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Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
we ALWAYS have little trays of green & black olives-it wouldn't be thanksgiving without them! we also have celery sticks with cream cheese spread inside the hollow...making them used to be my 'responsibility' when i was little. oh, and finally you gotta have the cranberry sauce that comes form a can. ha ha-really tho.
Forever Young- Garlic is among 8 "Stay-Young Foods"
funny you should say that, hungrychristel, KONA COFFEE is also one of the stay young foods.
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What's orange on the outside & blue on the inside?
Posted by gastronomeg, October 21, 2009 at 2:32 PM
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Cook the Book: Goat Cheese Bread Pudding
Posted by Caroline Russock, September 9, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Freed Journalist Laura Ling an Apparent Hoagie-Lover
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 5, 2009 at 7:30 AM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Welcoming Treat
it's sad to say, but i wouldn't bother...just let introductions play themselves out organically. (i don't trust 'stranger' food either, Cassaendra-it goes in the garbage as soon as they're out of view)
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
we ALWAYS have little trays of green & black olives-it wouldn't be thanksgiving without them! we also have celery sticks with cream cheese spread inside the hollow...making them used to be my 'responsibility' when i was little. oh, and finally you gotta have the cranberry sauce that comes form a can. ha ha-really tho.
Forever Young- Garlic is among 8 "Stay-Young Foods"
funny you should say that, hungrychristel, KONA COFFEE is also one of the stay young foods.
Decorations for Thanksgiving Cupcakes
i like super simple cupcakes. nice moist cake bites with just a hint of icing, so to me just going with the ganache would be perfect. sometimes people get too extreme with their cake to frosting ratio and i end up 'fopping' most of it off onto a napkin or the trash. maybe you could find some fall colored sprinkles-hell, you might even be able to get halloween orange ones on the cheap-and rim the edge with some, if you're really set on decorating?
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
the green stuffing up there made me recall school room lunches where somehow gravy would be slightly neon green. what the hell is that?
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Smoked-Oyster Sticky Rice Stuffing in Lotus Leaf
Cook the Book: Squash Half-Moons with Butter, Sesame, and Salt
ooh! i like this-reminds me a little of eating cantaloupe!
Chinese Food Carvings
wow. i want to chew on that rock.
Serious Heat: What's Your Secret Chili Ingredient?
i love, love, love chili-especially how everyone has their own strong convictions about how to make it and eat it...whether it's over mashed potatoes or egg noodles or paired with hot cornbread...just fascinating to me-(and delicious.)
i personally like to dissolve some unsweetened cocoa powder into a little hot water and always add a can of tomato paste, but as for the rest-gotta keep it to myself.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
i leave mine alone for the most part.
i have dipped tasteless crust into ranch dressing to get it down before, though.
The Making of the 'Uovo in Raviolo' at Manhattan's SD26
@ simon: "The only thing you increase when putting gold leaf on food is the pretentious asshole factor." hi-f'n-larious! :)
that does look good, but i think i'd dig a bite-sized quail egg version even more!
Loads of potatoes
boxty....basically an irish potato pancake
1. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, then mash half of them. Grate the rest and put in a colander lined with kitchen paper. Put kitchen paper on top and press to squeeze out as much liquid and starch as possible. Mix the grated potato with the mash, then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and plenty of salt.
2. Stir in buttermilk to make a soft batter. Heat the butter on a griddle or heavy-based frying pan. Drop in spoonfuls of the batter, large or small, and cook for 2 minutes until golden underneath. Flip and cook for 2 minutes more.
Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
If you can't make boxty,
You'll never get a man
colcannon is also a delicious way to use up those taters
mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper. it can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon.
or potato bread: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Potato_bread
lucky!
The Nasty Bits: Turkey Neck Gumbo
when are you going to write a book already?!
i'll be the 1st to buy it-this is easily my favorite column on here.
Mmmvelopes: Bacon-flavored Envelopes
why do I never think of these things!?
and my mom was just inquiring into what i'd like for xmas...
What Is Ice Cider?
can't wait for this to come to the lower 48!
SE Contests - If you don't win it, how often do you buy it?
i won a book once-it was the most exciting day of 2008-'Shark's Fin & Sichuan Pepper' by Fuchsia Dunlop.
i don't want to be a prize pig, so now i only put in for things i really want....like that turkey! gimme gimme!
i've checked cookbooks out of the library, including shopsin's, which i did eventually buy for my brother as a gift-.i wish he'd return the favor-i love that book!
Cranberry side dishes
i love cranberry sauce that comes in a can. lol.
my t-giving would feel empty without it...
my inner child needs it there-lol.
i dig cranberry interpretations too, but the canned variety has to be on the table!
Dec. 5-7 Loner Vacation
i'm too jealous of your getaway to help.
sorry-it's pouting monday.
Last minute trip to Paris - recommendations on where to eat
you should try to hit up le petit znc
11, Rue St Benoît
75006 Paris, France
+33 1 42 86 61 00
www.petit-zinc.com
Sunday Brunch: Ricotta Pancakes
oh yeah....haven't had these in awhile....may be just the thing for thanksgiving morning....give me energy for the day long cooking marathon.
Funniest Thanksgiving
the bumpus hounds managed to get into our house and ate our turkey, so my dad took us to a chinese restaurant. also, i shot my eye out that holiday with a red ryder bb gun. wait a minute...
seriously, though, when my sister and i were little we went to heat up some leftover applesauce only to discover it went rancid, so we tossed it. a day or two later my mom finally figured out what happened to the rest of the gravy...oops.
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'
the most extreme, most disgusting 'food' i've ever attempted to eat?
a mcdonald's cheeseburger. shudder. never again.
The Nasty Bits: Turkey Neck Gumbo
I give, I give!!! If being served a juicy, fatty, tasty chicken sausage in my gumbo is the worst thing that happens to me, it’s a pretty good day. I just don’t want you going all healthy on us. Another problem has presented its’ self, I’ve been calling around and I can’t find turkey necks. I’m in Oregon where we’re looking at a cold wet weekend and making gumbo while I nibbled on duck tongue sounded like a hell of a plan. Am I frying the tongues? You bet.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
@foodie,foodie! - I don't know that I would call deviled eggs a weird food. And seeing as how they get made for every family get together in my family, hardly Thanksgiving food :P. Also they're usually the first things to disappear from the table ...
Welcoming Treat
Sorry all you New Yorkers, but Twin Cities is home to Minnesota Nice -- people will eat anything.
But I'm with others on the idea of maybe inviting folks into your place! You could try to put on a "minnesota" meal -- bars, hot dish, state fair food on sticks -- they'll get a kick out of it! :-)
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
@KarynMC - that sounds marginally better than a bowl full of eye of frog. ;)
Welcoming Treat
hm, since there is a concern about your food getting thrown away, how about a small pot of herb that you can keep by a kitchen window?
I got a pot of mums from my next door neighbor when I moved to a new neighborhood (I was touched!), and THEN I baked them madeleines for a thank-you gift.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Have got to mention the "deviled eggs!"
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
@wellred - It's pretty much a weird name for ambrosia. Canned pineapple juice reduced into a sauce and mixed into acini de pepi, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks and mini marshmallows (unless I am eating it). At the end, you fold in cool whip (unless I am eating it).
The Nasty Bits: Turkey Neck Gumbo
NWCajun, I'm still not seeing the problem w/ chicken sausage - if it's appropriately juicy and fatty, with a nicely spiced flavor - well, then I'm happy :) Let me just say that I am not in principle opposed to chicken, just its general application. I don’t think that I’ve had more than one chicken breast in the past 2 years, and that was from a well-raised chicken that I brined myself.
Duck Tongues! Now we're talking. You're deep-frying them, right?
Funniest Thanksgiving
Late to the party on this one, but here goes... about six years ago, my mom's new boyfriend came to our family Thanksgiving for the first time with his nine-year-old son. My family is fairly uptight, so this guy had everyone's eyebrows raised with his motorcycle-ridin', rock'n'rollin' ways. We're at the feast, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are tolerating him, and our quietly formal Thanksgiving meal is proceeding, when all of a sudden during a lull in conversation the nine-year-old goes "Hey, Daddy, remember when I found cocaine on your dresser?" Completely out of the blue. Ensue awkward silence. The boyfriend finally musters a halfhearted, "I don't know what you're talking about, son," to which the kid responds, "Yes, you do! It was in a little baggie and you said it was Uncle Dave's." The boyfriend was speechless. The entire table cracked up, and someone changed the subject, but it was never forgotten.
That was not the last Thanksgiving we had with them, but unfortunately, nobody ever told any more drug stories.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
My mother always made pimento cheese to eat on soft, white bread while Thanksgiving dinner cooked. She made it with an old fashioned meat grinder attached to the kitchen table. I wouldn't touch the stuff back then, but last thanksgiving, i made a batch according to her recipe and it was a big hit!! No meat grinder though.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
No dressing has to be soggy - there's no law saying you have to use as much liquid as called for on the package. That's why I like to make my stuffing from scratch - sautée whatever veg I want to use, add bread, and then drizzle stock on while stirring until I get the perfect consistency. This works with either dried or fresh bread.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
My mom puts mushrooms in her Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned dressing. It gives it amazing flavor. Glad to see it on the list.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
@KarynMC - What is frog eye salad??
Our food is on the tame side, but the names for it aren't. Mashed potatoes have been Mashed Steven since I was about twelve (Steven is a family friend), the turkey is always Turkus Maximus, etc.
We did discover one year at Canadian Thanksgiving that my mom's pumpkin bread goes really well with adobo (chicken/pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic). Delicious!
Welcoming Treat
How about some mini-loaves of pumpkin, zucchini or banana bread?
The Nasty Bits: Turkey Neck Gumbo
Chichi, Don’t get me wrong, what you made is definitely a gumbo, I’m sure a damn fine gumbo. While reprimand is too strong a word, I do still want to give you grief about “chicken andouille” . You celebrate the pigs ears, tail and head and then use a chicken based sausage. It just seems incongruous. Love your stuff, just wanted to give you a little shit. By the way, I found a source for duck tongues and hope to eat some this week end. Keep up the good fight, Al W
Thanksgiving Dinner: "The Letter"
Ok, do you guys have big families? I mean big families. This stuff makes sense if you have foil lids you can't stack in the refrigerator. The no serving spoons is obnoxious and hard to deal with when you got 20 kids bumrushing the fruit salad. And if you've got two turkeys and a ham in the oven there is no way Aunt Julie gets to put her uncooked casserole in oven. My mom is the oldest of seven with spouses, I have 12 cousins, so we had friends, SO's, inlaws relatives, and great relations.
When I was little it was insane . There wasn't enough room for the people let alone the food. You got assignments, specific assignments about was to be brought and how. They always wanted to make sure everybody could have some of everything. They made a special bowl of potato salad cause an uncle was "alergic".
So I'm pretty sure they got phone calls that went a lot like that letter. So I wouldn't bash her. I may print out the letter so I can use it for the next family gatering and use it like a blueprint.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Why should one be more comfortable calling it "stuffing" only when it is baked in the bird and "dressing" when baked in a casserole pan? I recognize that the term "stuffing" implies "to stuff," as in to stuff the bird with it. But why is "dressing" more appropriate for it when baked in a casserole pan? The term "dressing" could be equally read to imply "to dress," as in it dresses something. In the case of baking it in a casserole pans, is the something that is "dressed" the casserole pan? Of course, not! What is "dressed" is THE BIRD or the plate on which it is presented. Just as the bird is stuffed with it, the bird is dressed (up) with it. I take the position that the terms "stuffing" and "dressing" are equally inapt when referring to what is baked in a casserole pan.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
I discovered potato salad with turkey dinners when I was working in a large metropolitan hospital and found that my African-American co-workers would bring it as part of a potluck turkey meal. And despite what Mom always said about Thanksgiving meals too much about "starch", i.e., carbohydrates, I thought it was a great addition to the meal. It's cool, the texture a good contrast to the other items, and if I'm doing a really big turkey dinner, as opposed a pared-down one, I've kept it on the family menu.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Nut loaf. My parents became vegetarians when I was very young, so turkey did not show up on our table. Instead, there was 'nut loaf', or as my mum called it, 'nut meat'. Whatever. Essentially, it is like a meatloaf... without meat. Never could cope with the texture, leading to ugly brawls between my dad an myself every Thanksgiving.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Every year, either my mom or my grandma makes the "carrot ring." It's basically shredded carrots, lots of cheddar cheese, butter, and some bread crumbs molded into some sort of ring-shaped baking dish and baked. It's actually amazing, but it's funny when we have new people to dinner. They say, "I'll take some more of that orange stuff." :)
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Making the stuffed celery was usually my job; cream cheese, chopped walnuts mixed and stuffed into the celery stalks. Paprika dusted over the top.
Relish trays aren't just a French-Canadian tradition. I grew up in suburban Philly and we always had the pickle/olive/stuffed celery/carrot sticks at major holiday meals. I also remember most "nice" restaurants always served a relish tray before dinner.
Thansgiving menu - I think I'm missing something...
I think a few things are missing from the main meal that makes it imbalanced, at least for me.
- texture. I realize that everything has a texture, including water, but none of the dishes have any snap or crunch
- a little sweetness
- something cool
- color
A leafy salad would help take care of them all if you make something simple like...romaine, roasted red bell peppers, black pepper, and a vinaigrette (or Caesar). Other crunchy stuff to add would be red onions, croutons, apples, or nuts. Cranberry vinaigrette wouldn't be bad depending on what you put in the salad. Or using sliced figs, even mandarin oranges.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Championship: The Uptown Edition
Don't miss either the Fluer de Sel or creme fraiche choc. chip cookies at Marlow and Sons!
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
We never actually have anything too weird, but when my mother worked on holidays, while she was building seniority in the hospital (thhis took fifteen years, by the way), my father and I would be in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I normally, as a child, had the easy stuff - potatoes, bread, cranberry can/sauce. My father always took the turkey...which meant *his* stuffing....which was essentially a little sage with some stuffing thrown in for good measure.
I would always buy a box of Stouffer's Stuffing to have a little, since, although not the best, still better than a mouthful of sage. Now, I love sage, but a little goes a loooooonnnnnggg way, especially when you are stuffing it into the butt of a turkey for hours.
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About gastronomeg
Website: http://www.qfm96.com/pages/4413857.php?
Location: Columbus
About: love to eat, love to cook, love to eat what i cook.
Favorite foods: chocolate & bacon
Last bite on earth: george clooney's neck

it's sad to say, but i wouldn't bother...just let introductions play themselves out organically. (i don't trust 'stranger' food either, Cassaendra-it goes in the garbage as soon as they're out of view)