Susan in FL

It looks like the one coming in mid-December might get the award for the most cleavage in an eG Foodblog.

Last night we started dinner with steamed artichokes, dipping the leaves in homemade garlic mayo. They were huge, and tasted as good as the younger ones. The best was indeed saved for last. Look at the size of the bottom! I couldn't resist taking a Daniel-style shot. I made braciole and a beefy tomato sauce and served pasta with it. This was the best outcome of all my braciole attempts, staying intact as they did.

I bought a new pair of jeans that are a full size bigger than what I normally wear, to wear on Thanksgiving day. Some thought that was funny.

I don't prefer to eat the exact same thing two days in a row, either .....unless it's the desserts. I'll gladly eat that two or three times in one day. A Thai style Tom Yum turkey soup sounds good. I was just cleaning out my freezer earlier today and saw I have kaffir lime leaves that I need to use up. And tonight, we're turning to Italian style, too. I'm going to make braciole using no leftovers. This morning we used up the mashed potatoes, so they are the second thing to be all gone. We made them into potato cakes to go with eggs for breakfast.

Interesting. I was wondering because I've had no problem with Wellingtons of beef tenderloin steaks that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick getting well done. I guess my experience is one of the exceptions to your almost-guarantee that the meat will be well done when using small sizes of meat! I've always made individual Wellingtons, and after this discussion I'd like to try doing the whole piece of beef tenderloin.

Your home is a food wonderland! And all the flowers, and fresh things in the making... I can almost smell the aromas by looking at the photos. It is a dream holiday celebration. I wish Cousin Mathieu was up for adoption.

Great stories, and comical too. Yet another reason Thanksgiving is so beloved. Rachel, I think you better speak to us about eggs in the gravy. It might be getting mixed reviews. I would like to hear more about it. After thinking I wouldn't even have a snack last night, just before bed I had another piece of brownie cheesecake and a glass of left over dessert wine, Campbells Rutherglen Tokay which is really really good.

Happy Hour at home tonight included some left over smoked fish dip on Triscuits, served very informally, as you can see. After that, we finished up the Celery Root Bisque from last night. Tonight we drizzled truffle oil on top, instead of dipping the hot soup into the bowl on top of a piece of butter like we did last night. The rest of dinner was a bit unusual. Russ made some uncooked puttanesca sauce, and had that with pasta. I wanted some of the left over turkey and duck from last night, so that's what I had, with a little bit of "Russ's" pasta on the side.

I love it!

Hi, Adrienne. Welcome to eGullet and the Florida Forum. I'm looking forward to more contributions from you. I really like that about a place. Everywhere I go in this area does give me a small order such as that when I ask for it, but it's great when they gladly do it.

The turducken. I described it here. It's hard to explain why it was so funny; it's sort of one of those you-had-to-be-there things. I think it was the novelty of it, and the fact that it wasn't all that great, AND that I paid so much money for it, and the profanities that came out of our mouths as we put some of the stuffing into our mouths, but we just laughed and laughed about it as we first cut into it and as we ate it.

Rachel, your Thanksgiving dinner sounded lovely -- the style in which you served it, the company you enjoyed, and all the dishes. The two gravies sound interesting to me, especially the unstrained version. I make good sauces, but not good gravy. Maybe I should think of gravy as a sauce and I would do a better job. I had never heard of eggs in it! I hope I can remember that next time I cook a Thanksgiving dinner. And hamburgers for dinner tonight... After the smoked fish dip and Triscuits with Happy Hour, we ended up both eating left over Celery Root Bisque for a starter. Last night I put a piece of butter in the bowls before pouring in the hot soup. Tonight we drizzled some white truffle oil on top instead. It was so good, and that's one thing that is now all gone. Then, Russ ate pasta with uncooked Puttanesca sauce, which he made. I ate left over duck and turkey from the Turducken with a little side of his pasta. I don't know if I have room for a snack tonight. I think I am still full from yesterday.

I was so busy in the days leading up to Thanksgiving this year, I didn't take time to look at this thread until just now. I enjoyed it, and it was interesting to see it switch from last year to this year. Happy birthday! That menu sounds well thought out, and wonderful! I have never heard of eating three meals a day on Thanksgiving before. How did you do it?! I hardly ever eat three meals a day, let alone Thanksgiving and such delicious food as that. I did roasted cauliflower, too! Cooking for only four, I needed two ovens, but in this house we have only one. If we ever get to remodel, we will have two like we did in our other house. Three "meats" ...How many did you cook for, Percy? Here was my menu, as posted on the Dinner! thread. And anyone else who posted here before the big day and hasn't reported back since... How did it turn out? Did you cook what you planned or make changes?

A half bottle of bubbly per person sounds right on it to me. (Nice!)

Oh yum, Erik. That sounds real good. I just switched to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and soon will be switching to wine, with dinner.

It's cool to see what Thanksgiving-like foods or leftovers are being consumed and what totally different things, on the day after. Dave, I like what you did. Your kids will long recall with fondness the after-Thanksgiving Fridays with Dad for leftovers and creativity. Absolutely, Goldie. Our dinner guests last night were a couple who are our closest friends living in the same town. That sounds much like Russ's taste for pasta tonight -- nothing like yesterday. So far tonight we have had the fish dip and Triscuits, along with beer for Happy Hour on the porch. Now Russ is fixing his pasta and I am getting ready to heat up left over Celery Root Bisque.

So far tonight I've had Red Hook IPA and Flying Dog Snake Dog Ale IPA. The Red Hook is good. It's very mildly hopped for an IPA, but it's a hop flavor I like. This could be a session beer. The Snake Dog IPA tasted better and less bitter than the first time I drank it. Then it was almost offensively bitter. Tonight's is way good, and nicely bitter. It's boldly hoppy, more like expected from an IPA.

Korbel used to label this "Chardonnay Champagne." Does the label indeed now read "Sparkling Chardonnay"? ← No, it doesn't. I just called it that off the top of my head. I think it still has what you said on the label. Come to think of it, sparkling chardonnay seems more accurate as to what it really is! Sorry if it was a technical mistake to call it that on a wine Forum. For something from the cheap bubbly category, it's the only Korbel I really like.

Yes! Very good point, Michael.

Gumbo using leftovers is a real good idea, thanks. I might do that in a few days, or else freeze some of the stuff for gumbo at a later time. Russ and I are still continuing our "discussion" about what to have. He called me on his way home from work and mentioned making Pasta Puttanesca (using NO leftovers). I'm craving the left over smoked fish dip with some Triscuits.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks... what are you eating today? Are you going for leftovers right away, or are you doing like my husband proposed, skip a day completely before eating any of it? It you're having leftovers already, are you just heating the stuff up, or being creative? For breakfast, I had leftover dessert which was Brownie Cheesecake with my coffee. Actually, I haven't been hungry since, but I'll be back to post what I eat during the rest of this day. What I want to do for dinner is pick some of the foods I liked the best last night, and reheat or eat right from the fridge. I cooked enough for at least twice as many guests yesterday, and we had just one couple with us for dinner. I filled doggie bags for them to take home. Is it too soon after the feast for turkey soup or sandwiches?

When the hostess and some of the other guests tatsed it they commented jokingly that must ahve forgotten the sugar, everyone thought it had been a mistake. The woman then replied that no it wasn't a mistake that she never cooks with sugar and that it is better for your body. That was it, no apology, nothing. It was as if she honestly thought there was nothing wrong with it. ← I would have wanted to be a smart-ass and give her a piece of my mind, but probably wouldn't have had the nerve. People like that really irk me. But then, go on and have fun and lots of laughs telling the story later.....

Though we were disappointed in the tur-duc-hen overall, we don't regret having tried it. Now we have experienced turducken. Some follow-up, for those interested... I still believe as I mentioned up-thread that it would not be worth the time and expense to make this ourselves. I can't remember the name of the brand, but it did have the word "Cajun" in it. It came frozen with directions for cooking if totally thawed and for if it was still partially frozen. We went with the thawed directions and that made it slightly overdone. The thing weighed 15 pounds. Most of the meats were still moist, but I wouldn't go so far as to say juicy. Not surprising, there was more stuffing than anything and next most was turkey, chicken and duck in that order. The stuffing was terrible. On one side was a mushy bread stuffing that tasted like it was seasoned only with Cajun spices, and not good quality spices at that. The other side's stuffing had sausage in it, and its seasoning was too hot. The wings and legs of the turkey were still attached. The drumstick meat tasted good. The turkey, duck, and chicken were tasty, and put together, it was pretty.

With these hors d'oeuvres we had Korbel Sparkling Chardonnay: Apricot Canapes (Maytag Blue and pistachios on dried apricots) Fifi's Pickled Shrimp Belgian Endive stuffed with homemade smoked fish (marlin) dip/spread We had Lois Gruner Veltliner with Celery Root Bisque with Thyme. Thanks to those who suggested Gruner Veltliner to me in another thread! To drink with the main course we served a little Beaujolais Nouveau (Mommessin), just to carry on the tradition, and then Meridian Pinot Noir. We also offered a Riesling, but we all chose Pinot Noir. The food was: Tur-duc-hen! Mashed Potatoes with Chive Cream Green Beans with Wild Mushrooms Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Corn Pudding Spinach and Hearts of Palm Salad To go with dessert, Brownie Cheesecake, we drank both Campbells Rutherglen Tokay and Noval Porto Special Reserve. The best match of the evening just might have been the Tokay and dessert.

Yes, please. Beautiful, and delicious-looking, as always!