I've never had good luck with vinegar pickles. Don't know why. Did everything right, fresh cukes, changed to distilled water, cut the blossom ends . They were always soft. I had a neighbor who made the best dills...he just got everything hot, filled his jars and screwed the lids on. His always sealed. Mine, not so much. I tried fermenting...lots of slimy pickles with yuck growing on top. Then I tried Deanna/dgkritch's dills with just a bit of vinegar, which along with some good fermentation lids made pickles that surprised us all. I do two 1/2 gallon jars and store them in the fridge. * Exported from MasterCook * Fermented Dill Pickles - A Refrigerated Clausen Type Recipe By : dgkritch, Cooking Forum Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Ferment Preserving Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 Jar -- (1 Gallon ) Pickling Cucumbers 12 Fresh Dill Flower heads -- or 2 Tbsp Dried dill weed and 2 Tbsp. Dried dill seed 10 Cloves Garlic -- (10 to 12) 6 Peppercorns -- (6 to 8) 1/4 Cup Vinegar 1/2 Cup Salt 1 1/2 Quarts Water In 1 gallon jar add pickling cucumbers. Rinse but do not wash the cucumbers. Add Dill flower heads or dried dill weed and seed, garlic, peppercorns, and vinegar. Dissolve salt in water and add to jar. Fill jar the remaining way with water. Add weight to keep cucumbers under brine. Fermentation sequence: 1. Clear brine no cloudiness for 1 to 3 days 2. Cloudy brine with gas formation, 2-3 days 3. Cloudy brine no gas formation, 5 to 6 days Pickles ready to eat after 10-11 days. Refrigerate pickles if you do not want to process them. To process the pickles: Fill clean, sterilized quart jars with pickles to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe, seal, and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Remove and place on towel in a draft free area. Let jars stand for 12 hours. Label and date. Store in a dark, cool area.

Here are a few favourites that I've served many times at dinner parties. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chicken Breasts With Mushroon Duxelles ====================================== Source: Lucy Waverman This flavorful and elegant chicken is stuffed with a combination of fresh and dried mushrooms. Because the breasts are stuffed under the skin, the stuffing moistens the chicken meat and keeps it juicy. use either dried porcini or dried Chinese mushrooms; they have the most flavor. The sauce can be made ahead of time and the breasts stuffed a few hours before baking. 6 Dried mushrooms 1/2 cup boiling chicken broth 2 tablespoons butter 4 shallots 8 ounce fresh mushrooms finely chopped 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or basil 3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs 1/3 cup whipping cream 3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 6 single boned chicken breasts, with skin on. Sauce 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/4 cup dry red wine 1/2 cup mushroom-soaking liquid 3 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons port or Madeira 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon cold water salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. . 1. Soak the mushrooms in boiling chicken broth for 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid and the mushrooms separately.Chop the mushrooms. 2. Preheat the oven to 375°F 3. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and dried and fresh mushrooms. Saute until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Stir in the basil or tarragon, bread crumbs, cream and parsley. cook until the cream has reduced and the filling is thick. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Divide the filling in six portions. with your fingertips, make a pocket between the skin and the flesh of each chicken breast. Stuff the filling under the skin of the chicken breasts. Season the breasts with salt and pepper and place in a buttered baking dish large enough to hold the breasts in one layer. 5. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until the juices run clear. 6. To make the sauce, in a frying pan, combine the onions and wine. On high heat, bring to a boil and reduce until you have 1 tablespoon of liquid. 7. Pour in the mushroom liquid, reduce to 2 tablespoons and then add the chicken stock and continue to boil until the stock is reduced by half. Add the port and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth and strongly flavored. 8. Combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir into the sauce, simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add any juices from the chicken. To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken breasts. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================================== Note: A Boned out Three pound chicken will feed 6 nicely. 1 3 pound chicken or 4 Whole Chicken Breasts (not singles 3 cups Fresh Bread - Crumbled 1 small onion 1 clove garlic 1/4 pound of Sausage (I usually use one Italian Sausage) 1/4 pound of mushrooms 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons of fresh 1 egg Butter Chicken Broth Salt and pepper to taste Sauce 1/2 cup White Wine 1 cup Chicken Broth 1 onion 2 small tomatoes 1 garlic clove . Bone out whole chicken or if using just the breasts bone the breasts but leave them whole. DO NOT REMOVE SKIN Save bones. Saute onion, and garlic in butter. Add sausage, (if using link take meat out of casing), add sliced mushrooms and saute. Season with thyme,salt and pepper and mix in coarsely crumbled bread. Add chicken broth to moisten. Add egg. Stuff chicken,(or breasts) and sew up with unwaxed dental floss. Preheat oven to 375°. Place bones in shallow roasting pan and place chicken on bones. Roast for 30 minutes and then add one coarsely chopped onion, and two coarsely chopped tomatoes,and the garlic clove to the pan. Pour in 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Chicken should sit above liquid resting on the bones. Continue roasting for another 30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (note: Breasts take the less time) When cooked remove chicken to board to rest and remove bones from pan. Skim excess fat from pan juices add the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and pour contents into blender. Puree to make sauce. To serve, Remove dental floss (comes out easy with one little pull). Slice breasts into nice rounds and place 3 or 4 slices on each plate. If using the whole chicken, also slice in to 1/2 inch slices and place one to two on each plate. Drizzle with sauce. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ===================== Roast Duck Copyright Ina Garten, All rights reserved 2 (5 to 5 1/2 pounds each) ducks, innards and wing tips removed 6 quarts chicken broth Kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Unwrap the ducks and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With a fork, prick the skin without piercing the meat. This will allow the fat to drain off while the ducks cook. Meanwhile, in a very large stock pot which can hold the 2 ducks, heat the chicken broth with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until it boils. Add the ducks very carefully and bring the stock back to a boil. If there isn't enough stock to cover the ducks, add the hottest tap water to cover. If the ducks float to the top, place a plate on top to keep them immersed. When the stock comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the ducks in the stock for 45 minutes. When the ducks are finished simmering, skim off enough duck fat from the top of the stock to pour a film on the bottom of a 14 by 18 by 3-inch roasting pan. This will keep the ducks from sticking when they roast. Carefully take the ducks out of the stock, holding them over the pot to drain. Place them in the roasting pan, pat the skin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. If you have time, allow the ducks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the skin to dry. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean or it will smoke!) Roast the ducks for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Serve warm. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================================================ Source: Creative Chicken Cookbook, 1978 The classic recipe is served with Sauce Perigourdine, a rich brown Madeira Sauce with truffles. It is most complementary to the chicken. However, if you do not wish to use truffles, the Madeira sauce alone is worth savoring. 2 packages frozen patty shells (10 oz each) 1 cup chicken broth 2 chicken livers 2 tablespoons sweet butter 1 small onion, very finely chopped (about 1/4 cup) 1/4 pound mushrooms, very finely chopped 1 small minced garlic clove pinch of sage or thyme 1/4 teaspoon salt dash pepper 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 2 whole chicken breasts (4 halves) 1 egg yolk Sauce Perigourdine 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1 cup beef broth 1/2 cup Madeira Sliced Truffles (optional) . Remove 2 of the patty shells from one package, reseal package, return to freezer. Remove all 6 shells from other package. Let the 8 shells thaw slightly. (This should take only about 20 minutes, but if the kitchen is warm, check after 10 minutes.) Bring chicken broth to boiling in a small saucepan. Drop in chicken livers; lower heat. Simmer about 3 minutes, or just until pink colour is gone. Remove chicken livers with a slotted spoon; mash with a fork; reserve broth. Melt butter in a small skillet. Sautee onion, garlic and mushrooms, stirring constantly, until they yield their moisture, then thicken to a pastelike consistency. Stir in mashed livers, salt, pepper, sage or thyme and beaten egg yolk. (This is the duxelles mixture for stuffing.) Cut whole chicken breasts in half. Remove rib and breast bones carefuly with short strokes of a small paring knife. Put bones in bottom of a buttered baking dish. Shape chicken breasts around bones, cupping hands around chicken breasts to form a compact shape. (When they cook they will keep this rounded shape.). Pour 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken broth around the chicken. Butter a square of aluminum foil. Place buttered side down, over chicken breasts. Poach in very hot oven 450°F 20 minutes; remove from oven. Reset oven to 375°F. Lift chicken from bones; cool. Roll each of the patty shells to a 5 inch round on a lightly floured pastry board. Place Cooled chicken breasts on four of the pastry rounds. Spread the duxelles mixture over the chicken with a spatula. Brush the edges of the pastry with a mixture of egg yolk and water; place remaining pastry rounds on top. Press edges to seal; flute edges, or tuck under chicken. Brush remaining egg yolk mixture over pastry. Place a jelly-roll pan. Bake in moderate 375°F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Sauce Perigourdine. Sauce Perigourdine Melt butter in a medium size skillet; add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until misture turns a light brown, about 5 minutes. Slowly add 1 cup beef broth; continue stirrring until thickened. Add 1/2 cup Madeira. Cook, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup. If using truffles add to sauce and simmer for 1 minute.

Yummy! BBQ chicken pizza is one of our favorites too :-) We also like the crunch of cornmeal on our pizza crusts, but I use polenta on the peel to get that effect. For a while there I was using parchment paper under the crusts and just setting the crusts on the stone paper and all, but we missed the cornmeal flavor and crunch. I have a little whisk broom I use to dust the leftover cornmeal off of the stone so it doesn't burn if I'm baking more than one. I'll be curious to see what your experiment yields - I wouldn't think that replacing that small amount of flour with cornmeal would cause any problems. I have a batch of the dough in the freezer (the first time I've frozen it, as an experiment), and now I'm hungry for pizza so I guess I'll have to take it out and make some this weekend too. Maybe one BBQ chicken and one sausage and mushroom, just because I can LOL. Linda - I'm glad your pizza was a hit! Deniselie - I've never done a kitchen remodel, but we did do some hardwood floors in our last house which necessitated living in the family room with only a microwave and crockpot for a while, so I can only imagine what that must be like. I think I'd be daydreaming about the meals I'd make too... Becky

WOW these look fantastic! I have not tried them yet, let me know if you do. Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls 1 1/2 C pretzels 1/2 C creamy peanut butter 1 Tbsp butter, softened 2 Tbsp brown sugar 1/8 tsp salt 3 Tbsp powdered sugar 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips �Crush pretzels into small bits. �In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all ingredients are completely blended and smooth. �Add pretzel bits to peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. �Add powdered sugar and, again, mix thoroughly. �Prepare a chilling tray--a dinner plate covered with waxed paper works well. �Take about a teaspoon of the peanut butter pretzel mixture into your fingers and gently pat it into a ball with your fingertips. �If the peanut butter starts sticking to your fingers, your fingers are too warm. Run your fingers under cold water for a minute to chill them, and begin rolling again. �Place the peanut butter balls onto the plate. When you have rolled all the balls, place the entire plate into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. �After the peanut butter balls have chilled, prepare your chocolate. Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, microwave for another 10 seconds and stir again. Continue until the chips are completely melted, which means they stir easily into smooth, fluid chocolate with no lumps. �Place one peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate and gently roll it around with a fork until completely coated. Remove from the bowl with the fork and place back on the waxed paper plate. Repeat for all other balls. �Once all the peanut butter balls are coated in chocolate, return the plate to the refrigerator and chill another 30 minutes. This recipe makes approximately 22 balls. It is very easy to double, triple, quadruple Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls