Reporting back VERY late here. Life in general and business challenges have taken up much of my free time over the last week. Thanks for all the recipes for both the bread and desserts. I did send out a few emails too. Alexa had the recipe that I made last year so I went with that one again. I'll be trying some of the others too. I forgot how good this simple bread is. I love the idea of cupcakes Katie. Here is my results and the recipe. I might have cut that cross pattern a little deep. LOL Sunday Best Irish Soda Bread by Martha Stewart 1 loaf By adding egg, sugar, caraway seeds, and butter to a traditional Irish soda bread recipe, you create a loaf that is fit for a Sunday breakfast or brunch. Wrapped well with plastic wrap, it can be stored at room temperature until the last crumb is eaten. Like all Irish soda breads, this freezes well. 4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons caraway seeds 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold 2 cups golden or dark raisins 1 1/2 scant cups buttermilk 1 large egg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon heavy cream Heat oven to 350�. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds until well combined. Using a pastry cutter or two knives in scissor fashion, cut in butter until the mixture feels like coarse meal. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. It should resemble a rough biscuit dough. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Lift the loaf from the bowl, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream together. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. With a sharp knife or razor, incise a cross, about 1/2 inch deep, into the top of the loaf. Transfer to the oven. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer bread from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. THanks for the dessert recipes too. Ann, I love your caramel sauce! Didn't we call that cake gravy a few years back? : ) Alex that chocolate cake is on the list! You know I love anything chocolate. Sharon thanks for the apple dessert recipe too. I have a few that need to be used up so I just might take that on this weekend. I ended up make six dozen sugar cookies for the office crew and the insurance company that leases space from us in our building. I'll be trying the Rye Bread recipe too Ann. I have another Corned Beef in the freezer that I want to make just for Reuben Sandwiches. Claire, no raisins for me either. LOL Love the caraway seeds though. THanks again to all y'all!! David

Most of mine is plain old, well seasoned cast iron too. One of my favorite pieces is my cast iron wok, which I use a lot; even my muffin pans are cast iron, which make the most beautiful rolls. Some of my newest and oldest pieces are very thin, which is nice because it heats up faster than the heaviest, and more responsive to changes in heat. My large 15 inch griddle lives on my stove top, and I actually use it as extra counter space when I'm cooking. It's nice not having to move the biggest pieces around much, yet they are ready for action. I bought the enameled braiser for exactly the reason trsinc mentioned, so I could have one heavy pot for acidic foods. I also like the fact the inside color of the enameled pot is light so I can easily see what's going on in there. I wanted a 12 inch pot with high(er) sides like a saute pan, so the braiser fit my needs for being able to stir without making a mess, yet I can still see what's going on inside the pot. So far I've used it for tacos and making meat sauce for lasagna. If I don't put my pork roast in the pressure cooker, I'll probably make it in the braiser. I would definitely use it for roasts, and stews. What also works for cleaning the enamel is a little dishwasher detergent in the bottom of the pan. Mine looks like new, and it didn't by the time I was through cooking in it. Cast iron is slower to heat up, and also holds heat well. Because of that, the reaction time is also slow, so overheating a cast iron pan and burning the food inside is easy. (My husband is still figuring this out.) I started cooking in cast iron years ago to help with anemia. (It was better than taking iron tablets.) When I lived on the farm, I even fed my dogs in a cast iron skillet. They lived outside, so I made them a little gravy for their food when it was cold. Because of the weight, they couldn't pick up the pans and move them around to play with, so I always knew where they were. If you're not used to it, there is a learning curve with cast iron, but you only have to use it to know why people are still cooking with it. I love having a pot that sears beautifully then goes in the oven, is husband and dog-proof. Some of my pieces I've used for 30 years, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Gardenlad, I'm not sure what you mean by peasant bread either. I'm assuming that you mean one of the . I've been making bread recently with just a sour dough starter using Julia Child's basic French bread recipe. To get a more peasant or artisan loaf I make it over a two day period giving the dough a slow cold rise to develop the flavour. I have a batch of this dough rising now made with 4 cups of flour, plus a sour dough levain made with 1 1/2 cups of flour. I made the sour dough starter following the instructions in Amy's Bread Cookbook. You might also try the no knead bread recipe that was posted on the Cooking forum recently. Quite a few of us made it. I'd definitely call it a peasant bread. You will find a lot of pictures on this Cooking Forum thread. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Sourdough starter - Amy's bread =============================== copied from: http://countrylife.net/pages/recipes/672.html Amy Scherber's Sourdough Starter RYE STARTER From AMY'S BREAD, copyrighted. Amy's bread This starter is begun with rye flour because rye just LOVES to ferment and is an easier starter to get going than a wheat starter. When I first made it, it had a bubble or two within a couple hours. The procedure is to start it with rye flour, then transform it by changing what you feed it. The original rye will dilute to nothing over time and you'll end up with a white flour (or whatever other grain you choose, it could be whole wheat or pumpermickel, or you could leave it as a rye starter) and water based starter, but it had the advantage of beginning it's life from highly fermentable rye flour. Start it with organic rye flour and spring water. Once you have it going well you can switch to all-purpose white (or other) flour as you choose. The use of spring water is recommended for maintenance, however, as tap water may contain elements (such as chlorine) which may be detrimental to the health of your starter. I also recommend that you use a container that you can mark the volume levels of starter each time, so that you will know when it has doubled. Use a marking pen or tape or any other means to indicate on the container the starter levels each time you feed. Phase 1 - Combine 2 oz organic rye flour (room temp) with 4 oz spring water in a clear container. The batter should be about the consistency of very thick pancake batter, add more water or flour if necessary. Cover & let it sit for 36 - 48 hours at 75 - 77 degrees (a little cooler is okay but over 80 you will incubate the wrong kind of bacteria and your culture will have an unpleasant bitter taste). You should start to see tiny bubbles forming after about 24 hours. By the time it has doubled, there will be a noticeable network of small bubbles throughout the batter & it will be foaming & bubbling on top. (If the batter has not doubled within 48 hours, feed with 2 oz water & 2 oz flour (add more of either if necessary for the consistency) and let it sit another 24 hours or until you see some definite activity.) Phase 2 - Stir the culture down, notice how soupy it's become. The batter should have a noticeable sour smell & a mildly tangy taste at this point. Add 2 oz water & 2 oz flour and stir vigorously until well-combined. Let it sit for 12 hours. It should be showing a fair amount of activity at this point. You should see lots of foaming & bubbling through the sides as well as on the top. Don't be concerned if the culture deflates & loses volume. This means the yeast has exhausted its food supply, but it will continue to increase in acidity. Don't worry if your culture isn't dramatically active yet. As long as there is some noticeable activity going on and the mixture smells & tastes sour, you're on the right track. Phase 3 - The culture should now have a pronounced, sour, fruity taste and smell, it should not taste musty or bitter (if it does, discard and start again, paying close attention to the temp of the culture at all times). Now you can start "transforming" it into a white (or other) flour based starter. Use 6 oz of the starter, add 3 oz water & 3 oz flour, stir vigorously. Let it sit for 12 hrs at 75 - 77 degrees F. Refresh it again, setting up a maintenance level of 12 oz of starter. This will be your "mother" starter that you use to build the sourdough starters/sponges needed in individual recipes. Each time you take part of the mother out to build a starter, you must refresh it with equal weights of flour and water to bring it back up to its maintenance level. To maintain - Use 6 oz of the mother culture (discard the rest), add 3 oz water & 3 oz flour, stir vigorously, let it sit at room temp until doubled in volume. A strong mother will double in 8-12 hours. If yours doesn't do that, let it continue to sit out until it has a nice tangy taste and smell; discard all but 6 oz and repeat this procedure. Repeat this procedure as many times as necessary until the mother doubles within 8-12 hrs. It may take several days. Don't get discouraged, it's worth the effort. To use for recipes - Combine 1/2 c (5 oz) Mother from the refrigerator, add 3 oz flour and 2.5 oz warm water (85 - 90 degrees). The mixture will be stiffer than the mother. Let it sit, covered, until doubled in volume (if it doesn't do so go back to maintenance procedure). When the starter has doubled, it is ready to use in a recipe. Measure the amount needed and discard any that remains. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table =============== Julia Child 1 package dry active yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons) 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour (bread flour) (I use 4 cups) 2 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/3 cups cold water plus 1/3 or so additional water Place the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of the food process. Pulse to mix. Add 1 1/3 cups of water and process until the dough comes together. If the dough doesn't form a ball, add a little of the extra water. Process for about 60 seconds, turn off machine and let dough rest for 5 minutes. Turn on the machine again and rotate the dough about 30 times under the cover, and then remove it to a lightly floured work surface. it should be fairly smooth and quite firm. Let the dough rest for 2 minutes and then knead roughly and vigourously. The final dough should not stick to your hands as you knead (although it will stick if you pinch and hold a piece); it should be smooth and elastic and, when you hold it up between your hands and stretch it down, it should hold together smoothly. Preliminary rise - 40 to 60 minutes at around 75F. Place the dough into a clean dry bowl, (do not grease the bowl), cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place free from drafts. (note the French do not grease the bowl because they believe the dough needs a seat to push up from). This first rise is sufficient when the dough has definitely started to rise and is about 1 1/2 times its original volume. Deflating: Turn the dough onto your lightly floured work surface roughly and firmly pat and push it out into a 14 inch rectangle. Fold one of the long sides over toward the middle, and the other long side over to cover it, making a 3 layer cushion. Repeat the operation. This important step redistributes the yeast throughout the dough, for a strong second rise. Return the dough smooth side up the bowl; cover with plastic wrap and again set to rise. Final rise in the bowl - about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer. The bread should be 2 1/2 to 3 times its original bulk. It is the amount of rise that is important here, not the timing. To Shape, Cut the dough in half. Set one piece aside and cover with a towel. On a lightly floured work surface pat the dough into a 14 inch rectangle, squaring it up as evenly as you can. Fold the rectangle of dough in half lengthwise and using the heel of your hand, firmly press the edges together whether they meet. Seat well. Pound the dough flat. Now repeat - patting the dough out again and folding it over and sealing the edges. Pinch the edges well and Rotate the dough so that the sealed edge in on the bottom. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover with plastic wrap or loosely with a towel and let rise to more than double again at about 75°f. Place stone in oven and Preheat oven to 450°F. Slash three long cuts into the loaves and place on the hot stone. Immediately toss a number of ice cubes on to the bottom on the oven to create steam. Bake until bread is golden and has an interior temp of 200°F. Takes about 30 minutes. Making Dough in a Mixer or by Hand When you are making dough in an electric mixer with a dough hook, proceed in the same general way with the rests indicated, and finish by hand. or mix the dough by hand in a bowl, turn out on a work surface, and start the kneading by lifing it up with a sraper and slapping it down roughly for several minutes until it has body. Let it rest several minutes and then proceed to knead. Recipe: No-Knead Bread Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours rising 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting ¼ teaspoon instant yeast 1¼ teaspoons salt Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed. 1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. 2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. 3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger. 4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

WorldÂs Greatest Home Made Corn Tortillas MAKES EIGHTEEN 6-7 INCH TORTILLAS 1 1/2 cups, canned hominy (most of a 29-ounce can) - drained 1 1/2 cups, masa harina 1/4 teaspoon, salt 1 cup, hot tap water Puree the hominy in a blender or food processor. Mix thoroughly by hand (or process in food processor) the pureed hominy with the masa harina, salt and water until the dough gathers into a soft ball. Wrap the ball completely in plastic wrap until ready to use; set aside, or refrigerate for up to 1 day. When Ready to Use: Divide the dough into 18 golf-ball-size pieces. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the unused balls moist while rolling or pressing the others to make tortillas. To Form Each Tortilla: Place a ball of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Press with a tortilla press, or roll with a rolling pin, to make a 6-7-inch round disk if dough, between 1/16- and 1/18-inch thick. Set aside, in the plastic wrap until ready to cook. [Tortillas may be formed and refrigerated overnight.] Be sure to cover all resting dough with plastic wrap - it dries out very quickly! To Cook Tortillas: Heat a heavy, cast iron skillet, griddle, or comal over medium-high heat. Peel off the plastic wrap, and place the tortillas in the pan, one at a time (unless more will fit without overlapping). Cook for 30 seconds, turn over, then cook for 1 minute. Turn the tortilla over again to the first side and cook for 30 seconds, until the tortilla puffs slightly but is still pliable. Remove tortilla from pan. To Store Tortillas: They may be cooked in advance, stacked, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight. Reheat just before serving. NOTE: If the edges of a tortilla crack when the tortilla is rolled out, press on the plastic wrap with your fingers - or cut the edges off with a sharp knife, to form even rounds.