[Italiancook]

Happy Birthday, Mike! Because of you, I know where to buy bulk cream of tartar. I use it often with baking soda in place of baking powder for medical reasons. Because of you, I have a marble (I think) pastry board that I love. Maybe it's granite. I just know it works great. Because of you, I now bake and greatly enjoy artichoke pizza. So thanks, Mike, for all you do for this site!

[Italiancook]

As a cat person, I laughed aloud about the WSJ cartoon. So true.

[Italiancook]

Aaron, thanks so much for your informative post. I'm encouraged by all you can do for pizzas within 2 hours. I'll keep pluggin' away along the learning curve. Thanks!

[Italiancook]

Thanks, RiversideLen, for explaining to me how the site works! Mike,, we have espresso spoons, and it never occurred to me to try one with the capers. BakerAunt, I agree with you about TJ Maxx. I found my first LeCreuset dutch oven there for a pittance. Didn't know I needed one until I saw it, but I use it on a regular basis to make soup.

[Italiancook]

I guessed correctly only because I make tacos and figured out which answer would be best in a taco.

[Italiancook]

I baked a Lemon Loaf Cake from Cook-Ahead Cookery. I've made this many times but I goofed at the end. When cake comes out of oven, a syrup of lemon juice & sugar is poured over it. Then it sits in the syrup for 15 minutes before being removed from the pan. Today, for the first time, I poured the syrup over the cake when the syrup was piping hot. Result was that it boiled around the edges of the hot pan. Consequently, the boiling burned the edges of the cake.

I made this for the freezer, for dessert for a friend who's coming to lunch next week. I had planned on serving it cut into a shape, instead of as a slice. So I'll be okay -- the edges will be cut off anyhow. I just hope the burnt edges don't adversely affect the interior of the cake.

Later today, I'm making 2 boules of "Cuban Bread" from The Complete Tightwad Gazette. For the freezer. One will be for the luncheon next week.

[Italiancook]

How do you like the kneading spiral, BakerAunt? Kitchenaid comes with the kneading hook, but last time I checked, they sold the spiral. I've been debating whether to buy it. Do you think it does a substantially better job?

[Italiancook]

I don't use seeds so I don't read about them. Therefore, I missed this.

[Italiancook]

I will always miss a question about grams. I don't weigh anything. I had a nutmeg grinder, and as mentioned a couple of times, it broke. I have been grating my nutmeg on a long microplane. I wash it on the top shelf of the dishwasher and have never noticed any difference in its sharpness. Been doing this for several years, and I use nutmeg frequently. It's good not only in sweet goods, but also in some Italian dishes.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

I knew this one.

[Italiancook]

RiversideLen, it is the Nordic Ware Pan! KitchenKrafts showed it filled with cinnamon rolls. KAF has a Tangzhon (spelling?) Cinnamon Rolls recipe that I think makes 24. I thought I could use my new pan for those, after I figure out who's up early enough in the morning to give them away. I tried to post the link here, but the KAF recipe search area is not working right now.

The lid is plastic, so I'm afraid to put my 3 sheet pans and 3 wire cooling racks on top of it. If you do, please let me know if the lid didn't crack, IF you think of it. Regardless, it's a lovely pan. I bought it for roasting a chicken. Now that it's here, I'm thinking it may be too large for a 3-1/2 pound chicken, but I'm going to try that once and see what happens to the chicken. It's the perfect size for a V-rack to place the chicken on, but I bought the pan to avoid digging out and washing the V-rack to use it.

[Italiancook]

I have a somewhat recent philosophy on buying for the kitchen. Can't buy it unless I'm getting rid of something. KitchenKrafts had a 2" deep half sheet pan with lid that I really wanted. I had to give away something to make a space for it. By then, I couldn't find it on KitchenKrafts website, so I bought it at Amazon. Now that it's in my kitchen, I have no idea what I'll do with it!

[Italiancook]

Thanks, RiversideLen, for your input about the Italian style flour. Since I'm a fledgling pizza maker, I haven't decided what type of crust I prefer. When ordering out, I just eat whatever they make. My husband likes the crustiness of the Now or Later Pizza that's par-baked before the toppings are put on. When I figure out where to store yet another kind of flour, I'll buy some Italian style and try it. KAF has a recipe for a spinach and feta pizza that uses that flour. I'd like to try that.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

I gave my new mixer it's maiden voyage today. Made my grandmother's chocolate cake, which I think is a Hersey's cocoa recipe from decades ago. When I bought the mixer, I didn't inquire about the motor. The Artisan appears to have a stronger motor. Normally, I put sugar and butter in mixer to cream. Then go to another counter while it whirrs so I can work on other ingredients. By the time I get around to going back to the mixer, all is creamed. The Artisan works much faster. It creamed the ingredients so fast I didn't have other ingredients ready. Every stage of the mixing process was much faster.

I purchased the stainless steel flat beater as an extra. I like that type of blade for mashing a big batch of potatoes. I used it on the cake and am happy to report it didn't leave a glob of ingredients at the bottom of the bowl. It had incorporated everything from the bottom. So I'm a happy baker.

[Italiancook]

I also had never heard of it, so I missed it.

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