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browniebaker

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  1. Thanks for the recipe. Looks terrific! Easier and healthier for me than my mom's Fried Sugar-Pecans, which are glazed and then deep-fried -- a Southern thang: FRIED SUGAR-PECANS 2 cups pecan halves water 1 cup sugar vegetable oil for deep-frying Place in saucepan pecans and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for two minutes. Drain, leaving pecans and small amount of water in saucepan. Stir in sugar. Boil mixture until pecans are glazed. Pour onto non-stick silicone baking mat. Separate pecan halves. Let dry. Deep-fry until golden-brown and crisp.
  2. Fried Sugar-Pecans Glazed and then deep-fried, these pecans are a Southern sweet. 2 cups pecan halves water 1 cup sugar vegetable oil for deep-frying Place in saucepan pecans and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for two minutes. Drain, leaving pecans and small amount of water in saucepan. Stir in sugar. Boil mixture until pecans are glazed. Pour onto non-stick silicone baking mat. Separate pecan halves. Let dry. Deep-fry until golden-brown and crisp. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Easy, Snack ( RG1116 )
  3. Fried Sugar-Pecans Glazed and then deep-fried, these pecans are a Southern sweet. 2 cups pecan halves water 1 cup sugar vegetable oil for deep-frying Place in saucepan pecans and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for two minutes. Drain, leaving pecans and small amount of water in saucepan. Stir in sugar. Boil mixture until pecans are glazed. Pour onto non-stick silicone baking mat. Separate pecan halves. Let dry. Deep-fry until golden-brown and crisp. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Easy, Snack ( RG1116 )
  4. I just saw in the CVS sale circular that Poppycocks now come in a "Just the Nuts" selection. Since my brother and I fight over his picking all the pecans and almonds out of the Poppycock, this is terrific news. Needless to say, as a nut-freak, I am mad for Poppycocks.
  5. I've been submitting one recipe a day, the maximum permitted. This is day five, and I am starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel of ideas. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to grilled cheese. BTW, I notice that some of you have mentioned cast-iron pans in your recipes. I use cast-iron, too, but since this contest is sponsored by Dupont/Teflon, maybe recipe-submitters should just specify "skillet" if you can't bring yourself to specify "non-stick skillet" (which we all know doesn't give you half-as-good browning as cast-iron).
  6. You must be channelling me... One thing about old-school Filipino Moms is that they don't consider meat cooked until it resembles a charcoal briquette. Wow, this must be an Asian thing, then. My Chinese mom and dad always insisted that meat be really, truly dead -- not a trace of blood! -- before brought to table.
  7. My favorite pie-plate is the Anchor Hocking glass plate, much better than the Pyrex glass plate because Anchor Hocking's rim is level and does a great job of keeping the crimp of the pastry from sliding inward when it softens (before crisping up) during baking. The Pyrex plate has a rim that slopes inward slightly. I prefer glass to any other material because the transparency of glass lets radiant heat improve browning and lets you see how the crust is browning. I do own, though, the Emile Henri Couleurs fluted dishes in the individual-size round pie dishes as well as the individual-size heart-shaped flan dishes. They are too cute to resist. And I do adore little pies.
  8. I'm mad for nuts! Can't choose one favorite. Here they are in rough order of preference and favorite way to prepare each: cashews (roasted; in sweets and savories, like chicken-cashew stir-fries) pecans (roasted; in sweets and savories, like stuffing) chestnuts (candied) walnuts (chopped, in sweets) Brazil nuts (raw) macadamia nuts (roasted) peanuts (roasted; in sweets and savories, like sesame noodles ) coconut (Is a nut, right? shredded, in sweets and savories, like curries) almonds (roasted; in sweets and savories, like Chicken Country Captain) Favorite nut application: FRUIT CAKE!!!!
  9. Don't feel bad. My mom never made ANY biscuit. But I found salvation as an adult.
  10. My favorite in the three months I lived in the S.F. area in 2001 was Great Oriental, which we returned to weekend after weekend to the detriment of my waistline, and which my husband last month returned to during a business trip and reported was as good as ever. The restaurant is smaller in size than the huge banquet-room dim-sum places, but the dim sum is superb and authentic, carried on trays by waitresses who walk by the tables. Served this way, the hot dishes hardly have time to get cold. Especially good are the deep-fried taro dumplings (my personal litmus test for dim sum). Lots of local Chinese eat here. We also liked New Asia, one of those large banquet-room dim-sum places. Wider selection of dim sum dishes than Great Oriental, all excellent.
  11. Hmmm... I seem to remember that Aunt Minnie used a very hot oven. I have no idea what the actual temperature was. Maybe it has something to do with a "popover effect". Well, I think the "popover effect" has to do with eggs, which biscuits do not contain. But it's an old Southern thing, to bake your biscuits in a hot, hot oven. You get real rise from the steam in the biscuits.
  12. I'll up the ante: I bake my buscuits at 475 degrees F. Very fluffy and light.
  13. Actually, "mulatto" is from the Spanish "mulato," which is from the latin "mulus." English is not always English in origin! I agree with Nullo Modo: I hope DQ stands firm against the silliness.
  14. "appetizers" - they kill my appetite "sapid" -just doesn't sound delicious "cook until done" - what does that mean? "grille" - with an e
  15. Having grown up completely fluent in two languages and passably conversant in a few others, I have always noticed how inoffensive words or names in one language may sound like insults or slurs in another. And most of the time, monolinguals are completely unaware of the unpleasant associations that homophones in another language can bring to a word or name. I am used to words in one language sounding like words in other languages. No big deal, as it happens all the time. So, no, the Dairy Queen name, "MooLatte," does not make me think "mulatto." Not even close. In fact, I like the name.
  16. Two of mom's bad-cooking idiosyncracies have become my faves: (1) Pork chops coated in flour and baked a long time, to rigor mortis. (2) Eggs over easy, with the yolk broken. It started out as an accident, but she started intentionally breaking the yolk for me since I loved it so much. My own (intentionally) badly made foods that I love are: (1) Macaroni and cheese, noodle kugel, or lasagna with the pasta cooked an extra-long time until very soft. (2) Hot dogs microwaved until a bit rubbery and chewy before being stuck into a fluffy white roll. I know it's illegal, but I love it.
  17. Key Lime Pie Serves 8 as Dessert. This recipe uses double the filling of the usual Key lime pie recipe, which fills the pie-crust all the way to the top for a pie that's nice and high. (I use an Anchor Hocking or Pyrex glass pie plate, which has a capacity of about four cups.) pastry for 9" single-crust pie 6 large egg yolks 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk 1 cup Key lime juice Line 9” glass pie-plate with rolled-out dough. Prick pastry all over with fork. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours. Freeze for 30 minutes just before baking. Position oven-rack at lowest level in oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove pie pastry from freezer, line with aluminum foil that has been pricked all over with fork, and fill with pie weights. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. While pastry is baking, mix egg yolks by hand into sweetened condensed milk, just until blended. Gradually stir in lime juice until mixture thickens. Lower thermostat to 350 degrees. Remove pie-plate from oven, and lift out foil and pie weights. Pour filling into pie-plate. Cover edges of crust to prevent excessive browning. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or just until set. Cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with whipped cream, lime slices, or lime zest if desired. Keywords: Dessert, Pie, Easy ( RG1112 )
  18. Key Lime Pie Serves 8 as Dessert. This recipe uses double the filling of the usual Key lime pie recipe, which fills the pie-crust all the way to the top for a pie that's nice and high. (I use an Anchor Hocking or Pyrex glass pie plate, which has a capacity of about four cups.) pastry for 9" single-crust pie 6 large egg yolks 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk 1 cup Key lime juice Line 9” glass pie-plate with rolled-out dough. Prick pastry all over with fork. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours. Freeze for 30 minutes just before baking. Position oven-rack at lowest level in oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove pie pastry from freezer, line with aluminum foil that has been pricked all over with fork, and fill with pie weights. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. While pastry is baking, mix egg yolks by hand into sweetened condensed milk, just until blended. Gradually stir in lime juice until mixture thickens. Lower thermostat to 350 degrees. Remove pie-plate from oven, and lift out foil and pie weights. Pour filling into pie-plate. Cover edges of crust to prevent excessive browning. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or just until set. Cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with whipped cream, lime slices, or lime zest if desired. Keywords: Dessert, Pie, Easy ( RG1112 )
  19. The cores of cabbage and cauliflower: I adore these and reserve these choice bits for myself when I am the cook. All the soft cartilaginous pieces at the ends of chicken bones and between chicken breasts: I love to gnaw them off and crunch on them. The stems of dried shiitake muchrooms that have been reconstituted: I slice these chewy morsels off and pop them in my mouth as I cook. Apple and pear cores: the seeds won't really sprout into trees inside you.
  20. Freshman year of college, I had the flu and could not get out of bed. A boy I had been dating for just the past three weeks arrived at my bedside unannounced and surprised me with a couple of bananas and a carton of milk from the freshman dining hall. I didn't care that I had no make-up on and looked a mess and hadn't showered in a couple of days. Also hadn't eaten in a while. Didn't know bananas and milk could be so delicious.
  21. I still haven't acquired a taste for wine, or any alcoholic beverage. And married to an oenophile, I have tried.
  22. I make blueberry shortcakes: biscuits topped with the fresh blueberry pie-filling that Rose Levy Beranbaum uses for the fresh open-faced blueberry pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible. The filling is 3 cups fresh whole blueberries stirred into a glaze made on the stovetop using one cup blueberries, water, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. I find the filling tasty enough without need for adding anything to "wake it up." The lemon juice in it is key. But maybe for color contrast one could sprinkle on a few red raspberries. Also, a scattering of butter-roasted pecans would be delicious. A variation of this same idea is to make a sauce on the stove with half the fresh blueberries...then at the end stir in the other half of the blueberries...that way not all the blueberriers are cooked. This is the blueberry filling I use for things not being baked. A little fresh fresh lemon juice and zest keeps it fresh. Maybe I was not clear. RLB's blueberry filling acutally IS mostly uncooked blueberries: just 1/4 of the blueberries cooked into the glaze, and the remaining 3/4 stirred uncooked into the glaze, just to coat. The blueberries stay fresh and "pop" in your mouth.
  23. I make blueberry shortcakes: biscuits topped with the fresh blueberry pie-filling that Rose Levy Beranbaum uses for the fresh open-faced blueberry pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible. The filling is 3 cups fresh whole blueberries stirred into a glaze made on the stovetop using one cup blueberries, water, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. I find the filling tasty enough without need for adding anything to "wake it up." The lemon juice in it is key. But maybe for color contrast one could sprinkle on a few red raspberries. Also, a scattering of butter-roasted pecans would be delicious.
  24. To me, comfort food is food that makes me feel pampered and cosseted by mom, so it has to be cooked by her, or by me using her recipe, although my cooking can never really be her cooking. Since my mother only really cooks Chinese, my comfort foods are Chinese. And my all-time favorite comfort food that mom makes is red-braised, five-spice-seasoned, falling-apart-tender chunks of pork shoulder, which I heap onto my bowlful of rice with an extra ladle-ful of the rich and fragrant braising sauce and -- this last detail is a must -- eat with a spoon like a little child. Because this dish also happens to be my father's favorite comfort food (that my paternal grandmother used to make), mom makes it a lot.
  25. My father and mother have a forty-year battle going, about whether the food that's offered to the ancestors should be foods that the ancestors liked to eat or foods that we the living like to eat. For example, my late paternal grandmother loved raisins, so my father wants to offer raisins, among other delicacies. My mother is practical, figuring that because we the living will actually consume the food after the offerings are done, the feast ought to comprise foods we like, or foods she needs to use up, like the loofah squash that she has grown too many of in the garden this summer.
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