Alex

Thanks for the encouragement, Owen. I do at least 90% drip and press pot, so I'm sure it'll be ideal.

Thanks to eGullet (and epinions) I decided to order a Solis Maestro Plus to replace my 12-year-old, faithful-but-fading-fast Bosch. I went with Aabree Coffee Company (aabreecoffee.com) because they had the same price as virtually everyone else -- $149 -- but offered free FedEx ground shipping and had a good reputation. The Solis arrived very quickly and in good shape. However, when I unpacked it I found only one of the four rubber feet, and it was in the bottom of the box. I called Aabree immediately. They said that for some reason the manufacturer was shipping the product with the feet uninstalled, and apparently some are getting lost along the way. They were very apologetic about the whole thing. They have a bunch of feet on order from the manufacturer and will send three of them to me as soon as they arrive, probably in about a week. The Solis now is sitting on four hemispherical Sorbothane feet designed for stereo equipment, which makes it look like a robot. If you order a Maestro Plus in the near future, you might want to contact the seller directly and ask them to make sure all four feet are in the box. Oh, yeah -- I really like its performance. It looks way cool, too, and appears to offer a significant improvement over the original Maestro.

eatery

About what? (Should there have been a link in your original post?)

Three more! The Roasted Vegetable, by Andrea Chesman Good stuff. Testimonials on the dust jacket from Charlie Trotter, James Peterson, Nora Pouillon, and others. One surprise though -- not one Brussels sprouts recipe. The Frog/Commisary Cookbook I am so happy that this was reprinted. Eclectic, solid recipes. The best veggie burger ever. Jeques Pépin's Complete Techniques $6.99 on the remainder shelf!!! I still have the original hardcover La Technique, but this one-volume paperback combination of La Technique and La Methode may actually fit in my cookbook bookcase.

Thanks, everyone, for your incredibly quick replies. I e-mailed a summary report, so to speak, to my cousins. I think they're leaning toward Champagne (NYE, French wine fans, etc.) but they'll probably wait until we get there to decide. Maybe I'll also ask for a glass of sherry (my preference) so I can compare. I'll do a post about the meal after the holidays.

Ms. Alex makes a bunch of kolacki (ko-LOTCH-key), a traditional Polish/Eastern European cookie. Here's a recipe. (Ms. Alex fills it with fruit preserves instead of walnuts, and bakes in a convection oven at 325°F for 12-13 min.)

To start our New Year's Eve dinner I'll be making a recipe from San Francisco's Millenium Restaurant: Chilled Avocado, Tomatillo, and Cucumber Soup with Saffron-Lime Ice. It has a base of miso and lime juice, with puréed avocado, tomatillo, cucumber, onion, garlic, and jalapeño, seasoned with cilantro, oregano, nutmeg, and black pepper. (Full recipe here.) The citrus elements make me think that a bright and somewhat acidic white would be a good match, but otherwise this is beyond my wine pairing knowledge. Any suggestions up to about $25 retail would be greatly appreciated.

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? Alex, I believe the reason there aren't any eGullet quotes has more to do with eGullet's copyright policy than members not willing to be quoted. Yes, you're right. However, my tongue-in-cheek comment referenced Dennis Lynch's (Mr. Wine Clip) perception that he was unfairly and vindictively booted off eGullet.

We'll be in DC visiting my cousins, but won't be at a restaurant. I'll be making a kick-ass dinner for them (his b-day is Dec 31) and we'll be drinking some spectacular wines from their cellar. We'll be eating out other nights, though -- probably Tuesday at Lavandou and Friday at Zaytinya. If we did go out on NYEve I'd want to be someplace romantic at midnight.

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