On Jan 13, 2005, at 23:46, Leeann Withers wrote:
not lace related [...]
If it's lace-related, it should go to lace; lace-chat is *lacemaker*-related <g>
I ended up with a collection of cookie cutters thinking the children and myself can spend time making biscuits..only problem I have only 1 recipe that is just a basic recipe that you can decorate when cooked.
And you are looking for recipes for biscuits, with the word used as it is in the US, not as it's used in UK (cookies)? Can't help ya there... DH makes lovely "beaten biscuits" (to be eaten with Christmas ham and spiced beef), but I don't even want to contemplate them being anything other than little *round* thingies, which split in the middle as soon as you touch 'em.
second question... I also have Nigella Lawsons "Feast" cookbook a christmas present that I picked out : ) and she uses unsalted butter in nearly all her recipes... Its something i dont have in the fridge I just have butter. I can go and buy some but if I want to cook there and then and have none, does anyone know if you can substitute it for normal butter, are amounts to be used the same?? I know it may effect the taste on some things but in general would it be okay?
In general, it's OK, just omit any salt that the recipe tells you to add. And yes, the amounts are the same. Though you may have to add extra sugar to compensate for the excess of salt - a common solution in American recipes.
In particular, however... To me, the idea that salted butter might be considered "normal" is revolting <g> It's been developed to keep it from spoiling, in the days when refrigeration was rare. It tastes stale even when fresh, and the salt is not is not all that good for you either. And, for baking sweets (which often don't require any salt at all) it's an abomination; like I said, you have to add extra sugar to compensate and all the subtlety is lost.
When I first got here, unsalted butter was more expensive than salted - makes sense, since it can't sit on a shelf for as long as salted - but now, with more people worried about their salt intake (but not worried enough about their hearts to stop using butter altogether <g>), it's the same price. And, although one's not supposed to do it, butter does freeze quite well. So, I keep *only* unsalted butter on hand - in the freezer - and pull out a stick as I need it. Fat defrosts fast but, if it's still too long, you can defrost it in the microwave (15 -20 seconds, on full. Just make sure your brand doesn't have a foil wrapping <g>).
It's much easier to add salt to your recipe which calls for salted butter, than it is to take the salt out of a recipe which uses natural butter; can't add a potato to a cheesecake :)
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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