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Meat cakes! - lean ground beef, onions, spices of your liking (I just use S & P and lots of summer savoury, a little cayenne) - cook these together, remove any fat and add to potatoes and mix well, add an egg or two and mix again - make into hamburg patties - they freeze well stacked between waxed paper - before I fry them I lightly dust them with flour. Delicious!

@dbcurrie - one word, "YUM!"

@betteirene - hope you get this. Sounds like you are busy and I won't rush you, but sometime next week after your Thanksgiving, will you please post your method of cooking sweet potatoes in gingerale with the fresh ginger and butter? Out of all the posts here, this one intrigues me the most. Up here in Canada, sweet potato pies with marshmallows and brown sugar, etc. are almost unheard of, and frankly, they do not sound appetizing. However, your recipe sounds like it would be worth a try. Thanks and have a great day - we have large family celebrations as well and I know how much fun you will have.

agree with @Cary - it is the only thing that makes sense

It had to be Apple Bundt Cake with Calvados - I am a good cook, but a lousy baker, I have had so many failures that I hardly ever attempt to bake anything. I saw the above in the newspaper and it just appealed to me. I have copied it here.
APPLE BUNDT CAKE WITH CALVADOS
4 MEDIUM APPLES, CORED, PEELED & CUT INTO HALF INCH PIECES
1 CUP (250 ML) CHOPPED WALNUTS
2 3/4 CUPS (675 ML) GRANULATED SUGAR
1 TEASPOON (5 ML) GROUND CINNAMON
1/2 TEASPOON (2.5 ML) GROUND NUTMEG
4 EGGS
1 CUP VEGETABLE OIL
1/4 CUP (5 ML) APPLE JUICE OR CIDER
1 TEASPOON (5ML) VANILLA
2 CUPS (750 ML) ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
3 TEASPOONS (20 ML) BAKING POWDER
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
1/2 CUP (125 ML) CALVADOS OR APPLE CIDER
ICING SUGAR FOR DUSTING

1 PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 F. OIL & FLOUR A 3L (12 CUP) BUNDT PAN
2 COMBINE APPLE WITH WALNUTS, 1/4 CUP OF THE SUGAR, CINN & NUTMEG
3 IN A LARGE BOWL, BEAT REST OF SUGAR WITH EGGS, VEG.OIL, APPLE JUICE VANILLA, AND HALF OF APPLE MIXTURE
4 IN ANOTHER BOWL, COMBINE FLOUR, BAKING POWDER & SALT
5 ADD DRY INGREDIENTS TO THE WET, FOLDING GENTLY UNTIL COMBINED
6 SPOON HALF OF BATTER INTO BUNDT PAN. SPOON REMAINING APPLE MIXTURE OVER THE BATTER EVENLY, LEAVING A 1 INCH BORDER AROUND EDGE OF PAN
7 SPOON REMAINING BATTER OVER TOP
8 BAKE IN OVEN FOR 1 HOUR AND 30 MINUTES.
9 COOL CAKE IN THE PAN ON A RACK FOR 15 MINUTES. RUN A SPATULA AROUND THE SIDES TO LOOSEN
10 TURN CAKE OUT AND COOL FOR 15 MINUTES
11 PRICK CAKE ALL OVER WITH A FORK, DRIZZLE CALVADOS ON TOP
12 WHEN COMPLETELY COOL, DUST WITH ICING SUGAR

I thought it would be pungent with spices, and tasty with the Calvados and just a wonderful Fall taste treat. It was crap - weak tasting, with a crusty top that totally cracked while baking, then flaked off. The consistency was doughy and it didn't cut well. It was a waste of time, energy and money and put me right back in the "I am NEVER baking again" doldrums. Can anyone tell me what might have gone wrong?

I will have to try some of the recipes above. I was "brought up" on brussel sprouts, just gently steamed until soft, with butter - so good - I am always surprised that so many turn their noses up.

What @betteirene and @savory say. We even have ads for Ontario produce on TV that tell us how to store items properly. I usually buy 5lb. bags of potatoes and although, not used every day, they are gone before the weird things start to grow.

@dearrie - did you make French tortiere? If so, somebody's lucky to receive them! My Mom makes one for New Year's Day - for years she has been using a pizza tin to make a huge pie - will have to watch her this year to see how she does it. There are line ups at the buffet table to get a piece.

What the heck is @pandora's post about - is this my first opportunity to say, "shill!"

Cuisine from Everywhere

Plates up to the World

Next Food Stop - the World

Gastronomical Chairs

Cooking with relatives is OK - we basically have the same ideas and techniques - I hate cooking with friends - it is a different story altogether - some of them doddle, one friends stops what she is doing until she finishes what she is saying - one year it took her three hours to scrap a couple of bunches of carrots! Another one tuts like crazy if you add a tiny bit of salt to water or meat, rubs and herbs are taboo, it is like her eyes are boring into your neck. You get the picture - I have learned to have everything pre-prepped when friends come over. My family bustles around the kitchen, yakking and efficiently organizing the jobs to be done and we are not afraid to take on a task. because we are comfortable with one another. The one SIL who is a food picker and time waster gets the job of ironing the tableclothes!

@dhorst - you made me laugh about your husband and the gravy. My son visited friends of my Mother's while visiting in England. He had a great trip, saw many things and visited many places but the thing that had the greatest impact on him was the wonderful roast dinner at this lady's house and that each of the guests had their own gravy boat!! A chip off the old block, indeed.

@bananamonkey - I see from your comments on another thread that you have experience with short ribs - I have never cooked them, but have a bunch in my freezer because of a recipe for Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs that I saw in SE (Dave Lieberman) - it looked so yummy and the comments were so favourable that I am determined to try them, and I thought it might be just the ticket for your party. The recipe also recommends sides.