TrishCT

This is my adapted recipe. The secret is in the baking. Technique is important. Chocolate Almond Lace Cookies (Florentines) 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup ground blanched almonds (about 2 1/2 ounces)* 2 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon almond extract 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray and lightly flour. 2. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add sugar, flour and salt and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves, about three minutes. 3. Mix in almonds and milk and stir until slightly thickened. 4. Remove from heat and blend in almond extract. Let cool slightly. 5. Drop between 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon of batter onto prepared sheet, at least 3 inches apart. They REALLY spread out. 6. Bake until light-medium golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. 7. Let stand about two minutes to firm slightly. Put your fingertips undeneath the foil to pop the cookies off. Place on rack to cool. 8. When cool, using a thin metal spatula (the cookies are delicate and a knife is too thick and can break the cookie), spread some melted chocolate on the smooth side of a cookie and place it against the smooth side of another cookie to form a sandwich. Let cool till filling sets. *You can buy blanched almonds rather than making your own, I grind them in a food processor. They should be chopped coarse and not in a paste) TIPS: I make them really small, so when they cook they end up being between the size of a quarter and half dollar. If you put the batter on a warm or hot pan, the batter will spread. Cool the baking sheets in between batches to keep from getting irregular shapes. Also, after removing the cookies from the oven, take the whole sheet of foil off the baking pan and put it on a flat surface so the cookies can cool quickly, if they stay on a hot sheet pan they keep cooking. The cookies do not come off the foil easily if they are warm. Put your fingers underneath the foil and press upwards around the cookie, you should feel it give and pop off. These cookies break easily. If anyone has anyone questions or problems let me know. These are delicious.

My Florentine recipe comes from an issue of Bon Appetit from almost twenty years ago. I don't know how traditional it is, but they are called Chocolate Almond Lace Cookies. The cookie part is butter, sugar, flour, milk, ground almonds and almond extract. The filling is just chocolate.

Glad it is finally out there, I think it is a very good product. Soft, refeshing, lightly sweet and flavorful, but not cloying. I like the Nectarine and the Green Apple the most. The Raspberry is o.k. but not as fruity as the others so I like it less. Are there any other flavors out there? Shaw's had it on special for $1 a bottle, now that it is off special it is selling for $1.49 a bottle. Glad I bought about 40 bottles a while back when they were a buck apiece.

Caught "Finale Part 1" last night, and once again was bemused by the mean spiritedness fostered by the producers on this show. The three contestants (and the audience) were led to believe they were the finalists but wrong, surprise, one of them was offed. Come all the way to Las Vegas for a final humiliation.

I think there are some "bakery" cookies that fit this bill. When I was in college I used to work at the now defunct Brookline Bakery in Mass. We used to get regular shipments of "fancy" cookies that we sold for a ridiculously high price per pound to the consumer. One day I checked the plastic wrapper they come in and there was something on it saying the cookies were made in New Jersey. I wonder if these are the ones I have seen at many a Connecticut and New York bakery? Cookie description: Small in size, many varieties such as a chocolatey filled round florentine, shaped like a pretzel with chocolate filling, round with rasperry and sliced almonds on the outside, rainbow layers--pink, green, yellow covered on top in a thin chocolatey coating, short pirouttes (like Pepperidge Farm) covered in a chocolatey coating or white coating, very small gingerbread men, raspberry pockets--pale yellow cookie shaped like a figure 8 danish with little dabs of rasberry jam on top and bottom. These cookies all have one thing in common--they look pretty and have virtually NO flavor. They come packed in long, narrow cardboard trays and are easy to pop right in the display case. Often they are sold for the same ridiculously high per pound rate as a baker's own storemade cookies. Fess up bakery owners....where do you get these cookies?

Am I still the only one who has tried this extremely refreshing beverage? There are commercials for this on tv now showing an elderly Asian gentleman picking a tea leaf and explaining how a white tea leaf is different from a regular one. I won't ruin the suspense, you'll just have to watch it for yourself.

I think Stephen has the right pedigree and the right attitude about pleasing customers, but he also seems to have a bit of OCD...and his on camera outburst with Ken shows he has a way to go still towards achieving professionalism.

Amazing thing, alcohol. The reunion was entertaining on one level but unsatisfying on another because it was so mean spirited. None of it had to do with cooking, it was all personal. Too much Tiffani bashing. It looked to me at times like Tom Colicchio was embarrassed. He's a chef..not Jerry Springer. Stephen and Ken are two sides of the same extreme coin. Both are insufferable boors, but Stephen has a handler now, so he's working on his image. Choosing to call Ken white trash shows he is still out of control. It's not a slur a professional person should make on camera. Stephen's calling is being on reality shows, same as Santino and Wendy (from PR). That's where they shine. And Dave, sorry, you are Tiffani's bitch, she so has your number.

I caught last night's episode (have missed several others) and yeah, the "double fakeout" as referred to above is just like Project Runway. Viewers are, pardon the pun, spoon fed comments that are deliberately misleading. It got very annoying on PR to the point of insulting. Bravo can be very heavy-handed when it wants to be. One thing about Dave's crying... I interviewed someone who appeared on PR and he said the producers tried to get him to cry (they were unsuccessful). The producers just love that stuff. Contestants are given lots of liquor and are sleep deprived just to keep emotions high so there will be outbursts. The same trick is done with The Apprentice. Not that Dave seems like he needed any help in this department, but you get someone especially vulnerable and you can have a real field day with them.

Jason, Ingredients in the new White Tea by Snapple (Nectarine flavor): "Our real tea starts with the finest tea leaves and is made from filtered water, sugar, natural flavors, citric acid, white tea, vitamin C." It also has protective antioxidants, and is naturally decaffeinated. Hope you all get this product soon. Gigi, I never had Snapple sun tea.

Wan't it interesting when they asked him at the Judge's Table if he had anything to say and he said, "No." ? Usually you hear the requisite "Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity........" blahblahblah. I didn't know whether to be appalled or applaud ! ← Probably the only time in his life Stephen has been speechless.

Gigi, I haven't seen the new Snapple White Tea in many stores. In fact, I have only seen it so far in Shaw's. That's probably why no one else has come across it yet. It's really good. By the way, it is not in the same type of bottle as regular Snapple drinks.

I dont think db Bistro would count as downtown.. But I can tell you my last two times there for lunch, the service really stood out.. We went with a five year old and it was a great experience.. They gave her paper and pens to draw with and the staff was really so sweet.. ← I missed that "downtown" clue... But Daniel, thanks for the tip on db!

Can I guess?? Was it db Bistro Moderne? If so, I'd like to know as I am considering it for upcoming pre-theater, and it would be nice to know they are practicing some good customer service.

In the preview I saw, it didn't look like cake mix was the secret ingredient. It looked like they were working as a team to cater a wedding reception and the group, or some of them, decided to use cake mix for the cake, which Tom Collicchio didn't seem to enjoy. It looked like Leeanne was frosting the cake.

I've watched Partyline and have learned a few nifty tricks (such as how to cut a 9-inch round pan of brownies into 32 uniform triangular pieces). Steve and Dan have a great rapport. I admit I also voted for them when they were finalists. But what a dreadful time slot they've been given for their show. I also think the moniker "Hearty Boys" suits them. I didn't catch all the Next Food Star shows for this season. None of the contestants bowled me over in the episodes I saw. Guy seemed like he had a fun personality, but I couldn't tell what I would be learning from him.

I'm not totally following this show, but if a re-run is on and I'm folding laundry, I'll give it a whirl. I happened to catch the one with Ted Allen. Man was he good!!! I hope he gets his own show. He's so full of life and funny. If there is a season two of this show... he'd get my vote to replace Ms. Joel. And I must say, Tom Colicchio is cool.

I just had a report from someone who made the Rainbow Ribbon Gelatin for Easter using white wine glasses instead of the mold. Following a variation mentioned on this thread, for the creamy layer she used cream of coconut from a can (the kind many of us use for pina coladas) mixed with a small amount of Malibu Rum to thin it out a little. She said it tasted wonderful and everyone raved over it. Anyone else try other variations...?

Here are a couple more images from the article: Rainbow Ribbon Wine Glasses Katie's first unmolding

You might like my recipe which I mentioned on the first page of this thread for what I call Sauteed Carrots (recipe is posted on Recipe Gullet), because it follows the same idea...cooking the carrots in butter and their own juices. The difference with our two recipes is I cut mine like julienne...longish, not rounds, and I add a tablespoon of pure maple syrup. It does not make them glazed as the liquid eventually evaporates. At the end, I take off the cover and let a couple sides of the carrots "blacken". Quite good. I like the variation you mention...will try them.

This is the story about the Jello mold that just won't quit. Inspired by Rachel Perlow, I decided to see if my teenaged daughter and a friend could make the Rainbow Ribbon Gelatin Mold from the directions, tips and tricks devised from Rachel and other e-gulletters. Sure enough, the girls had great success. They especially liked the look of the dessert in the wine glasses. I wrote an article about in Home magazine, a monthly supplement for the group of newspapers I work for. From the article, several people contacted me to say they loved the look of it (and were also thrilled to learn about the e-gullet Web site) and were going to make the mold for Easter. I made it for Easter too, and brought it (still in the Bundt pan) on ice, in a cooler, from Connecticut to New Jersey. It arrived intact and drew a lot of fanfare. I think this should be subtitled "The Happy Dessert" because when people see it they laugh and have a great time with it. I am enclosing a link to the article (will probably only be good for a few weeks, then the story will go into archives) as well as a photo of the actual article, and a closeup of the girls' handiwork. Thanks to everyone here who helped on this recipe. The complete article is available for now at this Web site, click on Home at bottom of page, then scroll down to the Jell-O picture and click on it for the article. An overview of the article: One Big Jello Shot

I don't like boiled or steamed carrots so I devised a recipe that cooks the carrots in their own juices. They have a touch of sweetness but not a lot. This is my signature carrot dish. It's on Recipe Gullet and it's called Sauteed Carrots (although blackened carrots would work also, because when cooked one or two sides of the carrots gets a bit blackened.) You can use more than 5 carrots depending on the size. I make enough for a good frying pan full.

Has anyone else tried Snapple's flavored White Iced Tea? Our local Shaw's Supermarket had 17.5 ounce bottles on sale for $1 each so I picked up a few in necatarine, green apple, and raspberry flavors. Generally, I just think they are delicious! Very nice, soft but good flavors. Also, very refreshing. The stuff is basically tea, water, sugar and natural flavors. It packs 60 calories a serving, with about two servings per bottle. But you're gonna drink a whole bottle.

Hi Mr. Cutlets, I recommended the cote du beouf at Balthazar on a thread a long time ago to you, glad you went and enjoyed it.

Hey look what happened with Dancing with the Stars. We don't need no stinkin' A-list celebrities for a hit.