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Either an OXO or the Benriner are good choices if you want one that props up. But if you just need basic slicing, Kyocera has an adjustable thickness, ceramic blade mandoline that's hand held. About $25. I got a fancy-schmancy Bron a long time ago as a gift, and I rarely use it, but the hand held Kyocera gets just about constant use. Easy to store, too.

Wonderful! Three good choices -- I'm going to let DH pick out which one since he'll be the one eating the leftovers. And I actually have a copy of the original SB book. Thank you all.

@Lorenzo is right. Ever pick up an old wooden salad bowl at a tag sale (or out of Gramma's cupboard) and notice an off, funky smell? That's salad oils like olive or other vegetable oils gone rancid. It gets into the wood, and never, ever goes away.

Got other leftovers you can gather into a tart or quiche? Or just brown up a nice batch of onions and bacon... Because it's acidic, you can make a pretty good custard base with sour cream by using the proportion of 1 cup sour cream to 1 large egg. In a deep quiche pan you can probably get rid of 2 pints of sour cream. When I use 4 cups of sour cream, I usually use 5 eggs.

Or make a cake using sour cream in place of buttermilk, and make the frosting by melting semi or bittersweet chocolate, and whisking in sour cream to make a smooth, shiny dark chocolate frosting. I think the frosting recipe is in either The Fannie Farmer Baking Book or something else by Marion Cunningham. It's killer.

Then maybe make some chocolate-sour cream custard with the rest?

Am not responsible for any weight gain or increase in serum cholesterol, lol.

Maybe crumble it, grate it or chop it up into pieces, mix it evenly, and melt it into some heavy cream over low heat -- just enough cream to make a dessert sauce? You could always add a few chocolate chips to it if the result isn't flavorful enough or add some sort of dessert-y booze.

Or sort out the flavors and melt it separately?

It's not a bad recipe if it tells you to make it in a food processor. I've used a food processor for certain small-quantity bread recipes since 1978. Especially buttery, eggy doughs like brioche. They turn out fabulous. But you can certainly make it in a standing mixer, or by hand. It'll just take longer. Also, if it's a small-quantity recipe, it may not have enough volume to the dough to make in a standing mixer bowl.

+1 JoeBatch.

It's not all-about-you, and if you've scrubbed the fly poo off your vegetables or make your own fake butter. Be grateful you live in a time and place where you have the ability to worry and write so badly about such self-centered trivia. There is too much war and true hunger in the world to waste your energy on this stuff.

You've just made me waste my time, too.

Where's the moderator when we need one?

Christmas is my favorite holiday, and we tend to do it up. We'll be 15 at the table this year, and we're a family of (French, Italian and German desent) good eaters. The appetizers / hors d'oeuvres will include crab and shrimp in puff pastry, baked brie and spiced nuts. Beef tenderloin, and Georges Perrier's recipe for crab cakes (made and frozen already) are the main course, with haricots verts, wild mushrooms with leeks, brussels sprouts with bacon, funeral potatoes and two sauces--a Bordelaise and a gorgonzola cream sauce. There's also a lasagna or my Italian mother would roll in her grave.

Lots of wine, and probably kir Royale.

DH is making tiramisu and and a chocolate layer cake, and a cookie tray.

Whatever anyone brings will get put out, too.

Yes I have. My favorite is made with rennet, not with vinegar or lemon. Much sweeter, tenderer and greater yield. Have also made it the traditional way by cooking whey left from another cheese making project, but that's too much work for an end result a very small quantity of ricotta.

Saveur has a good recipe for rennet based ricotta on their site. There's also a gentleman named Sal Maggio who sells kits (yes, the same family from Maggio Cheeses in the Philly area). I think you can Google his address.

But do try, with any recipe you like, it's a whole different thing eaten fresh.

+1 @peekpoke on the stair-step insert in a cabinet. I'm on the short side, and it makes everything visible without a stepladder.

Just reading the ingredients makes my mouth water! Can't wait to make a batch.

Mine is a fruit and yogurt smoothie. Into the blender goes a cup of plain, fat free greek yogurt, frozen berries, psyllium fiber, vanilla extract, stevia and water. I blend, dump into a travel mug and head to work. Some mornings, if I've run especially far, I'll add some protein powder to the brew. And if there's something beginning to look iffy in the fruit bowl, that goes in, too.