amccomb

Hmm...I like to do seasonal foods, but fall foods are a little heavier. Let's see, you if you go seasonal you could maybe have a light salad with dried cranberries and goat cheese, or a butternut squash soup topped with creme fraiche and crushed hazelnuts. For a main dish, sliced duck breast with a pomegranate sauce or port and cherry sauce with wild rice on the side with celery, onion, apples, sage, and pecans or a gratin of baby turnips and poached pears for dessert. Another fall-ish menu might be a salad with a pumpkin seed vinaigrette or chestnut puree soup, herb roasted pork tenderloin cut into medalions, a ragout of wild mushrooms served over polenta, and an apple tart. Or a chestnut, squash, and sage risotto or an acorn squash stuffed with sausage, wild rice, dried apricots, herbs and nuts with a side of roasted beets with rosemary and goat cheese and a pumpkin mousse or pumpkin or maple panna cotta You could do an asian theme and have a nice ginger-y salad with mandarin oranges and almonds or sesame seeds, duck potstickers, salmon or tuna with a teriyaki or wasabi flavor, sauteed snowpeas with soy sauce and sesame seeds, and then a nice light dessert like a sorbet or ice cream or fruit topped with custard. You could have a mexican theme and have empanadas with any number of fillings or tamales, turkey with a pumpkin seed mole, a quinoa pilaf, and flan for dessert. Is this along the lines of what you had in mind at all? Or are these all too heavy?

Are you thinking something fancy, casual, themed? You could do a different theme for each - maybe asian for one, french for another, etc. Are you going for a light lunch, or mulitple courses? Or maybe more of a brunch with an egg dish or more of a finger-food thing, like a cocktail party or tea party?

Is the bread pudding sweet or savory? I saw it listed with the meal instead of with the dessert, so I assume savory, but with cappucino and caramel, it sounds like it might be sweet. Just curious.

How about just decorating with fruit? Raspberries or blackberries would be nice, or even candied lemon slices or strawberries.

Oh! I forgot about dessert! I saw a recipe that someone linked to for pumpkin semifreddo with caramel sauce that looked yummy and elegant. I think it was on the Epicurious website. ANother possibility would be panna cotta - maybe a cranberry orange, or persimmon. I, myself, am a big fan of charlottes, and I think an apple or pear charlotte would be fun.

What about duck breasts? Or venison loin? You could serve either with a wild rice pilaf (I like wild rice with sage, apple, dried cherries, and pecans) and maybe some roasted root veggies or a simple potato gratin (I layer slices of potatoes with fresh herbs, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and cream and bake until done). You could do a dried cranberry, rosemary, and port reduction with either one, too. Maybe some pearl onions in balsamic vinegar, or wilted spinach with pine nuts and garlic, or red cabbage and apples or a cabbage strudel...

I would LOVE to have the sweet potato cinnamon roll and sweet potato with plantains and pecans recipes! Are you willing to give them out? As for my tradition, for Thanksgiving Day itself, my husband and I travel up to my grandparents house and eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry relish. For dessert, there is chocolate pecan pie (an abomination in my mind - I love chocolate and I love pecan pie, but prefer them separate). pumpkin pie, scotcheroos, and various other desserts. There's football, parade watching, gossiping, and talk about what big sales to hit the next day. Friday we travel back home and I spend all day cooking and cleaning for Saturday, when I make a feast for friends. This year we are breaking tradition because several friends can't make it on the Saturday after, so we're doing our feast the Saturday before, which also happens to be my 30th birthday! We also invite people over for breakfast on Sunday morning when I usually make a strata, biscuits and gravy, sweet and white potato hash, and something sweet. Here's my menu for our Saturday T-day: appetizers: -curried lamb meatballs -duck and dried cherries in phyllo -brie in puff pastry with either cranberry sauce or apricot chutney -spiced nuts -walnut/cream cheese in endive cups -mini ham sandwiches with sharp white cheddar and apple butter -baked olives dinner: -20 lb fresh free range organic turkey, brined and either roasted or grilled (still undecided about my grilling abilities) -gravy with cider or port or sherry -mashed root vegetables (maybe parsnips, or turnips, or something else, maybe mixed with regular Idahos) -chipotle sweet potato gratin -raw cranberry and orange relish with ginger and gran marnier -cooked cranberry sauce with shallots and port and rosemary -popovers -cornmeal scones -flavored butters - maple, sage -the usual stuffing with chestnuts, wild rice, fennel and sausage -a fruity stuffing with dried cherries, pears, toasted hazelnuts, sweet wine, and maybe a pinch of cinnamon or herbs like sage and rosemary. i may add cornbread to this -veggies - still somewhat undecided. Maybe peas, turnips, roasted onions, pancetta and cream (similar to last year), maybe some sort of roasted brussel sprout dish (maybe with maple or balsamic vinegar or chestnuts or horseradish) -bourbon corn pudding dessert: -probably an autumn trifle with cinnamon custard, roasted pears and apples, pumpkin caramel, and pound cake. -maybe a chocolate chestnut cake for my birthday, if I can get my husband to help make it -apple crisp, persimmon pudding, pecan pie (from friends)

i'm pretty sure they are the Chicken of the Woods - bright orange and shelf-like, just like the picture on the site you recommended. Maybe I'll make some herb gnocchi and make mock "chicken" and "noodles".

Do you think they would go well with turnips? I also got some baby turnips at the market, and thought I might saute the mushrooms, add some chicken stock and let them simmer for awhile, then add them to the halved turnips, top with some cream, and bake in the oven for awhile before adding some breadcrumbs.

At the Farmer's Market this weekend, there was a bin of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms. I've seen them before as a mail-order item, so I decided to go ahead and get some. I had to sign a waiver (a little scarey) because they were wild mushrooms and I was told to cook them for at LEAST 20 minutes. For some reason I can't decide what to do with them. Can I get some suggestions?

pepitas and cilantro walnuts and cream cheese goat cheese and chives tarragon

Any other recommendations for places that sell pottery, sculpture (I saw someone posted earlier in the thread about wooden sculpture), or other art? I would love to buy some art while I'm there. Also, I second recommendations for shops that sell wine and other spirits! Thanks so much.

Thanks for the information! This is exactly what I wanted to know, I appreciate it. I mentioned to my husband what you said about the "cost no object" restaurants starting to lean towards French. He said he would love to hear about a couple of those, and that maybe we can hit one French-influenced place and one more traditional Italian. I feel like I am learning a lot in this thread and I am betting there are more like it in this forum. I'll do a search, but if anyone has any specific thread to recommend, I'd appreciate it!

Wow! I, too, will be in Rome over that period - from December 27th through January 7th. My husband has charged me with finding at least 2 very good restaurants - money is no object for these two dinners. We are also traveling with a group of 7 friends, and my friends have asked me to find a place for New Year's Eve dinner. Any recommendations? I have seen many recommendations to avoid the touristy locations, and I have to admit, i know very little about Rome and have no idea where those areas might be. Can you tell me where to avoid? Also, my husband would like to take an overnight trip on the train to a nearby city for a day. If you were in Rome over this period of time and had one or two days to go somewhere else, where would you go and what would you recommend there? I feel so lost since I am clueless about Rome and the rest of Italy. Help me! Edited to add: My husband also wants to try some restaurants of different ethnicities. He loves to see another countries "take" on different ethnic cuisines. For example, he loved Indian in Ireland and Thai and Mexican in Korea.

Oooh, I would love to figure out how they did it. I made some quince jam a few weeks ago and plan on making quince jelly with rosemary next weekend. The smell is heavenly. I am getting so many ideas, I am thinking that my husband's 30th birthday party (mid-December) should be a cocktail party. I have about 20 ideas for hors doeuvres, a couple of ideas for miniature sweets, and now all of these wonderful sounding cocktails. I normally do mulled wine, cider, spiked hot cocoa (his favorite contains 1/2 shot creme de menthe and a shot of irish whisky), coffee drinks, and egg nog for his birthday. This year, our Thanksgiving feast falls on MY 30th birthday, so I am planning on making it memorable.

You know, I don't really have an exact recipe, I just throw stuff in, but I normally use ground lamb, golden raisins plumped in wine, toasted pine nuts, some onion, garlic, cumin, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, allspice, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a little parsely. Salt, of course, too. That is all sauteed and cooled and then I use buttered phyllo and roll up a heaping spoon into a triangle, top with some sesame seeds or poppy seeds and bake until golden. Let me know if I should be more specific!

Sounds wonderful! How ripe should the plantains be? I'm not used to cooking with them, and have seen some recipes that suggest ripe and others suggest unripe. Oh my.

Hmmm.....I never really thought about putting everyone to sleep before the evening started. People start arriving at about 3:00. About an hour later, the drinks come out, as well as several hors doeuvres. An hour to two hours after that, dinner is served family style, and people heap their plates full. We sit at the table a couple of hours and talk, sip wine, laugh, etc. Then several of us go into the kitchen and make up doggy bags and put away leftovers. Then back into the dining room and living room for more wine, talking, etc. Sometimes people bring board games, sometimes a few people wander downstairs to watch "the big tv". Somehow, at around 10:00ish, everyone wanders back into the dining room for dessert and our friend Richie begs us to open a bottle of port, which we do. There is more sipping, talking, music, etc. There is a lot of drinking, and always a few people spend the night and almost everyone else takes a taxi or gets a ride from one of the two non-drinkers. The next morning around 10 am, I make a huge breakfast for the people who spend the night and anyone who shows up to pick up their car. Does this scenario sound like we should lay off the idea of cocktails at 4:00 in the afternoon?

Oh wow. I actually make some really nice tamales, so that could be an option. I make my tamales every year for Cinco de Mayo, which is my other big culinary holiday.

Mmm....those ALL sound great. It's been a long day. So, the ideas I've been thinking about so far are: -bourbon manhattans with my own brandied cherries -a cocktail based off of something I had at Trio restaurant in Chicago which was a white port, sweet vermouth (which I am ordering from the same place that Trio got theirs), and toasted Thai long peppercorns -something clean, lemony, and herby -something with champagne (I love the cranberry idea, I was also considering pomegranate juice) Should I list any potential menu items to help with pairings?

So, every year I do a Thanksgiving dinner party for about 20 - 25 friends. Every year the menu is a little different, although people request that some dishes stay. I consider our dinner to be a little bit of an upscale twist on the traditional dishes. I don't plate the food, it's served on the table family style and everyone helps themselves. I also do hors doeuvres to keep people busy in the living/dining room while I am busy in the kitchen (I don't like people trying to "help" me when I am down to the last second crunch). So, I am looking for ideas for hors doeuvres that are a little more on the "gourmet" side and meal ideas that are twists on the traditional. If they could be partially or completely done the day before, even better! Also, I like to focus on foods that are considered autumnal. For an example of what I am looking for, last year, for "hors doeuvres" I had spiced baked assorted olives, little puff pastry cups filled with a chunk of brie and topped with my cranberry sauce and heated until melted, phyllo triangles filled with moroccan spiced lamb with currants and pine nuts, sweet and spicey glazed nuts, and a blue cheese spread topped with pear chutney. I will probably keep some of these, but I would love some more ideas, and I would like to go even more "gourmet". I was thinking of a foie gras mousse with toasted brioche and my quince jam, curried lamb meatballs, lobster corncakes topped with creme fraiche and a tiny bit of caviar, and a recipe posted on here for ducklava (duck baklava, which is actually something we had at our wedding last year and is quite wonderful)....I'm trying to think of a few more items. Maybe something with root veggies. I thought about doing a "spring roll" but using shredded rutabega, parsnips, etc, and making a dipping sauce with pomegranate juice. I'd love be able to buy some things that don't require much work that I can set out that will really WOW people, too. I thought about some good cheeses and cured meats or things along those lines, but I need suggestions for that stuff, as well. As for the main meal, last year I brined the turkey and roasted it. This year I was thinking about trying to use the rotisserie on my Weber grill, although I'm a little nervous about that. If I don't go that route, I was thinking of splurging on some truffles which I would slice very thinly and put under the skin of the turkey. Any ideas? For sides, here is what I had last year: -sweet potatoes with cream and chiptole chilies (I made this the first year and everyone insists on having it again every year) -creamed corn casserole with bourbon (again, a tradition) -bread stuffing with roasted chestnuts, wild rice, and fennel (another traditional, although sometimes I add sausage, sometimes I don't) -wheat bread dressing with dried cherries, pecans, and apple -a cooked cranberry sauce with shallots, cherries, port, and rosemary -a raw cranberry relish with orange and ginger -mashed potatoes (just butter, salt, and cream) -herbed gravy with sherry -peas with pearl onions, pancetta, and cream -brussel sprouts with horseradish -popovers -sweet potato biscuits -sage butter -maple butter I always have at least two dressings/stuffing because it goes fast and people like to try more than one. I also like to have two cranberry sauces every year and two green veggies and I don't mind duplicating other items as well. I would like to try to dress things up even more this year (I was thinking of adding a spiced carrot souffle or something along those lines) and I'd like to have some more unusual or special items on the menu that people may not get to have often (such as the truffles under the skin of the turkey), or some seasonal items that are a little harder to come by (like persimmons, pomegranates, etc). And the hard part - I would love to have things that could be prepared at least partially in advance or at the very least, very quickly or with little effort. And must taste fabulous! Anyway, please forgive me if this doesn't belong here, or I am way too early for Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday, so I spend a lot of time thinking about it.

Every year we have a big Thanksgiving dinner party with about 20 - 25 people. We have traditional dishes with an upscale twist, but lean towards more "gourmet" options for hors doeuvres. Normally, we serve a variety of wines from start to finish, but this year I would like to have some special pre-dinner cocktails. We would like to offer, maybe four options, ranging in flavors and dry/sweetness, and maybe with the addition of some unusual or really special ingrediants. Any ideas? Do you need more information? I haven't fleshed out the menu yet, but I can try if that's very important.

We had potato pierogi fried with some italian sausage, onions, and cabbage and topped with sour cream. We split a leftover apple turnover for "dessert".

There used to be a link on the Trio web page to the Thai long peppercorn supplier, which I believe was a shop in Indiana. I've tried searching the web for some place to order the peppercorns, but have been unsuccessful. Can anyone help?

I know Thanksgiving is still a ways away, but it's my favorite holiday, and I start to plan early! I don't have a fancy stove or double ovens, or even an extra freezer, so space and time are always an issue. I like to start cooking about a week in advance and do as little as possible on the actual day, so I can enjoy myself. Does anyone have any ideas for delicious, classy hors d'oeuvres that I can make ahead? Last year I did some phyllo triangles filled with ground lamb, pine nuts, dried currants, and spices that I froze, then thawed, and then popped in the oven right before people got there. I also used some puff pastry cut into small squares, filled with a chunk of brie, and popped into a mini muffin tins and topped with some of my rosemary, port, and shallot cranberry sauce. I popped those in the oven at tha last minute, too. I also had some spiced assorted nuts that I made a couple of days before I was hoping for some new ideas this year. I always like to go with as much seasonal stuff as I can, and I don't mind just ordering pre-made stuff if it's really good quality. I was actually thinking of ordering some dry aged sausages or something along those lines. A few vegetarian ideas would be welcome, as well! Thanks!