When I was in Greve, I tried some cookies called Cantucci. (I have yet to meet a cookie I didn't like!) They reminded me of biscotti but a little softer and sweeter. They are an almond cookie. I was so excited when I found a cookbook there that had the recipe. Anyway, I decided that I would make them today. Well, I didn't really read the recipe all the way through until just now. It calls for 1/2 glass of milk. No mention of what sort of glass was used. I guess I will experiment to see if I can figure out the correct amount. I just thought it was pretty funny to find that in a cookbook. I looked it up in another cookbook and rather than milk, it called for a small glass of Amaretto. If only I knew the size of the glasses... It's a good thing I have a place to send all my experiments or I would be as big as a house. The guys on base love my cooking experiments.
I know just what you mean. I have recipes that state 1/2 a glass or 1/2 a cup. Now I would presume that the cup is a normanl sized teacup and not a teeny coffee cup or a pint mug but the glass is entirely different isn't it? Would it be a tot glass, a breakfast glass, a tumbler or what? :-? Nowadays if I see these in a recipe all I do is add the liquid a little at a time until the consistancy seems right for me. It usually works out just fine and I'm sure you do just the same. Good luck with those Cantuccis. :-D
I had the same problem as you. I have a cookbook that i bought that i thought was so cool, its from 1889, reprint that is, not the original. I didn't even bother to look at it. Its all the local cooking from the islands up here. Well when i finally decided i was going to make something, all i could do was blink. Then blink again. Its in dialect of the islands, okay not to bad, i know the dialect. But its the dialect from 1889, and the Norwegian language has gone thru alot of changes since then. lol. Some examples was the drikke kopp, or drink cup. like Eileen all i could do is guess on it. Then there was klipp. Thats when the knife is used to take just a little salt or such and put in the recipe. Okay. What kind of knife, and just how much salt. But i'm sure you will figure it all out, because when you love to cook, it will just come naturally. KB and Balder love my mistakes. KB always says you can make this mistake anytime!
I would love to try that recipe! After you get it all figured out that is Have you ever tried anise cookies? I'm not too hip on licorice but the cookies I tasted were awesome. Deanna :-D
That's a problem my boys have sometimes. They'll call and ask how to make something. Since I don't cook much with recipes I'll say put in some flour. How much? Well, enough! I'd have to make what ever they ask for and write down the measurements. dooley
Glendann, I should have known I could count on you to come up with a good answer. I did as Eileen suggested- I started with 2 oz at a time and just went by "feel", kind of how you know exactly how much flour to add when you are kneading bread. I wound up using about 5 ounces of milk. I didn't try the Amaretto one because a) can't buy alcohol here and I don't know anyone making homemade ameretto and b) like stratsmom, I am not wild about licorice. To the point where I omit anise,etc. when I am cooking. However, stratsmom has me rethinking my anti-licorice stance. I have the cantucci almost where I want them (the cookies will submit!) and as soon as I do, I will post the recipe for you. I shouldn't complain about recipes not being precise. My kids always yell at me when I answer "I don't know- a pinch or two" or something like that when they email or call me for a "mom recipe". My youngest has gotten wise to me- she just asks me to make something and stands at my elbow to watch. She'll kill me for posting this but she is one of those lucky people that can eat anything and never gain an ounce. She outeats everyone- even her six foot plus brothers and goes back for more. She's the perfect person for a foodie like me- she will try anything as many times as I ask her to. I hate being apart from her. I was lucky, she joined me in Italy last month and I will see all of them in December!Yippee! Bitta, I love the word klipp. I love words that are new to me. Klipp sounds like it should be something coming off a knife.
I have a reproduction copy of an old cookbook with measurements listed using every container you can imagine.....juice glass, milk glass, water glass, wine glass, coffee cup, tea cup, palm of your hand, canning jar....put three inches of water in the bottom of a stew pot, I have three different size stew pots so which one would I use? The thought of just how many variations in sizes there are in all of those items is mind boggling. I think starting out with a few ounces and adding as needed as Eileen suggested is probably the easiest way to convert some recipes.
For those of us in Europe there is no ounzes or lbs. Its all metric, and before that i have no idea. I looked further in my book and had a good laugh. Fill a pot. Like Toni i had to laugh because i have quite a few different sizes. Then there is put in the rogn (fish eggs, but i know i spelled it wrong in Norwegian too, i think) is the fish eggs still in the sack or loose. It doesn't say later in the recipe to take it out of the sak. But its for boiled water,,,lol. There is handful, spoonful (which spoon?) funny those old recipes.
