| Seeking recipes for anniversary cookbook | | Posted Friday, January 26, 2007 3:16:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | This year is the 75th anniversary for Branch 232, quite a milestone for any organization. One of the projects underway to mark this occasion is an anniversary cookbook being produced under the direction of comrade Bernice Greenfield. If you have any recipies that could be included, please leave them with the steward for pickup. Last week Don Woolman was the bid euchre winner, followed by Lil Millar and Fred Stamper. January 13 shuffleboard was won by Ray Kristiansen and Ed Woolven. The annual Orinn Bruce Snooker Tournament, held at the branch on January 12 and 13, was a great success. Congratulations to the winners, Tom Pigeon and Fred Henwood. Branch level public speaking competitions will be held on Sunday, February 4 for all students Grades 1 through 12. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top three speeches in each age category and first place winners will advance to Zone speaking.... | |
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| | | Black pepper gives recipes kick | | Posted Thursday, January 25, 2007 1:20:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Forget arugula. The true symbol of how far American cooking has come in the past few decades is black pepper. When I went to restaurant school in 1983, our bible of ingredients, "Wenzel's Menu Maker," listed only two varieties, Malabar and Tellicherry. It insisted that "the only use of black pepper is as a condiment." And its recipes never specified freshly ground pepper in an era when big tins of pallid powder were stored near the stove and every table held a pepper shaker, not a mill. Right now, I have black peppercorns in my kitchen from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Ecuador, in addition to bags of Tellicherry and Malabar. And I'm as likely to use any of them in a dessert or as a crust on meat as I am to relegate them to a mere finishing touch for food.... | |
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| | | All-American favorites (no second-stringers allowed) | | Posted Thursday, November 23, 2006 1:07:32 PM by Blog57 Team | | The following review is by a reader who was given a cookbook from the Times. The included recipes were selected and prepared by the reader. What intrigued me most about "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" was the book's "promise of sorts" to deliver more than 1,200 recipes guaranteed to be a success in home kitchens. Operating out of a 2,500-square-foot test kitchen, recipes are developed by test chefs after conducting blind taste-tests of recipes culled from other cookbooks. Further testing and tasting is done, culminating in what the Test Kitchen believes to be the best version of that dish. As if this is not enough, each recipe is further tested up to 40 times with variations in equipment and ingredients to mimic what might be found in a typical home kitchen. Recipes are formatted with easy-to-follow directions, including step-by-step pictures, as well as prep time and total cooking time.... | |
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| | | Over the Fence: Milky Way cake is a star and worth the work, readers say | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:12:43 PM by Blog57 Team | | Last week, Over the Fence explored a down-to-earth dessert known as Mississippi mud cake. Today, we'll look at a treat that's out of this world: Milky Way cake. Actually, in this instance, Milky Way refers to the candy bar, not the galaxy. A reader named Kayleen wrote, "A friend of mine is looking for a recipe for a Milky Way cake. She raves about it all of the time and wishes she had the recipe. Can anyone help her out?" JoAnn Wesner and Mim Strasser, both of New Haven, sent in virtually the same recipe, clipped from different sources. Wesner's came from the Tampa Tribune in 1991. Strasser's was printed in Ladies Home Journal in 1994; that version contains 1/2 teaspoon of salt, which the other does not. Strasser wrote, "It takes a little time, but it's worth it." Milky Way cake 8 (2.15-ounce) Milky Way candy bars 1 cup butter or margarine 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs, separated 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 cup pecans, chopped 6 ounces (6 squares) semisweet chocolate Directions from Strasser's recipe: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.... | |
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| | | Marvelous desserts not made by you | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 3:07:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | When giving driving directions, my mother has been known to use ice cream shops and bakeries as landmarks, so it's no surprise that my family's Thanksgiving dinner isn't complete without a table full of desserts. I'm talking pies, cakes, cookies, the works! In addition to being an excellent baker, my mother is also an expert at seeking out great local bakeries, which has become second nature to me. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I'd like to give a little insight into where the best desserts can be found. Whether you're the host or hostess trying to save time or a guest responsible for bringing dessert, you can move away from the oven, pass the grocery store, and head down the road to a few of my favorite bakeries. For three years, Jamie and Kate Campos, owners of The Flaky Pastry in Chelmsford (11 Central Square, 978-250-4004), have been perfecting family recipes and satisfying taste buds.... | |
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| | | Tart a new twist to pumpkin pie | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 3:37:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | Autumn's bounty of crisp apples, juicy pears and plentiful pumpkins turn our thoughts to traditional holiday recipes. And there is perhaps no more traditional holiday dessert than pumpkin pie. But if you're looking to change your holiday repertoire, why not try a pumpkin chiffon tart instead? Prepared with a pecan tart shell and layered with a citrus-fig puree, this dessert offers an unexpected take on tradition. Alison McLoughlin, a baking and pastry instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, adapted this recipe from her mother's pie recipe. She uses a pecan tart crust instead of a traditional crust and adds a fig filling and delicate Florentine cookies. The creamy pumpkin chiffon mousse is balanced between a nutty pecan crust and the crisp but delicate lace pecan cookies, serving up a pleasing texture contrast for this holiday dessert.... | |
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| | | From bread bowls to trifles, children test culinary skills | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:19:41 PM by Blog57 Team | | More than 40 participants entered their best recipes in the first Dish and Spoon Cooking Contest sponsored by the Nacogdoches Public Library. Saturday's contest for "kid cooks" ranging in age from 4 to 18, was a springboard event for next Saturday's cookbook swap featuring a special presentation by Ann Barton of Texas Women's University. A love of cooking and an interest in recipes is a hobby apparently shared by all ages, according to Mercedes Franks, assistant library director and coordinator of the contest, which was suggested by NPL circulation clerk Rita Daniels. "Rita noticed that there were a lot of kids checking out cookbooks," Franks said. "She said we should have a cooking contest. "So, we did," she said. "It's really taken off, it's been a lot of fun, and we've gotten a lot of response.... | |
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| | | Dessert cookbooks take the cake | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 3:37:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | A baker who calls vanilla the "underwear of cooking" gets my attention first. Gale Gand, co-owner and pastry chef at the Chicago restaurant Tru, along with Lisa Weiss wrote "Chocolate & Vanilla" (Clarkson Potter Publishers, $22.50), one of three dessert cookbooks published in October that seemed to be required reading. Gand elaborates on the underwear theme: "What I really mean is that I see vanilla like an invisible essential, something that's always in the background, the thing you put on before anything else." While vanilla often plays a supporting role, it can, at times, be the Victoria's Secret star. Gand makes that point through 28 recipes, half of which call for vanilla beans and the other half for the extract. A sample: Limoncello Strawberries with Sour Cream and Vanilla Sugar, Eclairs with Coffee Glaze, Vita's Ricotta Doughnuts, Dessert French Toast and Mary's Butterballs, a recipe that illustrates Gand's approach.... | |
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| | | Story continues below advertisement | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 1:35:25 PM by Blog57 Team | | Kamala Gamble, owner, Kam's Kookery and Guilford Gardens: "I have an old edition (1975) and a new edition (1997). Occasionally I'll get a request for something like a Jell-O salad, and I'll use "Joy of Cooking" for that. Or, if it's something I just don't have a recipe for, like pimiento cheese, I'll get out the book. I still give it as a wedding gift. I'm one of those who still does canning and pickling, so sometimes I'll use it as a reference when I'm canning. "Yes, I will get the newest edition, to see if it is different." Geni Thomas-Woodward, food service director and executive chef, Casady School: "That book is unbelieveable, I don't care what any chef says. That and the 1950 edition of the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. I have them both." She keeps the 1975 edition in her office and has several editions at home, including the 1997 volume.... | |
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| | | Looking good: Close shaves | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:28:17 AM by Blog57 Team | | Shaving your legs when the weather turns cool can be one annoying task (goosebumps and shivering come to mind). Davies Gate has the solution: a warming shaving cream. The warming is subtle, but enough to help open pores and release ingrown hairs, which are all too common during pants-filled fall and winter months. Sugar Plum Warming Shave Cream also contains the tiniest bit of exfoliator — perfect for whisking away dead skin cells — and then follows up by nourishing with organic oils. The scent is subtly fruity (the most notable scent is peach or apricot). So is the indulgent cream worth the $20 ticket price? Absolutely. Plus, you get a hefty tube (10.6 ounces) that should last you a few months. Find it at www.daviesgate.com. KIM OSSI, MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE.... | |
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