sounded like a wonderful evening. i didn't even do anything this year. see, i'm not really observant or belive in anything...but I do like the traditions and holidays. this entry gave me the warm fuzzies.
Yay for your successful shindig! Sounds like an excellent time.
I can offer a trick for brownies and other bar cookies. It works better with plain ol' metal pans, but should be adaptable for your stoneware. When preparing the pan, take a piece of foil, and mold it to the outside of the pan, then remove it in its pan-shape and place it inside the pan, where it should be just about right to line the inside. Hmm, did that make sense? Anyway, then you grease the foil, etc., the way you would the pan. Oh, and leave extra on the ends so you'll have handles that you can use to lift the whole thing out of the pan. Then you can cut them nicely into squares. Also, you can cool them more quickly by getting the whole thing out of the pan, without having to cut 'em while they're hot and make a big, sticky goo.
I so shouldn't try to explain anything before 10am.
Hmm. I see what you're saying about your brownie trick -- essentially you make a tinfoil pan inside your regular pan. But stoneware is supposed to have all these wonderful properties that make it better to bake with, and I'm not sure whethere a tinfoil liner would negate those. Unfortunately, it is NOT one of stoneware's magical properties to be automatically non-stick -- you're supposed to cook something greasy inside it the first time you use it so that it absorbs the grease and gets seasoned. But I didn't really feel like making a meatloaf in order to make brownies ...
A chanukkiah (or other variant in spelling) is the actual correct name of a menorah. Technically a menorah has 7 branches and is used all year long in places like the now-defunct high temple in Jerusalem, while a chanukkiah has 9 candles (8 plus a middle one) and is only used on Hanukkah. The rabbi was pretty emphatic about the difference last Saturday morning, so I figured I'd get it right for once.
Re: tinfoil: Yeah, I thought of that, but I decided to give you the info, in case it comes in handy for something else, someday, even if it isn't quite right for your needs in this. Mmm, brownies. :-)
I was wondering if that was what a chanukkiah was, but I'd only ever heard the word menorah. That explains why I've seen menorahs with fewer than 9 branches before! (Must have been 7, but I only remember that it wasn't 9.) I'd been confused by that. Thanks!
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Sorry to hear you were feeling poorly. Glad to see you've rebounded.
Enjoy regular old Mexico.
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I can offer a trick for brownies and other bar cookies. It works better with plain ol' metal pans, but should be adaptable for your stoneware. When preparing the pan, take a piece of foil, and mold it to the outside of the pan, then remove it in its pan-shape and place it inside the pan, where it should be just about right to line the inside. Hmm, did that make sense? Anyway, then you grease the foil, etc., the way you would the pan. Oh, and leave extra on the ends so you'll have handles that you can use to lift the whole thing out of the pan. Then you can cut them nicely into squares. Also, you can cool them more quickly by getting the whole thing out of the pan, without having to cut 'em while they're hot and make a big, sticky goo.
I so shouldn't try to explain anything before 10am.
By the way, what are chanukkiahs?
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A chanukkiah (or other variant in spelling) is the actual correct name of a menorah. Technically a menorah has 7 branches and is used all year long in places like the now-defunct high temple in Jerusalem, while a chanukkiah has 9 candles (8 plus a middle one) and is only used on Hanukkah. The rabbi was pretty emphatic about the difference last Saturday morning, so I figured I'd get it right for once.
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I was wondering if that was what a chanukkiah was, but I'd only ever heard the word menorah. That explains why I've seen menorahs with fewer than 9 branches before! (Must have been 7, but I only remember that it wasn't 9.) I'd been confused by that. Thanks!
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