BellesAZ
 Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Home Town: Missoula, Montana, USA
Living In: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Member Since: Oct. 2005
Cooking Level: Expert
Cooking Interests: Baking, Grilling & BBQ, Italian, Southern, Mediterranean
  •    
  • Title
  • Type
  • Overall Rating
  • Member Rating
 
Mar. 13, 2009 12:20 pm 
Updated: Jul. 10, 2009 5:15 am
I love the history of old recipes.  You know the ones I'm talking about - tucked away in an old book, in a metal tin or written on the back cover of your favorite cookbook.  Stained with past cooking drips, dried and fragile paper - yellowed with time.  Ahhh.. a family's living… MORE
 
 
Images (0)
Tags:  N/A
 
About this Cook
I love to cook and entertain. The hardest part now is learning to cook for two. I've even recruited the dogs to help me try out new recipes. They do enjoy it when I cook and I usually make extra for "just a taste". AllRecipes is great, and for other wonderful recipes, try www.bbonline.com and click on "Recipes". Talk about making an impression! The best of Bed and Breakfasts around the world!
My favorite things to cook
I love to bake breads, rolls, pastries and the like. As a kid, my grandmother would make her famous light as a feather rolls and gorgeous pies. When you would ask her what her ingredients were - she'd say "a little of this and a little of that". Well, I've been on a mission to find her roll recipe - I'm coming close!
My favorite family cooking traditions
I come from 3 generations of fabulous cooks. My Grandmother was amazing. She lived to be 101 and baked all her pie crusts with lard - even rendered bear fat on occasion. (in Montana you use what you have). My mother was incredible - raised 4 kids on her own for several years and yet always managed to create extraordinary dishes on a shoestring budget. I think my fondest memories of her was in the kitchen, with me on a step stool helping her create a meatloaf masterpiece, or brushing rolls with butter. She always remembered to give me "credit" to anyone interested.
My cooking triumphs
Each night when my husband sits down to dinner he says, "This is so good. You should open a shop!" I cook to please - it's the best way I can think of to give back to those who fill my life with such joy.
My cooking tragedies
I baked some doggie biscuits at home that used cod liver oil, liver and a whole host of "yummy" ingredients - if you're a dog that is. Well, my house smelled like liver for three days and I couldn't get the smell out! The cats and the dogs lived in my kitchen though - they were loving it!
Recipe Reviews 66 reviews
French Bread Rolls to Die For
GREAT RECIPE! I gave this 4 stars instead of three, only because I thought there was a touch too much flour and I didn't use the last 1/2 cup - didn't need to. The bread was clinging slightly to my mixing bowl, so any more would have dried them out. I also didn't use bread flour as it makes the rolls a bit dense. All purpose gave them a nice, fluffy lift. On a personal note. I find it infuriating that people give recipes one star because of "user" errors.. like the rolls stuck to a wet towel when rising. Well... gee, no kidding? Don't punish a great recipe because you make a basic bread making mistake! My advice is follow the recipe as it is written and if you're an experienced enough baker, then make your own changes, but if they don't work out - don't complain! And one more pet peeve while I'm at it.. yes, usually bread does dry out the next day.. especially home baked breads. You give an otherwise perfect recipe 4 stars because your rolls weren't as fresh on the next day. Oh... I'm on a rampage today! LOL sorry!

5 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Oct. 14, 2009
Strawberry Shortcake
Quite nice. We made ours with a combination raspberries and blackberries. Don't ya just love summer fruits?? Yummo! Can't wait for peach season!

1 user found this review helpful
Reviewed On: May 29, 2009
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Making these again for the Superbowl.. we're Cardinals fans.. so I thought a red dessert would be fun! Only change I'll make is to use a touch less chocolate.. maybe a couple tablespoons. This is not a chocolate cake and the chocolate should enhance the flavor, not be noticeable. Thanks for the great recipe - GO CARDS!!!

1 user found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Jan. 29, 2009
 
Published Recipes
ADVERTISEMENT
 
Select Your Version:  United States  |  Canada  |  United Kingdom & Ireland  |  Australia & New Zealand  |  Germany  |  France  |  China  |  Japan  |  Quebec  |  SE Asia  |  Netherlands

Frequently Asked Questions What's this?