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My Pizza Oven: Mark Wilkie, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
I too am jealous as all get out. The BF is even a stone mason! But we live in a condo community too. Maybe it's time to buy a house. This is something I've wanted forever.
What Do You Put on Your Biscuit?
I'm from east Texas originally where cane syrup is king. So I adore homemade biscuits buttered then slathered with a good, dark, cane syrup. If there's no syrup to be had (it's hard to find anymore) then strawberry preserves.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Italian Snacks'
A nice gorgonzola on crostini drizzled with honey -- TDF!!!
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My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Mashed potatoes! And the warm homemade yeast rolls (I hear you, Traveller -- mine are not near as good as my father's!), homemade whole cranberry sauce, and pie, pie, pie.
Teachertalk, I love your idea of a secret treat for the cook -- so much so that I'm going to do it this year myself. My father used to very secretively slice off a piece of the thigh from the underside of the bird for he and I to share when no one else was in the kitchen.
My Pizza Oven: Mark Wilkie, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
I too am jealous as all get out. The BF is even a stone mason! But we live in a condo community too. Maybe it's time to buy a house. This is something I've wanted forever.
What Do You Put on Your Biscuit?
I'm from east Texas originally where cane syrup is king. So I adore homemade biscuits buttered then slathered with a good, dark, cane syrup. If there's no syrup to be had (it's hard to find anymore) then strawberry preserves.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Italian Snacks'
A nice gorgonzola on crostini drizzled with honey -- TDF!!!
Grilling: Thai Beef Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce
This looks great -- does the meat get fully cooked before the basil chars? Sure looks like it does from your photo but I'm a bit skeptical.
Southern Food - What's your favorite?
West Texan now living in NJ... I'll second and third all below and more!
Pinto beans and cornbread
"Real" Texan-style chili (no tomatoes, no onions, no beans, no green peppers, no curry powder, no eggplant.... you got the idea)
Biscuits slathered with butter and ribbon cane syrup
Fried catfish, fried shrimp with hush puppies
Peach or blackberry cobble
Banana pudding (made only with Vanilla Wafers)
Freshly made iced tea (unsweetened so you can do it yourself -- preferably with simply syrup like my granny always had around). Oh, and the tea has to be clear, not cloudy.
Chicken fried steak
Pear or fig preserves
Downtown Indianapolis Eats
Shapiro's deli is an old fashioned jewish deli -- don't worry about dressing up.
Jersey Dispatch: Ice Cream at The Bent Spoon and Thomas Sweet in Princeton
PJ's Pancake House burnt down well over 5 years ago but has been open for several years -- and not a bad option if you don't mind long lines and hefty prices for typical breakfast food. I don't know many locals who frequent PJ's -- usually the lines are of weekend visitors. Sorry HeartofGlass but Abel Bagel closed sometime this past winter. And Halo Pub is the best deal around for American style ice cream -- love their vanilla almond with tons of almonds. But the quality and flavors cannot compare to The Bent Spoon.
What to do with fresh San Marzanos?
Here's my favorite fresh tomato sauce recipe. Every August I make tons of it for the freezer and live on it during the year. This is a very basic, smooth sauce. One thing I've learned is that most plum tomatoes, such as San Marzano's, make a very sweet sauce when prepared using this recipe. I make the basic sauce with a minimum of seasonings then add herbs, chiles, whatever when I'm ready to serve. You will need a food mill or some way to strain the solids out.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
(adapted from Marcella Hazan)
For roughly 10 lbs. of tomatoes (I use plum, regular, or a mix). All measures are approximate and can be changed according to taste. I add fresh herbs when I serve the sauce and sometimes more garlic finely minced.
½ cup olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
10 cloves garlic
Tomatoes – stem ends cut out then tomatoes cut into large chunks (quarters, whatever). (No need to peel or seed the tomatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften a bit, 5 or 6 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook on fairly high heat for at least an hour. At this point the mixture will start to look a bit thicker, less watery, but there will still be plenty of juice. Strain the juice from the solids. Put the solids into a food mill set over a bowl and pour the juice back into the pan. Turn the heat back up to high and cook the juice for at least ½ hour at a good rolling boil. Meanwhile run the solids through the food mill until you have extracted almost everything and there is nothing left but skins and seeds in the mill. Discard the skins and seeds and add the rest back into the juice. This is the tricky part – to cook this so that it’s thick without splattering it everywhere or burning the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently so there is no sticking to the bottom. I use one of those metal mesh splatter screens so I don’t cover the ceiling with tomato sauce. Try to cook it for 30-40 minutes. Cool then freeze or refrigerate.
De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies, Redux
Gotta try, soon, the new DeLorenzo's. Lines at both of the Trenton locations can be that long so no biggee. Note to Adam: Have you heard of Nomad Pizza out of Hopewell? www.nomadpizzaco.com This guy has outfitted an old REO Speedwagon with a wood-fired oven. Drive by pizza at it's best. I've got them setup to cater a party in May -- if you wanna come try the pie, let me know. Everything I've heard so far is good.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
@julea
I'm with you - all my friends know that I'll be bringing the "shape of the can" - it has become a minor competition to see who can dump the cranberry sauce out in perfect "can" shape. However, my favorite part is the other thing no one else I know likes but me - mincemeat pie.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Stuffing(!), cranberry sauce-- don't hate me, I love the canned stuff--, pumpkin pie, pearl onions, and of course, a little turkey is mandatory.
Everything else is meh.
What I REALLY love is the leftover turkey/cranberry sauce sandwiches.
Godly.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Another creative leftover suggestion: pumpernickel bread, cream cheese on bread, avocado, mashed and spread, thin slices of breast, stacked and lettuce. This was the best sandwich I ever had. LA, 1978 at some restaurant. They had named it The" Martha Raye" , after the actress.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
My own favorite thing about Thanksgiving is seeing most of the people that I love. As the oldest sister of a family of eight children, it is the one day of the year that almost all of us are together, along with assorted friends and satellite family. We always eat at my youngest sister's house and last year there were forty-eight people there. There was a roast turkey, a deep-fried turkey, a whole ham, and a whole huge brisket, along with side dishes too numerous to mention. My personal favorite(s): GRAVY - made by me, and a strange creamed corn casserole that is very sweet and was actually my grandmother's original recipe. Oh yeah, I almost forget the praline pecan cheesecake. That's not too bad to end a huge meal with. Then we all play "Guitar Hero" after consuming immoderate amounts of wine and beer. Great! My favorite day of the year. PlanetChaos, the dog fart reminder is hilarious. Thanks for making me laugh on a Monday morning.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
The crispy part of the stuffing smothered in hot gravey! And the perfect sandwhich after everyone goes home. The part I Don't look forward too is the Dog Farts...what part of "don't feed the dog" do people not understand?
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Creative left-overs--- A pizza crust, thin sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, peas, small slices of sweet potatoes, maybe a little bit of ham chunks and mozzarella cheese all over the top. - Bake and enjoy! Dave
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Oh geez, I can't even choose. Actually no, that's a lie. Hand's down, it's gotta be sweet potato casserole. My aunt makes THE BEST sweet potato casserole. It's equipped with marshmallow, pecans, and a buttload of buttah. (I specifically used the word buttload cause that's exactly where it goes...that's ok though. More to love)
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
My family's meal is quite versatile; we always have more than one meat. For those not fond of turkey, we may do a ham and have even included barbecued ribs!
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Southern cornbread dressing with gravy and the requisite chocolate pie for dessert.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
I marinate my turkey in soy sauce, sparkling apple cider, season salt, and black pepper so it has this wonderful sweet-savory flavor and the meat is so juicy it falls off the bone. I especially love the skin, neck, and tail.
I also love the stuffing which consists of bread crumbs, dried sage, apple, almonds, and onions.
For dessert my family and I forgo the pies and cakes and have a Filipino-style fruit salad, which is basically canned fruit cocktail mixed with Nestle cream, condensed milk, young coconut, and pineapple gel. It's a light and refreshing way to end a heavy meal.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Stuffing, for sure.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
The stuffing, hands down. Second best is the crispy piece of skin that goes over the stuffing. And then the turkey sandwiches at about 7 pm with lots of full fat mayo. They have to have lots of salt and pepper too. Can't wait!!!!
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
stuffing doused in gravy!
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Oh...I love me the turkey butt. I would forgo any remaining meat from the turkey If I got that fatty morsel of turkey butt and the neck (provided it was roasted alongside everything else) to gnaw on with dressing and a gallon of gravy.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Oh, I am all about the dressing/stuffing and gravy. I add the boiled neck meat to the stuffing and the giblets to the gravy and I am a happy lady. Even though I live in the South, I still make Northern dressing: no cornbread allowed! Though I do like cornbread by itself.
And it is all about the family. I love it when I can cook for mine.
.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
I'm a vegetarian, and I have to say I don't miss the turkey. My favorite part, for some reason, is the cranberry jelly - NOT cranberry sauce. It has to be the kind that slides out of the can gelatinously and jiggles on the plate with the little can ridge-marks still in it. :] I am also a huge fan of my grandmother's blueberry pie - pumpkin is fine, but blueberry is awesome.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
The golden turkey, (dark meat for me!) and lots of gravy and mashed potatoes!
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Cranberry sauce:
Blanch three 3-inch strips of zest from two large navel oranges for one minute and mince. Peel the oranges, cut them into quarters and add to a bag of cranberries along with the zest and whirl in the food processor until very finely chopped. Remove from processor and add 3/4 cup honey and 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger. Allow to macerate for at least one day.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
@BrewMaker... LOL @ "Sangwich." I looooove that Friday after T-Giving mini-feast. I worked for brokerage for 8 years and that was the LONLIEST day to work. Anticipating that Friday night leftoverfest was the only thing that got me thru a very boring day.
I don't know if anyone else does this - but when I host T-Giving, I make it a point to get plastic containers and offer all my guests a crack at the leftovers. I always make plenty and have never been left without enough for my own family. It seems so bogus that you don't get the Friday post-T-Giving meal if you don't host.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
I like the "Thanksgiving" sangwich on Friday afternoon (no shopping for me!). Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and anything else from the day before that I can fit on a roll, or between two slices of bread is fair game! God, I can't wait...
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Stuffing and gravy! Basically, everything on the plate except for the sweet potatoes takes a bath in gravy, which is just fine by me. And this year I'll be 7 months pregnant when Thanksgiving rolls around, so I feel like my gluttony will be slightly less frowned-upon
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
@gizmosma- try sprinkling a bit of fresh nutmeg on those mashed turnips - delicious!
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
My brother and I loved Thanksgiving. We would eat so much that my mom would make us lay on the floor and stretch our body out to help the pain in our side from overstuffing, ourselves. Now some family members thought we were just trying to get out of doing the dishes, but mom always gave us the KP duty OFF on thanksgiving, anyway. We just loved her TG food and loved it from beginning to end. We still love it, but do offer better control. ThankGod. coco
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
My all-time favorite dish is my mom's noodle kugel. I hear there are savory kugels but this one is always sweet with egg noodles, ricotta cheese, corn flakes, and some times raisins.
Also, cornbread casserole is a delicious favorite (it may be corn pudding.... are they different?)
My mom always makes green been casserole and year after year, nobody touches it. What a bland dish.....
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Mashed potatoes and gravy is my number one, followed closely by stuffing made by me or Aunt Rose.
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Mashed potatoes! And the warm homemade yeast rolls (I hear you, Traveller -- mine are not near as good as my father's!), homemade whole cranberry sauce, and pie, pie, pie.
Teachertalk, I love your idea of a secret treat for the cook -- so much so that I'm going to do it this year myself. My father used to very secretively slice off a piece of the thigh from the underside of the bird for he and I to share when no one else was in the kitchen.