Alex

I actually like everything that's been mentioned in this thread except for fruitcake, Jello salad, ribbon candy, and mincemeat. Is there something wrong with me? Wait, don't answer that...

I've had them; they're not bad. Expensive, though. I'd wait and see if they show up at TJ Maxx or Marshall's after the holiday.

I have learned the great value of a pleasant and civil wife, especially in the morning. Therefore we never, ever, run out of coffee. And almost never run out of half-and-half or cream. Otherwise: EVOO balsamic vinegar Plugra organic eggs cheese of some sort dried beans canned tomatoes Edited to add -- everyday wine

Thanks for the reference, Mark. For some strange reason there weren't any eGullet quotes. I imagine it's not their highest priority, but has there been any word from your Berkeley friend or Lawrence Livermore?

No need to pile. I'm sure that there are many people with excellent palates who for whatever reason would not bother scrutinizing the WC like we did here. I'd be curious to know what kind of comparisons he did, if he is receiving any kind of endorsement fee, etc.

Pot roast! I used an Epicurious recipe, "Gordon's Pot Roast," subtracting the ginger, adding some bowtie pasta. Mighty tasty. 2002 Argyle Pinot Noir (with the screw top) leftover cranberry-orange sorbet for me, B & J chocolate ice cream for Ms. Alex

Great thread. And I thought the Baby Food Festival in nearby Fremont, MI (home of Gerber), was odd.

How about Bill Neal's books: Bill Neal's Southern Cooking and Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie? For next year's Heartland Gathering I'll check out Classical Southern Cooking from the library for you to enjoy over the weekend. (That is, if neither of us has gotten it by then. At $100 for a used copy I kind of doubt that will happen. )

From eGullet's Classic Cocktails Q & A: "Vermouth, with its lower alcohol content, doesn't last indefinitely. It should last 3 to 4 months unrefrigerated (but kept cool). If you don't go through it quickly, buy it in smaller bottles and store them in the refrigerator. That should increase the shelf life by a couple of months." (JAZ)

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I'll probably make something now with some of the stock and freeze the rest. I ordered some Carnaroli rice the other day and am looking forward to risotto. Everything else sounds good, too. We still have three organic turkeys in the freezer, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to try stuff out. Aidan, I like what you do for post-Thanksgiving Shabbat dinner. This year, though, we went to friends' homes on Thursday and Saturday and made our turkey on Sunday, so we wanted to spend a quiet (and turkey-less) Shabbat at home.

Would that make me a Gumby?

An excellent article, the cover story from PhiladelphiaWeekly's Dec. 10-16 issue. Here

The turkey is gone but the stock remains. I reduced it to about 3 quarts and now am wondering what to do with it. My thoughts so far: 1) Make a killer minestrone. 2) Freeze some of it in ice cube trays so I can perk up soups that I (occasionally) make with canned stock. (The horror!) 3) Cook a chicken and make chicken-turkey noodle soup. Or maybe a chicken and a duck and make turducken soup. Any suggestions?

Aaargh! I'm always the one with champagne tastes on a beer budget. Still, I'll keep my eye out for it. Might make a perfect holiday gift for... me! I just located a copy in our district library system. I'll be a good, honest library patron, citizen, and human being and not "lose" it. It arrived the other day. I love this book. I learn something new from nearly every page; his annotations often are more instructive than the recipe itself. He writes with authority, clarity, humor, and a Southern sensibility. ("If you want to be trendy, you can call your grits, as some demented individuals are now doing, Southern polenta, but I'd really rather not know about it." "...Charleston and Savannah...are so distinct from one another that they might as well be in different countries....Savannah, with its distinctly English plan, architecture, and sensibilities, has little of Charleston's West Indian flair.") I'm also amazed that it went out of print and that it hasn't been reissued in paperback. My having chosen that quote yesterday about Charleston and Savannah has become more than a little disconcerting, as this arrived in my "PBS Previews" e-mail today: Sophisticated Ladies: Charleston and Savannah With Blythe Danner Georgia Public Television This Georgia Public Television Web site explores the South of the past and of the present through two of the South's most intriguing cities -- Charleston and Savannah. Award-winning stage and screen actress Blythe Danner hosts the tour of these cities and the cultures that make them unique. Info about the show here.

Maybe. I'm in. It originally was published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 201 East 50th St, New York, NY 10022 (212) 751-2600

Aaargh! I'm always the one with champagne tastes on a beer budget. Still, I'll keep my eye out for it. Might make a perfect holiday gift for... me! I just located a copy in our district library system. I'll be a good, honest library patron, citizen, and human being and not "lose" it. It arrived the other day. I love this book. I learn something new from nearly every page; his annotations often are more instructive than the recipe itself. He writes with authority, clarity, humor, and a Southern sensibility. ("If you want to be trendy, you can call your grits, as some demented individuals are now doing, Southern polenta, but I'd really rather not know about it." "...Charleston and Savannah...are so distinct from one another that they might as well be in different countries....Savannah, with its distinctly English plan, architecture, and sensibilities, has little of Charleston's West Indian flair.") I'm also amazed that it went out of print and that it hasn't been reissued in paperback.

Amen to that! We're fortunate to have a local commercial dairy that doesn't ultra-pasteurize. We also are part of a raw milk co-op. The skimmed cream usually winds up in our coffee or occasionally in a sauce, but needless to say it also makes killer whipped cream. Redi-Whip just doesn't do it for me any more. I used to use an ISI for whipped cream but I found that using my KitchenAid or hand mixer was almost as easy, plus I much preferred the denser texture (and having first dibs on licking the bowl).

would this be the infamous "hoffa chili"? Nope, that was the chili at Machus Red Fox.

I entered several chili cookoffs in the late 70s to early 80s, when I lived in Detroit. This was back in the days when winning a sanctioned local cookoff got you an entry to the big one in Terlingua. I remember one in particular that was sponsored by Jim Lark very shortly after he opened his wonderful restaurant (The Lark). I made a complex chili using coarsely ground chuck, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, peppers, chili powder, oregano, garlic, red wine, and cinnamon. The feedback I received was that it tasted wonderful but wasn't the kind of chili that wins contests. In general, I found that the winning chili was predominantly meaty/beefy, with the herb/spice component coming through next, followed by a medium amount of heat. Tomatoes/veggies played only a minor supporting role. That was 20 years ago, though (yikes!), so perhaps tastes have changed.

Like megc, I've always liked to grocery shop. When I was growing up in Queens we had two grocery stores just a couple of blocks from our house. Grocery shopping also was a good excuse to wander up and down the block and visit the candy store, the music store, the hobby shop.... Ms. Alex and I are fortunate to have a fine local supermarket about ¾ of a mile from our house: aged beef, decent seafood and produce, good breads, a pharmacy, a post office counter, B & J's by the scoop, helpful staff, open until 11, and seldom more than two persons in line ahead of you. We tend to pick up what we need for the next day or two rather than stockpiling for the entire week.

Ms. Alex and I went to Sugar a couple of Chicago visits ago. We stopped by after a play, so I'm guessing it was about 11 p.m. (They're open until 2 weekdays, 3 weekends.) We would have loved to have been seated in one of the cool booths, but the place was pretty crowded by then and all of them were taken. We loved the desserts (Ann also got the Banana Karenina; I had Diary of a Melon -- melon under yogurt sorbet). Two caveats, though: 1) It's loud. (At least it was when we were there.) 2) They're premium desserts at premium prices; most are $10-15. There's also a hefty markup on wines, e.g., Quady Essensia at 13/glass, 52/bottle.)

OK, I gotta ask. What took you so long? I'm looking forward to hearing about how the dinner was received by the object of your affection. I hope it was

Smoked salmon, caramelized onions, dill -- a reconstructed lox, onion, and eggs with buttered toast.

Aaargh! I'm always the one with champagne tastes on a beer budget. Still, I'll keep my eye out for it. Might make a perfect holiday gift for... me! I just located a copy in our district library system. I'll be a good, honest library patron, citizen, and human being and not "lose" it.

Now that I own 150 or so cookbooks and other food-related books I'm trying to be more selective about new acquisitions, so I'm opting for quality over quantity: hardcover all the way! I'm with fresco; they just feel better. (Although a great deal on a paperback at Bargain Books or Amazon feels pretty good, too.)