Hello....I'm new here

Sandy · #1 07-06-2002, 10:41 AM

Hello....I'm new to this forum and looking forward to some exciting recipes, hints, tips or secrets on anything pertaining to cooking! I'm a bonfide recipe nut...love to cook and bake, experiment with old or new recipes, and altho' I'm not a chef other than in my own kitchen. I do enjoy learning new techniques and about new ingredients and foods.

I've collected cookbooks for many years, and have an extensive library now

Well over 3000 cookbooks, recipe files and the like. I am a country gal, and enjoy cooking from "scratch" and using fresh veggies and fruit, making bread and keeping the cookie jar full for my grandbabies.
I'll enjoy posting recipes, but afraid most of mine aren't too "gourmet" just good down-home cooking. I do collect any and all recipes tho'.
Looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Happy Cooking!

Sandy

cape chef · #2 07-06-2002, 11:16 AM

Hi there Sandy,
Welcome to cheftalk..glad you found us.

Don't hesitate to post recipes in the recipe forum no matter how you feel..there's always a mouth to enjoy every meal.

3000 books eh? wow...not to shabby
Tell us which is your oldest and which one do you refere to the most?
cc

Athenaeus · #3 07-06-2002, 11:43 AM

Hi Sandy

Welcome to Chef Talk

I am sure you will have pretty interesting things to say!
We host almost equal number of books

Waiting for your posts.

Sandy · #4 07-06-2002, 03:10 PM

I just recently looked this recipe up for someone and I would love to make it, but don't have the type of pans they use. Any suggestions? The picture makes me want to rush right out and buy a cast iron Dutch oven!!!

Sheepherder's Bread

Basque shepherds who tended flocks on remote Western rangelands baked their bread in Dutch ovens buried in pits. Few follow this routine today. Now updated versions of the dome-shaped loaf are baked in conventional ovens ------with much more predictable results.
This recipe came from Anita Mitchell, Elko, Nevada; it won her the bread-baking championship at the 1975 National Basque Festival. We published it the following year.....Sunset 1988

3 cups very hot tap water
1/2 cup (1/4-lb.) butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packages active dry yeast
About 9-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Salad oil

In a large bowl, combine hot water, butter, sugar, and salt. Stir until butter is melted; let cool to about 110-degrees. Stir in the yeast; cover and set in a warm place until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Beat in about 5 cups of the flour to make a thick batter. Stir in about 3-1/2 cups more flour to make a stiff dough. Scrape dough onto a floured board; knead until smooth and satiny, 10 to 20 minutes, adding as little flour as possible to prevent sticking.
Place dough in a greased bowl; turn over to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and knead briefly on a floured board to release air; shape into a smooth ball. With a circle of foil, cover the entire bottom of a 5-quart cast iron or cast aluminum Dutch oven. Grease foil, inside of Dutch oven, and lid with oil. Place dough in Dutch oven and cover with a lid. Let rise in a warm place until dough pushes up lid by about 1/2-inch, about 1 hour (watch closely.)

Bake, covered, with lid, in 375-degree oven for 12 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bread from oven and turn out onto a rack to cool (you'll need a helper). Peel off foil and turn upright. Slice loaf in large slabs, or cut in wedges. Makes 1 very large loaf

Sandy · #5 07-06-2002, 03:22 PM

Maybe I shouldn't have posted a recipe here? Sorry!

Thanks for the nice welcome. Geez my oldest cook book...I have so many I'm not sure, but I do have a White House cookbook (1898). I'll have to do some checking...I was just recently given some really old ones and I haven't had a chance to read thru them yet. As far as ones I use the most...I guess it would be my family cookbook I did for our 1976 family reunion...it has all my now-deceased aunts, Mom and Grandma's recipes, and I refer to those most often. I learned to use yeast, when younger using the Fanny Farmer cookbook and still have the very first cookbook I bought...with babysitting money...1965 Better Homes & Garden looseleaf cookbook. They are still in pretty good shape despite alot of use. I don't always rely on cookbooks...but when I do, I sometimes experiment and change ingredients, etc.
Its hard to pick a favorite....love them all!

Suzanne · #6 07-06-2002, 09:15 PM

Hi, Sandy! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of what goes where -- and we'll find it wherever it ends up. And from the way you describe yourself and your interests, you'll fit in just fine! We're just a bunch of folks who love to cook and eat -- all kinds of food! Welcome!!!

Sandy · #7 07-07-2002, 07:32 AM

Thanks Suzanne.....I know I will enjoy my visits here....everyone is so friendly and helpful.

Sandy

Isa · #8 07-08-2002, 08:23 PM

Welcome to Chef Talk Sandy!

What are your favourite areas of cooking?

Kimmie · #9 07-08-2002, 10:04 PM

Sandy, hi and welcome to Cheftalk!

Aren't cookbooks just like children? You love them all and have no favorite?

Sandy · #10 07-09-2002, 06:17 AM

Isa - I enjoy all aspects of cooking and baking, but I think the most enjoyable area for me is the prep work such as chopping vegetables and herbs for homemade soups, etc. And I love getting my hands into what I'm working with at the moment, whether its kneading bread dough, rolling pie crust or making meatloaf. Its very relaxing for me, and like my Mom, I go by the "feel" of certain things I make, such as pie crust. I also taught my children, and now my grandchildren to enjoy cooking and baking, and we do alot when we're together, especially during Holidays.

Sandy · #11 07-09-2002, 06:31 AM

Kimmie - You are so right about cookbook collections...that's exactly how I feel about mine. I get teased alot by family and friends, but I think they would think that something is seriously wrong with me if I quit collecting or stopped wanting cookbooks as Christmas gifts, and so on. They are amazed when buying me a cookbook, that I don't already have it and that I know where a particular cookbook is on my shelves.
My husband calls me a "cookbook-aholic"...but loves surprizing me with new ones during his treks on the road (he's a truck-driver). Years ago I went with him over the road, and we were out for about 6 weeks during which we went from the South to the West and back to the Midwest and other parts of the South...and I eagle-eyed every book place I could find on layovers. Needless to say, I was quite the happy camper when I came home with a huge cooler (that was stashed under the bunk) full of all kinds of regional and other cookbooks. He teased me saying we would probably be over-weight on the truck scales from all those books!
As my daughter says...Mom wouldn't be Mom without her cookbook collection and kitchen gadgets!

Mezzaluna · #12 07-09-2002, 05:06 PM

Hi Sandy! I guess I'm a little late getting in on the welcome, but please let me add my greetings.

I also enjoy my cookbooks, often reading them instead of novels. I'd love to browse your shelves!

Isa · #13 07-09-2002, 09:17 PM

Sandy you are right, nothing beats getting your hand into food. I find pastry making very zen.

I'm with you Mezz. Cookbooks are often better than fiction, specially if the cookbook has a bit of history and folklore. I just finished The New Book Of Middle Eastern Food. Best book I read in quite a while. I could almost smell the spices and see the carpets flying....