[Italiancook]

I second you, Mike, on marjoram being "an underused and underappreciated spice." It was that way in my kitchen until I began to put it on top of focaccia. Before that, I only used it in an Italian soup. Now, it's on the lower rack of my spice cabinet so I can reach it easily. But I haven't used it in tomato sauce. Will try it. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Italiancook]

I awoke early this morning and was in the mood for a restaurant breakfast. But the restaurant wasn't open. I waited over an hour for them to open, but then decided I didn't want to go out in the cold. Headed to the kitchen to make myself a restaurant breakfast. Bacon was in freezer & no sausage. So I settled on my grandmother's hash browns, over easy eggs & juice. Forgot the toast, it's been so long since I went to a restaurant for breakfast. Nevertheless, I was satisfied with the specialness of the meal and the taste. My normal breakfast is slow-cooker oatmeal with fruit.

[Italiancook]

I made a fool's purchase in the name of baking. My husband threw away my copy of Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery that was a gift -- Really! It has a tried and true Vienna Bread recipe that I like to make for guests. I never used the cookbook for anything else, so if it wasn't for that recipe, I would chalk it up to de-cluttering. I didn't want to spend over $50.00 for a new copy -- after all, it is only one recipe. But I plunked down $20.00 for a used one. Again, for one recipe. Thus, a fool's purchase in the name of baking!

BakerAunt, after reading your post about Valentine's Day, all I can think of is chocolate cake. I think there's a Texas Chocolate Cake in my weekend future. The temptation would have subsided if I had chocolate chips to munch on, but I'm all out of those.

[Italiancook]

Mike, your marbled rye looks scrumptious. So pretty, too. Thanks for the photo. Do you know how it freezes? Do rye breads lose their flavor while in the freezer?

[Italiancook]

What makes it overly expensive for me is its short shelf life after opened. Three or four days. I can't use it up in such a short time. Maybe I've had a container that said to discard after five days, but I'm uncertain about that. Having said that, I have to say:

Mascarpone makes a wonderful tomato cream sauce for rigatoni. I add some to hot red tomato sauce and stir. If the sauce isn't as light and creamy-looking as I want, I add more mascarpone. If I have frozen peas, I toss in a few peas. Pasta tastes great that way. Mostly what I use mascarpone for is for parfaits. I prep sliced strawberries with sugar the day before. I layer strawberries, room temp mascarpone, etc. until parfait glass is full. It's a luxurious eating experience, but the mascarpone needs to be room temp. If I have angel food cake or sweet cream biscuits, I'll make them a light layer -- light in quantity, not calories.

Mike, I always develop pop quiz anxiety when you post Italian-related questions. It puts my moniker to the test.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike, for letting me know Reinhart's recipe is on the web. I appreciate your marbled rye instructions. Maybe there's a loaf of it in my future. I believe I'm up to it now. When I was a newlywed, I really made a mistake trying rye bread before I'd even made a loaf of white bread. I have no idea what I was thinking.

[Italiancook]

Beautiful, Mike! I don't understand -- why does it have to rest for 24 hours before slicing?

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I am certain the rye flour I used came from the grocery store. I'm unsure whether the recipe I used was on the bag or from my one and only cookbook at the time. I'll try chocomouse's suggestion of KAF Sandwich Rye. I don't have Reinhart's book, Mike.

CORRECTON: I may have misled people when I wrote that I used half butter and half olive oil in my yellow cake. I subbed the olive oil, using 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil for 1/2 cup butter.

[Italiancook]

I made The Neely's (Food Network) Asparagus Soup. It's really an easy soup to make and tastes scrumptious. Unfortunately, it makes only 1 quart 1 cup. I usually make a double batch so I have a quart for the freezer. I just didn't think about it when I was admiring the asparagus in the market.

[Italiancook]

I'm late to the party, and the cake's all gone, but Happy Birthday BakerAunt!

[Italiancook]

I'm still happy with my KA Artisan mixer. I think though, that the wider bowl would be best-served with the "beater paddle," whatever that's called. The one they make that looks like it has rubber along one side. This has been my opinion for as many times as I've used the white-coated paddle. When I own the fancier paddle and have an opinion on that, I'll post again.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I've enjoyed reading about your 2020 challenge to yourself. I tried rye bread when a newlywed. Don't recall where the recipe came from. Either the recipe was wrong or I was wrong, because we disliked the bread. Never again tried rye.

I find the discussions about steaming and misting interesting, too. I've never done either, but I have a couple of recipes that suggest it. I don't like hard crusts, so I don't go in search of the perfect crust. Probably would make a couple of my breads better overall, though.

I baked a yellow cake today. I used half butter and half extra virgin olive oil. I'm somewhat surprised I can't tell the difference. Can't even taste the EVOO.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Congratulations, chocomuse! You've accomplished a great deal making bagels. Food Network hosts would call your "rustic." The taste is what counts.

[Italiancook]

I use olive oil for everything. I put Extra Virgin Olive Oil in pancakes, quick breads, and everything else non-cake that calls for butter or oil. If it calls for butter, I use some butter & sub rest with olive oil. I sautee everything in EVOO, even though it has a lower smoke point than other oils. The exception to this is biscuits, where I stick with butter. I gave up making crepes a few years ago, but I did use butter for them. For cakes and anything delicate, I use light olive oil. I don't own canola oil for reasons Len mentioned.

[Italiancook]

I buy cream of tartar from bulkfoods.com I don't recall what I pay for shipping, but I'm pleased with their product and the delivery time.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Italiancook.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Italiancook.

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