[Italiancook]

I made my dad's version of Chop Suey today. Served it with chow mien noodles. I'll make rice for serving leftovers tomorrow.

[Italiancook]

Aaron, thanks for the info about freezing mozzarella. I freeze hard cheeses like Romano, but didn't know mozzarella could be frozen. Mike, I also didn't know pepperoni could be frozen. I always have tomato sauce in the freezer. I assume, Aaron, that when you say tomato sauce, you mean regular tomato sauce and not something special made just for pizza. Correct?

BakerAunt, Thanks for your detailed post. I read it as if you put raw meat on the pizza. And raw veggies. I've always thought the meat and veggies had to be pre-cooked. Am I wrong?

Aaron, offhand, do you know the type/brand name of mozzarella you buy at TJ's? I don't shop there, but my husband likes to go there.

It looks like homemade pizza will be in my future.

[Italiancook]

I read the reports of y'all making pizza with interest. I've never tried it. When I think about trying it, I'm stymied. I'd like homemade pizza as a spur-of-the-moment meal, because when I buy pizza, it's always spur-of-the-moment. I can never figure out how to have topping ingredients when the moment arrives that I want pizza. The mozzarella I buy doesn't have a long shelf life. So if I buy the cheese, it might expire before the pizza mood hits. Maybe I'm just not a homemade pizza maker. I guess I could make the dough & freeze it, but it's the toppings that allude me.

I also don't own a stone & don't want one because of its weight. But I've seen pizza made on a sheet pan on Pioneer Woman.

[Italiancook]

I am having fun planning my butternut squash cooking adventures. cwcdesign, I appreciate the slow cooker post. I'm having a friend over for lunch next week. I'm going to slow cook a butternut the day before she arrives. Then mash it with butter, refrig & microwave for a luncheon side dish. So that will be the first of these recipes that I'll try.

I rarely think of the supermarket chains for veggies. I buy them at a small market. My motto has always been that if they don't carry it, I can live without it. But now that this site has a recipe with fresh fennel & ginger, I'll call the supermarkets to see if they sell them -- when I'm ready to make the recipe.

I'm especially fond of butternut squash. That and acorn squash are the only two I like, although I haven't tried spaghetti squash yet. My second best Italian cookbook has a recipe for spaghetti squash, and now that we've talked so much about squash, I guess I'll buy one the next time I go to the market.

[Italiancook]

Wow, BakerAunt! If the technique in the video works, it's wonderful. I don't have that type of vegetable peeler, but will look for one to buy. I don't know how you found that video, but thanks a lot.

cwcdesign, thanks for giving us the Food & Wine link. The recipe looks good, but I have a problem with it. I don't have any stores nearby that sell fennel or fresh ginger. I'm thinking, though, that I might try this recipe with fennel seed and ground ginger. I doubt it'll be as good as fresh, but . . . nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the recipe link, cwcdesign. I'll probably try it. I wonder, though, instead of cutting the butternut squash into cubes, couldn't the squash be roasted in halves and added to a simmering pot of the liquid and spices. Cook it for 5 minutes, then puree it with an immersion blender. Maybe I'm just looking for an easy way to have butternut soup without all the work.

Mike, thanks for the info about the rutabaga. I had planned on trying a new recipe for a winter soup that uses rutabaga. I'm not up to spending an hour prepping the veg, so I'll toss the recipe.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

From Martha Stewart's website, I made "Butternut Bisque." It's delicious, but peeling the squash was worse than usual. The recipe calls for 4 pound butternut squash. I bought that size, instead of 2 -2 lb. The problem was that the squash was so wide that I couldn't handle it to peel it. My husband had to peel it. He'd never done that before, so even with my instructions, it was tedious for him. The other problem was the squash was so thick I couldn't cut it. Hubby had to do that, too. Altogether, it took 55 minutes to prep the squash. I could have done it faster, and cut it myself if I had bought 2-2 lb. squashes.

While the bisque is delicious, I didn't like the texture. Too thick to suit me. When I make this again, I'll add some water or chicken broth at the end to make it more soupy.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the link, BakerAunt. I checked out their sugar cookie recipe. Thanks for giving me the name.

[Italiancook]

I have called Fancy Flours and was told the edible wafer papers are flavorless, although a little sweet. I didn't have time to place my order, but I'm going to do it tomorrow. I'm going to order Christmas papers, so it'll be December before I make them & can post back here about the finished product.

BakerAunt, I spent too much time on their website last evening and didn't notice any recipes. When I have time, I'll check out their sugar cookie recipe, although I'm quite happy with Martha Stewart's recipe in her book "Entertaining." For Christmas, I may use the recipe with the least sugar, since there's sugar in the wafer papers.

I can imagine how thrilled a child would be to receive his/her own shoebox of cookies. That'd be a big time fun experience, especially since it happened more than once!

[Italiancook]

I understand wanting your cookies to taste top-notch, BakerAunt. So do I, which is why I posted about the edible wafer paper. That, and the dyes in the papers. On their website, on a page other than the link I posted, it says that the dyes are FDA approved. That satisfies me.

Browsing their website, I learned the baker puts the wafer paper on top of icing. So the cookies would still have the regular taste. The only question is whether or not there's a flavor in the wafer paper. I guess I'll call them tomorrow or Friday to ask. If they're flavorless, I'll be pushed over the edge.

I want to give people Christmas gifts different than the last few years. I used Trisha Yearwood's Slow-Cooker Chocolate Candy last year, so I want to go back to cookies this year. I just want to come up with something that is not my norm. I don't think breads are exciting enough for young children.

[Italiancook]

I tried a different route to find Sara Moulton's shortcake recipe. Link below.

NOTE: The recipe for the shortcake in this link is exactly like the one from way-back-when, EXCEPT: The recipe I have calls for 1-1/4 cups cream. In the recipe below, it calls for 1-1/2 cups cream. I think the extra 1/4 cup would make it too moist.

http://www.nhregister.com/lifestyle/article/Strawberry-Shortcake-courtesy-of-Sara-Moulton-s-11352409.php

I've never fixed strawberries the way this recipe suggest, so I have no idea how it is.

[Italiancook]

Back in the day, Sara Moulton showed making a dessert biscuit on her show. In those days, it was necessary to use snail mail to obtain a recipe. I made those today for strawberry shortcake. Used mascarpone as the dairy topping. I just checked Sara's website and can't find a recipe for these online. What I find interesting about the recipe is that it uses cream as the fat.

Mike, making these gave my marble pastry slab it's first test. It's heavy to move, but it was doable. The online reviews said it requires less flour, and that was my experience. This recipe is patted and not rolled, so I don't yet know how the marble will work with a wooden rolling pin. Thanks, Mike, for sending me in the direction of marble. It's much easier to clean after using than my wooden board.

[Italiancook]

I found a container of my first attempt at yellow rice in the freezer. I heated it up to go with lamb chops for lunch today. I've often heard, "We eat with our eyes first," and that's the only way to describe how much I enjoyed the saffron-yellow rice. I thought it tasted quite good. It was the color I remember from childhood, even though it didn't have the flavor. So my eyes tricked me.

[Italiancook]

This evening, I put together the marinade for "Lickin' Chicken" from Cook-Ahead Cookery. It'll be tomorrow's dinner.

[Italiancook]

Navlys, thanks for an excellent oatmeal idea. Every 6-10 days, I make Kelsey Nixon's "Slow Cooker Irish Oatmeal." It makes enough to last me 6 days. I'm the only one who eats oatmeal. It uses 2 teaspoons cinnamon. I make this so often, the taste has become humdrum. I had thought about using cardamom, but ginger will be my first try. Thanks for posting.

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