Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Cookie inception...

I saw the show, @KarmaFreeCooking, and it was shocking, to say the least. I'm pretty skeptical of anything on the Food Network these days, too, but I thought it was incredibly well done and was actually surprised it was on FN (i.e., not obnoxious at all, completely Guy Fieri-free, etc.).

The amount of waste was pretty incredible. At one point they showed a segment of a pick-your-own peach orchard. People were picking peaches off the trees and then dropping them on the ground if they had a little blemish on them. As a result, hundreds of perfectly delicious peaches would go to waste.

The waste at the grocery stores was alarming, too. The owner of one grocery had to throw out containers of fresh ricotta cheese because it was a day after the "best by" date, so no one would buy it.

To answer your question about who's more at fault, I certainly think it's the consumers. Obviously the retailers/purveyors want to sell everything and as much as they can, but it would be foolish to leave out produce or products that are a week old (yet still perfectly healthy to eat) when there is new product waiting. As consumers I think we are brought up to expect or only eat the most perfect products: that is, nothing with spots, tiny bruises here or there, oversized or undersized, etc.

A common example of this is bananas with spots. I think we can all agree that a ripe banana is one with brown spots here and there, yet I know tons of people who, if there is even a tiny brown spot or bruise on the banana, will throw the whole thing out! That's pretty frustrating - I wonder if they know how much tastier a ripe, brown-speckled banana is compared to a bright yellow one...

For sure go with Ina Garten's outrageous brownies. They certainly live up to the name, although the recipe makes a ton (a full 12x18 half-sheet pan)!

As for how to adjust a recipe to make half of a 9x16 pan (144 square inches), you can use an 8x8 pan (64 square inches). This is slightly less than 72 sq. in (half of 144), but I think that would ensure that you don't overbake the brownies. Whenever I bake brownies I always set the timer for the lower end of the recommended time. When you test for doneness, the toothpick/cake tester should come out with some moist crumbs still attached (not clean, as you would for a cake).

For the crumbly issue, perhaps cool the brownies in the fridge first. Some people swear that ice cold brownies, straight out of the refrigerator, are the best way to eat brownies (they'd get fudgier as they cool, like ganache). But if you love that ooey gooey, warm brownie experience, I'd use a foil sling to ensure that you can cleanly remove the brownies from the pan.

When I visited my sister last spring in LA, we went to Gjelina for brunch in Venice Beach. It's a very cool place and the food was fantastic.

We call them bonbons in our family - they're not rolled into crescent shapes, though, just small balls.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/08/alexs-choice/

Croissants

I think a cheesecake has a certain "wow" factor to it. I've always wanted to make this Gingerbread Cheesecake:
http://www.marthastewart.com/317381/gingerbread-cheesecake?&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/christmas-cake-recipes#slide_8

Or what about a trifle? You could do some sort of pound cake or even gingerbread, a pastry cream, and some berries. I think that's pretty impressive.

We had a lovely meal, at about 6 pm. I felt like I didn't eat as much as in recent years, so I cut myself a pretty nice slice of pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.

I had turkey breast with gravy from the drippings, stuffing, three kinds of cranberry (raw relish, conserve from Ina Garten, and a new to us spiced cranberry sauce that was my favorite thing), chunky applesauce, carrot ring (sort of like a denser, less sweet carrot cake), green beans with walnuts and lemon vinaigrette, and lots of roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, fingerling potatoes, carrots, parsnips, mushrooms, shallots, Brussels sprouts, and lots of fresh herbs). I also snuck in a few bites of delicious apple crisp.

We do brie with cranberries every year. We take some leftover cranberry sauce and add a little Grand Marnier to it to thin it some (so it helps to start with a thicker cranberry sauce). Slice off the top of the rind of the brie and pour the cranberry sauce over and around the brie (the top layer of rind is a delicious snack if you like the rind of brie). That goes into the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the brie is very soft and melting.

Usually we don't wrap it in puff pastry, but it works the same way. Just position the brie in the center of the puff pastry before pouring the cranberry sauce over and bake until golden.

I agree with the others who've suggested eggs and oatmeal (not together, though). Eggs are great for protein, and frittatas are a great healthy option. Load them up with tons of veggies, and you have a meal that's good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

It really varies. I feel like the more people we have, the earlier we eat. This year, it's just three of us, and we'll probably eat at 6. My mom wants to go to a soup kitchen and serve a Thanksgiving meal there before cooking. Luckily we do a lot of the prep on Wednesday so there won't be much to do the day of.

I prefer eating later because it eliminates the stress of having to eat so early. Then you need to wake up early to have time to cook everything. After the main meal also allows for a perfectly timed 9 o'clock dessert.