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Cook the Book: '100 Best Vegetarian Recipes'
I had this amazing Cambodian dish at the Farmer's Market in Ithaca, NY made with tofu and sweet potato chunks with a sauce based on coconut milk. I still dream about it!!
Serious Heat: Bloody Mary Love
Husband and I are partial to the V8, plain vodka, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, Tobasco sauce, lemon juice, and olive juice combo. Yum! Pretty traditional, minus the olive juice, but delish. And he'll have his with a pickle, please.
Savory Cottage Cheese?
I had a friend in college who would put cottage cheese on top of salads instead of dressing. If you have enough toppings (cheese, seeds, tomatoes, etc.) it's pretty tasty!
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I think I'm lucky to not have any Thanksgiving stories! Last years T-giving was great, though, in that I spent it with friends, and one of the nicest grandmas I know.
Cook the Book: '100 Best Vegetarian Recipes'
I had this amazing Cambodian dish at the Farmer's Market in Ithaca, NY made with tofu and sweet potato chunks with a sauce based on coconut milk. I still dream about it!!
Serious Heat: Bloody Mary Love
Husband and I are partial to the V8, plain vodka, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, Tobasco sauce, lemon juice, and olive juice combo. Yum! Pretty traditional, minus the olive juice, but delish. And he'll have his with a pickle, please.
Savory Cottage Cheese?
I had a friend in college who would put cottage cheese on top of salads instead of dressing. If you have enough toppings (cheese, seeds, tomatoes, etc.) it's pretty tasty!
Uncommon food allergies that nobody believes?
I can't handle anything with aspartame in it, so no Nutra-sweet or Equal for me. I get a migraine and then get sick, which makes the migraine go away, but it's not a pleasant experience. I've gotten very accustomed to sending soda back at restaurants when they bring diet by mistake but I always just tell them they brought the wrong thing.
Edamame vs. Soybeans
@Lemons: You're so right about soy on soy farms, but also in Iowa in general. I grew up there and hardly anyone eats soy - it's a very meat and potatoes kind of place. It's probably because most of the beans grown in Iowa aren't grown for human consumption, but for commercial use.
All About the Inauguration Luncheon
@Tombolo - That was my first thought too! I was under the assumption that asparagus is a spring veggie, but I guess if you're the White House you can call it whatever you want?
And bread slices?! BREAD SLICES?! Come on - bread slices do not a sponge cake make! It's the presidental inauguration and they can't even man up and make a real sponge cake, oy.
If you were to subscribe to one food magazine, it would be _____
Cooks Illustrated or Cuisine at Home, hands down. I don't subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, but I love everything I've made from the TV show and Cooks Country cookbook.
No one ever talks about Cuisine at Home and I don't know if it's because no one likes it or because no one has ever heard of it! Anybody else out there a Cuisine at Home fan?! I love it...the recipes ALWAYS turn out and they constantly keep me trying new recipes.
Snapshots from the UK: Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted
When I was in Ireland a little over 2 years ago they had Creme Egg bars, but not these twisted things. They had segments filled with creme egg that you could break off. I thought those were amazing; as you say, the chocolate to creme ratio is just so much better than in the egg!
I've been keeping an eye out for them in the states sense, but have never seen any. Now I'll have to look for these!
Does Your Grocery Store Have You Crying Tears of Joy?
I thought that was the Ithaca Wegmans...
I grew up shopping at Hy-Vee, the great Iowa/Midwestern grocery store and thought the newer ones were great. Then I met Wegmans in Ithaca...dear god! I've never met a grocery store more magical. I hate to jump on the Wegmans bandwagon, but there's a reason why so many people love it.
Cook the Book: 'The Cook's Country Cookbook'
Hashbrown Casserole...If I ever went to potlucks I would totally make sure this showed up.
Mixed Review: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread vs. Homemade Pumpkin Yeast Bread
Is it fair to compare a yeast bread and a quick bread? In my mind they're entirely different, from texture and flavor, to uses.
The Sweet Lowdown
Sugar or honey. My body and the Sweet n' Low's of the world do not get along. Migraines and vomiting aren't what I'm looking to pair with my morning coffee.
Weird parental food preparation
My mother's chili was something of a miracle. First, to "save time," she cooked large batches of very-cheap ground beef then froze it in small sandwich bags. This not only made the beef lose all its flavor, when you defrosted the pre-cooked beef, it turned into tiny pellets. So, for her chili, she would take a couple of these pre-frozen bags of cooked ground beef and add: a can or two of condensed tomato soup, milk, kidney beans, and the tiniest dash of mild chili powder. That was it. It was sweet, not even the slightest bit spicy, and with only pellets of ground beef in the pink milky "soup," the kidney beans looked like drowning cockroaches. It was disgusting. The worst part is that my father thinks it's good, so she still makes it today.
Cereal Quiz
16/20 but only because my husband is a cereal fiend who eats pretty much all of those cereals. I prefer to stick with the Rice Chex, Special K, Corn Flakes, Cherrios route.
Cook the Book: 'Margaritas, Mojitos & More'
Lime, absolutely lime.
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Around the World in 80 Dinners'
Paris: I got a stomach bug in Paris while on my honeymoon and ate 1 apple and 1 salad during the entire 3 days, and I was most excited to eat in Paris!
Thailand: I love Thai food, and want nothing more than to try authentic Thai food.
Chile: My mom was born there so I grew up eating her Chilean concoctions and would love to eat the authentic stuff.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Every other Thanksgiving we visit my grandparent's ranch in south Texas. Eating the traditional dishes that my grandma makes is a great annual activity. We usually end up with lots of extended family over, including a couple that owns a vineyard and brings their wine with them. They always arrive with the air that they've been tasting it already...
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
We have a big family and cook 3 turkeys to feed the crowd. One of them is cooked outdoors since we run out of oven space. The first time I fried a turkey on my own I couldn't seem to get the oil hot enough. After a while, I finally noticed the probe wasn't far enough in the oil. After a frantic attempt to now cool down the pot (setting it on bricks in the grass and hosing the outside with water - not too smart), it finally cooled down enough and when we finally checked the bird, it was perfect.
These days I now cook the bird on my Weber. It's way more predictable!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Every year I grab whomever is in my unit at Dland to treat them to a Thanksgiving dinner. The reason being that for about 4 years I had to work on Thanksgiving and Xmas and know what its like trying to find somewhere to eat on that day. So it has become a tradition to invite all the guys who had to work that day and couldn't go home.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My story is; I was born on Thanksgiving. No one had dinner that fateful day!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Story, story, story, story. I wish I had a good one for you. All I know is that the best food always was done by my Grandmother. Southern cooking and all. She learned from the best. Her dumplings are legendary.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My mom made really good gravy. I think I was in second grade. I was so excited about it, I got up in front of my class and told them about it. Not much of a story unless you know my mom and her cooking repertoire.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I can't say I have any particularly interesting stories. My parents never did the thanksgiving thing until I was at least in jr high and even now i'm not sure we really have a handle on it. this year i'm doing it, we'll see how it goes.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was transporting a cooked turkey with the fixings to a friend's house. When I got there the gravy had spilled all over the trunk of my car. I had to clean the trunk and run home to see what kind of gravy I had in my freezer, couldn't serve turkey and fixin's without gravy. sharonaquilino(at)hotmail(dot)com
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was newly married and it was my first attempt at cooking a turkey. I was completely repulsed by the gizzards and neck. So much so that I really couldn't even eat any turkey. I'm over that now.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
A couple of years ago, we decided to forgo the turkey and have a roast and Yorkshire pudding, with all the trimmings. My mom popped the pud in the oven and unexpectedly had to leave for a few minutes, putting my sister and me in charge of watching said pudding. Well, it was ready and my sister grabbed it out of the oven and the pudding took flight out of the pan and flew across the kitchen, landing broken on a (thankfully) clean floor mat. I just remember that time stopped and the look of utter shock on both of our faces. We pieced the pudding back into the pan before mom got back.....we were going to keep it secret until she finally commented that she didn't do a good job because of all the cracks. We fessed up and had a good laugh
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Update on the AB smoked turkey that I have been worshipping and coddling for 5 days. We put it in the smoker and after about an hour the new, fancy smoke box thingie malfunctioned, the wood and the turkey caught fire and I thought all was lost. We wiped the smoke off the bird and realized its bottom really didnt need to see the light of day so we just kept cooking and it is out now and resting. Havent tried it yet but I am hopeful.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
A couple thanksgivings ago some friends of mine decided to make a turducken. I think they liked the idea of it more than they really wanted to eat one, and none of them were (or are) particularly avid or experienced cooks. Anyway, they approached it sortof casually in terms of avoiding cross contamination and deciding when it was finished cooking. Turns out, that much meat takes longer to cook than you might assume. End result: awful food poisoning.
I am making thanksgiving dinner for the first time for my family this year, and that story helps me to calm down about the whole thing. As long as I don't sicken everyone, I am doing better than my friends did. Hooray for the instant-read thermometer! And non-amalgamated poultry.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My favorite thing about Thanksgiving, or any holiday really, is when the extended family leaves and my parents, siblings, and I all come back to the table again to REALLY eat.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was living in France last thanksgiving and it was probably the best thanksgiving I have ever had the pleasure of organizing and attending. We had all the fixings and we made pilgrim hats and indian headdresses and all of our European friends wore them and stuffed their faces!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
For the first time ever we are going to have an "Alton Brown turkey". Yum yum.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
One year, the turkey was so inedibly dry; we had to order pizza. As a kid, I was far happier with the pizza.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I think this year is going to be the best story so far. Having discovered my culinary chops recently, I got put on point for Thanksgiving dinner. Promises to be a delicious day!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I remember most years growing up with the adults eating at the kitchen table and the kids eating at the "little table" - which was a tiny little tikes plastic table
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
All the awkward family get togethers.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
A word of warning....if your oven goes out right before Thanksgiving, make sure that the fast food poultry chain that offers fully cooked, rotissarie turkeys will have it warm and ready to eat when you pick it up. We picked ours up eager to get it home and carved. We had our side dishes in serving bowls, warm and ready to eat only to realize our turkey was cooked, but cold! We had to cut it up and try to warm it in our toaster oven. Thank goodness we had our oven fixed shortly thereafter.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
my sister forgetting to remove the bag of giblets...i think everyone does it once. the turkey tasted just fine!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
The first year I made Thanksgiving dinner for my family (taking over from my Southern grandma), I had everything down pat! Pies were baked, dressing was ready to go - I knew EVERYTHING! The thing I didn't know? Remove the bag of giblets before roasting the turkey! :) Thankfully, the turkey was still fine! Now every year - it's been at least 10 since then - my grandma asks if I remembered to take them out of the turkey!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I make the pies. One year I made two plain pies, and one where I went to town on the pastry. I made a whole fall scene on a 9" pie. And then my mother dropped it.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
The first thanksgiving my wife and I were married was also the first in our house. We had a bunch of people over and I decided to use the leftover turkey carcasses to make broth and have some turkey noodle soup. The house smelled great, and soup was pretty good too. It's been a few years, and we haven't been in a house big enough to host for a while, but I'll have to try again soon, definitely.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My best story is honestly any year that my drunk uncle Bob came to dinner. It was about 5 times and then he was requested not to come because he would drink and drink and pass out at the table every time! I thought it was hilarious, my family not so much!
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I think I'm lucky to not have any Thanksgiving stories! Last years T-giving was great, though, in that I spent it with friends, and one of the nicest grandmas I know.