Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Stollen
Just because I am Jewish doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate some of the foods of Christmas. Fruit cake is the brunt of many jokes, but I even I used to eagerly anticipate a gift of a fruit cake that a friend made when she was in business, the food business. It was more fruit than cake, with a ton of good nuts, barely held together with batter and packed overflowing into a soufflé dish. I could always tell how well my friend’s business was that year by the size of the cake she made. I still have a stack of those soufflé dishes in my kitchen. They nest, the good business year ones on the outside, her tiny-dish bad years on the inside. [more]
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I should have announced this on my program more often than I did this week, but with so many guests (all bakers, all the time), and so many commercials (Christmas season), I didn’t have enough time:
I will be on the CBS Saturday Early Show this Saturday. They tell me my segment will air – live -- at about 10:30 or a little after in the New York Metro area. If you live elsewhere, check local listings. [more]
Thursday, December 5, 2002
Win Me (for a week in Italy)
You may have heard me do commercials for Barilla’s Oven Ready Lasagna. I’ve always said Barilla is one of my top choices when I make baked pasta dishes and this product is no exception. The difference is, this pasta has been formulated to be cooked in the oven, in the baked dish, without prior cooking (boiling). With the right amount of liquid, it bakes up into a thin and delicate noodle. It’s almost magic. Pasta was actually cooked like this in the 19th century – directly from the dry state into a saucy or soupy dish.. But conventional pasta makes a dish starchy. Barilla’s product, the way I understand it, is made from such hard (high protein) wheat and rolled so thin, that it doesn’t. [more]
Monday, December 2, 2002
Turkey Wild Rice Soup
It’s four days after Thanksgiving and there’s nothing in the house to eat except that turkey carcass left from the feast. You’ve sliced off meat for sandwiches. You’ve torn it up for mayonaissey salad and oniony hash. The only thing left to do is boil the carcass for a great broth. [more]
