[Italiancook]

How do you measure the temperature inside your oven, BakerAunt? Do you have a thermometer that goes inside the oven with the readout outside the oven? Does such a thing exist -- anyone know? That's what I need -- something that will tell me the inside temp without having to open the oven door.

I gotta tell y'all, I'm excited. For years, I've "imported" Parm-Reggiano cheese from Chicagoland when people would come this way. Now, that life has stopped those visits, I tried local cheese and was sorely disappointed.

Somehow -- I don't recall how -- it was eons ago -- maybe an online search -- I found Frank and Sal Italian Market on Staten Island, NY. I ordered a pound of Parm-Reggiano & 24 "made daily" cannoli shells. They just arrived. Cheese looks fresh-cut, just as they advertised. It's well-sealed in plastic. If it tastes as good as it looks, I'll be a regular Frank & Sal customer. I have my eye on the DOP Pecorino-Romano they have on their website.

My husband just opened the shells. None were broken. Tonight, I'll make the ricotta filling for the shells. It needs to sit in refrig overnight. Tomorrow, we'll eat high on the hog with cannoli. I'll be giving cannoli to the neighbors. Twenty-four shells is more than we can use. The filling recipe also makes more than we can use, so I have to giveaway some.

[Italiancook]

I visualized what I thought airline chicken would look like and got it right. Only because chicken served on an airline wasn't one of the answers.

[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, 8 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, 8 months ago by Italiancook.

[Author]

Posts