I swear the heat in my apartment doesn't come on until an hour after I wake up. The first thing I do is get the kettle going and make a tall cup in tea in a pint glass.

Can I reuse brine that I like from a commercial pickled product?

Am I totally retarded for asking this question?
Or rather, re-asking, since I got to the brine thread late . . .

usually I'm very home-makery and try to duplicate stuff I like, but I'm not a picklemaster and I'd rather just skip a few steps.

Guido
i was totally going to post back about this yesterday, but felt i had posted too much
i don't know if its kosher (hehe) to re-use pickle brine.... but i do it all the time to pretty darn good effect
you can do just regular ole kirbys, or get fancy and throw some blanched haricot verts in there, or even some lightly boiled baby carrots (yum!)

on a similar but slightly differnt approach, if you're like me (meaning, a jar of pickles lasts less than a week) you should totally try making refirgerator pickles

basically, just mix up a brine (i like to use a combo of different vinegars like malt, rice, balsamic, sherry, etc, etc to make a nice, balanced acidity), a little water, some spices (here's where you can be really creative!), sugar and salt
i also like to add onions and chilies, plus whatever you want to pickle
ribbons of summer squash with tumeric?
tradiditional kirbys perhaps?
maybe some super garlicky carrot ribbons?
YUM!!!

Guido, you're talking about reusing pickle brine to make a new batch of pickes, right? I think it would be fine to reuse brine for a pickle that you're not going to keep for very long (like a refrigerator pickle), but I would be concerned about using it for long-term storage, because the acidity might not be right. I'm thinking that whatever was pickled in it the first time would have let its juices out into the brine and diluted it. But, honestly, making pickle brine is one of the simplest things you can do. Don't be daunted! You'll be very happy with your results.

I recently saw a magazine (Real Simple? maybe?) that suggested soaking some little carrots in pickle brine overnight and then putting them out for a party.

thank you
thank you
ann and diane

I'm usually a cook, but I don't have the time or patience or something right now to figure out what the okra people use to make these things spicey and garlicky and in what proportion. So 'fridge pickles it is!

Actually, I already thew some extra habaneros in the juice, for preservation. NO idea what I'll be doing with those....

What are people cooking today tommorrow?

Tonight I did a batch of the Hot and Sour Soup recipe from the latest Saveur, and a Red Kuri Squash Spice bread, while watching Molto Mario. He is molto crazy, but makes me smile. He and Tina Nordstrom from New Scandinavian Cooking on PBS make my favorite food on tv.

Anyone else have favorite cooking shows?

guido
anything for pickles!
pickled habaneros?
mmm... tacos!!!
scazza, are you a brit?
my best friend's husband is a "scazza" as well
and yes, tina nordstrom is amazing
her cooking is as goregous as she is
i have such a girly crush on her!!!

Sorry, I'm not a brit, I'm a Chicagoan. But I am addicted to Tina Nordstrom!

Does anyone have a good recipe for Gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting like the one they sell at starbucks. My boyfriend and I shared one last night and it was pretty darned good. I said I would try to make it. Oh the things we do for love.

I'm throwing a (pretty tame) bachelorette party/shower for my sister tomorrow and I'm doing ALL the food. Here's the menu. Making all the cold stuff & sweets tonight. Finishing the rest tomorrow after work.

* Cheese tray w/swiss, cheddar and monterey jack cubes served with pepperoni and sesame crackers. Pesto dip in center
* Veggie tray w/carrots, celery, bell pepper, cucumber and cherry tomatoes with dill dip in center
* Bruschetta
* Cheesy sausage balls
* Herb, tomato & cheese pinwheels
* Fresh guacamole with veggies and chips for dipping
* Cheesy artichoke bites
* Chicken fingers with ranch dip

For sweets:
* White cupcakes with white icing & fresh berries on top
* Soft & chewy ginger cookies
* PENIS CAKE! Muahahhaha

Check out my blog Saturday or Sunday to see photos of it all (my name is the link)

New Tenant
Room For Dessert by Dan Lebowitz has the most amazing spicy ginger cake (with fresh ginger that miraculously melts in to the batter)
It's googleable as his most popular recipe

I serve it with cranberry ginger jam

On ginger cake: Nigella Lawson has a recipe that I like very much that uses fresh ginger. It's a little lighter (I don't know what the Starbucks version is like, but I imagine it's on the lighter side). You can see her recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105095

If you're looking for something darker, there's a Regan Daley recipe up at 101 Cookbooks that looks amazing. (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000864.html) I'm going to try it out soon!

With cream cheese icing, I like it less sweet, so I just take a block of cream cheese, add some vanilla, a little milk, and enough confectioners sugar to make it spreadable. I bet a little lemon zest would be nice in frosting that's going on a gingerbread cake.

Amber - that menu is so ambitious! Wow! I made a guac last week, btw, using this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105897/ - it includes pomegranate seeds and grapes and pears. It sounds mighty weird but it was the best dip I've ever made, and looks quite pretty too...

How long can you keep an open jar of bruchetta topping in the refrigerator? Thank you for your help