I told you my meatloaf secret; spill yours. I have a feeling I'm going to be baking every day for at least a month.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Answers

Howdy howdy! Well, the only thing I can think of that I bake on a regular sort of basis is turkey burgers.

I know, I know. It's Unamerican to cook burgers any other way but to grill them, but I am so damn lazy I can't even fire up Match Light coals on my little hibachi. So, I bake 'em at 450F for about 20 minutes.

Let's see, what goes in the mix? Like any good recipe, there are no definite measurements or anything. I usually throw in some bread crumbs (because invariably I don't let the meat thaw enough and the burger's'll be all fallin-apart and watery if I don't put in bread crumbs), ground black pepper, minced onion, Worcestershire (sp?) sauce, Tabasco sauce (if my wife isn't watching), garlic powder or fresh minced garlic, and (my own secret ingredient) Safeway Garlic Lovers salsa (because too much garlic is never enough).

So if you ever have my turkey burgers, don't look too long at those red bits. Those are just tomatoes from the salsa. They're good, trust me. :)

Oh, and since I just kinda throw everything that tastes good individually in the mix, I'm contemplating adding sauerkraut next time. I don't know how that'll bake, but we'll see.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

MEATLOAF!! i'll be over @ 7:00.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

I do love meatloaf! And now I'm thinking about making one this weekend.

But I'll tell you about my nutty pie crust cookies. They sounds strange, but if you make them you'll die of happiness. I've heard they're better than sex, but I wouldn't go that far.

Ingredients ------------ Pillsbury Pie Crust (you know, the kind you buy by the rolls in a can) cinnoman butter sugar brown sugar crushed nuts (cashews are great, peanuts are cheap)

Directions ----------

1. Let the pie crust come close to room tempature, it's easier if it doesnt' crack.

2. Melt about 1/2 a stick of butter in your fancy new microwave.

3. Put a little flour on the counter or on big flat cutting board.

4. Put the pie crust flat on the flour.

5. Brush the pie crust with the butter.

6. Sprinkle the cinnoman and sugar all over the butter. Not too close to the edge. There aren't any set amounts for either. Do the same with the brown sugar, but be careful not to use too much. About 2 tablespoons will do it, but you have to experiment.

7. I usually crush the nuts in a mini-chopper thing, or you can buy them crushed. Sprinkle them all over the top of the mess.

8. Roll it up so that it's one long roll. Try to roll it relatively tight so that it won't get messed up when you cut it. It will then look like one of those rolls of cookie dough.

9. Cut it into about 1/2 inch pieces and put it on an ungreased cookie sheet.

10. Bake at about 350 till they're slightly brown on the edges and they'll be pretty gooey. Let them cool on the pan maybe 5 minutes, mostly till it stops bubbling. But don't leave them on the pan too long or they'll stick.

11. Let them cool a bit so that you don't burn your face off and then eat. They should look something like small cinnoman rolls.

Hope you like them! Everybody I make them for is in love with them. And I hope Pillsbury has a contest so I can enter this yummy recipe. Feel free to make them, but don't steal my idea and win lots of money!

Colleen

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

ohmygosh. i love baking. i love it i love it i love it.
i make awesome cinnamon brownies and bagels and kaiser rolls and gingersnaps and pretzels... and cakes and soups and all that yummy stuff. but my absolute favorite is potato rolls.
mash a couple cooked potatoes (1.25 cups) and heat them up in a saucepan with a cup of milk and .75 cup of butter until the butter melts and it's really warm.
in a big bowl mix half a cup of sugar, 2 tsp salt, 2 cups flour and the yeast (instant, of course). pour the potato mixture into the flour mixture. add 2 beaten eggs and beat it until you don't see lumps of potato anymore (this is made easier if you just mash the potatoes really well, but that would be too easy)
cover it with greased wax paper and let it rise for two hours.
then work in the rest of the flour (five to six cups) until it's all smooth and soft and unsticky like good bread dough should be, let it rise until doubled. punch it down. divide it into three sections, roll out until it resembles a big circle, cut into 12 triangles and roll up. place onto a greased baking sheet.
let all the rolls rise until they've almost doubled, and then bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees until golden.
it's really tempting to just make them into buns, but they taste a lot better as rolls for some weird reason. they're really yummy.
if you start at nine-ish, and start the soup around 12-ish you can have fresh potato rolls and brocolli cheese soup for lunch. it's really really good.


-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Now what's the broccoli cheese soup recipe?

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Here's one from my bf....he is thin and can eat this kind of stuff...not me! But it is *real* good.....

3 cans of broccoli cheese soup 1 pint of half & half 1 bag Mexican cheese mixture (three cheeses) 1 one block of Mexican Velveeta cheese 4 broccoli heads mushrooms Onions salt Pepper

Take the florets off of the stems, cook broccoli with mushrooms, onions salt and pepper. Add 3 cans of broccoli and cheese soup. when broccoli is cooked and kinda soft Add half of the Velveeta stick and half & half.

When it's really thick and gooey.....pour into individual serving bowls and top with the 3 cheese stuff.

Enjoy

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Wow! Thanks. It definitely sounds delicious--though I don't know if I can eat it either.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

No, I don't bake anymore. In fact, we lived in this flat for several months before we discovered that the oven wasn't working, when we tried to bake some polymer clay thing my husband made. Then we had to call the landlords and they didn't *get* why it took us so long to figure out that the oven was broken. They kept thinking we menat that we hadn't used the *stovetop* since we moved in, and we kept saying, no, the stovetop is working, it's the *oven* that's broken. They're not too bright when it comes to the names of appliances, I guess.

Anyway, I used to bake a lot in the 70's, when my daughter was little and I wasn't working "outside the home" for a few years (but worked plenty *inside* the home, let me tell you). By the time she was about ten though, I'd had enough baking experience to last me pretty much forever.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

I love baking. I miss baking. In fact, I bought a peck of mcintosh apples to make pie with a week ago and they're still sitting on the counter staring at me pathetically, murmuring, "use us! use us! we taste good, we promise!"

Gar.

Last time you asked for recipes I think I divulged all of the ones I have memorized.

Though recently, I made chocolate chip cookies with mini-chips. The recipe is on the bag of Nestle Choc Chips, but we trade half of the butter for a half cup of shortening because the cookies don't stick to the pan as much as a result and have a slightly lighter flavor. oh yeah and double the vanilla:) it's always good to double the vanilla;)

Another baked favorite of mine is peach cobbler, which I haven't made in a long, long time.

And honestly Beth, I don't think I could stand to be ovenless. I mean, saute gets old really really fast around here.

Oh actually -- here's my recipe for stuffing, since Thanksgiving is right around the corner:)

1 package of unseasoned bread croutons or 4 cups of any random stale bread cut up that you have kicking around

1/2 onion diced 2 apples diced 1 stick celery diced parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to taste (this gives me an excuse to sing the song as I stir the ingredients) 2 TBSP citrus juice -- lemon or orange or whatever floats your boat 1/4 cup apple cider with 2TBS of cider vinegar mixed in 2 TBSP virgin olive oil 1/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts or a blend of all three

Put the croutons in a bowl, soak 'em with the juices and oil and set aside in the fridge while you chop all of the other stuff.

Remove bowl from fridge, mix in all of the chopped ingredients, then sprinkle herbs on and stir mightily while singing the Simon & Garfunkle classic.

If desired, finish off with a little bit of apple or raspberry wine or just plain old red vino and stir again.

Cover and chill until ready to stuff the turkey.

Serve piping hot with the bird, save the extras to eat cold later, it's really good with a side of applesauce and leftover mashed potatoes.

Oh and if you are cooking a turkey for thanksgiving this year:

To avoid dry bird syndrome, COVER THE TURKEY with foil or a lid for the bulk of the cooking time.

Also try this trick: half way through the cooking, turn the bird over to let the juice seep back through in the opposite direction.

This helps avoid a dry top and soggy bottom.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

My step mother used to make the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in the entire universe. I say "used to" because now she's all healthy and stuff so she's replaced the chocolate chips with sesame seeds and she uses canola oil instead of butter... bleah. However, I keep her old recipe alive on a regular basis.

It is really really easy: take any basic recipe for peanut butter cookies. You know, one from Betty Crocker or someone like that. Got the recipe? Okay, make it as-is but DOUBLE the amount of peanut butter (and use real peanut butter without any additives or sugar, not Jiff or Skippy). Once the dough is mixed, add two cups of chocolate chips. The dough will be extra thick. You'll want to shape the cookies exactly as you want them to look, because they won't speard out AT ALL. Bake for ten minutes on two cookie sheets layered together. Yum.

I like to make a big batch and then freeze them. They're great in a packed lunch.

The last time I served these cookies to my step mother she asked for the recipe... We laughed and laughed and laughed when I told her where it came from.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

I make good meatloaf. I use the recipie in the "Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls". It includes dried onion, white bread, and Worcester sauce.

I used to bake a lot - I have a great pound cake recipe from Sunset, and I made good pie crust. The secret of the latter is to not use much flour when you roll it out. Using a pastry cloth helps with that.

I keep promising to make Pat an apple pie, but it's been 6 years now...

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

WHOO HOO!!!

I share your joy.. we got a new oven last night! Homemade pizza for the first time in months!

Anyway, recipe time: THis is what we have on Christmas Eve. I sometimes call it Heart Attack on a Plate:

1 pound ground pork (or sausage) 4-6 soft-boiled eggs, peeled 1/4c. cracker crumbs oregano, garlic or other seasonings 1/4c. chopped onions

Mix the seasonings, crumbs & onions with the ground pork. Shape into 4 or 6 patties, and wrap each one around an egg, pinching edges to seal. Bake for 30 mins at 450.

And I have been having the wickedest craving for Chcken Pot Pie.

Andrea

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Hmm. I have a really kickass brownie recipe that was distributed by my dead sixth grade teacher. That is, my sixth grade teacher, who has since died. He was not dead at the time, and neither was the sixth grade.

This recipe is in San Francisco at the moment, though. So I can't give it to you.

But save some of that meatloaf for me, Beth, and you can have it. I'm not generally a fan of non-bread "loaves", but that sounds good.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

I love cooking in general. Here's a cookie recipe everyone asks me for after they've tried them. They're called "chocolate chip pudding cookies" and they taste just like Otis Spuddmucker's White chocolate macademia nut cookies. If you add vanilla chips (instead of chocolate) and macademia nuts of course.

3 1/3 cups unsifted all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Whoops! I hit tab then enter and it posted this before I was finished. Here's that recipe and the rest of my post.

I love cooking in general and I wanted to be a chef for awhile (took classes and everything.) Here's a cookie recipe everyone asks me for after they've tried them. They're called "chocolate chip pudding cookies" and they taste just like Otis Spuddmucker's White chocolate macademia nut cookies. If you add vanilla chips (instead of chocolate) and macademia nuts of course. The recipe used to be on the back of JELL-O boxes.

3 1/3 cups unsifted all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 pkg. (6 serving size) JELL-O brand Butter Pecan, Chocolate, Chocolate fudge, or Vanilla flavor instant pudding and pie filling 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 3 eggs 3 cups chocolate chips 3 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Mix flour with baking soda. In a separate bowl combine the butter, the sugars, the pudding mix, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; then stir in chips and nuts. (Batter will be stiff.) Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 370 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. **Makes about 10 dozen**

I also have an awesome recipe for Creamy Italian Chicken (or chicken fettucini, depending how you make) that I won't post here because it's done in a crock pot. That and this post is kinda long now anyway. Anyone interested can e-mail me.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

Okay, I have to pimp myself here. Why? Because I just made a recipe site with a search engine and all kinds of cool stuff and I want someone to pretend to be impressed.

Please, please pretend to be impressed?

Just wanted to share.

I wish that colleges had kitchens.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1999

I baked once, but found it unpleasant.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Okay, I'm going to pimp my recipe site a bit too...
http://www. calweb.com/~alienora/recipes/recipe.html This is one of my favorites.. haven't made it for a while, maybe this weekend: Quick Cheese Coffee Cake (serves 6-8) 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 egg
1 can refrigerator crescent rolls (or biscuits)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 F
Blend: Cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and egg until smooth.
Seperate dough into rolls/biscuits. Press into ungreased 8 or 9 inch cake or pie pan on bottom and sides to form crust.
Pour cream cheese mixture over crust.
Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over top.
Bake at 350 F for 24-30 minutes or until filling is set and crust is deep golden brown. Let cool 20 minutes.
Store in refrigerator. Biscuits are okay, but crescent rolls would be much better.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

I just had to share a delicious pumpkin pie recipe with you, being that the holidays are coming up. I just hope you like pumpkin pie. If not, just ignore this. :) Walnut Pumpkin Pie (makes one pie)

1 (6ounce)Graham Cracker Pie Crust 1 (15 ounce)can pumpkin 1 (14 ounce)Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT EVAPORATED) 1 egg 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger,nutmeg, and salt 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cold margarine 3/4 cup chopped Walnuts

Heat oven to 425. In large bowl, combine pumpkin,condensed milk,egg,3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Put in pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pie. Reduce oven to 350.In bown, combine sugar,flour, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add margarine until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle walnut mixture over pie. Bake 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool. Refrigerate left overs.

Side Note: Instead of using the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg: I use pumpkin spice. I think it tastes better plus you only have to buy one spice instead of three.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

I shall take advantage of this opportunity to send you my apple pie recipie I promised a couple of months ago; APPLE PIE Pastry for 9-inch 2-crust pie (I like the ready-made frozen Pillsbury) 1 c. sugar 3 T. strong tea 1/2 t. powdered ginger 1 T. lemon juice 1 t. powdered cinnamon 4 c. sliced, pared and cored 1/4 t. powdered nutmeg apples (about 8 or 9) 1/4 t. salt 2 T. butter or margarine 2 T. flour Fit bottom pastry loosely into 9-in. pie pan. Start oven at hot (425) Combine sugar, spices, salt, flour, tea, and lemon juice. Mix well. Alternate sliced apples and sugar mixture until pan is filled, heaping slightly in center. DOT WITH THE BUTTER. Place top crust and cut slits for escaping steam. Trim and make your fancy edging that you like. Bake 40 to 50 min. or until apples are tender and crust is browned. Serve warm with wedges of sharp American cheddar OR ice cream.

P.S. If you forget the butter it won't thicken. I found this out the hard way.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Oh, oh. I forgot. I made nice columns and of course it came out jumbled. I think you can figure it out though. There is no such thing as powdered nutmeg apples. Tha "apples (8 or 9)" should follow of course the "4 cups sliced pared and cored". Other stuff is out of order, but just use your logic.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

My favourite banana cake: 4 tbsp yogurt 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 1 1/4 cups flour 1 cup mashed ripe banana Preheat oven to 350F. Mix baking soda and yogurt in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add yogurt and soda mixture, mixing thoroughly. Add 1/3 of flour, mix until well blended, add 1/3 banana and stir. Repeat with remaining flour and banana. Bake in greased pan until center is firm and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (roughly 30-45 minutes). Cool. Yum.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 1999

You don't even have to turn on the oven for cheesecake! We always use the recipe that calls for cream cheese, dream whip, and powdered sugar blended togetehr on a graham cracker crumb crust.

Mmmmmmm..... just e-mial me if you reall really want the recipe. I have to look it up, even if it is easy!

-- Anonymous, November 19, 1999

This an awesome recipe. BLACKBERRY-LEMON TART WITH CHAMPAGNE-MINT GRANITI

The tart can be made a day before a dinner party and should be kept cool and wrapped but not refrigerated. The champagne-mint graniti is a marvelous match for the tart, but the time-pressed host or hostess could substitute a high-quality vanilla ice cream, or even a mango sorbet.

Ingredients

THE GRANITI 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves and stems, coarsely chopped 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 bottle chilled champagne or sparkling wine 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves THE CRUST 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds, lightly toasted 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon water 1/4 teaspoon almond extract THE FILLING 4 large eggs 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup heavy cream 4 half-pints fresh blackberries Confectioners' sugar, for garnish 8 sprigs fresh mint, for garnish Tastes heavenly. For the rest of recipe please E-mail me.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

Baking is the only kind of cooking I like, so for your eating pleasure my I present Anzac Biscuits - so called because they were first eaten by the joint NZ and Australian troops (the Anzacs) during the World Wars.

Melt 100g of butter and 1 tablespoon of golden syrup together in a large saucepan. Cool. Mix half a cup of white sugar, 3/4 of a cup of coconut, 3/4 of a cup of rolled oats and 3/4 of a cup of plain baking flour together. Stir into the saucepan. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and mix in.

Place rounded teaspoonsful on a greased oven tray (they spread, so leave room for this), and bake at 1800C for 15 minutes or until golden.

Try not to eat them until they've cooled. Yum.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

During last winter I went crazy with baking. I bought top of the line Kitchen Aid gear, expensie chocolate and brought goodies into the office every Monday so I wouldn't eat them all myself. However, these cookies are pretty simple to make, except for the rolling out part, and just get better as the soften in a container afterward.

Mom's Jam Cookies (The Mom here being my Mom's mom)

2 c. Flour, 1 Egg, 2 tbsp. Molasses, 1 c. Sugar, pinch Salt, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1/2 c. Butter. Jar of Raspberry jam (or Strawberry, or whatever you prefer) .

Cream butter & sugar, add egg, soda, molasses, salt & flour. When mixed, roll thin (about 1/4 inch) on a floured surface (or use saran wrap or something similar). Cut out into 2 to 3" diameter circles. Bake at 350 degrees F for 6-9 minutes, until edges start to crisp. Remove and place on rack. Put about a tablespoon of jam on the bottom of one cookie, press together with another. Allow to cool befor eating, otherwise the jam just oozes everywhere. Makes about 18 sandwich cookies. The recipe can be easily doubled.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

I was just thinking about baking! Today it's unseasonably cool, and it's a big bonus to be able to bake in the summer.

Here's a simple quiche adapted from a recipe in The Vegetarian Epicure--my all-time favorite cookbook:

Ingredients:

Pie-crust About 10 oz swiss cheese a little bit of flour (small handful) 1-2 largish sweet onions butter for sauteing 2 large meaty tomatoes 3 eggs 3/4-1 cup heavy cream

Saute the diced onions gently until they are translucent. Spread them on the bottom of the pie crust. Cut the swiss cheese into small cubes and roll them in the flour. Spread them on top of the onions. Mix the eggs and cream and pour on top of the cheese (the volume of this mixture that is needed tends to vary, so don't forget to leave room for the tomatoes!) Slice the tomatoes (preferably fresh from the garden...mmmm...) thick, and arrange them on top of the pie. Sprinkle with coarsely ground salt and black pepper. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. The top will be slightly brown, and the eggs should be set (check with a knife.)

This quiche is rich and satisfying, and the simple ingredients complement each other perfectly. You can also adapt the recipe, using whatever you have on hand. Spinach is a good addition, and fresh basil is pretty yummy too--except it tends to overwhelm the other flavors. I've also done sort of a mexican version, with green chiles mixed in with the onions and homemade salsa for topping. YUM! Okay, I gotta go get started...

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000