Recipies that succeed

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Sometimes I get a hankering to try to cook something exotic, today I tried my hand at Pho Soup and succeeded with flying colors.
The only thing Im mad at myself for is not getting the soup to clear.... but otherwise it maggnificent full of fish sauce goodness, spicy and sweet notes and of course loaded with shaved beef.  MMMMMM

[42]

Okay, I had a cooking success tonight. I don't really cook, but I've been wanting to try cooking to cement my independant status.

So tonight I successfully made a chocolate souffle. I was very fluffy and sweet and good, but next time I make one of these things I'm not whipping the eggs whites by hand.

Now, I just need to learn to make a really good sauce to go with the souffle.

[stacer]

42, I'm impressed! I've been cooking desserts since I was a kid and never attempted a souffle. My big thing lately has been pumpkin pie. Really easy, and generally enjoyed by a variety of people (for instance, at a dessert night). My roommate made apple crisp made from apples she picked at a local orchard the other day... mmmm! That combination of butter, flour, and sugar--what variety and yummyness.

[Mistress of Darkness]

Yes, I too am impressed by your souflee abilities. I just haven't been brave enough to actually try something out of the cookbook more difficult than say, pancakes.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Souffles are much maligned by people who expect them to explode, fall or just come out badly thanks to TV shows of the 1960's and 70's. Not to say they arnt challenging (congrats 42) but they arnt horribly difficult.

have you ever had Shoofly pie... omg its a slice of brown sugary heaven!!!!!

[Mistress of Darkness]

I've heard that it is, but I guess I will have to wait for a visit to the South to try some good southern cooking. On the otherhand, my brother spent two years in South Carolina, maybe he knows something about good grits.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Actually shoofly pie is yankee fare, or at least Amish fare... but umm its good....
Now sweet potato pie thats southern!!
And Grits are good. MMMM Grits.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

with salt and butter.

NOT with cinamon and sugar

also, gimme some good ol' biscuits and gravy or chicken and dumplins.

yeah.

[Mistress of Darkness]

Well I made an apple pie and a pumkin pie for our stairwell activity last night. I did not have enough time to bake and refrigerate everything by the time people got there. Stupid me, I didn't finish reading the pumking pie receipe beforehand so that I could know that a pumkin pie needs to sit in the refrigerator for at least a day. . . . The pumkin pie is still chilling, so I'm not sure if this was a successful receipe or not.

The apple pie came out okay. I put in extra water, forgetting that I usually make pies with Granny Smith apples (which need more water) and I was making it with Golden Delicious (which don't). So the pie was runny, but good.

However, not even the apple pie was done baking by the time everyone arrived. Thank heavens for Marie Calendar's Chocolate Mousse pie. And also, it's a good thing that I tried this on people besides my inlaws. . . .

I wasn't very thrilled with the crust receipe that I used. Anyone have a pie crust receipe they like?

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

mine involve a can of crisco, you can thank a strong southern tradition and a grandmother who taught me how to bake, so I don't think its what your going to want.

[Mistress of Darkness]

How so? I thought all crust receipes called for shortening? Or are you talking about 3 lbs of shortening?

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

just about 3 pounds , also there is no measuring involved, you just do it all by feel... which is hard to communicate to someone you dont have right there.

[Mistress of Darkness]

Ack! No, I wouldn't like that receipe (though it's probably delicious) as I like to have a set amount of ingredients that I can measure and combine. My mom, however would love that receipe. She thinks that accurate measuring takes too much time.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

The big thing about pies is letting them rest. Its so hard to leave em alone too.
My favorite recipie is my Grandmothers famous double hershy cake.... its sooooooo rich and  chocolatey.mmmmmmm thats one that will never leave the family though.

[stacer]

I never can seem to get crust to turn out as well as my old friend Krissy could. I've found, though, that especially when I don't want to spend the time on pie crust, that the Pillsbury pie crust that you can buy refrigerated, usually right next to the crescent rolls and cookie dough in the refrigerated aisle, works well and tastes like homemade. Not quite the same, but still really good. Much better than my own feeble attempts.

And pumpkin pie is one of my favorites. It doesn't really have to chill for a day, but it should have been out of the oven for an hour or two before eating. Cooled, and the cooler the better.