Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

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.

I had made what seemed like a ton of turkey soup with the turkey carcass (prob 2-3 gallons in actuality). I was so proud of myself because I had started it immediately after dinner so by 9:00 pm it was ready to go into the fridge. The next time we opened the fridge to put something away, the whole stock pot came sliding out onto the floor. Gallons of turkey soup everywhere...especially nice to clean out from under the fridge. So NOT funny at the time, but now is a funny story. I didn't make turkey soup for several years after.

In the 90's my mom was wearing an angora sweater for Thanksgiving - you know the ones with little pieces of fur sticking out everywhere? While serving dinner, she leaned a little too close to the candle and lit her sweater on fire. Luckily, it burned quickly around the little tendrils, and not the sweater itself. Of course my uncle jumped up to help "put out the fire" but it really looked like he was copping a feel.

I like to add a little green to my dumplings for color.
I'm a dried dill weed fiend, but I understand not everyone would find that to their liking in chicken and dumplings. So, for basically the same flavor as regular chicken and dumplings with just a little color added, add some chopped parsley leaves to your dough.

Food Network = FAIL (imho). I despise that tool Bob Tuschman. He is personally responsible for all that craptastic programming. Him and Suzie Fogelson. So sad. I literally NEVER watch it anymore. PBS is awesome on Saturdays, though. I just grieve over the wonderful programming they used to have on TFN!!!!

I have totally stopped watching Food Network--I think they've lost their focus.

Oh, yea! Great Chefs of (fill in the blank). That was a good show, just a memory.

They kept the "bam" but lost Emeril! Yes - they should refocus on more cooking, more recipes, less flash. I miss the chefs that were featured on the line up until the last few years we so much more focused on cooking and why food works - Sara Moulton, Michelle Urvater, etc., as well as shows like "The Melting Pot"

@missjess: I know! I've pretty much boycotted Food Network forever in my house.
I used to love Ina Garten and I think I still would, but I can't stand the way they film it now-I liked the old format better.
Once Giada crapped out her kid the show changed, too. I can't even watch it. I don't want to know about her family and I hate the way they film it--it looks like a soap opera!!! The fuzzy lighting is terrible. Looks like Sandra Lee's craptastic show. Aesthetics are important to me.
They have all these new 'personalities' that I can't stand. It's not even about the food anymore, it's about the host and how "TV ready" they are. Barf.
Give me old ass episodes of "Chefs of the World", Jacques Pepin's show, and Cooks Illustrated and I'm happy.

I couldn't tell you, because I confuse which of the glut of nominally-food-oriented shows are Food Network and which of the glut of nominally-food-oriented shows are Travel Channel. It seems every other show is some sort of "reality TV" or competition kind of deal. I hate those. I wish there were more shows about actual cooking and food. Sure, I remember Jacques Pepin--I have an autographed cookbook. I even remember watching The Galloping Gourmet and Julia Child when I was nine or ten years old. I venture to say that Jacques and even Julia couldn't land a job on Food Network today. Talent and knowledge count for nothing. You have to be a "TV personality" today.

Karlynne,

I see your point. However, I do want to make clear that I was not using hyperbole to make a point. Three years ago, I had that statistic in my hand, from a reliable source. I edited because I could no longer find that statistic. But the original point still stands.

Hey Karlynne, I do normally return to answer questions. Life has been too full these past few weeks, because we're doing the final edits for our cookbook. No time for much of anything else! But now I'm here, so....

Avaryne, you asked where to find whole-grain teff? Here in the Seattle areas, it's available at PCC stores, as well as Whole Foods. Our local health food store carries it in bulk! So co-ops and "crunchy" places, where you'd find other unusual grains, tend to be your best bet.

(Those of you who are gluten-free, be careful with bulk bins, however, for the cross-contamination problems. The bins that are separate units, where the food comes spilling out of the shoot, rather than an individual scooping it, is a better bet.)

Knitter, teff and bulgur have entirely different textures and consistencies, so I'm afraid this wouldn't be a good substitute.

The few of you who didn't like injera or the taste of teff? Well, to each his own, of course! But I'd encourage you to try again. It's a new taste. And teff flour, added into quick breads or pancakes in small portions, can really add an interesting texture.

Are there any injera recipes that are wholly teff? I've seen them, even though I haven't tried making them yet. And I've also seen recipes that use millet or buckwheat flour plus club soda to mimic the texture. As I wrote, I've been told that it's the water that makes the difference, although I haven't found out exactly what the water should be like! Of course, if you are gluten-free, you can use other flours to substitute for the wheat flour in the recipes that use both injera and wheat.

As far as those of you who doubted the 30% number? I'm going to go back and edit. I read that statistic a few years ago, when first doing research for my book, on some literature from the Whole Grains Council. But since I can't find my original source, I'll back off on that statistic. However, if you think about it, there really are many, many people who go without eating whole grains. Frankly, my husband was one of them when I met him! Peekpoke, many people don't eat oatmeal at all. It's hard to think of movie theater popcorn as a whole grain. And many people really do go weeks or months without eating grains that haven't been pummeled and processed. Most of the rice eaten is white, the oatmeal is instant and comes in a packet, and granola bars contain white flour too. It's getting better. But still, many people don't eat real grains.

My Grandma Ruby was born in 1903. She taught me the old ways like making egg noodles and fluffy dumplings. She always baked her cornbread in a sizzling hot cast iron skillet for a crunchy dark golden crust. Her green beans cooked forever and were laden with onion and ham hocks. Chicken was fried in bacon grease after being simply dredged in seasoned flour. Pork chops browned next to apples and onions while potatoes fried on the next burner. The biscuits she made were a mile high and equally delicious under gravy or topped homemade jam. The dried apple fried pies she made are still a family favorite today.