[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike, for your informative post on this subject!

[Italiancook]

I had this right, because friend zucchini blossoms are in one of my Italian cookbooks.

[Italiancook]

Because Mike posted that the ingredients in a recipe aren't copyrighted, I'm going to give BakerAunt the ingredients for Cole Slaw from my favorite cookbook: Cook-Ahead Cookery.

2 pound head green cabbage
2 carrots
1 green pepper
3 tablespoons vinegar(NOTE: my mom always used apple-cider vinegar in her cole slaw.)
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups Miracle Whip

BakerAunt, my mom always used Miracle Whip in her cole slaw, instead of mayonnaise. There are flavors in Miracle Whip not present in mayonnaise. She also used Miracle Whip in her Kidney Bean Salad. Once I made the bean salad with mayonnaise and had a terrible chemical reaction that changed the color! The note for the vinegar is from my mom. My mom never served cole slaw on the same day she made it. She always made it the day before serving. I don't know if that's really necessary.

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

[Italiancook]

Missed it.

[Italiancook]

Sorry I'm so late responding to this. I chose the right answer. When I make pasta, I never add salt to the water until it starts boiling. The addition of salt at that stage makes the water boil harder. The reason I don't add salt to the water right out the gate is because of an article I read. It said that if you add the salt at the beginning, it will take longer for the salt to boil. Anyone know if this is true & why?

[Italiancook]

I probably should care, but I don't worry about the nutrients in green beans. I like them only one way -- cooked to death. Those kind freeze quite good in the cooking liquid. I have only a pint in the freezer now, so I guess I have to buy beans and cottage ham and make a freezer batch.

[Italiancook]

When I took the quiz, I was certain there were 2 correct answers, so I missed it. I Googled to find that elderberries are poisonous if eaten in large enough quantity. I guess I never ate enough of them, but I did eat elderberries off the bush when I was a kid. They're quite bitter and I only had 1 or 2 a season. But if they're poisonous, why do online vendors sell Elderberry Jelly?

[Italiancook]

According to Wikipedia, focaccia is authenically Italian. Now, I wonder why it's not in any of my cookbooks.

BakerAunt, I like the idea of dimpling the dough sooner. As I recall from the show, that's what Anne Burrell did. She dug her fingers into the dough as she stretched it into the pan, thereby dimpling it.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, for noticing the blog post for the focaccia recipe. I just read it and some of the reviews. Some reviewers put add-ins into the dough (not the ones suggested in the recipe). Have you ever tried this? Next time, I'll plan to make this for use with Italian deli meat & add some grated garlic.

[Italiancook]

I knew the answer to this and managed to click on the wrong one.

[Italiancook]

Mike, when I tried focaccia from a Frugal Gourmet recipe, the dough was properly made and the finished product was thin. We had never before eaten focaccia, so we didn't know what it looks like. Still haven't had focaccia someone else prepared. I've seen Bobby Flay & Anne Burrell make it on Food Network, and their finished product looks somewhat thin.

The picture in the KAF recipe (link below) makes it look thick, and that has been BakeAunt's experience with it. She's able to slice it in the middle for sandwiches. So I don't know whose focaccia is more authentic -- Flays, Frugal Gourmet, and Burrell, or KAF. I also don't know if focaccia is even authentic Italian or U.S.-borne Italian-America. I have 3 excellent Italian cookbooks written by Italians in English, and none of them mention focaccia.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/blitz-bread-no-fuss-focaccia-recipe

[Italiancook]

Ah ha! That's where I'm going wrong. The reason I poked all the way to the bottom is that I watched Anne Burrel (Food Network) make focaccia. It sure look like she was making a zillion pokes, going all the way to the bottom. I've never tried her recipe, because it requires a jelly pan, which I don't have and don't want to buy. Next time I make this bread, I'll use your method of just making "a slight indentation." I think that's the key to solving my dilemma. I cut the bread, and it tastes delicious. Thanks for your help, BakerAunt, in bearing with me through these two trys.

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

[Italiancook]

OK, I ventured into focaccia-land again today. KAF blitz no-fuss focaccia, for the second time. Sceptic7, I found the Norpro pastry rollers extremely helpful in making the dough reach all the edges. I didn't try flattening the dough, leaving it for 15 minutes, then flattening it again to rise. I decided to stick with KAF's directions, since it was only my second time. Thanks for telling me about the Norpro rollers!

BakerAunt, I found your comment about what speed to use on the stand mixer helpful. I could see the difference in the dough using speed 5 over whatever I used the first time. I also didn't put in a zillion dimples this time.

Yet, I still didn't end up with focaccia I could slice in the middle for sandwiches. It's 1" high all the way around. So I have a question about HOW you dimple the dough, if you remember. When you put your finger in the dough, do you touch the bottom of the pan, or just dimple it slightly?

I touched the bottom of the pan, and with each finger poke, the dough deflated more. It came up some in the baking, but it didn't reach the height of the dough before I poked it. If I had never poked it, I think it would have baked high enough to slice in the middle for sandwiches. But the dimples are focaccia's signature.

It's cooling now. Will slice it for the freezer soon, keeping some out for dinner asparagus soup.

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

[Italiancook]

I can almost taste your delicious pie, BakerAunt. I've never had a blueberry pie where some of the berries were still whole.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I just posted the chocolate mayo cake recipe in the recipe section.

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