Dough

My mostly love/sometimes-hate relationship with bread baking began at age 14 with a loaf of the best-tasting cheese bread I ever made, though maddeningly, I could never duplicate the results. Maybe it was beginner's luck, or maybe I was just thrilled to get bread and not a giant cheddar pancake. Nonetheless, I got hooked on bread baking and have kept at it. It brings a sense of great accomplishment and an adrenaline rush to unearth a quintessential and/or never-fail recipe. Sometimes I turn to bread baking for what Alison Furbish, web media coordinator for King Arthur Flour, calls a "comforting activity with an emotional component.

Editor: Thank you Mr. Craig, not only for providing the men and women of Harford County Government a bonus, but for standing out as a LEADER. Once again, you have shown what a true Leader does; make a decision, stand behind the decision, see it through and move on. Unfortunately, the teacher's union, like our current state and federal government, chose to make a poor decision, try to explain their decision, give excuses for their decision and then when all else fails; blame it on someone else.

Editor: Thank you Mr. Craig, not only for providing the men and women of Harford County Government a bonus, but for standing out as a LEADER. Once again, you have shown what a true Leader does; make a decision, stand behind the decision, see it through and move on. Unfortunately, the teacher's union, like our current state and federal government, chose to make a poor decision, try to explain their decision, give excuses for their decision and then when all else fails; blame it on someone else.

Let's see a show of hands: does anyone really think Ray Rice won't be a Raven next year? Anyone really think the Ravens won't sign him to a long-term deal in the off-season? Anyone really think Ozzie Newsome will show Rice the door and say "Hey, little man, sorry it didn't work out" when his current contract expires? Please. The Ravens are going to pay the man. You know it. I know it. The American people know it. Even if the team slaps the franchise tag on their star running back, he'll still have a Brinks truck backing up to his house with sacks of cash for years.

Constellation Energy Group CEO Mayo A. Shattuck III was paid $15.7 million last year. Wouldn't it be interesting to know just what decisions he made that were worth that kind of money? George B. Wroe, Glyndon

Delectable desserts topped with sweet pastry crumbs called streusel are popular in much of Eastern Europe. The crumbs add an irresistible touch to all sorts of pastries and cakes, from sweet Russian yeast breads to German cheesecakes to Czech apple pies to Polish plum cakes.The classic streusel preparation is a mixture of butter, sugar and flour rubbed together by hand to form crumbs. They traditionally are used to add pizazz to plain yeast cakes. Old-fashioned recipes call for making a yeast dough, letting it rise, spreading it in a cake pan, preparing a crumb mixture and sprinkling it over the dough.

F at Tuesday is a day I support in a two-fisted manner, with both of my fists covered with powdered sugar. The idea behind Fat Tuesday, or in French, Mardi Gras, is that sinners get one last day of indulgence before facing 40 days of mortification, also known as Lent. I have always been keen on the indulgence aspect of this transaction and pretty feeble on the mortification. Among the foods that shout "pleasure binge," doughnuts lead the chorus. The prime example of a Fat Tuesday doughnut is a beignet.

A favorite springtime dessert in France is a light strawberry savarin. One of the most elegant of classic cakes, this ring-shaped dessert is created from an easy-to-make batter.The cake gains its lightness from yeast, but is different from other yeast-leavened cakes; savarins are moist and delicate and not chewy. Thus they are served for dessert rather than as breakfast pastries or coffeecakes.In addition, the dough requires no kneading -- the batter is beaten. At a cooking school in Paris, I was taught to make the batter by beating it with a wooden spoon, but I prefer to make it with a mixer or a food processor.

To shape drop cookies, use one spoon to scoop dough and a second of the same size to push dough onto baking sheet. Use both spoons to mound and smooth dough. -- Cole's Cooking A to Z

First we discovered pasta (as opposed to spaghetti), then moved on to tiramisu, osso buco and polenta. Americans have gone bonkers for Italian food.Now we've found the world's best way to sop up the sauce -- focaccia.The Genoan flat bread is chewy and aromatic, about as far removed from sandwich bread as sauce Bolognese is from Ragu. Restaurants -- even non-Italian -- have been offering it in bread baskets and using it for high-class sandwiches. It also turns up as an appetizer with toppings of herbs, black olives, tomatoes and cheese.

Janet Janata from Norfolk, Va., was looking for a recipe for what her husband called a "Marc Cake. " She described it as a rolled yeast cake with a sweet poppy seed filling. DC Kiss from Ellicott City thought that the cake Janata and her husband were looking for sounded like the traditional Hungarian pastry called Makos (poppy seed) Kalacs. The recipe she sent in ran in the Sunday Sun Magazine in May 1966. This light and airy, slightly sweet yeast bread is similar in texture to challah bread.

WESTMINSTER - Carroll County law enforcement officials will team up with Dunkin' Donuts this week - but it has nothing to do with a doughnut delivery for officers. Local police will join with law enforcement colleagues across Maryland for the second annual Cops on Rooftops event in Westminster, raising money for Maryland Special Olympics. Maryland State Police Lt. Jim DeWees and Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding will sit on the rooftop of the Westminster Dunkin' Donuts, at 576 Jermor Lane (140 Shopping Center)

Constellation Energy Group CEO Mayo A. Shattuck III was paid $15.7 million last year. Wouldn't it be interesting to know just what decisions he made that were worth that kind of money? George B. Wroe, Glyndon

Yes, the Fourth of July is behind us. But that doesn't mean you can't find other celebratory themes to help inspire your culinary creativity. If the Fourth was all-American, then July 14, Bastille Day, is all Française. Our "ooh-la-la" carte for eight, is designed to help us mark French Independence Day. We've tried to do it in the French mode, but "nouveau," of course, which is fitting for the season and for our American approach to things culinary. Gougeres Gruyere Ever had a cream puff?

Each year, when The National Herald issues its ranking of the 50 Wealthiest Greeks in America, two Baltimoreans usually make the list: Peter Angelos and John Paterakis . Angelos, a trial lawyer and majority owner of the Orioles, appears on this year's list at No. 21, with an estimated net worth of $450 million. But McDonald's bun magnate and Harbor East developer Paterakis is nowhere to be found. Last year he came in 39th, with $240 million. Could he possibly have fallen from that height to below this year's No. 50, Chartwell Hotels founder George Tsunis , who has a measly $72.5 million in the bank?

Ronald Collins from Nottingham was looking for a recipe for making sweet potato biscuits like the ones his best friend's mother made when they were growing up on the Eastern Shore. Louise "Buttons" Bassett from Berlin sent in a recipe that she said was given to her by the late Betty Kelly , a longtime friend and native of Salisbury, on the Eastern Shore. She said that the recipe has never failed to give her delicious biscuits. I found that the biscuits to be denser in consistency then more traditional ones, but they had a delicate sweet flavor and a beautiful deep orange color.

A cheap plastic scraper can be an extension of your hand when making bread. The rounded end helps mix, turn out dough in one piece and lift stray bits from the counter. The straight edge can be used for cutting and dividing dough. From "Dough: Simple Contemporary Bread," by Richard Bertinet taquitos.net This is the place for snackaholics to get their fix. The site, started by a couple of potato-chip lovers, boasts reviews of 3,000 kinds of chips, chocolate-covered peanuts, cheese puffs and other munchies.

An exquisite fresh-fruit tart reflects culinary craftsmanship as much as artistry. The challenge lies in crafting a pastry shell that can hold several pints of fresh fruit without turning soggy.Cole Publishing GroupRaspberry-Almond TartServes 6 to 8SWEET TART PASTRY:1/8 teaspoon salt1/4 cup sugar2 extra-large egg yolks1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter1 1/4 cups flourALMOND FILLING:7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar1 1/4 cups finely ground blanched almonds1 small egg, lightly beaten1 cup red currant or red raspberry jelly1 tablespoon raspberry-flavored liqueur or kirsch2 to 3 cups fresh raspberries, washed and well-drainedTo prepare tart shell, place all ingredients except flour in food processor; process with 4 one-second pulses.

My mostly love/sometimes-hate relationship with bread baking began at age 14 with a loaf of the best-tasting cheese bread I ever made, though maddeningly, I could never duplicate the results. Maybe it was beginner's luck, or maybe I was just thrilled to get bread and not a giant cheddar pancake. Nonetheless, I got hooked on bread baking and have kept at it. It brings a sense of great accomplishment and an adrenaline rush to unearth a quintessential and/or never-fail recipe. Sometimes I turn to bread baking for what Alison Furbish, web media coordinator for King Arthur Flour, calls a "comforting activity with an emotional component.

F at Tuesday is a day I support in a two-fisted manner, with both of my fists covered with powdered sugar. The idea behind Fat Tuesday, or in French, Mardi Gras, is that sinners get one last day of indulgence before facing 40 days of mortification, also known as Lent. I have always been keen on the indulgence aspect of this transaction and pretty feeble on the mortification. Among the foods that shout "pleasure binge," doughnuts lead the chorus. The prime example of a Fat Tuesday doughnut is a beignet.