Thanks for the Crepes

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake 2 c vanilla wafer crumbs 1/4 c butter, melted 2-8-oz. pkgs Nuefchatel or cream cheese, softened 3/4 c sugar 1 t vanilla 3 eggs 1 c pumpkin puree pinch salt 3/4 t ground cinnamon 1/4 t ground nutmeg Combine crumbs and butter, press into bottom and sides of 9" springform or pie pan. Blind bake at 400 F about 10-15 min until golden and fragrant. Reduce oven to 350 F. Beat cream cheese until smooth. This is your last chance to get rid of lumps. Add 1/2 c sugar, vanilla and mix with electric mixer on med speed until well blended. Add eggs one at a time until well blended and smooth. Reserve 1 c cheese mixture in another bowl, and add pumpkin, salt, remaining sugar and spices. Mix well. Layer 1/2 of pumpkin mixture and 1/2 of cheese mixture over crust. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Cut and swirl through batter with table knife several times to create marble effect. Bake 35-50 minutes at 350 F or until set but still a little jiggly. Cool and refrigerate til serving time (at least 3 hours). Pumpkin Cake: 4 eggs 1-1/2 c sugar 1/2 c vegetable oil 2 c self-rising flour (White Lily works well for cakes) 2 c pumpkin puree 2 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 1 t vanilla In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar and oil and pumpkin, spices, and vanilla till smooth. Add flour and beat well, about 3 min with electric mixer. Pour into 2-9 inch greased and floured pans. Bake at 325 F about 25-35 minutes or til done. When cool, prepare icing. Icing: 1 8-oz pkg Neufchatel or cream cheese 1/2 c butter 1 c confectioners sugar pinch salt 1 t milk 1 t vanilla Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth with no lumps. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and milk, and beat to desired consistency. Frost cake Both recipes come from the cookbook "Carolina Coastline Cuisine" published in 1991 by The Grand Chapter of North Carolina Order of the Eastern Star. The cheesecake is credited to Edith B. Wade of Fayetteville Chapter No. 334 and the cake comes from Judy Zachary of Glenville Chapter No 222.

liuzhou, Thanks for taking us to this lovely mom and pop restaurant in China. We are lucky to have you as a member to share your experiences. Your lunch looks wonderful, but I probably wouldn't like the sweet taro dish either, although the stringy sugar sounds very intriguing. I would try it on a lightly cooked, firm, tart fruit for dessert in a heartbeat. I can close my eyes and imagine myself eating at one of the outdoor tables enjoying a meal like yours. I really appreciate my virtual trips to far away and mysterious China. I can't quite identify the green vegetable in the Fish Fragrant Shredded pork. Perhaps yard long beans?

Thanks huiray, You've given me another to look for, although they look a bunch like the Scarlet Pearl grape tomatoes with good flavor pretty much year round.

Hi scubadoo97, Your breakfast looks absolutely great to me. I used to have leftover grits frequently too. Yours look lightly fried, and I like mine pretty browned. I quit making extra because one of the few kitchen tasks I just despise is cleaning up grease pops all over the range top and surrounding area. I actually bought a stainless steel splatter screen to deal with fried leftover grits and fried corned beef hash. I started making corned beef hash in the oven to avoid the cleanup, but haven't found a way to deal with leftover grits, which I really like fried. I use 4 c water to 1 c grits on the initial cook, and cook them a lot longer, because they are gritty and live up to their name when following package instructions, so mine are creamier, softer and contain more water than most. Any advice on technique? I suppose I could follow directions to reduce water content, but that means I'd have to make a special batch for frying, because I just don't like gritty grits.

I love Campari especially and Kumato. My local Trader Joe's carries both spottily at affordable prices. Even mainstream groceries now offer brown tomatoes sometimes, which look a lot like Kumato, and taste better than the styromates, at discount prices. I haven't had the opportuntity to try Cherub. It's now on my radar, and thanks, huiray! Are Cherub varieties cherries, or another version of diminutive tomato? I've never heard of them. I really appreciate any info that brings me closer to the taste of the home grown tomatoes I used to take for granted. Also thanks for the link to hot water dunked tomatoes of dubious quality. Anyone who has grown one knows they are always tastiest warmed by the sun and eaten right off the vine. We used to bring them inside and make tomato sandwiches on squishy white bread with mayo. Sounds weird, but it's a Southern US summer staple for a reason.

Here's a recipe from the 1968 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for Concord grape pie. I just love Concords, and even the Scuppernong grapes we can somtimes get down here. Like rotuts, I have a "tart tooth" rather than a sweet tooth. Both varieties of grapes are very tart, and especially the Scuppernongs will make your teeth ache from the acid if you eat too many raw. Concord Grape Pie 1-1-2 pounds (4cups) Concord grapes 1 cup sugar? 1/3 c flour 1/4 t salt 1 Tbsp Lemon juice? 2 Tbsp butter, melted 9" unbaked? pie shell Topping: 1/2 c flour 1/2 c sugar 1/3 c butter Take the skins off your grapes, set skins aside. Bring grape pulp to boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Sieve (foodmill) to remove seeds. Add skins. Mix 1 c sugar, 1/3 c flour, and 1/4 t salt. Add 1 T lemon juice, and grape mixture. Pour into unbaked? pie shell (they italicize this, but I question it, based on experience). Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 min. Meanwhile, mix 1/2 c flour with 1/2 c sugar and cut in 1/4 c butter til crumbly. Sprinkle atop pie and bake for 15 more minutes. My take on the recipe is that Concord grapes are already quite tart, and if one reduced the amount of sugar added to the filling, no lemon juice would be necessary to balance flavors. I would prebake the crust a bit before pouring a moist filling into it, because I like a dry, flaky bottom crust, and I would use a pie shield on the rim during all baking. I have never made this recipe, so take my advice with a ton of salt.

When I was gardening in Memphis, we always had green tomatoes that the frost would take if I didn't get them inside. They eventually ripen. Like Shelby says, they're not as good as the sun-ripened in the garden ones, but still beat commercial ones. Bonus: fried green tomatoes whenever you want way into fall and early winter. BTW, organic pest control is a nascent industry, and a significant piece of successful gardening. There are businesses that sell lady bugs and other beneficial insects you can release to control aphids or other pests. Not so much spiders, because they're hard to sell commercially, but they are a definite benefit to any garden. They are carnivores, only eating other insects, many of which happily prey on your carefully nurtured plants. http://gardeningzone.com/pages/release-instructions-tips

I made the chicken caiccaitora. It is delicious, and with only 4 chicken thighs, a large onion, a couple bell peppers, a 28 oz can of roma tomatoes, a 15-oz. can of tomato sauce, a couple garlic cloves, and a 4-oz can of mushrooms, a little salt and oregano, provides us old folks with at least 4 meals with a pound of spaghetti. (More like six.) I really like the bone-in chicken, and the rest of the rustic presentation. Braising the chicken on the bone, of course brings out huge flavor from it. The recipe I use is from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. I've had versions with deboned chicken or shrimp at a restaurant for a lot of money, and it just doesn't do it for me like this old recipe does. Betty calls for the bells to be chopped and sauteed with the onion rings after the chicken. Nope. I slice a couple bell peppers into half inch thick rings, and place them on top of the braise for the last ten minutes. They are still bright green, crisp tender, and wonderful. Did you now that bell peppers carry more vitamin C than citrus?

Having actually cooked in and on a wood oven, a Franklin stove to be exact, I'm most appreciative of modern ovens. Even my 1970's GE model with a broken thermostat. It has to be tended much like a wood fire, but turning the power dial on and off with an oven thermometer and a timer to assist sure is a lot easier than stoking wood, cutting wood, stacking wood, trucking out ashes, etc. I just love old recipes. Our species has been cooking for millennia without the aid of thermometers, precise measurements, sous vide, and other specialized equipment. I sure am glad I had a little guidance from other cooks, and modern beginner's cookbooks though. These days the tradition of handing cooking skills down has pretty much disintegrated. The precise instructions in modern books are a necessity.

This quote from rotuts is in response to kayb's Mexican dinner. The only way I have duplicated Mexican restaurant red rice is to saute a little onion and jalapeno in veg oil, add the rice, saute that as well, then add a Knorr Caldo de Tomate bouillon cube with the water. Knorr makes a jar of powdered Caldo de Tomate, but what you want is the boxed cubes. They are better. Dinner tonight was unremarkable, but tomorrow will be my delicious chicken cacciatora.

David Hensley, I feel for you, in your creative endeavor, but nickrey is right. Your role is not to educate palates, but to provide what pleases your customers. The only advice I might offer is to convince your employers that the younger clientele are going to be around a lot longer, have more disposable income, buy more booze, and might bring their offspring into the loyal patronage. Good luck!

patrickamory, I have to agree with Anna N. You have enriched this site.

Hey y'all, I think I have the Newbiest of the Nubes title, at least of anyone who has dared to post. In another month and a half I will have been a member for a whole year! I had enjoyed the rich knowledge and erudite discourse on the site as a guest visitor for over a decade, which sadly has become a rarity on the internet. I can be a bit reserved, but I dived in here. I finally got tired of not being able to answer direct questions where I knew I could try to make a contribution. I'm so glad I did finally join and have been able to speak and interact directly with some of the fine people here. Now, if we could have a culture a wee bit more welcoming to newcomers, I think we could foster more membership, ensuring the longevity of the eG which we all love. I can relate to Kerry's statement about growing a thicker skin, but I do my best to hang in. I have learned so much here, and I'm grateful to every single one of you who continues to enrich my culinary life so quickly, way beyond the boundaries of what is possible on my own with even books and unguided research. I consider this the mecca for mentors in food, and I'm honored to be among all of you. Thanks for putting up with me, TftC

Baselerd, You have given me another reason to covet a sous vide rig. Wow! While I'm with you in preferring fattier cuts, (rib eye, not closely trimmed, thick-cut and charcoal grilled is my favorite) your lean brisket looks succulent, moist, and the perfect texture. Now that your discourse with scubadoo has established how you acheived the reddish smoke ring, which I was also very curious about, I'm sure others as well as myself would be interested to know how you managed the blackening on the exterior. It looks really, really good. Is that a moist dense cornbread served with your brisket?

cakewalk, Thanks for that link to vintage metal lunch boxes! There's even a photo of the plaid one many have mentioned on here. I had a metal lunch box, too, but I can't remember the details, and none of the photos stirred my memory. Edit: The black domed ones look like those carried by Loretta Lynn's dad and the rest of the miners in "Coal Miner's Daughter".

Thanks Norm, This guy is great! I watched another one where he rags on Starbucks (easy prey, but he didn't even mention overpricing). Then he gets into being asked for your zip code at department stores, and his stuff is hilarious. I always respond with "90210" passive/aggressively when I know I'll not get anything out it. I expected to be challenged the first time, but they always enter the stuff into their overlords' computer system dutifully, and the line moves on. This is the link for anyone who cares to watch:

My old vintage Tupperware cake safe is airtight, 10" inside diameter and 6-1/2" high. It works fine for 2-layer or 3-layer iced cakes, but might not accommodate a 4-layer one, especially with the whipped egg whites giving extra loft to the layers. My base is reversible, and I get an extra 3/4 inch of clearance when I flip the base to one of the sides. On that side, there's a 1/2" raised rim, instead of a flush surface, so it's a wee bit more difficult to serve the cake, but certainly no deal breaker. I think Rubbermaid offers a current similar product, and others make cheaper knockoffs. You can serve the cake right off the base of the safe. That's a great idea to go with a couple of 2-layer cakes, and probably your best bet, unless you're so committed to this idea that you want to spend a lot of time and money running down something like the beautiful old cake tin andiesenji posted about. If I were really wedded to the idea of a 4-layer cake with the equipment I have, I'd make and age a 3-layer in a regular cake safe, and make a 1-layer on the inverted top of a Tupperware or equivalent container wide and tall enough to contain it, then seal it with the inverted base for the requisite 4 days. At serving time, take the inverted base off the 1-layer and use a couple of broad spatulas or bench knives to place the single layer on the other three. Meld the frosting from the first into the second layer. Ooh , I just noticed that you say nothing about refrigerating the assembled cake, and may be more concerned about safety than logistics. I'd say with those ingredients aged at room temp would be safe for that time because they are all cooked and are stored airtight. I'd want to eat it all on the fifth day, if I were going to do it that way. I used to store cakes at room temp, but I don't now. They will mold in my climate pretty quickly. I bring out serving pieces before dinner to let them warm, and it lasts a lot longer that way. Who knows, the frosting may turn into a sweet creme fraiche? This is a very intriguing recipe, Lindacakes. Please let us know if you decide to make it and how it turns out. ETA: Just did a little research, because I seemed to recall black walnut had antiseptic properties. Some folks think it also has anti-fungal, and we all know that aging pasteurized cream creates wonderful things. Just wear gloves if you're shelling your own black walnuts, and take care if you're not. I once wasted quite a bit of money on a bag that were well within date, but slightly rancid to my taste. Coons ate 'em anyway. Fresh black walnuts are manna, but quite the bitch to shell.

I pretty much don't keep any recipe on digital medium exclusively that I want be sure I have going forward into the future. Yes, your house my burn down, or less likely, in my mind, a thief could be interested in my handwritten recipes. (That had to be a relative or someone familiar with the victim.) More likely, IMO because it's happened to me twice now, is the elderly computer, which is already obsolete by design once it reaches store shelves, crashes beyond salvaging. I do tend to keep my possessions longer than most people and get my money's worth. I keep all of my really interesting "want to make" recipes in a permanent paper file in a loose leaf binder. This includes kayB's recipe for Mrs. Mary Lloyd Young's yeast rolls, and Anna N's flour tortilla recipes along with several others I've come across on the site over the years. I also store them digitally, because they're searchable, but I do not feel I can rely on that. I think it is more likely that a thief will steal your computer than a paper recipe file. I also know that if your house burns up, most likely your computer will go with it.

Yes, it was. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/150936-modernist-cuisine-page-binding-failure/ Perhaps not such a great idea to save on labor costs?

I love Duke's brand, as it has no sugar. It's a GRITS (girl raised in the South) staple, but I could never go through the quantity rotus seems to before it expired. In fact I despise rancid, off tastes, and refrigerate an unopened jar of mayo as soon as I bring it home. My RN mom pretty much used Miracle Whip based on the current health info back then, and we were okay with it, but most kids have a sweet tooth. I cannot stand Miracle Whip now. I'd be willing to try TJ's because it has no sugar, but since it has only apple cider vinegar and a small amount of lemon juice as the acid component I'd be skeptical. Duke's has some cider vinegar too, but not enough to put me off of it. To my personal palate, I often prefer the bright, clean taste of white distilled vinegar to cider. The exception is in salad dressing for something with apples in it. Also, TJ's ditches the calcium disodium EDTA in Duke's. I really like the lemon idea; that has promise. Depending on the strength of the concentration of lemon it could be more of a contribution than it's last place in line of ingredients by weight suggests. If it tastes anything like bottled and preserved lemon juice, my first experiment will be my last. Here in the Raleigh/Cary area Duke's is not what I consider expensive. It's normally $3.99 a quart at the grocery store, and goes on sale sometimes for $2.99. You can also pick it up for $3.50 a quart every day at the dollar store, but I agree 8 bucks a quart is ridicules.

Actually, our school cafeterias in the late 60's and early 70's in VT weren't bad, especially compared to what I got at home at the time. There was a law in place that compelled them to use real butter in support of local dairies. That was the first place I tasted real butter, and always have some on hand until this day. There was a European influence to the food, and I looked forward to cottage pie days, although they called it shepherd's, and it was made with instant mashed potato flakes. I make it still with beef, corn and instant mash, like they did. I jazz mine up a little with onion and grated carrot sauteed with the ground beef. I've tried it with real mashed potatoes, and and it just doesn't hit my comfort food spot as much. Nothing on offer was really horrible, but it might be explained by the fact that we were very rural and had access to lots of local foods. When we wanted anything from a dishtowel to a saddle to a lawnmower, we ordered from the Sears and Roebuck catalog. There was a little order pickup station/mini-warehouse in town with limited hours, but no retail store. I was really in heaven when one of my friends (also frequently on the honor roll) turned me on to the fact that you could get free lunch if you worked in the cafeteria. This allowed me to keep my lunch money, which was only 35 cents a day, but I could go to the snack bar with my friends and get something like they all did. It made me feel more like a regular person. It was a windfall to me, because it was the only money I ever got. Bonus: I got to spend time working with my friend. You could always get free seconds on some items like buttered bread even if you were paying, but if you worked in the kitchen, you had access to the best leftovers. We kid workers weren't allowed to cook anything really. Occasionally, one of us might be asked to stir a huge vat of soup or something, but most of what we did was wash dishes and sweep up. We were never on the front serving lines, so most of our fellow students never saw us wearing the horrible hairnets that were required or even knew we worked in the kitchen. Our lunch ladies were very kind. I really enjoyed my time in the cafeteria kitchen with the huge Hobart mixers, monster ovens and other things that were fascinating to me.

Shelby, I'll be back later after I get a working LIKE button back. Apparently there is a quota for the day which I did not know about, but I'm extremely proud to have worn out my LIKE welcome with your AMAZING blog. Thanks for liking my upthread post Deryn. I can't like yours back right now.

Thanks so much for blogging, Shelby! It's been a fantastic ride so far, and I'm looking forward to additional posts tomorrow, but sad that it is ending. You're amazing, girl, and such an asset to this site! What a perfectly lovely example of turning lemons into lemonade with your use of the grasshoppers to catch those stunning fresh catfish for dinner. Yum, I love fried okra with fish. Do you eat the carp? Some folks don't like it, but I reckon, Ronnie would have thrown them back if you all weren't going to eat them or otherwise use them. I love croaker, but it's slow going because of the bones that can't be filleted out. I understand that's most people's problem with carp too. I haven't had carp, but if it tastes as good as croaker, I could be patient and careful around the bones. Yup, that's poke salad, and I used to eat it down in Louisiana. After research I don't anymore, but I still make a dish prepared like it's done in the parishes of LA with spinach or another green like escarole, eggs, onions and sometimes cheese, and still call it poke salad. Newman, what a character! Too bad we haven't seen more of your furry babies. I promise not to be the idiot that takes the blog off topic if you choose to include a few photos of them in your food pics. Your soybean crop looks great this year. Not boring to me in the least. I'm so glad you've had good rain this year. Blog on, Kansas lady! I can't wait.

I do love cooking, and that passion and interest was (were? , please correct me) developed as self defense. I and my siblings ate pretty well until mama dumped us off at my father's love nest after driving from Chula Vista, CA to Columbia, SC. Then she committed suicide, and things went way sideways. I was only 8, with a sister 6, and a brother 4. The father thing kept us for the Social Security payments. Mom was an RN, so the payments, I found out decades later, were lucrative. Another attractive feature about kids you've abandoned and clearly don't want, is that you can turn them into cheap slave labor and abuse them at will without interference from a mother who loved them. I took the brunt as the oldest and strongest, doing housework, yard work and garden work until the adulteress died of cancer a couple years later. Guess the Big Guy was watching? After that the cooking fell to me at only 10. First chicken I ever served was raw in the middle when we sat down and cut into it, but slowly, I came up to speed, without a single cookbook in the house, and only the old Italian lady, Mrs. Polito, across the street to give me any guidance at all. They were a childless couple, but Leah Polito was very kind to us kids. I helped her can tomatoes from her garden and weed it, and she tried her best to give me guidance so I could cook for our family. She also gave us produce from her garden the first year, before we started our own. I even remember helping her bleach her white quartz landscaping stones she had under the shrubs in front of her house. Us pesky kids had to scram, bam, thank you, ma'am when her husband, Joe, came home from work, though. Everyone in the family ate the food I cooked until the father thing remarried, less than a year later. Then the stepmother cooked for my excuse for a parent and herself, and I cooked for us kids, with much cheaper ingredients. I will never eat bologna again, and only recently, have I been able to eat premium hot dogs on premium buns smothered with chili, onions and cheese, and that's only because my husband so adores hot dogs. I remember being given one can of Cambell's chicken noodle soup for the three of us growing kids to split for lunch. I still like chicken noodle from the red can, but now I eat the whole can, and call it a light lunch. It's only 150 calories. Once I escaped, 3 years later, I immediately began to explore ingredients, food, and cooking, and I'm still on that journey. I adore being in control of my ingredients, and what I do to put them together. I've had flush times with lobster, and I've had hard times with beans. I love the internet for the ability to research ingredients, recipes, cooking techniques, and I really love eGullet. I've learned so much here. I've marked many things off my bucket list of culinary exploration, but I've many more to go.

Hey Glorified Rice, I'm not a fan at all of poached salmon. To me it degrades an expensive and luxurious ingredient, but your image looks a little dry. I still remember one Easter when we purchased some inch and a half salmon steaks from Fresh Market and cooked them on the grill. These were bone-in and skin-on, which is critical to me for a good outcome with this fish. I've tried to explain to employees of groceries where I do not buy salmon how they are ruining it by skinning and boning, but so far no success. One even futzes around with cotton string nets to hold together their wreckage of what was once a noble animal and premium protein. The skin is good to me, has basting fat, crisps well, holds the juice in, and the bones exude flavor like crazy, and also help hold juices while getting your crisp on. The cooked fish comes off the bones very easily with a fork, and if you don't care for the delicious skin, that does too. If you like crispy, yet succulent salmon, get a thick, natural slice perpendicular to the spine, across the body of a gutted fish, and throw it on a hot grill. This method produces the crispy, golden stuff you crave, and allows the interior to be moist, juicy and unforgettable.