Would you believe I still haven't tried that recipe? It was on my "probable" list for Christmas but after Sue's comments it's now at the top of the "definite" list. Can't wait to try them.... and Hubby just bought a large container of cinnamon at Costco. Guess I'm going to have to make a lot of cookies. :-) Jen

Hey Melody, I dug out my "cocktails for two" book and the back pages are full of mocktails. Here are some recipes; Tomato Juice Cocktail shake together tomato juice, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a few drops of tabasco, a pinch of celery salt, and a shake of pepper. Strain and serve straight up or on the rocks. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a celery stick. Rosy Pippin Stir a wine glas of apple juice with a dash of grenadine and a squeeze of lemon juice. Top off with ginger ale and garnish with an apple slice. Acapulco Gold Shake together six parts pineapple juice, one part grapefruit juice, two parts coconut creme, two parts fresh cream and a scoop of crushed ice. Serve unstrained. Boo Boo's Special Shake together equal quantities of orange juice and pineapple juice, a squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of Angostura bitters, a dash of grenadine and a scoop of crushed ice. Serve unstrained, garnished with fruit. Cardinal Punch Over ice cubes pour four parts cranberry juice, two parts orange juice, one part lemon juice and ginger ale to top it off. Garnish with fruit. Hope this is of some help to you. Have fun at your party! NancyLouise

Posted by foodonastump "So couldn't this "potential difference for more energy to transfer" have an effect on not just the braising liquid, but also on the meat that's in the vessel? Or was America's Test Kitchen completely dillusional when they experimented with cooking pot roast in a dutch oven, in an oven at various temperatures and found: "We then tested higher temperatures to reduce the cooking time. Heat levels at above 350 degrees boiled the meat to a stringy, dry texture because the exterior of the roast overcooked before the interior was cooked and tender. The magic temperature turned out to be 300 degrees - enough heat to keep the meat at a low simmer while high enough to shave a few more minutes off the cooking time." Excellent questions. First, It seems to me that we can all accept that: 1. To the meat in the liquid inside the vessel, it makes no difference where the 212F heat comes from. By the very definition of thermal energy, there is no difference between heat from the oven, stove, coal, candle, -------. 2. However, to the meat, how long the meat stays in the 212F will make a difference. To tenderize the meat, it is important to cook it long, in the ATK experiment, as they stated, they cook the meat at 350 but shorter time, therefore some of the meat is tougher. "By the way, the oven cooking time for their pot roast is 3.5-4 hours after the liquid comes to a simmer, stove top. And yes, with an internal temperature of 210 degrees they themselves called the roast "overcooked", in quotes. In other words it was a desirable result in this case. Again, unless they're dilussional, it sure sounds to me like there's 212, and then there's 212. And that generations of cooks weren't wrong. " I don't think that generation of cooks were wrong. Cooking with a covered Dutch oven inside an oven will produce wonderful results. Whether that will have more delicious end results than doing it with the Dutch oven on the stove top is my question. "Last note - you asked why do it in the oven rather than stove-top. ATK found what LindaC mentioned above: "After a few rounds of stovetop cooking, we felt that it was too difficult to maintain a steady, low temperature, so we began pot-roasting in the oven, starting out at 250 degrees. This method required no supervision, just a turn of the meat every 30 to 40 minutes to ensure even cooking." I can understand that. For the purpose of the repeatability of the experiment, as in any experiment, it is important to maintain recordable and verifiable environmental conditions, and that is much easier done in an oven which has a limiting thermostat. There is no practical way to do that on the stove top. However, I am not sure for everyday cooking anyone would have a problem to get the Dutch oven to be on simmering low-fire setting on the stove top. ---------------------------------------------- BTW, ATK has provided much very useful and important information to the public, however, most of their tests are done in somewhat informal settings. To confirm a true test of 350F vs. 300F in the quality of the meat, I believe the experiment must be done in an oven with an electronic PID type of thermostat which has the ability to control the environment to 0.1 F resolution. Mechanical bi-metal or capillary hydraulic type of thermostats in normal ovens can vary as much as 30F to 50F. Humidity of the cooking environment should be monitored, and a chart recorder should be in operation to record temperature swings throughout the entire cooking time. Because testing by individuals chewing is highly unreliable, it depends on subjectivity, and where the meat from the same cut is taken for the chewing. Proper way to do it perhaps would be using a durometer tester. Finally, no test result is to be considered conclusive until the same test is performed by another independent testing facility. Bottom line: Stewing using a Dutch oven in an oven will make wonderful and delicious stew. However, beef "tenderness" cooked at 212 F is very different texturally than beef tenderness cooked at 135F. dcarch

I don;t know that I would call this "old fashioned" but I have made it a couple of times in the last few minths and it is outstanding. Be sure to finely mince the candied ginger... if the chunks are too big they are a little strange looking - sort of like a gummy worm LOLOLOL! That said, the flavor is fantastic Gingerbread Cake Ingredients ⢠Softened unsalted butter, as needed ⢠1 cup vegetable oil, like soy, peanut, or corn ⢠1 cup sugar ⢠1 cup unsulphured molasses ⢠1 to 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger ⢠2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork ⢠3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ⢠1 tablespoon ground ginger ⢠2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ⢠1 teaspoon fine salt ⢠1/4 teaspoon ground cloves ⢠1 cup water ⢠1 tablespoon baking soda ⢠Serving suggestions: Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream Directions Lightly butter a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, molasses, and crystallized ginger. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Whisk the molasses mixture into the flour mixture until evenly combined. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Whisk the hot water into the batter until just combined. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the center of the oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.