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Does anyone have a good Linzer torte recipe? I have committed to make one for next Friday.

I have several Shun knives and they are fantastic. However, they've begun to dull and I don't know what to do. Have them professionaly sharpened? Get one of those sharpeners that looks like a honing steel? Someone at the Chopping Block in Chicago told me to do it myself but it makes me very nervous. I've got like $1,000 worth of cutlery here.

Thanks for any advice.

Jennie (2),

If you're at all unsure, have them professionally done. But by someone who does culinary knives. Sur La Table stores usually have an in-house knife sharpener.

Funny - I was planning on making curried carrot soup tomorrow. Made the stock yesterday.

Here's my recipe - don't recall where it comes from... Dead easy, just a few ingredients, but oh so good.


Curried Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

· 3 tbsp vegetable oil
· 2 tsp curry powder
· 8 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
· 4 ribs celery, peeled and thinly sliced
· 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
· 5 cups chicken stock
· 1 tbsp lemon juice· 2 tsp coarse salt (only 1 tsp if using commercial chicken stock – it’s salty)

Preparation:

1. In medium saucepan, heat oil and curry powder over medium heat, stirring for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in carrots, celery and onion; toss to coat with oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until all vegetables are very tender.
4. Let cool for a few minutes. Using a spoon, skim any oil from top of soup.
5. In blender, purée soup in three batches. Return to pot and heat thoroughly.
6. Add lemon juice and salt; season with pepper to taste.

jennie (2)
I recently picked up one of those Furi knife sharpening kits for about $100 on Amazon. It was not intuitive for me so I had to pop in the DVD and suffer through a 5 minute video starring Rachel Ray explaining how to use it. I have to say - it works like a charm. Fast, safe and convenient. I highly recommend it.

On the 29th of September I'm getting married. We are having a small ceremony and lunch at the church after for our family. There will 18 people in attendance.

I have committed to making lunch for everyone, in my wedding dress. We are thinking a chili bar. I can make the chili at home the day before and just heat it up while the ceremony is going on. While this is the easiest soulution, I know there is a more tasty one out there.

Any suggestions?

The only requirements are that it must be easy, that I can make it up the day before and either reheat or bake in the oven the day of, it must be mostly dairy free (groom is lactose intolerant), cannot have a large amount of dark leafy greens (two guests are on cuminin) and vegetarian (my maid of honor is veg.)

Or is chili my best option?

since it's YOUR wedding
I hope whatever it is
is something you love

plus a green salad
: )

kassie--i think someone else should make you something fabulous for YOU and your partner on yr wedding. just my two cents.

thanks to all for menu suggex for my cheapo meal for gfriends, especially for the reminder that just getting cooked for makes people happy. i ended up making a cabbage-cider vinegar-peanut-raisin salad (with parlsey) and figs baked with goat cheese and a chickpea-tomato stew with cous cous. enough wine and everyone was happy. possibly that has to do with the fact that i also screened xanadu, however!

Kassie -

Do you have any favorite family recipes (that are autumnal)? For such an intimate occasion - maybe some old family recipes (from bride and groom sides) might be nice to use. And less stressful since you've made them before.

If you have access to multiple crockpots, you could make 2 or 3 types of soup (veggie, cream free, chockful of beefy goodness). Serve it up with green salad, roasted seasonal squash or root vegetables, and a crusty loaf of bread with a selection of cheeses and spreads.

how is mexican oregano different from the other oreganos. it is said that it adds the distinct flavour in black beans which is typical of mexican cuisine.

can anybody throw a light on this please?

it just is different. it's bigger, tastes a wee bit more, i guess, annisey?
but the biggest thing you should be adding to mexican beans is epazote, helps tame the, ahem, vocal range, of the musical fruit ;-)

epazote is a more distinctive flavor addition than the type of oregano I think . . . not that the oreganos aren't different, 'cause they ARE
but if you're lookig for *that taste*, it's probably the epazote

I grew it fresh this year (dried is all I've seen in stores around me) and it numbs your mouth a little when you bite it . . .

THIS sounds fun . . .
Wednesday, September 20, 6 to 8 pm,
Eclectic Salon: Book-Signing and Tasting
@ Bottlerocket wine store 19th St NYC

Julia Child's just-published memoir My Life in France. Co-author (Julia's great-nephew) Alex Prud'homme will read excerpts and sign books as we pour the wines that Julia introduced to America, including some from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Provence. Enjoy French bread and cheese, too. Celebrate an icon of American cooking. Free. Reservations not required.

I wrote a fairly exhaustive meta-review of knife sharpeners for Consumersearch.com a few months ago. Click on my name to see it. The Spyderco Sharpmaker ($40) is an excellent choice. As I wrote in the review, it's easy to use, effective, and gentle on knives. The article compiles all the recent reviews I could find on knife sharpeners (there were 9). The site makes its money from advertising; I was not paid by anyone to recommend a particular sharpener.

If you want to go the professional route, it should cost around $4 for an 8-inch chef's knife.

--Molly

Hi Arin - the best linzer torte I've had was made by an Austrian woman; the dough was lovely and light/crisp, she may have beaten the egg whites(?).

The recipe below is from a European Specialties cookbook, I haven't made it though.
-I see Martha Stewart has a linzer torte recipe in her baking cookbook. I made a jelly roll cake ('roulade') from that book last Dec. & was disappointed. (Thinking about the wisdom of keeping that book.) Anyway,
Linzer Torte
1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c chilled butter
3/4 c ground almonds, 3/4 c sugar
cinnamon, ground cloves
2 eggs, juice of 1/2 lemon
l jar red currant jam
4 oz sliced almonds
vanilla sugar, powdered sugar
Sift flour on flat surfact & make dent in centre. Flake the butter, add to the flour indentation with the ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, one egg & lemon juice. Knead the ingredients until smooth dough is formed.
Halve dough & refrigerate 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter 10" springform pan & lay in half the dough, pressing it flat with your ifngers until the bottom of the form is completely covered.
Spread the redcurrant jam on top. Cut the remaining dough into strips & lay basket weave over the jam layer. Beat the second egg, paint the weave crust & sprinkle the top with almond slices. Bake for about 60 mins. until golden brown. Combine vanilla and powdered sugars & sprinkle on top before serving.

Jennie (2)-

If you are in Chicago, you might take your knives to Northwestern Cutlery at Lake and Halsted. They've been highly recommended by culinary professionals in the area. You should probably have good knives professionally sharpened about once a year, but it's a good idea to learn to hone them yourself (something you should do at least once a week on anything that isn't serrated). Either take a knife skills class or find some clear instructions online (or in a book or a dvd or whatever). It isn't as scary as it looks, and it makes a huge difference in the day to day performance of your knives!

Thanks Ann and Guido.

I ran a google search on it and found out what that is. My mom uses epozate as a flavouring when she boils water for drinking. ( we prefer boiled water to the bottled water)

Leeds-
Thanks for posting the recipe. The major difference that I noticed in the recipe that you posted v. others that I found is that it uses almonds instead of hazelnuts and red currant jam instead of raspberry. Hmm...I'll have to decide which way to go.

IMO: red currant jam, as it's delicious and not as commonly used as raspberry. I think Martha(!) uses a combo of almonds & hazelnuts.
Arin,I'm sure yours will be fantastic whichever way you choose to make it!

holy schemolie ya'll!
i left the apartment early this morning so i could walk through the Union Square Greenmarket on my way into work
FOLKS! TODAY IS THE DAY!
That wonderous magical day when the greenmarket slips on her fall colors but is still in full blown summer bounty!
everything is there!
tomatoes! watermelon! brussel's sprouts! squash! pumpkins! cucumbers! beans!
the colors are so bright, i literally felt dizzy!
if you have the chance just to stroll over there and take a gander, DO IT!
awesome, utterly and amazingly awesome!