ZoeMc, the eggs sat for too long. They will get rubbery after a couple days. And the apple cider vinegar probably did cause the weird coloring. I use plain white vinegar. The ingredients will leech into the eggs and beets. It's the same idea as a marinade.

For the roasted cauliflower I just break it into smallish florets, put it on a baking sheet lightly misted with olive oil, mist the tops lightly with olive oil as well, season with kosher salt, pepper, and sometimes curry powder or another seasoning for fun, then roast in a 450 degree oven for...not sure. I check it periodically and when it looks like most of the florets are kinda toasty, I pull it out and eat them.

Sadly, the green beans are just from the frozen section at Trader Joe's, but they are quite yummy nonetheless. Sometimes I mix them with thawed precooked frozen shrimp from TJs just long enough to heat the shrimp and coat the shrimp with the yummy sauce. It's one of my standbys for when I want something somewhat healthy, but have depleted my stock of fresh veggies and don't feel like hitting the crowded market after work on a weeknight.

Made chicken adovada in the crockpot yesterday with a spice mixture I bought in New Mexico. I love how it comes out, and it's so simple and makes the kitchen smell lovely. I just toss about 3/4 of a cup of the spice mixture over skinless bone-in chicken breasts, throw in a can of diced tomatoes and a healthy amount of chicken broth, then set the crockpot and leave for work. I have leftovers in a burrito today.

What exactly do pickled eggs taste like? I have a friend who raves about them, but they kinda scare me.

Sweet and tart. Some people argue that you shouldn't use either vinegar or sugar, but if you don't, they're not pickled. They're just marinated in beet juice. If you like strong pickles (like Claussen), you'll probably like pickled eggs.

All that Philly food talk makes me college-sick!

Never mind explaining how good WaWa is... just try explaining WHAT WaWa is! I heard people talking about WaWa, and I just kept thinking, "What is WaWa??" and once I found out what it was "Why on earth would anyone name a store WaWa?"

The other really good story came during my first couple of weeks my freshman year when my Northeast-Philly-suburbs-born-and-raised friend was talking about "wooder ice." I just kept repeating "wooder? ice?" Took me forever to figure out that she was talking about "water ice" at which point I kept repeating "water? ice?" because something called "water ice" just didn't make sense at all to my southern-raised ears.

I checked out the new Paula Deen cookbook from the library (called Paula Deen Celebrates, i think?) and tried the "white cake with strawberry icing" recipe. I love watching Paula, but I swear, her recipes never come out right for me. She's becoming my new Nigella (whose recipes never work for me either).

I had wondered about that but the recipes I was looking at (many of them on allrecipes.com) were recommending that the eggs sit for at least 2 days...up to 2 weeks, so that the juice had penetrated to the yolk! I tried them after only 36 hours and they were already rubbery, so I can't imagine what they would taste like after 2 weeks! Yikes!

That seems excessive to say the least. You really should be able to get a decent pickled egg within 8 hours or so. And I've seen the juice penetrate the yolk with 24 hours. Maybe white vinegar works differently than cider vinegar does. I bet Alton would have the answer to that.

All the recipes I've seen for pickled eggs say it will keep 2 days to 2 weeks if refrigerated.

Alton has done pickled beets and pickled okra but alas, no eggs.

I make pickled eggs just by putting them into straight balsamic vinegar. It's not the expensive stuff, it's from Sam's Club, and I love the sweet/sour flavor without adding extra sugar. I just leave them in the vinegar for however long it takes to eat them, at least two days to start, I've never had a bad one yet, and they don't seem to get as rubbery, but maybe I'm just lucky. Plus I can reuse the vinegar at least a couple more times, until it runs out of vinegary-ness. I probably wouldn't recommend keeping them as long as I do, I'm that person that eats the jar of applesauce that's been open in the fridge for a year so YMMV.

I had some pickled beets and eggs this week; I was in Indiana for a funeral. We had those, some sort of canned bean and pea salad, and something that could have been chicken or tuna salad, I couldn't tell the difference. No funeral potatoes from this side of the family, they're Methodist. When someone on the Mormon side of the family dies I'll make sure to report on the food there.

I'm not sure what this means, LlamaSpank, but it made me laugh out loud... 'cause I'm sensitive that way.

I had a "hankering" for ham for Easter. Now I have a lot (a lot!) of leftover ham, plus a great big bone that really shouldn't go to waste. Suggestions, please?

Hey, my Methodist side of the family has funeral potatoes, they are yummy! The Catholic side doesn't have funeral potatoes.

I'm so excited for Easter. Not because of any religious or bunny related reason, but the fact that I get my grandma's scalloped potatoes. I don't know what she doesn that makes them so wickedly delicious. I think it's just her hands and her kitchen and her love, but whatever it is, she only makes them a few times a year and one of those times is Easter.

I googled funeral potatoes, and seems like they're that classic 70's style potato casserole with diced potatoes, cream of "something" soup, cheese, etc, etc. Often associated with funerals in Utah, but I've had them all over (grew up Methodist, now Catholic, even lived in IN for a while). I never had pickled eggs in Indiana, though. I always thought that was more of a Pennsylvania thing. The things I learn here!

Oh, and I haven't reported in for a while, but Aunt Jenny, I wanted to report that I tried your biscuits and they are terrific. Eight thumbs up from the Clevesclan.

Dinner today for Easter is going to be very low key. We're in the midst of job-related stresses, but I'm managing to care enough to make a spiral ham, scalloped potatoes, rolls, and asparagus. Nothing fancy, but sometimes that's all you can manage.

BTW, I tried the ATK skillet lasagna last night (actually my 14 year old son wanted to make it). It was very good. We ended up using 1.5 lbs of ground beef, and sonofCleves thought the amount of ricotta was too little and used probably double the amount. Everyone enjoyed it, but we all agreed that it could use something for some additional "oomph" - some spices or sausage or something. Has anyone played with this recipe at all? It's certainly easy.

Thanks for all the pickled egg replies. I'm hesitant to try them again, but I might boil up a couple and give it a go -- just not the whole dozen I so optimistically pickled the first time!

I cooked all day yesterday. We're going to MIL's house and she's making a ham, so I'm in charge of all the veggies. I did roasted beets, a yellow squash casserole (simply because our farmer's market had them in the clearance buggy -- but they were still very nice looking), a carmelized saute of okra, corn, tomatoes, sweet onions and jalapenos, a black-eyed pea salsa, and a mocha chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream frosting. I wanted to make Ina's lemon pound cakes but I ran out of time. At the farmer's market I found a new product -- a jar of "Old Fashioned Tomato Juice Cocktail." It tastes sooo fresh. The only ingredients are tomatoes, onions, celery and salt. I can't wait to use it in my gazpacho once the good tomatoes are in season.

I was out in State College working earlier this week, and I had a bowl of roasted tomato soup that left me wanting more, so I started sniffing around for a recipe when I got home. Everything I found on the internets had me actually roasting the tomatoes, which seemed too much like work, so I decided to see what Mr. Bittman had to say, and he didn't disappoint. I used his Pureed Tomato Soup recipe (page 58, for thems that have), with a few modifications. First, I added a rib of celery and 3 cloves of garlic to the carrots and onions, because seriously? No garlic, Mr. Bittman? For shame! I of course used canned roasted tomatoes instead of plain, because I wanted that flavor without the fuss, but cut down on the salt in other steps until I knew how salty it was going to be. And finally, I let it simmer for about 20 minutes before sending it for a little whirl in the blender, which is a step not in the original recipe. I only gave it about 10 pulses in the blender, because I wanted it chunky more than pureed, and it turned out just right. Little chunks of carrot, onion, celery and tomato goodness, and the flavor is just incredible...as is the smell in my house! I've got bread in the bread machine (no, I don't make from scratch, sue me), and this is going to make a nice tasty meal for a rather chilly Easter, if I say so myself :)

[ETA: I'm not kidding about the chill...there are snow flurries dancing around outside my window right now! Good thing that Easter Bunny has a fur jacket...]

On the beet front: I grew up eating beets in salad and that's still my favorite way. I'm not sure I've ever had a heated-up beet and I've never made fresh beets. My mother instilled in me an irrational fear of fresh beets; something about impossible clean-up.

Anyway, the best beet salad recipe I've ever had was one of Ina's. How I reached the ripe old age of 44 without ever combining the lovely flavors of orange and beet, I'll never know.

3 (15-ounce) cans baby beets, drained
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
2 large seedless oranges, zested
Segments 2 large seedless oranges
Drain the beets and dice into 1/2-inch cubes. Place the beets in a mixing bowl and add the raspberry vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and red onions. Zest the oranges and then segment over a bowl to catch the juices. Add the orange zest, orange segments, and any juices and mix well. Taste for seasoning and serve cold or at room temperature.






In other news, I made Tyler Florence's ultimate Macaroni and Cheese yesterday and oh my god, it was amazing. I pretty much made it as written, which is rare for me. (Okay, I added more cheese to the sauce and the topping, so sue me.) The bacon/garlic/onion relish thingy was incredibly delicious.

quof, The first thought that came into my head when I read ham bone was crockpot split pea soup. My dad would make it the next day whenever he would bake a ham for Sunday supper. I admit, I was never a fan of the stuff while growing up, but I love it now. I guess my taste buds grew up along with the rest of me ;-). And it couldn't be easier to make. Just rinse and pick over a pound of split peas, throw them in a crockpot with the ham bone, some carrots, celery, potatoes, a few garlic cloves and whatever other seasoning strikes your fancy, cover with stock or water and just let it cook on high for maybe 6-7 hours. I always dice up any additional leftover ham and throw that in when the soup is done.

toolazy, that beet salad sounds delicious. I copied it into a word document for later. I like beets, but the pickled beets and eggs don't really get my attention. The only way I have ever used beets is in salad, and I do love them like that. Does anyone who bakes beets use the beets from a can? I would try beets several different ways except for, you know, the beets and eggs.
Edited to add: oh, the funeral potatoes! We love them and I am asked to make that dish a couple of times a year. They really are delicious and I haven't found anyone who doesn't like them--even if they are made with cream of whatever soup and other very easy ingredients ; )

That's my only complaint about Mark Bittman. (Who knew I had any?) He under-spices everything.

anneofcleves, throw some thyme and oregano in there (fresh or dried, it's up to you.) More red pepper flakes would help too. There's not even close to enough herbs in that recipe. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I ignore everything they say about Italian food. I'm surprised they don't say to put sugar in it.
And of course, if you have a sauce recipe you like, just use that instead of what they recommend.

For Easter dessert I made Ina's apple cake that I saw her make the other day.
It was delicious and a big hit but if anyone tries it, I would make two suggestions: For the caramel, use brown sugar instead of the white that she suggests. And two, thin the batter a bit. Mine was too thick and was kind of difficult to spread over the apples.

Hooray! That makes me very happy.

Here's a challenge for the wonderful cooks on this thread.

My grandson (13 months old) is currently undergoing testing for food allergies. On Friday, he had the bloodwork done for possible celiac disease (gluten), but the doctors are not yet suggesting he have gluten out of his diet.

What they have suggested, however, is that he go completely dairy-free for at least these two weeks. He's already on soy milk (since he was 11 months), but my daughter is having a tough time coming up with things he can eat that are dairy free, considering he's 13 months old (and has about seven teeth).

Other than Trader Joe's (she doesn't have one anywhere near her), where can she go to find some dairy-free stuff she can feed him on a very early toddler's diet that'll give him some variety?

Last night's supper included canned chicken, turkey, green beans, carrots, potato and garlic pierogies and apple sauce (he's also just coming off stomach flu, so he's been hungry!).

She prefers not to do too much packaged stuff for him and Dad is a wonderful cook.

We're just looking for some ideas as to where she can go with this. We doubt the dairy-free will be the permanent solution, and we'll deal with the moderately unlikely prospect of gluten-free in a couple of weeks when we have the results back.

Thanks to all for your assist!

becca, my son and daughter were both on dairy free diets through much of their early childhood. My daughter was caught at around 13 months, my son later when his tastes had been established. Back in the day, living in central IN, there weren't a lot of choices, but I did find some great natural food stores (ones that sell actual food - not just supplements) that sell many dairy free options. Many regular grocery stores have natural food sections, too, which she could find in her area. Whole Foods is another chain that might be in her area.

Tell her to read labels carefully, as whey and casein are added to so many food products and are, of course, dairy-derived. Soy/rice milk, soy cheese, tofu yogurts, dairy free "butters", etc. are easily available at stores that she could try. She can easily sub chicken stock or soy/rice milk for many foods that she would normally cook with milk. The dinner she prepared sounds just great, and I would try to make enough to have leftovers that can be recycled for an easy lunch. My kids were both late teethers and only had a few at that age - they ate quite a lot of simple pasta and rice with minced meats, scrambled eggs, dried beans, and vegetables.

Good luck with the allergy testing. Hopefully dairy is the culprit, because it really is not so hard to learn to avoid once you get the hang of it. A gluten allergy sounds like a little more work.

I need some pesto advice, please:

I was innundated with basil last year and thus made some pesto to freeze (I left out the cheese to add later, so it's basil, oil, garlic and pine nuts). I took it out of the freezer on Friday, I think, which was too early as I'm not going to get around to using it for a few days. Is it safe to use? It had already been in the freezer for not quite a year--I can't remember now if I froze it in May or July. I seem to remember something about garlic in oil not being safe for more than a couple of days, even if refrigerated--is that right? It's not a big deal, I can just toss it as my philosophy always is that it's cheaper to toss out food than to go to the doctor, but I'd like to use it if I could. Any thoughts?

anneofcleves, thanks!

We're real fortunate to have an excellent resource at my church - a mom for whom my daughter used to babysit that had a boy who was so allergic, the mom had to engage the State attorney general to help get a law passed for her son's formula. The mom spoke to my daughter yesterday and has offered assistance.

My daughter is just having a lot of trouble finding the dairy-free stuff; the gluten-free (her nutritionist said) is actually easier - best time in history to have to go gluten free, she said. The nutritionist taught her how to read the labels - it's just that everything she picks up has the dreaded words on the label.

I did credit my daughter with the good menu last night, but that menu will get old fast. Hence, needing some other ideas.....

Roseyrose, MrPunk wants me to extend his deepest gratitude for the red sauce recipe. I made a batch this weekend (I used veggie broth and left out the beer as mom's a recovering alcoholic), and it is now gone, and MrPunk is about 5 pounds fatter.

I made Easter dinner for my mom, and because she doesn't eat pasta I used the sauce for a sort of lasagne of roasted veggies in place of the noodles. Super simple, REALLY tasty. I also did Nigella's lemon risotto (my first risotto! It turned out. . . better than it could have, but I think not nearly as good as it's supposed to be), RayRay's curried carrot soup (would be really good if you cut down the curry powder + cayenne called for. I am a spicy fanatic and the heat was overwhelming for me) and pesto mashed potoes (turned out great, because really. . .how can that be bad?). Nothing was complicated at all but my family was insanely impressed.

Becca656 -- If he likes veggies, baked sweet potatoes are awesome, little bit of salt (maybe some olive oil) and you're good to go. Roasted cauliflower and broccoli are also good, and you can make them into a soup with veggie or chicken broth and a mashed potato for thickening. Roasted chicken pulled from the bone, and other simply prepared very tender cuts of meat and fresh flaked fish or frozen talapia. Noodles and rice with some sprinkle-on seasoning to make them tasty. Canned beans and peas, rinsed are good because the kids can usually eat them themselves -- Chickpeas marinated in a little bit of olive oil and lemon juice and salt, were my kids' favorite. On the sweeter side, cinnamon raisin toast with dairy free spread would be good to gum on. My kids were basically dairy free as babies because dairy seemed to give them gas.

Okay, I saw a Throwdown recently, and Bobby Flay actually beat the contestant making cheesecake. Bobby's looked great, but the featured contestant made what he called a Devil's Food Cheesecake, and it looked awesome! He had way too much cake and icing and the cheesecake got lost in it, which is why I think he lost, but the idea was so good I had to try it. I had my father and sisters-in-law over for Easter supper, so they were guinea pigs. :)

Basically it has a cheesecake as the middle layer of the devil's food cake. I didn't want it to be too chocolatey so I bought a Duncan Hines cake mix and frosting (yeah, I had to so SLop for this part) and baked just one layer but I filled up the pan so it made an extra thick layer. Then I made a cheesecake from scratch ('cuz I know how to do that and do it well). I split the chocolate cake layer into 2; then you take 1 bottom layer of choc. cake, frost it, then put the cheesecake on top of that, then you frost the top of that, then you put the second layer of choc. cake, then you frost the whole thing so it looks like just a big old choc. cake from the outside. It was AWESOME. One of the best parts was the graham cracker crust on the cheesecake, it was still crunchy and added an extra bit of zing into it.

I've already been commanded to make another one for the next family function.

holy crap, AdrienneP, but I think I gained about five pounds just reading about your cheesecake! That sounds like heaven on a snack plate. Chocolate cake and cheesecake, my two favorites, yum.

We too like the ATK skillet lasagna, and I made it using rosey's sauce. I think I added more Italian seasoning, and we thought the amount of ricotta was just right, so YMMV. Next time I'd use sausage, and I agree that a bit more spice would make it just right.

It's a good recipe, and worth tinkering with to get it as you like; it's a keeper.

I think next time I'll go half beef, half sausage, and then add the additional herbs and some hot pepper flakes. I have to say that I actually liked the consistency of the sauce it made with the canned tomatoes - not too thick, and I liked the chunks of tomatoes in it. It is a great little recipe, especially if my 14 year old son can do it. Sometimes mom gets wrapped up in her schoolwork and this is something that's easy enough for a kid to make with little mess. So nice to have those recipes that can be made in one dish!

It's no way, shape, or form my lasagna that takes the better part of a day to make, but it bears a slight resemblance...

I'm a cheesecake purist in some ways. All these Cheesecake Factory gildings of the lily often overwhelm the sweet/tang/tart that make cheesecake so darn good. The chocolate/cheesecake combo does not work - the two flavors kill each other (at least for me). I had peanut butter cheesecake yesterday. It was not of the Lord.

Fruit is the only flavoring I like with cheesecake - preferably citrus or berry.

So the boyfriend and I decided since Easter really didn't matter to either of us to just stay home and hang out around the house. Funny thing, though, food--I had a hankering for my mom's traditional Easter dinner. So I made Nigella's Ham in Cola, no glaze, but otherwise as she said. Now, admittedly, a little ham goes a long way for me, and while good, the recipe didn't smack me as amazing. Anyone have any other results with this recipe? Alongside I made scalloped potatoes (not tv-recipe, but so easy, so good, that's my comfort food. I can email the recipe if anyone wants) and Rachael Ray's very simple Strawberry Salad. I love this dressing, highly recommended. For dessert, homemade Coconut Custard pie.

In the ongoing saga of MrPunk's b-day I've decided to bite the bullet and bake him a cake, since he's asking for a ridiculously easy meal (seriously, corn chowder and biscuits? Yummy, but not exactly showcasing my talents). I thought I'd do a homemade ice cream cake with chocolate cake and coffee ice cream, and maybe soak the cake in Bailey's, or something. Does anyone have any experience making ice cream cakes? Any suggestions?

This must have been the weekend for roseyrose's red sauce! I made it as well. Unfortunately, I suddenly discovered that the reason I never liked red sauce with meat as a kid was because of just that. (For what it's worth, I used the exact amount of tomatoes/sauce, etc as stated in the recipe, and threw in one and a quarter pound of hot sausage and one and a quarter pound of garlic sausage that I'd gotten at the meat market. I omitted the beer, chicken broth, and hot pepper flakes, because I was worried with the amount of hot sausage I'd crammed in there it would be too hot, even for me, and I love spicy foods). I'm wondering here (please don't laugh, guys!) does something in red sauce change the flavor of the meat? Because it sounds strange, even to me.

I'm going to try it again this weekend, but as a meatless sauce. I'll definitely add the red pepper flakes, and I was thinking of adding beer as well. Though I'm wondering which kind? (I've even tried searching beer forums, but no mention of adding it to the sauce, only for pairing it with the sauce as a drink. Somehow, the two most common ones are smoked porter and lager.) My local bar has a pretty extensive beer selection, but if I'm going to spend $7 on a good bottle of beer, I'd rather not have it mess up the sauce!

I do have to say that my boyfriend and parents, looooved it! The bf even took some home for his roommate.

Oh, and I know the conversation was a while back (I checked for it, but couldn't find it), but I did manage to find Glen Muir tomatoes. They have them at Genuardi's (including the fire-roasted!), which is owned by Safeway (and found them also at a Safeway in DE, but only the regular).

It's funny because I'm a cheesecake purist as well, actually. I don't like the fancy flavors either, and even the berries take away from it, though raspberries with anything is good. The most radical thing I can take is a different crust, sometimes using chocolate grahams, sometimes oreo crumbs.

ITA, Ms Chicklet, you are right that the cheesecake/chocolate thing doesn't work at all, but that's in terms of a chocolate flavored cheesecake. This ended up being more of a chocolate cake with a cheesecake filling. I made the cheesecake thin, and the tangy, creamy cheese actually enhanced the cake.

PAfirely, be loyal to your state and use Yuengling Lager. That's what I use. You really don't need anything too strong or fancy. I'd never use expensive beer in the sauce.

Did the sausage taste funky? I assume that the sauce can affect the taste of the sausage as much as the sausage affects the sauce. Particuarly if you did it in a crock pot, the sauce would work sort of as a marinade. But even if you just did it on top of the stove, there's going to be a chemical reaction between the two. So that's not a crazy question.
I'm not a huge fan of meat sauce. I never put ground beef in sauce. I make meatballs sometimes, but really, I just prefer the sausage. Also, I made the sauce without extra herbs and spices once just to see how it would turn out, and it was kind of flat. You still need some herbs in there, but you can leave out the hot pepper flakes.

Maybe you just don't like my sauce. Noooooo! (Sniff) :)

After lurking forever, I can finally offer some suggestions. Becca656 I make all of my little guy's food (Babykins is 11 months) and really the only dairy he eats now is some whole milk yogurt. If your family is interested in cooking this site is really helpful. And they have a sister site for toddler food.

Although now Babykins eats a lot of what we eat. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots and roast chicken are big hits. Also sweet potato fries, plain no-fat refried beans, plain elbow mac with some frozen peas, eggs scrambled with a spritz of olive oil instead of butter, meatballs simmered in low-sodium chicken stock. Earth's Best also makes a dairy, gluten and soy-free arrowroot cookie that Babykin loves. I find them in my regular grocery store and Babies R Us. Hope that helps!

My only tip for ice cream cakes is to make sure that you let the ice cream thaw enough to get really soft. Otherwise you have a disaster...trust me. Other than that, it is pretty straightforward and super yummy.

Thanks for the feedback, roseyrose! The sausage tasted fine, though I tended to favor the hot sausage versus the garlic (and I did use a crock-pot, as I probably should have stated earlier). And, aw, no worries, I'm sure it wasn't your sauce! Since the masses (on here and in the really real world) all thought it was divine, I'm sure it is. I may just have some strange aversion to meat combined with anything tomato-based. I'd previously thought it was just my mother's home-made meat sauces (sorry, ma!), but it seems not to be the case. In any case, I'm looking forward to making the sauce again this weekend, this time sans meat. (And am I a bad person for not liking parmesan in general [and I did use fresh]? It adds a strange, 'dark' [nutty? Almost bitter, to my tastes] flavor, if that makes any sense at all. I think I may substitute some freshly grated locatelli instead.)

ETA: Thanks for the tip on the beer. I already have some Yueng on hand, so it'll be no problem. Oh, and apparently I have a huge love for parentheses and brackets... my apologies, folks.

I use locatelli pretty regularly too. I love it. It has a nice flavor but it's more subtle.

No such damn thing IN THIS HERE WORLD, Miss Rose. I know... 'cause I said so.

Well if you say so then it must be true.

That cheesecake cake sounds divine! I can see how keeping the layers seperate would perserve the purity of both flavors -- you'd get the best of both! My daughter is a cheesecake fiend, tending to go for the classic plain cheesecake, but recently we ate at a pizza place where a local woman made several different varieties, and my daughter ordered Butterfinger cheesecake. I was skeptical since I'm not crazy about Butterfingers (or any candybar), and I'm only an occasional cheesecake eater -- but this was the best cheesecake I'd ever put in my mouth! The filling was dense but not heavy (didn't taste like you were eating a block of sweetened cream cheese), had a slightly fluffy mouth feel but was not "whipped into something that isn't really cheesecake", and there was just enough Butterfinger to give a mild chocolatey/peanutbuttery saltiness that cut the sweetness of the filling perfectly. I want that recipe!!

Was the parmesan grated close to the rind? I often find it bitter near the rind. The hearts of parmesan are much better.

My very lovely soon-to-be sister in law is making me a fabulous America's Test Kitchen cake (the Lemon Layer Cake) for my birthday next month, since no one else in my family has really moved beyond the cake mix dessert. I am so excited that she is going to make it for me and I'd like to get her a little thank you. She really likes to bake and experiment with desserts, but doesn't really enjoy cooking as much (I am pretty much the opposite). Does anyone know of a good baking cookbook or a baking magazine that I can get her as a thank you? I've only ever had brothers and brothers in law, so I'm enjoying this whole sister thing!!

lobsterlea, The King Arthur's Flour Baking Companion is a great book. It covers everything from sticky buns to bread. There's also one that I think is a cookie and cake companion. Something like that.
Does your future sister-in-law actually have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated? It covers both cooking and baking in just about every issue.

lobsterlea -- you could order her some vanilla extract and good cinnamon from Penzey's. A relatively inexpensive thank you gift, and one you can potentially enjoy too when she bakes something for you next time. AND, you will also have an excuse to order something for yourself (to make the shipping cost worth it, you know).

I personally love Martha Stewart's baking handbbook. It's not cheap, but definitely a gift that keeps on giving!

Edited - odd double post

lobsterlea, I'm with shawnadammit. I received Martha Stewart's baking handbook as a gift and just love it. Her recipe for spice cookies alone are worth it - fantastic.

Ooo, Penzey's, now that's a good idea. I'll have to check out all of those ideas. rosey I thought about getting her the Cook's Illustrated; I'll have to check out some things. You guys are the best, and I'll be sure to let you know how the cake is on my birthday (it's number 29, so I'll really have to think of something good for NEXT year). Thanks all.

I'm helping a friend make a very large shrimp pasta salad for her brother's wedding (2nd for both of them and so this is a backyard, low-key affair). I make a killer cilantro lime shrimp salad but it's heavy on the shrimp (too expensive) and some people don't like cilantro so I was looking for something a little more crowd-friendly. Typically for a crown, I use shell pasta, shrimp, chopped veggies and either a vinegarette or a mayonnaise based dressing, and it's always quite good, but for a wedding it really needs to be extra special. Does anyone have a recipe that hits it out of the park?