[Italiancook]

Years ago, my husband found a newspaper recipe for My Mom's Pot Roast. He made it a few years for Mother's Day. For the first time, I made it yesterday. It cooks in the oven. I decided it's a lot harder to cook a pot roast in the oven than on top of the stove. The LeCreuset dutch oven with a 3 pound roast and vegetables is too heavy to comfortably put in and take out of the oven. But it tasted good, and the veggies were heavenly. It uses Lipton's dry onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup, which are ingredients I don't use, but the flavor is good.

[Italiancook]

I saw the tail end of a commercial that made me laugh out loud. For M & M's. I mute commercials, so I don't know the words, but the final frame had a caption.

It showed a bag of M & M's inside an empty square baking dish. Caption read, "No baking required."

It must be targeted to the new pandemic bakers who're now tired of baking.

[Italiancook]

I'd enjoy Will's bread if you'd send it to me.

[Italiancook]

cwdesign, thanks for posting the KABC blog. The article is helpful, especially the links at the end about reducing sugar for specific baked goods.

BakerAunt, I appreciate the newspaper recipe. I have no idea why my grandmother's recipe says to sift the flour twice. That must have been her personal preference with baking . . . but it's a bother. Thanks, also, for posting your experience with refrigerating dough.

[Italiancook]

Len, thanks for saying you've had success reducing sugar in modern recipes. I'm going to try that. My husband also liked the New Deal Cookies because they weren't real sweet.

BakerAunt, I found the New Deal Cookie recipe in my grandmother's file box. Therefore, I assume it's from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal era. The ingredients are:

3 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups flour sifted twice
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Most of my grandmother's recipes call for sifting the flour twice. I clearly remember her teaching me how to do this. She'd sift flour onto paper. She'd measure it out & put it back in the sifter for the second sift. Then she'd measure out the amount & use it in the recipe. I really can't be bothered with such a step, although I do it when I make her banana cake. I learned the hard way that being lazy with that cake ruins it. With the cookies, I stirred Gold Medal flour, spooned it into measuring cups, added to bowl with other dry ingredients, then whisked it, and called it sifted twice. That might have been my downfall with this recipe. I know that sifting twice my grandmother's way results in less flour than my way.

I considered scooping the cookies. But I was in the mindset that I was finally going to try this recipe. So I wanted to follow it as written. But it was such a bother that it'll be a while before I try another of my grandmother's recipes. My husband ate half the cookies yesterday. He indicated he'd like them again. Probably won't happen, but I have been thinking it might make a good negotiation: His research on an Aerogarden in exchange for the cookies.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Len, for your help on the caraway seeds. Thanks, Mike, for pricing info. I'll have ordered caraway by the end of this week.

[Italiancook]

I went historical today. I baked a recipe I found in my grandmother's recipe box. New Deal Cookies. Unfortunately, it turned into a project. The dough was too dry, so I added an egg. That made the dough too wet. Frustrated, I put it into the refrigerator in the mixing bowl to chill. Recipe says to chill. I thought all would be good if I heavily floured the pastry board to cut. Wrong! Dough stuck to board. Recipe says it makes 2 dozen cookies, and there wasn't much dough. So I knew they were supposed to be small cookies, so I used my smallest biscuit cutter. I struggled and fussed and fussed and struggled with the dough, but I managed to end up with 28 cookies. Because I didn't have enough flour on the board to compensate for the wet dough, the process of moving some of the cookie to the pan meant some were misshapen. Each cookie is to have a pecan on top. I only had walnuts, and I put them on only 12. I didn't know what the finished product would be & I didn't want to waste walnuts.

Not worth the effort, but the cookies are good. Cakey. Pleasant flavor. Not too sweet . . . makes me think modern recipes use more sugar than necessary. Would I make them again? Probably not, since they're cut-outs. I'll keep the recipe in case a future generation has an inclination and the expertise to perfect the recipe.

[Italiancook]

I made slow cooker Irish oatmeal. It'll serve 6 or 7 breakfasts.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike & BakerAunt, for your suggestions on purchasing caraway.

[Italiancook]

Your pizza looks scrumptious, Mike! I never thought of putting Havarti on pizza. I don't normally stock it, but it's my favorite cheese.

[Italiancook]

I wonder if people have given up sourdough for rye bread. I've had a difficult time finding caraway seeds this year. I wonder if people are making rye with caraway seed bread.

[Italiancook]

cwdesign, glad your surgery is over & that there were no problems with it. I wish you a speedy & complete recovery.

[Italiancook]

Half my Angel Biscuits fed the trash can. Unfortunately. The recipe says to bake for about 15 minutes & I went for 15. Burned them. Second and third pans baked for 12 minutes & that was perfect. I had forgotten that the oven burns hotter at 425 degrees and didn't adjust for that. I ended up with 18 perfect ones. Had some for lunch in a bowl of canned Chicken ala King and froze the rest.

It's been a while since I last made them. I forgot to roll the dough to 1/2" and made it thinner. So I didn't have the lovely tall biscuits that are characteristic of Angel Biscuits.

skeptic7, I don't know how to answer your question. Ignorance. I don't often make biscuits, and when I do it's Angel Biscuits. I made my grandmother's biscuits a couple of times, but we are sold on the softer Angel Biscuits. Sorry. A few times a year, I make Sara Moulton's Shortbread, which are cream biscuits. Those don't rise as high as Angel Biscuits.

[Italiancook]

Thanks a bundle for all the helpful Aerogarden info you posted, Mike!

[Italiancook]

Tonight, I mixed up the dough for Angel Biscuits. It's in the fridge until tomorrow. I'll bake all of them after breakfast for the freezer. Okay, I'll eat one with cherry preserves to taste test.

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