I dunno. It can be made with either walnuts or pecans. My recipe for pecan puffs is from my friend's italian grandmother, but I don't know where she got the recipe. The measurements are american, so it's probably from here someplace. It's just your basic flour butter nut concoction. I heard the same about pecans. Too bad I don't like them all that much. Pecan Puffs 1 cube butter (4 oz) 2 T sugar 1 C flour 1 C pecans/walnuts, chopped fine (or processed) 1 t vanilla fine sugar for dusting/coating Cream butter and sugar. Add chopped nuts and flour. Roll into small balls, bake at 325F for 40 mins. Roll in sugar after removiing from oven. I prefer the nuts hand chopped rather than processed, but it adds significantly to the prep time. While I'm at it: Tea Chiffon Cake 3 tea bags (or 3 bags worth of tea leaves, ground/chopped fine) 5 egg yolks 7 egg whites salt 70 cc (2.35 fl oz) vegetable oil (anything that doesn't smell) 100 cc tea (3.4 fl oz) 140 g (5 oz) sugar 120 g (4.25 oz) flour and 1 t baking powder, sieved together Beat egg yolks, salt and half the sugar until white. Add tea and tea leaves. Gradually mix in the vegetable oil. Mix in the flour. In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Beat in the remaining sugar 1/3 at a time. Fold the yolk mixture into the whites, 1/3 at a time. Pour into a tube pan. Bake for 40 mins at 170C/340F. Hmmm... That doesn't look like enough for a 16 C pan. I bet those are Japanese size eggs too. Might be easier to find a US recipe and add the tea. One of these days I will start eating rhubarb again. It still brings back memories of the rhubarb crumble with watery custard that my catholic school in the UK served for lunch.

If it hadn't been used before then I wouldn't worry about bacterial contamination (or possible dilution from water seeping out of the first batch of rind, which is what you were getting at when you asked about acidity ). It should have been heated (per the recipe) before adding to the rest, not added straight from the fridge b/c it would cool off the hot brine, but it's already done, if you stirred it in well I'm sure it was fine and the recipe does call for refrigerating overnight anyway. I don't know how much spilled, if 1C was enough to replace, if you haven't boiled the rind yet today you might want to borrow 3C of sugar from a neighbor and mix it with 1C of water and 1C of vinegar (1/3 recipe) to make sure you have enough to can. Worst case, if you find you don't have enough syrup to cover, just process what you can and stick the rest in the fridge, it should last until you can get some more sugar and then just make refrigerator pickle version out of it.

I ahve several recipes that I just love... maybe one of them will appeal to you too! Whatever you make will be delish and have fun! ********************************************************* Hot Brie Kisses 2/3 lb. brie cheese 2 sheets puff pastry (1 17.3 oz. box) hot pepper jelly or apricot preserves Thaw puff pastry at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Unfold pastry and roll lightly with a rolling pin to remove creases. Cut each sheet into fourths, then cut each fourth in half. Cut each piece in half again to produce 16 even squares of dough per pastry sheet. Lightly spray mini-muffin cups with vegetable oil. Fit a square of dough into each cup. The pointed edges of the dough should extend straight up. Cut brie into " squares. Place a piece of cheese into each dough-lined cup. Top with ¼ tsp. pepper jelly or apricot preserves. (Do not try to increase either of these amounts, or theyÂre run over in the oven) Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. You can put these together and then freeze them (prior to baking); youÂll need to add a little extra baking time. ***************************************************** MUSHROOM STUFFED BRIE EN CROUTE 1 small onion 1/2 pound mushrooms 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon dry Sherry 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed according to package directions a chilled 14- to 17-ounce wheel Brie 1 large egg Accompaniment: French bread slices or crackers Mince enough onion to measure 1/2 cup and finely chop mushrooms. In a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms, Sherry, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Cool mushroom mixture. On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and, using Brie as a guide, cut out 1 round the size of the Brie. Cut out a mushroom shape from scraps for decoration. Horizontally halve Brie. Roll out remaining sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and transfer to a shallow baking pan. Center bottom half of Brie, cut side up, on pastry square and spread mushroom mixture on top. Cover mushroom mixture with remaining half of Brie, cut side down. Without stretching pastry, wrap it snugly up over Brie and trim excess to leave a 1-inch border of pastry on top of Brie. In a small bowl lightly beat egg and brush onto border. Top Brie with pastry round, pressing edges of dough together gently but firmly to seal. Brush top of pastry with some egg and arrange pastry mushroom on it. Lightly brush mushroom with some egg, being careful not to let egg drip over edge of mushroom (which would prevent it from rising). With back of a sharp small knife gently score side of pastry with vertical marks, being careful not to cut through dough. Chill Brie, uncovered, 30 minutes. Brie may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake Brie in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Let Brie stand in pan on a rack 15 minutes and transfer with a spatula to a serving plate. Serve Brie with bread or crackers. Serves 8 to 10 as an hors d'oeuvre. **************************************************** Pate Bites and Herb Brie Board Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 10 minutes Yield: 4 servings User Rating: 4 slices dark bread, pumpernickel or German whole grain, toasted 4 tablespoons whole grain mustard 1/2 pound country pate or mousse pate 1/4 red onion, finely chopped 4 tablespoons capers, drained 1/2 pound herb brie Cornichons or baby gherkin pickles Water crackers Red seedless grapes Spread toasted bread lightly with mustard. Arrange pate in thin layer on top of mustard. Top with chopped onions and capers. Cut each slice of bread into quarters. Arrange on a cheese board with a wedge of brie at room temperature, cornichons, crackers, grapes. Wine Recomendation: Serve with champagne or try French or Sicilian rose wine.

Oooooh - this is just right for my friends from Sweden who are coming to visit in a couple of weeks! I know that she loves Brie and this sounds very special and not too rich (I say with a smile)! She is a marathon shopper when she's here so I'm sure we'll work it off at the outlets! Thanks.