Small Talk: Don't Tell Jeffrey!

[Bastet]

I am at work now, but when I get home, I will post my pimiento cheese recipe. I pm'ed it to several people on TWOP when we had a similar discussion there. I don't use cream cheese but I do use two kinds of cheddar.

 

Since I hate cream cheese, but like all the other ingredients that were listed in the other recipe, I look forward to seeing yours.

[annzeepark914]

If you are going to purchase pimento cheese, it tends to have a slimey texture and does not have a sharp cheese flavor. And it does have a Velveeta type cheese. It is chunky and creamy. My favorite brand is Palmetto. It is not as creamy, has sharp shredded cheese  instead of the smooth cheese and a bit of a kick from cayenne. Not a lot, you just feel a bit of flavor, whereas others tend to be more sweet.  I discovered it at Costco. For years it was not available elsewhere. Now it is in my local Food Lion and Harris Teeter. It is really (to me) the best version of what an old lady at my church makes from scratch. Now I do love me some cheap pimento cheese on a fresh loaf of Piggly Wiggly bread, crusts cut off, cut in triangles. But my go to choice is Palmetto. 

 

 

 

Loved this!  When I first moved to Raleigh in the late 70's, I went into a Piggly Wiggly at Five Points and it was just like stepping back into my childhood in NYS--a very old fashioned supermarket complete with creaky hardwood floors, meat market in the back, old-fashioned looking ladies at the cash registers.  That old PW, I've heard, is now some type of gourmet food emporium/cafe.  My favorite pimiento cheese is from Southern Season in Chapel Hill.  They sell regular and hot (has jalapenos in it and it's lively!).

 

I saw that article in Southern Living and was absolutely dumbfounded that the woman sent it in to the magazine.  All I could think was...what a selfish, insecure mother she had.  I love to share recipes and include a note on any changes I might have made and why.  Now, people do get into trouble when they make substitutions to the recipe we've given them (but then, it's no longer our recipe, right?)

[vera charles]

Sorry to keep you waiting, but here is my version of Pimiento Cheese:

 

about 4 cups of grated cheddar cheese - I use Cracker Barrel brand, which comes in 8 oz. blocks and I use half sharp and half extra-sharp. Grate it on a box grater and use a little more than half of each block.

Add:

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

6 or 8 grinds of black pepper

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 a 3 oz. jar of chopped pimientos, drained (about 3 tbsp.)

about 8 pimiento stuffed olives, chopped fine

 

Stir together. It will seem too dry but don't add any more mayonnaise. Keep stirring and it will come together as a chunky spread. I don't add salt because the cheese and the olives are pretty salty.

 

My husband uses it to make a sandwich on white bread with more mayo on the bread. He also sprinkles on some celery seed. I just eat the cheese spread on crackers - Triscuits are especially delicious. The olives really add an interesting but not readily identifiable flavor.

[BooksRule]

After all of this discussion about pimento cheese, you would think that I would make some this weekend because I wanted to putter in the kitchen.  But, I got a hankering for a pot roast, so I have one cooking in the slow cooker right now.  The house smells all 'pot-roast-oniony'.  I also baked a cherry cobbler, but I cheated and just baked a frozen one.  I have good recipes for cobblers, but really wasn't in a baking mood.  I'll make up for it next weekend.  I have to bake two cakes (actually one bundt-type cake and one pan of either brownies, a sheet cake or some bar cookies) for a luncheon on the 19th.   I also have to make a slow cooker full of a vegetable soup. (Some explanation:  This is one of the fundraisers that my local historical society holds each January.  We do a soup luncheon and for $10 each person can have soup-plus seconds if they want--drink and dessert.) I made beef stew for the luncheon last year and it was delish, but beef is so expensive (even the 'cheap' cuts) that making a double batch of stew would be expensive (since I'm also making cakes).  So, I volunteered to make veg soup.  I could probably alter it and make a non-vegetarian potato soup that would be okay to bring.  I'm not sure yet (I'm not locked into vegetarian, it is just that we already had two chilis, and couple of chicken soups so I thought we needed something more veggie-like).  Does anyone have a good hearty vegetable soup recipe they would like to share? 

[3pwood]

Thanks, vera charles -- love the olive idea!  I'm going to try this as soon as I can.

[larapu2000]

Ina's roasted vegetable soup is really good, Books rule! Even better, you can interchange whatever veg is in season or to your preference. Just cook mirepoix, add broth and roasted veggies, then cook for a bit, then puree or use a stick blender.

[Lura]

Books Rule, the best vegetable soup I have ever tasted (and I've made Ina's) comes from a recipe in an old Betty Crocker cookbook.  The recipe calls for beef bones (marrow, etc) for flavor.  It's a hearty soup, easy to make, and even my brother -- who doesn't normally care for vegetable soup -- loves it!  I don't know whether the same recipe is in the current Betty Crocker cookbook or not.  This cookbook is at least 50 years old.  "Ms. Crocker" calls it Old-fashioned Vegetable Soup.  If you'd like, I can PM you the recipe.  I just made a quadruple batch for us last month.  I freeze it in 1-quart plastic containers, and it's wonderful just to reach for one to have for lunch or dinner.  It's a hearty soup that's easy to make.  In fact, it's the only vegetable soup I make now.

[BooksRule]

larapu2000, I'll look for Ina' recipe.

 

Lura, I have an old Betty Crocker cookbook.  I'll bet it's in there.  I'll let you know if I don't find it.  Thanks!

 

Great ideas!

Edited January 11, 2015 by BooksRule

[larapu2000]

Thought I would share this with black bean lovers:

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/the-lazy-cooks-black-beans-easy-recipe.html

 

Best black beans I've ever made.  You would think 4 ingredients would make it way too simple, but they are dynamite, and my friends that ate them agree.  And easy!  No soaking!  No double cooking!

[Bastet]

I've bookmarked that, thank you.  I don't like beans of any kind, but I've seen both my parents eat black beans; this will be perfect for when my mom has her second knee surgery later this year and I do some cooking for them.

[larapu2000]

You really do not taste the orange at all.  It just gives it a slightly floral aroma.  I would imagine, yes, you could use the same thing.  You could use a different citrus if you wanted to, even.  I guess the orange is a Cuban thing?

 

Hell yeah, Popeye's!  The closest one for me is about 60 miles.  And thank god for that.  Because I would weigh 8000 pounds.

Edited January 15, 2015 by larapu2000

[jcbrown]

stewedsquash, I have always used Emeril's recipes for red beans and rice with great success. A good example is http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/new-orleans-style-red-beans-and-rice-recipe.html

[larapu2000]

Ooh, that recipe actually makes me want to try red beans and rice!  (It's a name/menu combination that's never quite appealed to me, even though I eat beans with rice when I eat Mexican food, etc)

 

I never have luck with jambalaya recipes, so I actually end up using the Zataran's mix (I know, I know, I'm ashamed for me, too) because I like the flavor and spice profile, and the jambalaya I had in NOLA (flavor wise) was not that far off.  Anyone have a suggestion for that?  

 

I think New Orleans has the best food in the world (although I haven't been to France yet), and I think the most surprising part to me was that it wasn't the same menu at every restaurant with slight differences (AHEM, Greece).  It was so much more sophisticated and modern and more wonderful than I could have ever expected.  I love that locals don't agree on the "best" of anything-that's how amazing the food is!

[LazyToaster]

I thought I would chime in on the story of the incomplete/sabotaged recipe - which, for the record I think is such a stupid and mean thing to do to someone, anyone, but especially one of your own kids!

 

Anyway - has anyone ever had sort of the reverse of that happen?  I've given people recipes they requested and then have them come back and say it didn't turn out right or wasn't as good or some such thing.  Upon questioning I then find out they changed it up - sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.  I just say well, it won't be the same if you change it! 

 

I have a recipe rule for myself - the first time I make something I try very hard to follow the recipe - after that, tweaking is ok.  :o) 

[vera charles]

My sister told me that she made dressing (stuffing) for a potluck dinner. Several people asked her for the recipe, then one person came back complaining that she made it and it didn't taste the same. When my sister asked if the person had used the specific bread (baguette) that she had indicated in the recipe, the person said no, she didn't want to waste money buying that bread, so she used cheap supermarket bread. Well, of course the dressing didn't taste the same!

[larapu2000]

I have a friend that asked me for the recipe for the sauerkraut and sausage I made for her and her husband, and it's not really a recipe, it's just sauteeing the sausage and thinly sliced onions together, adding shredded apple and the kraut and adding brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste.  (My family likes a sweet/sour kraut).  She told me she made it with mushrooms and that it was really good, but I told her I wanted no part of that.  Mushrooms????  

 

I'm a terrible person to ask for recipes because I usually only really use them when I'm baking, making candy, canning, or trying out something completely new where I don't have a lot of experience-like seafood dishes or ethnic cuisines.  When I have dinner parties or hors d'oeuvres parties, I really just look at recipes as jumping off points-sauces or dressings, dips, etc-I usually look up recipes for ratios of ingredients to each other and work on the flavor profile myself.  Or I look up how long to roast or bake something but create rubs/seasonings on my own.  I might go by a recipe the first time I make something, but I have a pretty good memory.  But I do need to get better at writing some things down, if only to be a nice person that shares with others.

[Quof]

I make a yummy, stollen-like bread, with ricotta, chocolate chunks and dried cherries.  I suggested it to my mother when she was looking for a recipe, and she thought she might add a MINT icing.  I told her, if she did, not to dare tell anyone the recipe came from me.   I have a reputation to maintain.

[annzeepark914]

Anyway - has anyone ever had sort of the reverse of that happen?  I've given people recipes they requested and then have them come back and say it didn't turn out right or wasn't as good or some such thing.  Upon questioning I then find out they changed it up - sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.  I just say well, it won't be the same if you change it! 

It's happened to me too (and I may have mentioned it a while back, not sure).  I used to make a shrimp casserole that called for 2 tsps of sherry.  Since I never have sherry in the house, I always used cooking sherry.  A friend love it, asked for the recipe and then called to tell me it was inedible.  When I asked her about the ingredients she used, the one thing she did differently was to use real sherry (I know I told her to use cooking sherry).  She said all they could taste was the sherry. So, maybe the cooking sherry was milder and the real deal just overwhelmed the other ingredients?  A couple years ago I sent my sister a recipe for Three Berry Cobbler which we love (calls for frozen blackberries, raspberries & blueberries).  She emailed a few days later saying it was gagworthy too sweet!  Turned out she didn't have one of the berries called for and subbed frozen strawberries, so no wonder.  

[BooksRule]

I have a recipe rule for myself - the first time I make something I try very hard to follow the recipe - after that, tweaking is ok.  :o)

 

I have a rule that I do that too, except when I break that rule!  Only rarely, though.  If a recipe calls for cilantro and I think from the other ingredients that I won't miss it, I'll leave it out (I hate cilantro).  However, if it's a big part of the dish's flavor, then I'll skip that recipe.  I do the same for mushrooms.  Otherwise, I follow it pretty faithfully the first time.

 

I made a chocolate fudge sheet cake this morning and plan to frost it with Ina's Peanut Butter Frosting.  I also have a Lemon Supreme Pound Cake (the kind with the apricot nectar in the batter) in the oven.  I'll glaze it with fresh lemon glaze later when it cools.  I'm hungry for cake, but I made them for a luncheon tomorrow (I might try a sliver of the lemon cake, though--I haven't made one of those in years, and I need to test it out.  Right?)

Edited January 18, 2015 by BooksRule

[BooksRule]

Sorry, stewedsquash!  I didn't cut either cake, but I did eat the scrapings from the frosting bowl!   I got the peanut butter frosting recipe just by googling 'Ina Garten Peanut Butter Frosting'.  (I took the easy way out and made the chocolate cake from a mix.)  I'll post the lemon cake recipe tomorrow.  It's one that I grew up with--Lemon Supreme Pound Cake was my mom's go-to recipe when she needed to take a cake somewhere.  My favorite desserts are always anything with a tart lemon flavor or anything with cinnamon flavors.  I did have a problem finding apricot nectar, though.  It used to be easy to find in any juice aisle, but I finally found it in the Hispanic foods section of the third store I visited.

[larapu2000]

A food club is an amazing idea!  (I love my  book club!)  I'm also jealous of the people that have carry-ins and luncheons-I work from a home office and travel, so I don't have office mates, and that curbs my baking, because I love to bake, but I need a place to take it so that I don't eat the entire thing, lol.

 

I'd love the recipe for that lemon pound cake.  Anything with apricot in it piques my interest.  Why don't Americans love apricots as much as the Europeans and Middle Easterners?  They're my favorite fruit flavor-well, that and sour cherries.  I think apricots are just superior to their stone fruit pals in so many ways!  I made some apricot habanero jam this summer, about 12 pints, and there are only 3 left.  3!  It's great with brie.

[BooksRule]

I do buy dried apricots for snacking and love brie warmed with apricot jam.

 

Here's the recipe for Lemon Supreme Pound Cake: 

1 box lemon cake mix

1/3 C. sugar

1/2 C. veg oil

1 C. apricot nectar

4 eggs

 

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease & flour (I use the spray) a tube pan or bundt pan.  Mix all ingredients except eggs for 2 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.  Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and turn out of pan and cool completely.  Glaze with a mixture of confectioner's sugar and fresh lemon juice (I just make enough to be thick enough not to slide off of the cake and I strain it to get any sugar lumps out).

Note:  One person online said that they snipped dried apricots into little pieces, soaked them in hot water until they plumped up and added those to the batter.  That sounded good.

 

I just got back from my historical society luncheon.  It was successful, I think.  There were probably about 30 or so people there, which is a good crowd for us.  I brought back a lot of vegetable soup, but the gumbo ran out early.  I'm sending an e-mail to myself as a reminder to bring a big pot of chicken gumbo next year and forget the veg soup!  I also brought back a few slices of the lemon cake and about 1/4 of the chocolate with PB frosting.  I'll have a couple of pieces before the end of the day, I'm sure, and I'll take the rest to work tomorrow.

Edited January 19, 2015 by BooksRule

[3pwood]

Thanks for the recipe, BooksRule -- that sounds very good & also easy.  Safeway has been having a lot of sales lately with name brand cake mixes for 99cents, so I'll get one & turn it into this lovely dessert.

 

Interesting that you don't find apricot nectar widely available.  It was my sister's favorite fruit juice when we were kids in the mid-'50s -- more expensive than most, so our mom didn't buy it often, but all of the grocery stores carried it.  I see Kern's & Goya brands in 12 oz. cans, which would be enough for this recipe -- but it used to come in 48 oz. cans or glass bottles (& my sister had to drink all of it because the rest of the family didn't like the thick texture & kind of cloying taste).

[Pristine]

Isn't scrapple the pig plus bread to extend the meat? That was how it was explained to me.

 

Yep, scraps and trimmings, plus a binder like cornmeal or heavier flours.  The recipe my grandfather gave me uses buckwheat groats.  And various seasonings/spices.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Pristine

[tvchick]

My family has a similar recipe for an Apricot Nectar Cake and those Kern's cans are exactly what we use.  The only difference in our recipe is the addition of a package of orange jello with a yellow cake mix.

 

Do you put a glaze on it?  We use a mix of powdered sugar and lemon juice...it's a wonderful dessert.

[BooksRule]

Anything that is called apricot nectar and isn't 'fizzy' is okay to use, as far as I know.  I remember way back when I was growing up, you could buy large bottles of apricot nectar (I forget the brand) in any grocery store.  It was with the bottled lemon juice, if I recall correctly. 

 

I make a glaze of confectioner's sugar and fresh lemon juice.  I didn't make it thick enough this past time and it ran off of the cake (but a lot of it pooled around the bottom of the cake and soaked in, so it was all good in the end).  The orange jello idea sounds good.

 

I brought the rest of both cakes to work on Tuesday and there was no lemon cake left (I brought about 1/2 the cake in) and just a couple of little pieces of the choco/pb one huddling in the corner of the pan (that was my dessert that night). 

 

I'm trying to get rid of any cake mixes in my pantry, so I made a spice cake last night and frosted it with whipped cream cheese icing this morning.  There's about 1/2 the cake left in the staff lounge right now, so I hope that people will have some with afternoon coffee.   (I would rather bake from scratch, but usually keep a couple of mixes in the pantry for 'emergencies')  I hope to get back on my diet tomorrow so this might be the last of my baking for a while (except I might make something for Valentine's Day or Mardi Gras to bring to work).  We'll see how well my willpower holds up!

[Lura]

Your lemon cake and your spice cake both sound delicious, BooksRule.  I love spice cake, and it seems like forever since I made one.  Cream cheese icing is another favorite of mine.  I wish I were a member of your staff!

 

I've been on a chicken stock kick.  How boring can things get?  With the price of chicken (and even chicken parts) these days, making homemade stock is no longer an inexpensive proposition.  Still, I was tired of canned.  I have enough made now for a few batches of chicken soup, which I've had a hunger for.  It was really cold here, but now that the stock is made, the weather has warmed up.   I hope we get some more soup weather soon!                                                                                                                                           

[Bastet]

I hear you.  I had a freezer bursting with chicken carcasses and veggie scraps, so I went on a stock-making rampage recently - the finished product takes up less room - but we've had maybe half a dozen soup days this month, so I've only made two soups.  One of the primary reasons I live in Los Angeles is for the weather, but I could do with some rainy days right about now!  Especially because I just picked up two whole chickens at the farmers' market and will thus have even more stock fixings next week.  Alas, it's forecast to be 80 tomorrow.

[BooksRule]

We had two days of cold rainy weather, but the sun's out now.  It's still chilly outside, though. I have some leftover vegetable soup in the fridge, so that'll be lunch.  I think I have the fixings to make another pot tomorrow or Monday.   I'm spending the weekend doing some major housecleaning (the 'once-in-a-while' cleaning where you actually move furniture to clean and clean out closets and cabinets).  I'm alternating the cleaning with binge-watching the first season of 'Lost'.  I never got into the series when it was on, but I thought I'd give it a try.  I like it okay so far, but I know that the general consensus is that it goes downhill in later seasons (but I guess most shows do that).

[chessiegal]

BooksRule, we didn't start watching "Lost" until the 5th Season had started, so we were binge watching the first 4 to catch up. What I found is it was best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. TV shows like this, including the amazing CGI, don't come along very often.

[larapu2000]

I'm also a huge Lost fan! For me, it was just a disappointing end for a really great show, although the third season drags in a few places. But you are lucky you don't have to suffer through a summer between seasons! The eye candy is first rate.

[Lura]

Books Rule or anyone,

 

I adore sheet cakes, but since there are only two of us, I've never made one.  Thus, I've always wondered:  When you use a boxed cake mix, how many boxes do you need for a sheet cake?  Part Two of my question:  If you make a cake from scratch, how many recipes of it do you make for a sheet cake?  I've asked several people this question over a period of two or three years, and their answers all vary.  Thanks.

[BooksRule]

Lura, one box of cake mix should make one sheet cake (13 X 9 size pan).  I don't know about recipes from scratch.  I would think that a recipe that makes one layer cake could be used to make a dozen cupcakes or one sheet cake, but you would probably have to watch the baking time carefully, since it would differ depending on how you were using the batter.  I'm guessing, of course, but you would think most batters would work.  The only type I would probably not try to change would be angel food or pound cake recipes.  Those really need to be baked how they are meant to be baked, since the batters for those are different.  I don't know about chiffon batters.  After 'googling' the question, the consensus seems to be that recipes for layer cakes can be adapted to sheet cakes or cupcakes with no problem, just watch the baking time.  However, you might have to change the amount of frosting needed, since that would differ depending on a layer cake vs a sheet cake.

[Bastet]

When you use a boxed cake mix, how many boxes do you need for a sheet cake?

 

One.  I'm a lazy baker, so I use a boxed cake mix as often as I make a cake from scratch.  It says on the box it's for either two round layers or one sheet. 

[MargeGunderson]

Ooh, that recipe actually makes me want to try red beans and rice!  (It's a name/menu combination that's never quite appealed to me, even though I eat beans with rice when I eat Mexican food, etc)

 

I never have luck with jambalaya recipes, so I actually end up using the Zataran's mix (I know, I know, I'm ashamed for me, too) because I like the flavor and spice profile, and the jambalaya I had in NOLA (flavor wise) was not that far off.  Anyone have a suggestion for that?  

 

I think New Orleans has the best food in the world (although I haven't been to France yet), and I think the most surprising part to me was that it wasn't the same menu at every restaurant with slight differences (AHEM, Greece).  It was so much more sophisticated and modern and more wonderful than I could have ever expected.  I love that locals don't agree on the "best" of anything-that's how amazing the food is!

 

For jambalaya, I use this recipe from Cooking Light. I think it's pretty authentic and it gets a little spicier the next day.

[BooksRule]

This is probably sacrilege to NOLA food purists, but there used to be a local restaurant here that served red beans and rice with two pieces of crisp-fried catfish placed across the top.  It sounds odd, but it tasted really good. (And it still had the sausage in the beans/rice mixture). 

 

I used to love to fix (usually when I didn't have anything else to cook that night) a big bowl of green peas and white rice, with a little butter, salt and some sautéed onion in it.  I'm trying to stay away from white rice, so I don't know how it would taste with brown rice.  I might have to give it a try.  I have sometimes made some brown rice and added some black beans along with some onion and salsa for an occasional vegetarian dinner.  It tastes good, but looks like the dog's dinner!

Edited January 26, 2015 by BooksRule

[Lura]

Bastet, THANK YOU for your sheet cake reply.  I actually looked over both boxed cake mixes in my cupboard, and I didn't see any instruction that mentioned a sheet cake.  That's why I posted the question.  I have some eye surgery coming up sometime, so I wonder whether that's why I missed it.  I appreciate your help!

[Bastet]

Oh, it may just be a different brand and the manufacturers of the one you're using weren't courteous enough to include instructions for sheet cake baking.  But if your mix is made to yield two 8- or 9-inch rounds for a layer cake, it will also yield one 13 x 9 sheet cake (or 24 cupcakes). 

 

It's just the bake time that may be different.  For example, the Duncan Hines classic yellow mix says to bake two 9-inch rounds for 23-28 minutes, and says the same for a 13 x 9 sheet.  But for two 8-inch rounds, it says 26-31 minutes. 

 

And, now I want cake.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Bastet

[Lura]

It's just the bake time that may be different.  For example, the Duncan Hines classic yellow mix says to bake two 9-inch rounds for 23-28 minutes, and says the same for a 13 x 9 sheet.  But for two 8-inch rounds, it says 26-31 minutes.

 

That figures, since the 8" cake would be thicker. 

 

This reminds me of my mother again.  She was a purist when it came to cakes, and she insisted that no cake was good if it wasn't made from scratch.  Most were good, but some didn't turn out as well as others.  Still, she persisted.  Then, one day at a bridge club, her friend served the best cake, and my mother asked for the recipe.  "Oh," said her friend, "this is just a boxed cake."  My mother came home, all excited, and said, "You know?  A boxed cake tastes every bit as good as a cake made from scratch -- and maybe even better!"  From that day on, I never remember her making a cake from scratch again. 

 

I enjoy making a cake from scratch if it's a good recipe.  For me, it's fun.  But I would just as soon use a boxed cake mix any day.  Duncan Hines has always been my favorite, but all of the brands are good, I think.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Lura

[BooksRule]

I agree that a lot of boxed cake mixes taste pretty close to homemade, but I've found that there are one or two that don't seem to be able to fool me.  One is strawberry.  We have a local bakery that makes the best little cakes, cupcakes, etc. and most taste amazing, but I tried one of their strawberry cupcakes one time, and I immediately knew that it was from a boxed mix, because it tasted artificial to me (the frosting was good, though).  That being said, I usually use box mixes for most of my cakes--I like to bake from scratch now and then, but don't usually have the time.  I think one of the best-tasting cakes I ever made was from scratch, but it was also the most involved.  It was a chocolate fudge layer cake with chocolate fudge frosting, and  I think I dirtied up every pan and bowl I own.  There were a couple of bowls for the dry ingredients (which had to be measured and then blended together at certain points), a couple of more for the wet (I think some even had to be melted/cooked on the stove, if I remember correctly).  Then you had to blend everything together and bake.  Then, the frosting used up several more bowls.  Excellent cake (very dense and rich), but I only made it that one time.  I'm not even sure I know what I did with the original recipe.

 

I just finished watching the second season of 'Lost'.  Wow, what a ride!  I'm just glad I can start watching the next season on Monday and not have to wait through a summer, like original watchers had to do.  I need to finish the series soon, though.  I'm neglecting other things I should be doing to watch.

Edited January 31, 2015 by BooksRule

[annzeepark914]

This recipe for a chocolate custard cream is in today's Washington Post magazine section.  It's from Patrick O'Connell (of The Inn at Little Washington).  I'm not much into baking (or chocolate) so I wondered what everyone here (who is) thinks of this recipe.  Would you make it?  Does it sound chocolate-y enough? (my DH who loves chocolate says, "It doesn't look like it has much chocolate in it"). 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/plate-lab-patrick-oconnells-cant-miss-chocolate-dessert/2015/01/28/73112a12-7e6c-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html

[annzeepark914]

@stewedsquash:  When you make it, let us know what you think of it (hope you didn't injure yourself when you fell out of your chair...a little chocolate will make you feel much better :>)

[anneofcleves]

anzeepark, thank you for posting the chocolate custard cream recipe.  I think I now have the dessert I want to make for my sweethearts on Valentine's day!  It looks amazing.  The use of honey is what got me.

Edited February 8, 2015 by anneofcleves

[Lura]

That is actually a generous amount of chocolate considering that the recipe calls for bittersweet.  My only problem with the recipe is a mild allergy to honey.  If I converted the recipe back to its original form using real caramel, I'd be fine with it.

 

A personal thought (not a criticism):  I sometimes find that fresh fruit served as a garnish can be jolting to the taste buds if it isn't sweet enough for my taste.  (Sometimes, it's picked while it's under ripe).  In that case, I pierce the fruit with a toothpick and soak it in a light sugar syrup for a while to add a touch of sweetness to it -- sort of bringing it up to the chocolate level.  It all depends on whether the berries taste sour in combination with the chocolate, and keeping in mind that honey has a sweeter taste than caramel.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Lura

[chessiegal]

I'm here to report that Ina's "Duke Cosmo" is very tasty, and I'm posting before I finish it because it packs a punch. We agreed 1 is enough. :)

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

[BooksRule]

Happy belated Valentine's Day to everybody!

 

The good news is I finished the fifth season of 'Lost' this morning.  The bad news is that the library is closed tomorrow (President's Day), so I'll have to wait until Tuesday afternoon before I can get there to pick up season six.  I'm in the home stretch, though!  In the meantime, I'll just have to catch up with the shows I have saved on the DVR.

 

Early on a Sunday morning is usually a great time to go to Wal-Mart, because it's not crowded.  However--note to self--never, ever go on the Sunday before Mardi Gras (or more specifically, not before the big Mardi Gras parade in that town).  It was packed at 10:30am (I think the parade starts at noon), and the woman who checked me out said that it was like that when she came on duty at 7:30.  Lots of people picking up party platters from the deli and an amazing number of people dressed in Mardi Gras-themed clothes.  I was able to go through the express lane, though, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  I also got caught in the aftermath of another parade yesterday and had to detour around the downtown area.  Maybe I should just start going to the parades, instead of trying to dodge them!

[peacheslatour]

 

Then, one day at a bridge club, her friend served the best cake, and my mother asked for the recipe.  "Oh," said her friend, "this is just a boxed cake."  My mother came home, all excited, and said, "You know?  A boxed cake tastes every bit as good as a cake made from scratch -- and maybe even better!"  From that day on, I never remember her making a cake from scratch again.

I remember when my grandmother had this exact same revelation.  And she had a degree in Home Ec. from Hood.

[Quof]

 

Oh," said her friend, "this is just a boxed cake."  My mother came home, all excited, and said, "You know?  A boxed cake tastes every bit as good as a cake made from scratch -- and maybe even better!"

That hurts my heart.

[larapu2000]

I feel for our great grandmothers and grandmas,it probably wasn't easy with the hard core work load they had back in the day. But no one can tell me the cake crumb on a mix is better than the real thing. I also have issues with frosting a mix cake, I think it has a gummy,wet texture on top. That being said, I love some cake and won't complain either way!

[chessiegal]

I have this picture in my head of Christopher Kimball's (Americas Test Kitchen) head exploding if someone told him a box cake mix was better than something their test kitchen made. This is going to make me see if I can find where they did a taste test with their audience on box vs. scratch.