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The turkey carcasses (plural, I had 2 bone-in breasts) were turned into stock yesterday. I picked a lot of meat off those, since I carved them quickly for service. It will be used for enchiladas or something in the future. I have to skim the hardened fat off the stock today, then into the freezer it goes. I like turkey, but I don’t want to see it for a while.

I had one of those too but for the life of me, I can't remember why I got rid of it.

I used to be a big proponent of Wild Fork but I haven't ordered from them in ages - I was sick of a lot of things coming in freezer burnt. Some of their items come vacuum packed, but a lot of it is in bulk bags - it's convenient to be able to only defrost 1 chicken thigh, but the last several times I ordered from them, I'd say over 80% of what was shipped bulk had some amount of freezer burn. Even the Argentine red shrimp.

I only need the flimsiest of excuses to road test another sticky toffee pudding recipe... On this occasion the excuse was simply the addition of a splash of vinegar to the toffee sauce. I suppose I could've just made the sauce on its own, but where's the fun in that? Here's the recipe. The chef is known for his preserving/foraging/fermenting so it wouldn't surprise me if his vinegar of choice is made from an obscure herb that can only be picked on one weekend a year in a remote part of the enchanted forest. At night. Barefoot. Here, however, he uses Sarson's malt vinegar, which is your bog-standard vinegar that gets splashed on fish and chips in the UK. I am only speculating here, but this addition may be due to the large brown evelope stuffed with cash that Sarson's slid across his office desk. I had neither Sarson's nor nocturnal nonce leaf so used balsamic instead. And... it was good! Just enough sharpness to brighten it up and offset the sweetness a touch. I liked the cake, too; a bit denser than other sponges, with chunks of date for added texture. So overall it was a winner.

I had one of those, too. It was my first appliance purchase for my post-college apartment and I used it for years. I was especially fond of the little one-cup mini blend jars that I used to chop nuts, grind spices and coffee beans and blend up small amounts of sauces. As I recall, the mixer wasn’t the best at handling stiff doughs and that’s what pushed me to get a KitchenAid stand mixer.

Forget No complaints - I'm getting on a flight just for a chance at your leftovers!

Back in the early 80s when we got married, we got one of these Oster Kitchen Centers. I used it a lot but decided I needed "fancy" stuff so got separate appliances for all the functions. I got rid of the Oster. I have an acquaintance in this area who cooks a lot of Asian food and she uses and loves her Oster Kitchen Center. Every time I've seen her photos, I think wistfully of the one I had. Well, lo and behold, my neighbor posted in the local Buy Nothing group that she had one to give away. So, I jumped on it. It has been sitting in her garage for a long while, so I'm gradually getting it cleaned up. And then I'll try everything to make sure I like it before I get rid of the separate blender, Cuisinart, etc. I have such limited counter space at the new house that I hope it will work out better for me. The day after she brought it over, she brought me the manual and about 6 little cookbooklets that use the various functions. I haven't really looked at them yet, but know I'll have fun looking at all the old recipes. This is not my photo--grabbed this one from eBay. This looks slightly different, as mine has a food grinder attachment and the 2 glass mixing bowls

Hoping someone has a good one! Decades ago a friend in the UK served us sliceable stuffing and it was delicious. I've tried various things over the years to achieve it but failed. I'm just certain someone here will know. I'd ask my friend, but she and her husband divorced and she no longer associates with any of us old friends.

Make a turkey meatloaf, and all your problems are solved.

@Duvel, all looks wonderful but I was drooling over the foie and the chestnut cappuccino!!

For Christmas, we are alternating between our families in Germany and in Spain. This year we will be in Spain, so we „preponed“ our German Christmas gathering with my parents and my sisters family to this weekend. My fathers as well a little ones birthday was just the week before, so we had a couple of celebrations together. As a added benefit we met at my parents in the North and had some icy nights & mornings to get into Christmas mood … I made classic holiday fare. Spice bread with whole foie gras … A chestnut „cappuccino“, made from roasted chestnuts, cream, five spice and topped with milk foam … Duck two ways: breast, dry cured and SV for 4h @ 54oC, then seared. Just perfect and served with a tart cherry sauce. Legs, also presalted two days in advance and SV 36h @ 70oC with thyme, butter, quatre épices and finished under the broiler. Classic dark duck sauce. Red cabbage, lingonberry jam and homemade dumplings from raw potatoes. In the heat of the battle, only little one made a picture of the mains … There was pear schnapps as dessert for the men, any other (solid) options were declined due to being completely pigged (ducked ?!) out … No complaints 😎

Hi, I need a stuffing recipe that can be cooked in a loaf tin and sliced thinly to put in a turkey sandwich, without sausagemeat and using homemade breadcrumbs. Ta.

Baked beans and an egg in the pan with dark rye toast

Seems as though there are plenty of shrimp/ prawns being eaten including in my dish of seafood spaghetti

You got the better deal.

A local hoagie chain makes a turkey/stuffing/cranberry hoagie that is popular all year long. Pretty good (though I never order it).

I like to go right through those types of closures with the worm; don't even bother trying to cut through that stuff.

We've had a few interesting wines lately: A rosé from Trader Joes. Surprisingly staunch for a rosé, although curiously named after a (in my experience) rather meek mammal: The closure, however, was almost impregnable. At first, it's reminiscent of the Maker's Mark wax capsule. But as far as we can tell, this one was made from some sort of very tough plastic: \ We also grabbed an excellent Rhone-style California, for about $16:

Another plus one for Wild Fork, especially in terms of selection and availability. But even though there's a significant price difference, I have to also put in a vote for White Oak Pastures. This is seriously farm-to-table stuff, and thanks to that, they offer the less glamorous stuff that I've never seen other purveyors offer: shoulders. sides, cheeks, offal. etc.

I've never gotten their lamb, but I'm very happy with Wild Fork in general

My almond Effie's arrived a couple days ago but I just had the first one tonight. Very good I thought. Not too sweet, pleasant texture, nice flavor.

Hi Paul. I suggest reaching out to your local ag extension office. (Google will help "Wisconsin ag extension"). Also try "your county name 4-H". (Or a nearby county.) From there, you want the 'sheep superintendent', they are responsible for the sheep barn at the county fair where 4H kids show market lambs and will know who provides lambs for 4H kids to raise. (Be sure to tell the farmer you want it to eat, not raise etc). They are a wealth of info and can point you in the proper direction too. If Wisconsin has a sheep association, you can check there too- Wisconsin Wool Growers or Wisconsin Sheep Association (based on what my local ones are called) And I get my lamb locally from a wool artist/shepherdess that is a dear friend.

Hi Paul - what a story and glad to see how well you've dealt with your issues. I think you can do real well with delivery services...there are a number of eG-ers who do. Check out Wild Fork - their prices are some of the most reasonable, and their selection is deep (though much, as you mention, from Australia). My favorite lamb available commercially tends to come from Colorado...https://wildforkfoods.com/collections/lamb/ D'artagnan has lovely stuff, and charges for it...https://www.dartagnan.com/leg-of-lamb-bone-in-american/product/FLDLE002-1.html?bcgid=lamb But you can often do well on a first order. I'm surprised your butcher in Madison can't get Colorado lamb. What about at your Whole Foods?

The lamb lassie hasn't been at my farmers market in ages so I usually get it from Erindale butchers who do a pretty good job. Frankly though I usually get a pack of shaved meat from the Kabab shop and serve it up with Roti from Aldi, lettuce and garlic sauce

that is why I am so 'reluctant' to used mail order sources. #1 - they lie a lot . . . one cannot take their marketing / web hype for truth - when put to a legal challenge it's always an 'oh gosh - it was, but it changed and so sorry we forgot'