Now that everything’s bagged and boxed, stacked and stored, and all that’s left of the holidays are the happy memories, it’s time to get back to business as usual. That includes the following requests from Forum readers who have been waiting patiently for our help:
SOS: Marysvi
lle cook Carolyn Barkley writes, “Hi! I’m crying on my cookie sheets. I followed the latest biscotti recipe (in the Dec. 15 Forum column) to the letter, and the cookies started to break apart when I was slicing them on the diagonal. Does anyone have a hint about how to prevent this? They taste great, but they’re less than picture-perfect for gift-giving. Any help would be appreciated.’’
SOS: Mardell Anderson of Lynnwood had a recipe for graham-cracker cookies, but she has since lost her copy and is hoping someone can identify this old favorite and share it.
SOS: Lake Stevens reader Herb Hulse says, “I sampled a batch of oatmeal cookies which included maple syrup as an ingredient, and they were excellent. I would like to make some of these cookies for our bridge club, but the person who made them cannot find the recipe. If anyone has this recipe, would they be able to share it?’’
SOS: Betty Tronsrud of Snohomish asks, “Is there someone who is collecting old cookbooks? I am moving to a smaller place and have several that I need to give away.’’
SOS: Lynnwood reader Helen Peluso says, “I know I’m on the tail end of pumpkin recipes, but I would love to have the pumpkin pie recipe from O’Brien’s, a restaurant previously in business at Island Crossing. Is there anyone who might have this recipe and could share it?’’
SOS: Robyn Bond, down there in Loveland, Colo., writes, “Until 2000, I was a resident of Everett, and my family and I fell in love with the con queso dip sold at Top Foods. I can find nothing even remotely acceptable here and, on a few occasions, have had friends in Everett ship me containers of the stuff.
“I would love to have the recipe for this dip, as would members of my family and all to whom I have boasted of its awesome taste. Then, too, my daughter will be in seventh heaven if I come up with the recipe for Top Foods con queso dip.’’
Moving along, on the flip side of needing help, is getting that help. Karen Richards recently asked, “”Can anyone help me figure out where to find/buy chai concentrate? This is an ingredient in a brandy apple chai cake recipe (adapted from ‘Booze Cakes’) that was published in The Herald recently, but I don’t know where to find the chai concentrate.’’
Next, we received an e-mail from Terry Lee Stone, the co-author of “Booze Cakes,’’ saying, “I stumbled upon the SOS at the bottom of your Forum column in The Herald. Our recipe calls for the liqueur called Voyant. Voyant is so ridiculously delicious, it’s worth the extra effort to find/buy it and use it in our recipe! I’ve sent a copy to , who is the head guy at Voyant.’’
And now, we hear from Robert B. Back of Bacmar International LLC, importers of fine liquors, “I was copied on the e-mail from Terry regarding Karen’s attempts to find Voyant Chai. I assume she resides in Washington state, so I shall answer accordingly.
“Voyant is available via special order in the State of Washington, and I have just shipped three cases there specifically for special orders. Karen should check with her local liquor store to see what they would require for a special order.
“If she wants to order online, she can also try such retailers as www.drinkupny.com or www.astorwine.com.’’
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