[Italiancook]

These stories go a long way in making me feel better about wasting so much money and labor on last week's flopped endeavors.

[Italiancook]

Cardamom tastes great in cooler weather, Baker Aunt. I thought about putting it in my pancakes, but decided against it. Now that you've reminded me how good it is, I'll add a little cardamom to the remainder of the pancake batter. As for baking, I was too busy flopping cooked food to bake.

[Italiancook]

I discussed my flopped meals in another thread. I also had a couple of successes after my three flops. I made braised pork chops with fried potatoes and caramelized onions. I also made a pancake breakfast-for-dinner.

[Italiancook]

I am laughing out loud over your story, Mike. Be sure and tell your wife I am NOT laughing at her. I am laughing because it's a new bride story. I have one of those, too.

I was a newlywed. I had never met my in-laws, but friends of their family were coming to town. I really wanted to impress them, since I figured they'd tell all to my mother-in-law. I went to the local butcher and explained that I needed a cut of meat that would showcase my culinary abilities even though I didn't have any at that time. I also mentioned that it was such a special occasion that I was willing to break the budget.

He sold me a prime rib roast, wrote down cooking directions, and explained how to carve it. He assured me my in-laws would receive rave reviews about me.

I felt so proud when my guests and my husband were seated in the dining room waiting for me to bring out the roast. The kitchen and dining room were connected by an open doorway. Everyone had a clear view of me as I walked to present my roast.

As I walked toward everyone, I knew the meat looked gorgeous. Not just to me, but to my husband. His face was beaming with a huge smile. I knew I had a home run. It was at that exact moment that the unthinkable happened.

My roast lurched forward and fell off the platter onto the dining room floor!

My mother's-in-law friend saved the day. She jumped up, ran to the roast, picked it up and said, "I can fix this."

She washed off the roast, put it back in the pan and shoved it in the oven long enough to dry off the water. She put it back on the platter, had her husband carve it, and yes, we ate it. I was too mortified to pay any attention to how it tasted.

Many decades later, after her death, I asked around my husband's family to find out if this quick-thinking woman had shared my failure with my mother-in-law. She had not.

So I do not laugh at your wife; I laugh with her . . . as one bride to another.

[Italiancook]

navlys, it sounds like your goblins sent some of their friends to my house. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you "got back on the horse" and everything has turned out for the good. I guess I'll return to the kitchen, but I put the 3 pound chuck roast in the freezer. Until I know I'm over this messing up spell, I don't want to take a chance on such an expensive cut of meat.

Thanks for your input, Mike. It may be that my oven is not heating properly, since the chicken & rice didn't cook through. Other than that, I have to blame myself -- human error. Lack of focus, probably.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I feel better now. I remember my mother saying a year before she died that she didn't know how to cook anymore. So a week of time/money "disasters" worried me. I'll take BakerAunt's advice and stay out of the kitchen today. Tomorrow, I'll make pancakes -- surely I can't mess them up. Although spaghetti sauce sounds fool-proof, too, Mike. Bread . . . I don't dare try that for a while after this week. But I was thinking about making a loaf over the weekend. Not now.

I guess I need to send hubby out for an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is heating properly. But I don't really think it's the oven. It's probably me.

The Cubs won; I lost.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Oh, RiversideLen, straining is an Excellent idea. I wish I had thought of that. They're already in the freezer. Since I've marked them for family only, I'll probably strain them after they're thawed.

My concern was that the dried crunched leaves might damage the digestive tract. But Mike says he leaves dried bay leaves in his marinara -- I took that to mean crumbles of them -- so I guess we'll be alright. I had a bowl of this soup for lunch. If I live to tell about it tomorrow, I'll assume my mistake was "no harm, no foul."

I'm going to post the recipe for the Carrot Soup in the recipe section . . . if I can figure out how to do that.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike. I just tasted the soup. It tastes okay with the blended bay leaves in it. I did find a tiny piece of the crunched bay leaf on my tongue. I guess I left some of the green without blending it to smithereens. There are also thyme leaves in the soup, so while I was blending, I assumed the tiny specks of green were thyme.

I'm curious: When you left dried bay leaves in your marinara, were they whole where you could pull them out later? Or, did they crumble into little pieces?

I'm going to go ahead a freeze this soup. I'm going to label it as for family only, not gifts.

[Italiancook]

Actually, BakerAunt, that mashed potato casserole looks mighty inviting. Maybe there's enough moisture in it that it could be frozen . . . based on what I read in the first link, I am of the opinion that liquid is probably the key to successful freezing of mashed potatoes. Thanks for the links!

[Italiancook]

Neither the recipe nor the video stated the purpose of the yolk & cream, Mike. It is a good question. I'm planning on making, freezing, then baking the Duchess Potatoes in the next week or two. Recipe makes 8. I'll brush 6 of them with the liquid but not the other two. I'll let you know the results. I'm curious, too, now.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, both articles are helpful. Thanks so much for your research. I guess I should have Googled the question but didn't think of that. The first article says not to freeze sour cream. My twice baked potatoes have sour cream in them, so I won't be doing that. The second article makes it sound like boiled potatoes are the answer. I like that idea, because I can see the gravy being of use. She can thaw the boilers, mash them with a fork and cover in gravy. Probably more healthful, because the skins would be eaten. Not mashed potatoes, but still doable and probably good. I appreciate your help!

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike, for your reply about baking powder & salt.

BakerAunt, Ina Garten's Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits are on the Food Network website. As I recall, the recipe calls for 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. I used 1 teaspoon and will try 3/4 teaspoon next time. The cheddar has salt, so I think I'll be okay with the extra reduction.

The recipe makes 8 large biscuits. I found I could not eat an entire biscuit, because it was so large. Next time, I'm going to cut the dough into smaller-sized biscuits. I can't recall if the recipe says this, but on her video, Ina put a little grated cheddar on top of the biscuits after the egg wash. I think that's a good step.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

I made a large ham & potato Fritatta. I put one slice of it in the freezer to test if it can be frozen and microwaved and still be edible. It if is, I'll be making Fritattas for the freezer in the future.

I made a double batch of chili for the freezer. I know, it seems like I feed the freezer more than ourselves. I always freeze a lot in the fall & winter so I don't have to cook as much in the spring & summer. I think that's a carryover from my childhood growing up on an orchard. Spring and summer were busy times of the year where most of the cooking was my mother canning.

[Italiancook]

I made Ina Garten's Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits. This time I remembered to put in the butter! Some of the reviews said they were too salty, so I left out 1/2 teaspoon salt and thought they were too salty. Next time, I'll reduce salt to 3/4 teaspoon, but I think there's some science to needing a certain amount of salt for the baking powder to act. I'm uncertain. Is there a science reason behind adding salt with baking powder?

The biscuits are good. I froze all of them but the taste test. Later in the week, I microwaved one to go with a bowl of chili. That released more of the cheddar flavor. I'll make these again.

I also baked plain ole muffin tin dinner rolls. I gave 8 to a person from church who is shut-it (along with frozen soups). The remaining 4 I froze.

[Italiancook]

When I married, my mother sent me a newspaper article with a recipe for sourdough starter. I didn't think I could depend on myself to feed it on schedule, so I tossed out the article. I find it interesting, BakerAunt, that your sourdough does ok without scheduled feedings.

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