misschef

My friend makes a soup using ham hocks. She says it takes at least 3 days to get the ham hocks cooked enough so the cartilage is liquefied, but on this occasion she kept them in a cooler after purchasing with one soft ice gel pack for 3 days (ice pack never refreshed) and then boiled them in a pot outside on the back porch for 4 days. Each night the burner was turned off and they were left out in the covered pot until the next morning. (We live in a warm climate, south Florida, and the night time temperature never goes below 70 degrees). It's now been 7 days since they were purchased and she is separating the meat for her soup and finally (thank goodness) at least that will be refrigerated. The stock will sit tonight on the stove at room temperature (75 degrees) until the morning when she plans to reduce it. I question the health hazards here. She says it's an old appalachian recipe and it's ok because each time she brings it back to a boil it kills any bacteria that may be in it. I told her I googled old ham hock recipes and the longest cooking time I could find was 4 HOURS. I certainly won't be eating any of this soup, but has anyone heard of doing this and do YOU think it's safe?

My Canadian Five Roses Cookbook is old and tattered. The page for the cherry pound cake is missing. It is very simple, yet delicious. It uses maraschino cherries that are drained and rolled in the flour. I recall it only had a few ingredients. Flour, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and cherries, I think. My friends daughter's birthday is today and she loves cherries. I'd like to make it for her. Anyone have that recipe?

I had a level 4 and a rating of 34% in Yahoo Answers, then I upgraded my Yahoo messenger and my level and rating went to zero. How can I restore it? I spent a great deal of time and effort researching and answering all those questions! Btw, I also downloaded the Yahoo toolbar when installing the upgraded messenger. Any help would be greatly appreciated.