf choices were: milk chocolate -sea salt caramel; dark chocolate (72%) sea salt caramel, Key Lime in white chocolate (Ewald Notter's formula sans the feulletine pcs), dark chocolate (72%) Lemon&Lavendar. I have the same problem with my family taste testers.

I completed the survey as well, but was perplexed by the vague questions. I had to choose "other" repeatedly and provide explanations. Not sure how helpful that was to the OP. And equally bothersome was seeing "cooking/baking" in many of the questions-as if they are terms that can be used interchangeably. They are two different things in my world. I don't prep, measure, and work the same way when baking as I do when cooking. Like Deryn carefully explained above, there is a lack of basic food prep skill and home economics knowledge amongst many of the younger folks in our society. They need to know that there is difference between those two terms, and learn what those differences are. I'm not trying to be nit-picky, but it really made me wonder as to the OP's level of understanding regarding these things. (As a parent, I refused to let my kids grow up without learning basic cooking skills. I'm their Mother, not their maid. My job is to take care of them when they are young, and teach them how to take of themselves when they get older. At 18, 17 and 10, they can all cook quite well, and bake to greater or lesser degrees.) Reading the survey, I wondered where the OP falls, with regard to really understanding these things, also. The only idea that crossed my mind regarding her goal/tool is perhaps something in the form of a "meal-prep app" where a user could choose their desired meal and recipe, transmit that data to their grocer, pay electronically, and have all their ingredients ready to pick up at the checkout. Seems a little reminiscent of The Jetson's. Personally, I couldn't trust something like that only because many of the clerks and cashier's haven't a clue about produce, so, if their selections are incorrect.... one can only imagine the culinary disasters that await.

I completely forgot about the Snicker Salad! If I show up without it, the family will disown me. . Grannie Smith Apples, diced Snicker Bars, chopped Mini-marshmellows Coolwhip Not a high-caliber, culinary masterpiece by any stretch of imagination. But, it is damn tasty.

I've been mulling this over for a week now. We're all going over to Grandpa's for the SB. (Yes, the grandpa without a filter.) So obviously, no wine. I can't help it if he has beer there, though. He gets so worked up at the ref's sometimes...the less alcohol the better. (As if the referees can hear Gramps swearing at them in Finnish.) IDK. Foodwise...my sister in law is bring chips and seven-layer dip. I had been contemplating sloppy joes, because everyone loves that. Also looking at doing a Chopska salad. My friend from Bulgaria got me hooked years ago, and I have a ton of fresh parsley still growing on the porch. For sweets. something lighter and more snacky..homemade chewy granola bars. Still pondering though. Much of my normal ambition escapes me since I pulled a muscle in my back Monday.

I knew I wanted an EZ Temper after reading about it, but it would require a bit of saving. But now, after just reading how Rob cranked out 400 pieces in 3.5 hours....I've moved it to the very tippy top of the birthday wish list (which I shall leave in hubby's briefcase). With the amount of time saved (not to mention stress), it seems crazy not to get one! It seems more paramount after my experiences the past 4 weeks. I've had an incredible number of short orders this holiday season- called in at 10 or 11 am, and want to pick the order up in 5-6 hours. That doesn't leave much time for the packaging and ribbon wrapping they want, also. I am simply astounded at how much time is saved with the EZTemper! I'd imagine that my family would be happier too, seeing me far less stressed, with a bit more free time. And, I fully intend on using that as a selling point, when the hubs questions me about it. =)

This. And, while not a high-ticket item, a hairdryer is quite handy if you don't have heat gun. It can help keep chocolate in temper, easy to use for cleaning molds, and counter tops, etc. And, the microwave....especially the microwave. On days like this, when a call comes in at 10:30 am for huge order that's needed the same afternoon... I'm not sure if anything is faster or handier for speeding up the chocolate melting than the trusty, dusty microwave. =)

The beef shanks, since they come from the leg muscle area, tend to be kind of tough and chewy- just because that muscle gets so much use. Beef from a younger animal (less than a yr) will yield something slightly better. But, either way, the shanks tend to need a longer cook time, with moist heat. To help eliminate the usual toughness, I add in a couple splashes of apple cider vinegar while thawing the meat and cooking. I do use soup bones when doing large batches of stock for freezing. If I've budgeted enough time, I can cook them long and slow, and get all that beefy goodness out that's packed inside. Amazing amounts of collagen in there, too. For the days I'm short on time, well, I cheat. I grab a couple chuck steaks out of the freezer, toss them in the slow cooker with water, salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar. in a few hours, its cooked enough so that I can cut it all up to add to my 'veggistrone' soup. Its so tender, its almost unbelievable.

If I'm working in the chocolate workshop, I listen almost exclusively to Motown: Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross/Supremes, The Temptations, Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight, Aretha, Four Tops, etc.(Who can resist "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" while making candy? ) Something about that sound just makes me happy as can be, and I find that the "work" goes so smoothly. The moment I flick on the tunes, I slip into a groove and just work continuously without anything to distract or annoy me. In looking back, I'd guess its because I grew up there, and my early candy making experience took place in "the Rouge", with my Grandma. Motown was always on the radio (with a few exceptions for Ernie Harwell / Tiger Baseball). I do listen to other groups also....U2, Van Halen, and Bob Seger are amongst the favorites to help pass those two grueling hours of caramel making. The only time the music selection changes significantly is when my teenage daughter is working for me. Then we have to mix in some TayTay, One Direction, Andy Grammar, Meghan Trainor, and a gob of other musicians/groups I've never heard of. Having spent over two decades as a musician, I have great appreciation and affection for classical/instrumental music, but I prefer to listen to it while I am reading or relaxing. To enjoy and savor the classical, I need a quiet, more restful environment.

Nuts.com is my go-to online source. The nuts are pretty darn good, but I also get the organic Turkish figs, candied orange peel, organic Medjool dates, freeze dried fruits- like raspberries that can be pulverized into fine powders for flavorings, other dried fruits, etc. And, if you sign up for the email newsletter, they will send you coupons...usually $5 off, or more. For pecans, I do make it a point to go off the freeway when coming home from FL or GA, and get locally grown pecans. (I always run out way too fast, but, there's nothing like the fresh ones off the orchards!

I peruse all kinds of recipes on Pintrest, and found these: http://www.skinnymom.com/30-low-sodium-meals/ http://hubpages.com/food/3-Steps-Homemade-Low-Salt-Spaghetti-Sauce http://shescookin.com/10-heart-healthy-low-sodium-recipes-to-stay-healthy-all-year/ http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/nutrition/advice/a5523/7-low-sodium-pantry-item-swaps-115433/ The last one isn't recipes, but rather things to swap out for some low-salt options. Hope that helps!

Since DH and kids are still on a cookie-binge this week, I fired up "The Beast" (the new mixer), and made Sugar Puffs. In the KAF Cookie Companion, they've catagorized the "essential" cookies (Chocolate Chip, Sugar, PB, Oatmeal, Molasses). Sugar Puffs fall under the Sugar Cookie category. They are incredibly light, despite being reminiscent of Shortbread. I am slightly ashamed to say that I burned my tongue on one, because I couldn't wait for it to cool off before I tried it. That buttery goodness is addicting! Those aren't going to last more than 10 minutes. So, I made the dough for "The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie", (sans raisins and nuts.) Those will go into the oven next. Half of them will be plain; the other half are going to get a cup of milk chocolate discs. =) So much for the lo-carb eating plan.

Hopefully, the prices will go down again. I was thinking of all you folks in Canada last night, when I bought cauliflower for $2.49/head, and was so very grateful for that price! For another angle on the pricing issue, I will share this article which I recently read... http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-13/canadians-panic-food-prices-soar-collapsing-currency ...seems to shed a little more light on grocery prices in Canada. It would appear that the soaring prices are not entirely due to poor growing conditions. =+( Might be cheaper to buy a dairy cow and a few layers (chickens), if the milk and egg prices are really as high as what is shown! Yikes!

Yes. Years ago, before the prices got too high for our budget, we used to do this.. The guy would stop at the end of the culdesac, and all the neighbors would come out and "shop". It was kinda funny to watch. Some of our favorites were the thick-sliced bacon, ice-cream treats- like push-ups, and the beef-broccoli tray and a chicken-something tray. At that point, I had 4 kids under the age of 10...so having a pre-made meal and snack on hand was pretty nice. Having it delivered right to the door was even better! The bacon was FABULOUS!

I've never cooked a duck before, so I am curious about this. Would it be unheard of, (or just really bad idea(, to try deep frying it? I envision submerging in a turkey-deep fryer, and wondering if it might come out lovely- like a turkey. ?

Ann T...that pie looks delectable! Mmmmm! While all of you were making those fantastic pastries, cakes and pies above....I was testing out the horsepower on the new Kitchenaid Beast. =) Made 2 angel food cakes, testing out the whisk attachment. Hubby likes that cake iced, so I opted to make fluffy buttercream frosting. (I never iced or frosted angelfood before I met him...so that still puzzles me.) Cranked up on high, that whisk attachment is sick! Just love it! Then, tested the dough hook out on a loaf of honey wheat/rye/flax bread...which the family promptly gobbled down. And then, the darling teenagers started arguing over whether to ask me to make brownies or cookies. I ended up testing out the paddle attachment on Ruth Wakefield's Chocolate Chip Cookie bars. Brownie like texture, only blonde. Added chocolate discs. Everyone was perfectly content with the compromise. Gosh, I just love that mixer! =) I polish it up every time I use it.

Congrat's to you, Ruth! What beautiful pics----of you, and the chocolate! =)

Its 5F here; windchill is -15F and the winds are slowing down to 28mph. So, on this particularly chilly morning American Breakfast Tea...with 50% more caffiene- is needed. I was up all night adding wood to both fireplaces, and the extra hit of "wake me up" is going to be necessary. Otherwise, Hot Cinnamon Spice (with orange) tea from Harney & Sons, or my favorite Earl Grey are the usual go-to's. If I have to go outside today at all, (which I am hoping to avoid), there's a partial bottle of Viking Blod tucked away.. that does a dandy job warming up the inner being.