Vanilla Extract

From your white wicker chair on a balcony of Mohonk Mountain House, a sprawling Gothic fairy tale of a place in upstate New York, you can nibble griddle cakes, gaze at a stupefyingly sapphire lake, and learn to love mornings again.Frost with chocolate buttercream. Glaze with Sacher glaze.Chocolate buttercreamMakes 3 pounds.1 pound, 4 ounces (2 1/2 cups) unsalted butter4 cups confectioners' sugar1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening1 cup cream fondant (see note)1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted2 to 3 ounces warm waterIn a large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar well.

Louise Wolfe of Bend, Ore., wrote on behalf of her 75-year-old neighbor who is in search of a recipe for a sour cream chocolate cake. Her neighbor had a recipe that she enjoyed from many years ago that she lent to someone and never got back. Mary Alice Lawson of Jackson, Miss., sent in a recipe that was given to her in the 1950s when she was first married. She says she has made it countless times over the years and it remains a family favorite to this day. This cake is an old-fashioned, pure and simple, melt-in-your-mouth slice of chocolate heaven.

Beef or venison, suet, citron, cider: These unlikely ingredients are the stuff of which traditional mincemeat - rich, dark and spicy-sweet - is made. For many families, mince pies are a must-have for the holidays, only these days the mincemeat may be store-bought and meatless. The make-ahead recipe below offers a contemporary version of mince pie for friends and family to enjoy. Anyone who loves mince pie a la mode will appreciate this creation. Mincemeat Ice Cream Pie Serves 8 to 10 1 quart French Vanilla Ice Cream, slightly softened (recipe below)

Sometimes a recipe will call for vanilla, vanilla extract, vanilla flavoring, a vanilla bean or even vanilla paste. Could you please explain the difference? What we call the vanilla bean is the fruit of the vanilla plant. Vanilla manufacturers immerse cured beans in a solvent of water and alcohol that extracts the flavor. The solvent then is strained and bottled, and the result is pure vanilla extract. To learn more, I called on Dan Fox, director of sales for Illinois-based Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, a leading producer of vanilla.

Sometimes a recipe will call for vanilla, vanilla extract, vanilla flavoring, a vanilla bean or even vanilla paste. Could you please explain the difference? What we call the vanilla bean is the fruit of the vanilla plant. Vanilla manufacturers immerse cured beans in a solvent of water and alcohol that extracts the flavor. The solvent then is strained and bottled, and the result is pure vanilla extract. To learn more, I called on Dan Fox, director of sales for Illinois-based Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, a leading producer of vanilla.

Louise Wolfe of Bend, Ore., wrote on behalf of her 75-year-old neighbor who is in search of a recipe for a sour cream chocolate cake. Her neighbor had a recipe that she enjoyed from many years ago that she lent to someone and never got back. Mary Alice Lawson of Jackson, Miss., sent in a recipe that was given to her in the 1950s when she was first married. She says she has made it countless times over the years and it remains a family favorite to this day. This cake is an old-fashioned, pure and simple, melt-in-your-mouth slice of chocolate heaven.

Early in December a small agricultural biotechnology company announced that it had patented a technique for producing "real" vanilla extract in factories. The announcement, made with little fanfare, may turn out to have been one of 1991's bigger news stories.The new vanilla extract, when it reaches the supermarket shelves, will be the first food produced by cell culture, an approach that some experts believe will become an important alternative source of food and fiber.A cell culture grows the usable products of a plant -- in this case, vanilla -- without growing the whole plant.

I hear so much about Pilates. Is it a good exercise program? Pilates is an increasingly popular form of exercise designed to strengthen the "core," or abdominal and back muscles, which many fitness-wannabes forget in their focus on fitter hearts and bigger biceps. Introduced to this country in the 1920s by its inventor, Joseph Pilates, a German boxer, the technique involves working out on mats or on specially designed equipment. It's kind of a combination of the deep, focused breathing and meditative focus of yoga plus the challenge of doing abdominal exercises over and over.

Marla A. Colton of Titusville, N.J., wrote to say she was seeking a recipe for "No-Bake Cookies. They are made with chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal. "I enjoyed them as a child when they were served in the public school cafeteria." Nancy Lindsay of Salem, Ore., responded. "This is the recipe requested by Marla A. Colton for my favorite `candy' cookies. They are called Three-Minute Cookies," Lindsay said. No-Bake Cookies Makes 3 dozen cookies 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 stick ( 1/4 pound)

Marie Kursave of Rapid City, S.D., asked for a pumpkin-cookie recipe, and William A. Anderson of Lutherville responded. He says he hopes the recipe is the right one. "I found it in a cookbook called `Zucchini Cookbook' by Ralston and Jordan, from 1977," he said. Pumpkin Cookies Makes 4 dozen cookies 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin 2 cups seedless raisins Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

I hear so much about Pilates. Is it a good exercise program? Pilates is an increasingly popular form of exercise designed to strengthen the "core," or abdominal and back muscles, which many fitness-wannabes forget in their focus on fitter hearts and bigger biceps. Introduced to this country in the 1920s by its inventor, Joseph Pilates, a German boxer, the technique involves working out on mats or on specially designed equipment. It's kind of a combination of the deep, focused breathing and meditative focus of yoga plus the challenge of doing abdominal exercises over and over.

Marla A. Colton of Titusville, N.J., wrote to say she was seeking a recipe for "No-Bake Cookies. They are made with chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal. "I enjoyed them as a child when they were served in the public school cafeteria." Nancy Lindsay of Salem, Ore., responded. "This is the recipe requested by Marla A. Colton for my favorite `candy' cookies. They are called Three-Minute Cookies," Lindsay said. No-Bake Cookies Makes 3 dozen cookies 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 stick ( 1/4 pound)

Margaret Turner of Lillington, N.C., is seeking a recipe for My Inspiration Cake, which she believes was a grand-prize winner in a 1953 competition. Kathy Schnabel of Glendora, Calif., responded. "I enclose a copy of the original `My Inspiration Cake' recipe as it appears in the Pillsbury's 5th 100 Grand National Recipes booklet. This recipe is important to our family, as the winner, Mrs. Bernard Kanago, was my mother-in-law's aunt. "It was our wedding cake in 1983. My husband would bake this cake when we were dating.

Marie Kursave of Rapid City, S.D., asked for a pumpkin-cookie recipe, and William A. Anderson of Lutherville responded. He says he hopes the recipe is the right one. "I found it in a cookbook called `Zucchini Cookbook' by Ralston and Jordan, from 1977," he said. Pumpkin Cookies Makes 4 dozen cookies 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin 2 cups seedless raisins Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

Beef or venison, suet, citron, cider: These unlikely ingredients are the stuff of which traditional mincemeat - rich, dark and spicy-sweet - is made. For many families, mince pies are a must-have for the holidays, only these days the mincemeat may be store-bought and meatless. The make-ahead recipe below offers a contemporary version of mince pie for friends and family to enjoy. Anyone who loves mince pie a la mode will appreciate this creation. Mincemeat Ice Cream Pie Serves 8 to 10 1 quart French Vanilla Ice Cream, slightly softened (recipe below)

A cake from the 1930s, called the Lindbergh or Lindy Cake, was the request of Josephine Richardson of Bel Air. Ethel E. Yuenger of Harvard, Ill., responded. "I knew I had a copy of the recipe. Having a daughter named Linda, I have made it several times and we did enjoy it." A 1970 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner, Cheesy Dapper Apple Squares, was requested by Katherine Harrington of Albuquerque, N.M. Her answer came from Robin Fuchs of Arnold, who wrote, "I've collected many cookbooks over the years, even from back in the 1800s.

A cake from the 1930s, called the Lindbergh or Lindy Cake, was the request of Josephine Richardson of Bel Air. Ethel E. Yuenger of Harvard, Ill., responded. "I knew I had a copy of the recipe. Having a daughter named Linda, I have made it several times and we did enjoy it." A 1970 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner, Cheesy Dapper Apple Squares, was requested by Katherine Harrington of Albuquerque, N.M. Her answer came from Robin Fuchs of Arnold, who wrote, "I've collected many cookbooks over the years, even from back in the 1800s.

Happy New Year.This very first day of 1997 will most surely begin with sincere and inevitable New Year resolutions. One easy resolution for this day is to try a new recipe or two. Here are a couple worth trying.A quick hot yeast roll that "had a marvelous texture and was made with Quaker Instant Grits" was the request of Deanna Lanham Kaminski of Owensboro, Ky. She wrote that she had gotten the recipe 20 to 25 years from a cooking school held in a high school but lost it."I called the Quaker Oats people and the extension office here but no one had any knowledge of it. Hope you can help," she said.

Happy New Year.This very first day of 1997 will most surely begin with sincere and inevitable New Year resolutions. One easy resolution for this day is to try a new recipe or two. Here are a couple worth trying.A quick hot yeast roll that "had a marvelous texture and was made with Quaker Instant Grits" was the request of Deanna Lanham Kaminski of Owensboro, Ky. She wrote that she had gotten the recipe 20 to 25 years from a cooking school held in a high school but lost it."I called the Quaker Oats people and the extension office here but no one had any knowledge of it. Hope you can help," she said.

Early in December a small agricultural biotechnology company announced that it had patented a technique for producing "real" vanilla extract in factories. The announcement, made with little fanfare, may turn out to have been one of 1991's bigger news stories.The new vanilla extract, when it reaches the supermarket shelves, will be the first food produced by cell culture, an approach that some experts believe will become an important alternative source of food and fiber.A cell culture grows the usable products of a plant -- in this case, vanilla -- without growing the whole plant.