Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

ruthie, you're probably back by now, I hope you had a great trip. I've been doing "international" cookies too, LOL, but not because I decided to, just because that's what struck me. I just made cuccidati, a fig filled cookie that a friend sent me and I loved them. I've made Venetian rainbow cookies with almond paste, and I've made good old American toll house cookies and grandma's molasses cookies and peanut butter cookies. Elery and I are making cannoli tomorrow, and I've done the Scottish shortbread and the spritz and the pfefferneuse. I think I'm not going to do any more baking except cut out and frosted sugar cookies with the grandkids! Now, that pannetone. Here is a recipe from King Arthur Flour for a traditional pannetone, it requires an overnight resting of the "biga", which is just the yeast with a bit of water and some of the flour, kind of like a sourdough "starter". The bread is made using the biga the next day. I didn't have orange oil or the special seasoning thing you can only get from King Arthur Flour, LOL, so I used the vanilla and some orange extract. My family loves this recipe and since it uses dried fruit instead of the candied stuff, I like it too. I do not like candied fruit at all. Anyway, it's easier than it looks and the recipe came from King Arthur Flour: Overnight Panettone This traditional Italian holiday bread will stay fresh longer when it's made with an overnight starter. Biga (Overnight Starter) 3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/16 teaspoon yeast (just a pinch) 1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) water Dough all of the biga (above) 2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/4 cup (2 ounces) water 2 large eggs 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia flavoring OR 1 teaspoon vanilla + 1/8 teaspoon orange oil 2 1/4 teaspoons SAF Gold instant yeast OR 1 tablespoon instant yeast 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) sugar 1/2 cup (3 ounces) golden raisins 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) slivered dried apricots 1/2 cup (2 ounces) dried cranberries or flavored fruit bits 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) dried pineapple, chopped 2 tablespoons orange or lemon zest The Biga: Combine the biga ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, cover, and allow them to rest overnight (8 to 12 hours). Dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients except the fruit, and mix and knead them togetherby hand, mixer or bread machinetill you've made a soft, smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it's puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk). Gently deflate the dough, and knead in the fruits and zest. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a panettone pan or other straight-sided, tall 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan. Cover the pan and let the dough rise till it's just crested over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes; reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake an additional 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil if the crust appears to be browning too quickly. Remove the panettone from the oven and cool completely. This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 2, December 1991 issue. Annie

It does sound lovely, except for the flat rolls, but enough mojitos and you're good, LOL. I love your description of your family, it sounds a lot like mine except we don't have a Mexican. Yet. Everyone from the college educated engineer to the police officer/firefighter to the old farmers, add a Jewish DIL on Elery's side plus his family from Tennessee and we've got a bit of everything. (grin) OK, the butterlake rolls recipe, easy as can be. Even San made a batch a few years ago and was successful and she told me she did NOT bake bread. Ever. This halves easily, I just use a whole egg, I don't try to halve it and I use all butter, no shortening. Butterflake Rolls 2 packages active dry yeast 2 cups warm water 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp salt 6 to 6 1/2 cups flour 1 egg 1/2 cup shortening (use butter) 1/2 cup butter, softened. In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg and shortening, mix well, stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, punch dough down and divide into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a 14 x 12 inch rectangle, spread 2 tbls butter over dough. Fold in half lengthwise and cut into 12 strips. Tie each strip into a knot, tuck and pinch ends under. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 4 dozen And congratuations on the "grown up" dinner, it sounds perfect to me. Annie

Here's the recipe in case anyone's interested. DH and DS liked it. I did too, except for the sour cranberries. Next time I'll try halving the cranberries. Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves Recipe by Steve Sullivan from "Baking With Julia" Makes 3 small loaves - You'll need three 5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 inch loaf pans Authors notes: "These loaves are small, beautifully crowned, and the color of fallÂs golden leaves. Never mind that the combination of pumpkin, cranberry, walnut, and raisin may set you thinking of a baking powder-raised quick bread with a biscuit or butter cake texture, this bread is a yeast bread, albeit one thatÂs slightly sweet, just a little spicy, and even a bit savory. Although the bread is of the direct-rise family, meaning thereÂs no starter or sponge, it is given an overnight rest in the refrigerator, a dormant period that builds both character and texture in the finished loaf." 2 2/3 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons tepid water (80 - 90 degrees F) 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup sugar 8 ounces (1 cup) pureed cooked pumpkin or butternut squash, fresh or canned solid packed (see note) 1 large egg, at room temperature 3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted 1 cup plump golden or dark raisins 2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry) Mixing and kneading: Whisk 2 2/3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl just to mix; set aside until needed. Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle in the yeast, and whisk to blend. Allow the yeast to rest until itÂs creamy, about 5 minutes. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until blended. Don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled; it will come together when you add the dry ingredients. Set the mixer to low and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time. As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook. If your dough does not come together (it might be because your pumpkin puree was liquidy), add a few more tablespoons of flour. Mix and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the hook now and then with a rubber spatula. At the start, the mixture will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will just ball up on the hook. (This dough develops much the way a brioche does.) With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts and raisins, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them. (Inevitably, some cranberries will poop and stain a patch of dough red; think of this as charming, and proceed.) First Rise: Scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Chilling the dough: When the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate overnight. Shaping the dough: At least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Leave the dough, covered in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. (This will take as long as 3 to 4 hours -- donÂt rush it.) If you donÂt have an instant-read thermometer, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy. Lightly butter three 5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 inch loaf pans. Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and pat each piece of dough into a 5 x 7 inch rectangle; keep a short end facing you. Starting at the top of each rectangle, roll up the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips. Seal the ends, then place each roll, seam side down, in a prepared pan. Second rise: Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled -- it will rise to just above the rim of the pans. Baking the bread: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until deeply golden. Remove the pans to a cooling rack; after a 5-minute rest, turn the breads out of their pans and allow them to cool to room temperature on the rack. Storing: The breads can be kept at room temperature for a day or two or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature. Note: To use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, split the squash, remove the seeds, and place cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 1 hour, or until meltingly tender. Scoop the softened pulp out of the shell and cool completely. One pound of squash yields about 12 ounces of cooked pulp. Sally