Food
Most Recently Answered Questions
Questions 36 - 55 of 1913 (Page 3 of 96)Submitted by Pat Lewis from Charlotte, NC
Q:Do you know if the Magnolia Coffee Company in Charlotte sells retail or has a website? I bought some decaf from Amelie's the other day and was told that it came from Magnolia. I'd like to be able to buy directly from them. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
A: Thanks for asking, Pat. I tracked down Jay Gestwicki, the owner of Magnolia. Magnolia is a locally-based wholesale specialty roaster, but he says any place that serves his coffee also should have bags available for sale. Besides Amelies, Magnolia is also served at Julia's at Habitat ReStore on Wendover, and at the Terrace Cafes. He says Julia's has the most extensive list of his lines, including single-estate coffees. He also has coffee available at Common Market in Plaza-Midwood and is adding it soon to Common Market SouthEnd. His coffee usually runs $10 to $11 for a 12 ounce bag, either whole bean or ground, but he also has 1/2-pound and 1-pound bags.
Submitted by Betty Walley from Davidson, NC
Q:If I wish to halve a fudge recipe which calls for cooking the full amount 6 1/2 minutes, do I also cut the cooking time in half? I don't think it would be fully cooked by that time. The recipe I have is one submitted by Gladys Ennis years ago. The full amount makes about 5 lbs. and that is a bit much sometimes. P.S. Enjoy your articles.
A: Time isn't the best way to judge fudge, Betty. The time will change when you reduce the amount of ingredients, but it could vary even if the ingredients stayed the same. A classic fudge is usually cooked to 234 to 240 degrees, AKA soft ball, then cooled to 110 degrees before beating. Since you're changing the volume, it would much more reliable to use a candy thermometer and aim for 240 degrees. P.S. Thanks!
Submitted by Pat Coller from Madison, Georgia
Q:I recently had a wonderful carrot cake that I was told from a recipe in the Charlotte Observer. I was wondering if you could share the recipe? Thank you.
A: Sorry, Pat. We haven't run a carrot cake recently. There are a couple of versions in our recipe database, which you can find at www.charlotteobserver.com/food. Click on "Observer recipes" and enter "carrot cake" in the search form. The two we have there are several years old, but perhaps one of those is the cake you had.
Submitted by paula from lincoln ne
Q:When a recipe calls for unsalted butter, do you have to use that or can you use regular butter or oleo? thanks
A: If you use salted butter, you'd need to reduce or eliminate any other salt called for in the recipe. Substituting margarine in a recipe that calls for butter can be tricky. In baked goods, for instance, margarine will yield a softer texture. Also, some margarines, particularly the tub versions, have more air or water whipped in, so the amounts will be very different.
Submitted by Debbie from Charlotte, NC
Q:Looked in the database for the Sliced Sweet Potato Pie and could not find it. How is it listed?
A: It's there, Debbie. It's listed under the name Sliced Sweet Potato Pie, although I just entered sweet potato under "name" and turned it right up. Make sure you're using the link to Observer recipes. Here's a direct link if that helps: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2008/08/04/107030/observer-tested-recipes.html?appSession=109620172889864&RecordID=1006&PageID=3&PrevPageID=2&cpipage=1&CPIsortType=&CPIorderBy=&cbCurrentRecordPosition=12
Submitted by Bill Huffman from Charlotte
Q:Kathleen - The all-in-one soup in today's paper looks very interesting; but do you know where to get a smoked ham hock?
A: I found them at Harris Teeter Cotswold late last week with no trouble, Bill.
Submitted by Cheryl Gorham from Mentor, OH
Q:Hi. I use pork neck bones when I make spaghetti sauce and I generally simmer the sauce for hours. My issue is with the neck bones breaking up into small pieces which could pose a choking issue if I don't find them all. Do you know of a way to still get the flavor that the bones add without the danger? I was thinking of somehow putting the neck bones in a mesh bag of some sort so that the bones would be contained. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
A: I also make sauce from neck bones, but I find the bones stay in big pieces. Instead of simmering for hours, I do it in two stages. I cook the sauce and bones about 2 hours, until the meat is tender but the bones are still in larger pieces. I chill the bones separately from the sauce, then pick off the meat, return it to the sauce and reheat them together.
Submitted by Margaret Snelling from Mooresville, NC
Q:This is not a question. I thank you for the "Sliced Sweet Potato Pie" in the October 26 issue. My mother, who is no longer with us, used to make this pie when I was a youngster. I have always wished I had asked her to write the recipe for me. She did not use a recipe. She said her mother taught her. Thank you again and have a happy holiday.
A: That's so sweet of you to take the time to share that, Margaret. I'm always happy to reunite people with a food memory.
Submitted by Rick from belmont, ma
Q:can you freeze chicken that has been partially cooked and then complette cooking alter?
A: That's really risky, Rick. Even in the freezer, the interior of the chicken will cool slowly. So there's a good chance that you'll get the interior just warm enough to allow bacteria to grow and you won't chill it fast enough to stop them.
Submitted by esther from new jersey maplewood
Q:how many public seeds are still produced by universities/the government?
A: I'm sorry, Esther, I don't understand the question.
Submitted by Marvene Geller from 1910 Nantucket Ln #203 Charlotte, NC
Q:What do you call the film that forms on top of pudding? My mother always called it "Mother". Thank you for your help.
A: I've always called it pudding skin. I checked the OED Shorter edition and didn't get a definitive answer. However, among the definitions of the noun skin, I found "a film resembling skin on the surface of a liquid." Under "mother," I found "dregs, scum originally that of oil, that rises to the surface of fermenting liquids." Mother of vinegar, for instance, is the cellulose-like growth that can be used to start another batch of vinegar. Since you don't remove the film from pudding to start another batch of pudding, it would seem that mother is less logical and skin would be more logical. But far be it from me to contradict your mother -- my mother would give me skin for that.
Submitted by Gail from Charlotte
Q:Where would I go to buy a very good pumpkin pie?
A: Sorry, Gail. I haven't done a taste-test of pumpkin pies in local bakeries, so I can't recommend one.
Submitted by laraib from pakistan
Q:how can we make good phyllo sheets at home?
A: With an awful lot of work, Laraib! Phyllo is a labor-intensive recipe. If you have access to good-quality prepared phyllo, that would be preferable.
Submitted by Darlene from Terre Haute, IN
Q:Today is tuesday. Baked and sliced sweet potatoes for casserole to bake on thuraday.Do I need to put anything on them and will they be ok until thurs.
A: Sweet potatoes unfortunately will darken if you make them ahead like that. In this case, it would have been better to bake them and refrigerate them with the peels left on.
Submitted by Judy from Old Lyme, CT
Q:Can I freeze Mashed Potatoes?
A: Potatoes don't freeze well, Judy. They darken and they can get an off taste.
Submitted by Cindy from Dubuque, IA
Q:Can Cool Whip be substituted for whipped cream in a molded jello salad recipe? It's an orange jello salad with orange sherbet and I don't have whipping cream but I do have a tub of Cool Whip. Thank you for your help.
A: Sorry, Cindy. I was on vacation last week and missed a few questions. Yes, in a recipe like that, frozen whipped topping would probably work.
Submitted by Greg Vossekuil from Indian Trail, NC
Q:I promised my wife I would cook dinner for a week after Thanksgiving. I recently clipped and promptly lost 2 receipes that I would like to prepare that I saw in the Observer. The 1st is for mashed potatoes using golden potatoes and brown mustard. The 2nd is for a pork loin that is butterfied and grilled with a sauce or marinade of some type. Both have been in the paper in the past 60 days or so. Is there any chance you could hook me up with these receipes? Thanks.
A: Sorry, Greg. I was on vacation myself last week. However, next time you need a recipe we've run recently, try looking in the recipe database. You can find it on our web food page, at www.charlotteobserver.com/food. If you scroll down and click on "Observer tested recipes," you get a search form. All you have to do is enter one or two words, like potatoes or mustard or pork loin, and you'll get the recipes we've run with those ingredients. (The potato casserole is excellent, by the way. It came from Virginia Willis' book "Basic to Brilliant, Y'All.")
Submitted by loretta ferriss from concord, nc
Q:do you have a receipe similar to the the Southern supreme fruit cake that is full of nuts instead of fruits? i love that cake thanks
A: I don't, Loretta. But you might try looking online for a recipe called a Kentucky Bourbon Cake. That might be similar.
Submitted by acton porcher barnwe from litchfield,sc
Q:When I was small, my mother, Harriet Latta porcher Barnwell would order amazing cakes from a "Mrs pressley"(sp?)...they were white cake w/some flavor... almond/marischino ish..divine!!! AND the icing was referred to as "butter cream", but trust me, I've tried a zillion recipes so called over the years and have NEVER come across anything like either the cake or icing in flavor!! She would create incredible cakes..ladies hats covered in flowers, disnet characters/whole scenes from fairy tales...etc..I'm 63/mom's still living @ 88 and was reminiscing the other day about those cakes..I would LOVE to find out how/who where to get a recipe or, if they were sold to some one (did she have a son named Bill??) so mom and I and my children/6 grangchildren could experience what we so loved so long ago!!??? Any help w/this would be appreciated!
A: Eva Pressley was a very popular caterer in Charlotte in 1950s and '60s. I still occasionally get questions about her and memories of her recipes. One of her popular cakes was a version of a Lady Baltimore Cake that some people remember getting for a birthday cake. My predecessor, Helen Moore, once asked readers if anyone had a copy of it, but we never received one. So the recipe apparently disappeared with her.
Submitted by Jennifer Thompson from Tega Cay, SC
Q:I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this, but I trust you to give me one. Can you freeze a sweet potato casserole, prior to baking it? Thanks!
A: It should be fine, Jennifer. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
