Serious Eats: smbetz's Profile

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: Unforgettable Desserts

Linzer Torte.

smbetz at 11:58PM on 12/29/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'The Craft of Baking'

A Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cherry Cake, freshly made by me for my father's 80th birthday.

smbetz at 8:10PM on 10/06/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Bite-Size Desserts'

Teacakes baked in the mini bundt pan with a cherry inside each one. Yum-m-m! Pretty and a surprise.

smbetz at 10:56AM on 08/26/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Spiced Jumbles With Vanilla Frosting

For centuries Jumbles were made into decorative shapes and a banquet table delicacy. Even early recipes used in the US specify rings and knowledgeable hostesses would understand that meant a variety of shapes. The consistent addition of lumpy ingredients seems to have occurred somewhere in mid-20th century. One has to assume that the name confused people into thinking that the ingredients should be a "jumble" of add-ins. Books like "Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats" by Karen Hess go into detail on the origin. Nancy Baggett's "The All-American Cookie Book" has some of the history, too. Of course, since the dough works as well as a drop cookie, any baker in a hurry could just drop the dough on a cookie sheet whether it was 1585 (earliest printed recipe I have) or today.

smbetz at 3:27PM on 08/25/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

A Linzer Torte (raspberry-hazelnut tart) from the Time-Life Foods of the World series. It looked and tasted so good that guests asked at which bakery I purchased it.

smbetz at 8:34PM on 07/14/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Rustic Fruit Desserts'

Homemade pineapple upside-down cake, like lemon meringue pie, a delicious combination of flavors and textures.

smbetz at 2:14PM on 06/02/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Endangered Recipes' by Lari Robling

My mother had not learned to cook when she was a child and labored over cooking as a mother and homemaker. But there are 2 dishes that she really nailed: pineapple upside-down cake and chicken with dumplings. To this day whenever I am served those dishes I compare them to hers and always find them wanting and wishing I could taste hers once last time.

smbetz at 10:56AM on 05/26/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Beyond the Great Wall'

More most dramatic than favorite: undergoing security checks on a train while going through a barbed wire corridor traveling to countries behind the iron curtain in the 1960s.

smbetz at 12:23PM on 03/17/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Kneadlessly Simple'

Have to admit that peanut butter bread, a quick bread, is my favorite bread to make because I get the rewards so soon.

smbetz at 12:11PM on 03/03/09

From Serious Eats

Valentine's Day Giveaway: Macarons from Itzy Bitzy Patisserie

Since the textures of a macaron remind me of what I like best about lemon meringue pie, I would like to taste a macaron that incorporates those flavors into its textures.

smbetz at 3:50PM on 02/09/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Baking Unplugged'

As a bride decades ago, I decided to bake fruitcakes for Christmas gifts to save our new household money. No matter what I tried the little loaves would not bake through and I ended up with a very expensive contribution to the garbage can. To this day I have not figured out whether temperature, time, or tins destroyed the effort. But in retrospect my desperation was a funny slight to behold.

smbetz at 12:26PM on 01/27/09

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Simple Italian Snacks'

pickled mushrooms

smbetz at 2:43PM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Baked, New Frontiers in Baking'

Lemon Meringue Pie and it's my favorite to this day, decades later.

smbetz at 8:54PM on 11/24/08

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Martha Stewart's Cooking School'

Her roasted cauliflower soup; I think it appeared in Everyday Food.

smbetz at 1:42PM on 11/18/08

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics'

For Thanksgiving gatherings, my cranberry relish made from just cranberries, sugar, and oranges is always in demand.

smbetz at 1:15AM on 11/12/08

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Second Helpings of Roast Chicken'

Olive oil is the one ingredient I cook with most often; I even have several baking recipes that call for olive oil including a prize-winning biscotti recipe.
The large container of plain fat-free yogurt is the ingredient that always goes bad before I can use it up?

smbetz at 4:41PM on 11/04/08

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'The Modern Baker'

Decades ago as a young bride I attempted to make fruitcakes as gifts for all of our new joint family. We thought of this as a cost saving measure even with the price of the fancy dried fruits and nuts. Well, something went dreadfully wrong and the batter to hold the other ingredients together never baked up. I had many small pans of wet fruit and nuts. To this day I have not figured out what I did wrong, nor have I ever attempted to make a fruitcake again. Bakery bought is just fine with me.

smbetz at 6:32PM on 09/23/08

From Serious Eats