[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.

[Italiancook]

I made dinner rolls that use cottage cheese in the dough. Have made them before. This time, I did two things wrong: (1) For the second rise, I put the balls of dough in a muffin pan. The recipe clearly says to put them in a 9" round pan. Nevertheless, I didn't notice that. (2) I set the baking timer for hours, not minutes. I ended up with beautifully brown rolls, but they're too crusty. I saved one for my broccoli soup dinner (from freezer), and gave the rest to my husband. He likes crusty bread.

The problem with these goofs is that I had planned to freeze the rolls for guests in October. I ended up with a product I wouldn't serve to a guest. It's one thing for us to eat them, quite another for guests.

I also made blueberry pancakes this morning. I'm going to call those my baking/cooking for the day, since I did those successfully.

[Italiancook]

Bev, I think the apple cake would taste better with just a glaze, as you do it, instead of so much frosting. I've also been thinking that it'd taste good with a confectioner's frosting that was mixed with some maple syrup instead of all milk.

I used Fuji apples. I don't think the apples were a problem. It was the cup of black walnuts. But next time, I'll probably try Granny Smith.

[Italiancook]

I have country-style pork ribs in the oven, and barbeque sauce gently simmering on the stovetop for the ribs.

[Italiancook]

For the first time, I made KAF apple cake with brown sugar frosting (not the exact title). I thought black walnuts would go good with apple. Mistake. Black walnuts have too strong a taste. I didn't like the brown sugar frosting. I couldn't really taste the cake because of the black walnuts and frosting. What I like a lot about the cake is that it does not use baking powder, only baking soda.

[Italiancook]

I don't think it counts as cooking, but . . . I had 3-1/4 cups homemade chicken broth leftover that I didn't freeze. I boiled it, added rice, gently boiled the rice for about 15 minutes and called it homemade soup. Hey, it's in my best Italian cookbook. I sprinkled grated Romano cheese on top, and it was delicious soup!

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the yogurt suggestion, BakerAunt. I didn't know that but will try it when I thaw the Asparagus Soup. For anyone wanting to try this, keep in mind that I ended up with 1 quart + 3/4 cup.

[Italiancook]

I made Asparagus Soup using The Neely's recipe from Food Network. It called for a small pinch of red pepper flakes. I did that, then decided it was too small a pinch. Now that I've tasted the soup, I regret that decision. The soup is lovely, but the burn on my tongue afterward is not. Next time, I'll stick with a small pinch so I can enjoy the asparagus flavor more.

[Italiancook]

I have a pot of Cauliflower & Pasta Soup bubbling away on the stove. The recipe is in "Italian Family Recipes from The Romagnolis Table." A quart of it is for a meal. The rest is for the freezer. Around 1 P.M., I'm going to start making chicken broth for the freezer.

For dinner, my husband will grill pork chops. I have some cauliflower leftover from the soup. I'm going to try to replicate a recipe I saw Lidia do on her cooking show. She braised it with a few sliced lemons and a little lemon juice. I also have sautéed mushrooms for dinner. Not sure how lemony cauliflower will go with sautéed mushrooms, but we'll find out.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the experiment, Mike. I always enjoy seeing photos on this site.

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