MaryIsobel

I happen to have pork tenderloin in the freezer and a butternut squash on the counter and spinach in the fridge - so thanks for a soon-to-be dinner plan!

i never buy self raising but use the same ratios that Kerry does - it has always worked for me.

Great find. I have that book and have lent it to one of my two daughters...Il have to get it back!

Thanks, we will be downsizing soon and I will definitely look into Neff.

While being laid up and housebound, I binged on The Great British Baking Show. I noticed that all the contestants used a large spoon to fold ingredients. I have always used a spatula. What do you use and do you think there is an advantage to using a large spoon? My other take from the show is that I want one of those ovens where once the opened oven door is parallel to the floor, it slides in under the oven, giving one unincumbered access to the oven. Would make it so much easier to lift a big turkey out of the oven or rotate baking sheets.

I have been making a batch of bark for each of my immediate family members for Christmas for years. I include each person's favourite nuts and dried fruit using their preferred type of chocolate. Always goes over well. New son-in-law is a Type 1 diabetic and is quite strict with his diet. He likes dark chocolate and nuts - easy enough. Purdy's (Canadian chocolate company with stores from BC to Ontario) has a no sugar added bar that he likes but they are pretty pricey. I'm looking for something that I could buy in bulk (like a pound or so at a time.)

Update: Even after 48 hours most of the leftovers were not brown. What I noticed is that if there was any bit of the core left, that part started to turn brown after about 30 hours. I sliced the apples (well, my husband did, hence the bits of core left🤣) swished them in the solution of fruit fresh (basically citric acid) and water for about 45 seconds, drained them in a colander and without patting them dry, put in ziplock bags. The next afternoon, we spread them on kitchen towels and patted them dry with paper towel. They were perfect.

The fact that your friend loved it says it all. Birthday cakes are my love language for my nearest and dearest. If that is your first - you did a wonderful job. If you are looking for constructive criticism, just work on your frosting and piping (which can take years, if not decades to perfect - ask me how I know!) and making sure that all of your cakes are level before you begin stacking, filling and frosting.

Thank you! That sounds really good.

Interesting thought - I didn't detect any anchovie but it certainly couldn't hurt.

Earlier this year, on the recommendation of @FauxPas, my husband and I dined at Il Terrazzo in Victoria, B.C. When seated we were served the most amazing tapenade with warm bread. It was so good that I included a dollop of it in my to-go box so I could better analyze it. Once back in our hotel room, it spread a bit out on a napkin to more easily identify the very finely chopped ingredients. My take was: green olives of some kind, kalamata olives, capers, raw garlic, sundried tomatoes. If I make up a batch using those ingredients, how long would it last in the fridge? Maybe covered with a thin film of olive oil?

I would glady trade my freezer pea soup fand sourdough toast for your shrimp!

I love the look of your Serviettenknoedel, I'll have to try it. I won't be making Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in about 45 years. My daughter is getting married on the 12th, which is Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada. Fortunately, the catering menu that they chose leans toward a Thanksgiving meal, complete with a pie bar! I will probably buy a small turkey breast so DH and I can have hot turkey sandwiches as we recover from the wedding.

I would ver much like to have that for my dinner tonight - looks delicious!

Haha - it only happens at Christmas!

@Tropicalsenior I admit to looking more forward to the fromage fort more than the cheese plates...

I learned it from Jaque too - along with fromage fort which I make with the plethora of leftover Christmas cheeses.

My soon-to-be- son-in-law also has an aversion to buffet food or bowls of nuts or snacks without a serving spoon so he will be much happier with the cups!

Thanks - I like the cups better than a huge platter or two which in my experience get looking messy pretty quickly.

I am making 80 charcuterie cups for the cocktail hour at my daughter's wedding - coming up on October 12th. Did a couple of trial cups today to get the amount of ingredients figured out. Imagine 1 red and 1 green apple slice and instead of 3 cubes of orange cheddar, I will do two cubes of white, exta old cheddar with a cube or wedge of some other kind of cheese in the middle. 6 grapes in the bottom for filler, 1 wedge of Jarlsberg, two types of salami, an olive and a gherkin. We will set out glasses of breadsticks and flatbread as oposed to incuding them in the cups as there are going to be two people with celiac in attendance. They are aware that there is no guarnatee of no cross contamination. Will also have cups of mixed nuts for the vegetarians. My two sisters, my niece and my daughter's mother-in-law-to-be and I will assemble the cups the night before. The cups I bought come with cellophane wrappers.

Thanks for the idea! I' sure both of my sisters would love these.

Always happy to enable! But truly, they are really handy and don't take up much room.

I too bought mini scrapers and my daughter bought me micro mini scrapers for cosmetics. My daughters are both scrapers too so I guess they are children of children of children of the Depression. https://www.amazon.ca/Beauty-Spatula-Cosmetics-Kitchen-Silicone/dp/B093WKSX5J/ref=asc_df_B093WKSX5J/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=706736437842&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3734717085719977032&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001524&hvtargid=pla-1577068243352&mcid=45fef6ded0ad386a9f3b4c83d3aa92c0&gad_source=1&th=1

Another scraper here - child of children of the depression. I make dressings from the dregs of some things like salad dressing from mayo or mustard jars, peanut sauce/dressing witht the dregs of peanut butter, that sort of thing. I have also cut open tubes of toothpaste, hand cream, conditioner etc. and it is indeed shocking just how much is left.

I had great success with my 10 year old fruit fresh. 30 hours in and not a sign of browning. I used honeycrisp apples as that was all I had but for the wedding, I want to do a red slice and a green slice so will stic with the honeycrisp and go with grannysmiths for the green.