ludja

Noted - smoke = bad I guess I'll start watching them after about 10 mins. For some reason, I think I'm going to throw them on the grill outside ← Similar to what people have mentioned above, can do in oven for ~ 10-15 min at 400 deg. Shaking every now and then to turn them over. (And score before cooking). My parents had a grill basket type thing for roasting them over coals in the fire place as well... With that you can also shake them to turn them in the heat.

Then, strain it...

Benedictine spread is a southern classic (basically grated cucumber and onions in cream cheese; tinted very light green). Here's a recipe. I add a litle lemon juice as well. I also like southern shrimp paste (ground cooked shrimp, butter, grated shallots, s&p, a little cayenne); although I usually serve that on toast points... I've also seen suggestions to serve it on small beaten biscuits...

Thank you for joining us Arthur! I'm looking forwerd to your new book; opinonated and informed I like! Here's a riddle: Anytime I mention Carnegie Deli as an option in NYC, New Yorkers invariably groan how touristy, etc it is. (I love their chopped liver and blintzes) But--- when I press them for details on other good Jewish delis they get rather vague, maybe Katz's is mentioned. (This just happened with a group of Colombia profs). Can you name at least five all-around good Jewish delis scattered about Manhattan? Are there any other good options in mid-town? How about in the other boroughs? Thanks in advance, ludja

Thanks Carolyn! I admit I like Zuni even during 'reg hours' --but I agree it is a great experience to be there on Sunday afternoons. It's very laid back and the bar and restaraunt are also very nice during the day; sunlight flooding through all the glass or fog swirling around outside. I have also had a good time there with the 'late menu' with the Zuni burger w/pickled red onions, etc and their great shoestring fries. Welcome Randall and thanks for the reminder re:Pesce. I've been wanting to check that out for awhile but it fell off my radar.

Dinner for six: cheese straws roasted almonds blue-cheese stuffed prunes (served warm) Marie Stuart Champagne Brut Rose, Reims Trio of cold French salads: Grated Carrot Salad w/lemon, parsley and garlic Celery Root and Apple in creamy mustard dressing Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad V. Sattui Napa Valley dry Johannisberg Riesling 2003 Daube de Boeuf w/Cepes and Orange Gruyere and Creme Fraiche Potato Gratin Ravenswood 1996 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon Lindsey Shere's Gauteau aux Chocolate served w/ Pear ice cream covered with bittersweet chocolate shavings coffee, calvados and cognac (Pear ice cream is also from Lindsey Shere's Chez Panisse Desserts

Pick up excellent sandwiches, salads, wines, cheeses, including cowgirl creamery cheeeses and a small selection of baked goods at Tomales Bay Foods in Pt. Reyes Station. They have wines also. Also, around the corner on the main drag is a regular supermarket that you could supplement supplies with.

Here are a few phrases; words. I was thinking "sweet" but I don't know if that will fulfill your requrements... sweetness and light honeysuckle honeycomb sweet shop glaze dulcinea ganache

Do the ferrets get a special treat on T-day? (I really loved the pix you shared with us on your blogs; never knew they were so cute). This is just to 'share' since your menu is well set. But I have a 'traditional' Thanksgiving sorbet I've been making for a long time b/c we like it so much. It's a red grapefruit sorbet (with honey, sugar, water); campari drizzled and pomegranates strewn over the top. It is a nice slightly bitter, refreshing break before the onslaught of pies and cakes... I will try the lemon thyme combination sometime as well; sounds very good. Happy shopping!

Thanks Dana; I've bookmarked this thread for when fresh new okra are available!

Since I can see that you are being kept very busy with new questions from folk, I just wanted to let you know that I was able to find out the info--with the help of another egulleteer. Thanks again for your time and inspiration. ludja

Yankee New England version (CT) that my mom always has made--(in the cut crystal dishes): celery sticks filled w/a cottage cheese/horseradish mix; paprika on top olives (pimento-stuffed) radishes pickles My Dad has always insisted on the relish tray; not sure where he picked it up; his parents were European immigrants... he nor they had any contact w/the South. In New England it seems that T-day is one of the last places that many people often still serve relishes with the meal. Looking in my older N.England cookbooks, I suspect it was more common a few generations back. I haven't had relish trays at my own Thanksgivings, but I think I will start (next year; this year we're visiting). The pickled okra sounds very good. I usually make Southern-inspired apps beforehand (pepper jelly on cream cheese crackers, cheese straws, shrimp paste or pickled shrimp) so I think a tray of nice southerny-type relishes with the meal would be great!

Michel was on last night: I agree that he should be on more! Until I saw this thread I didn't really think about how much food stuff there is on the show--Rory and Lorelei's takeout food, the coffeeshop, dinner's at the parents and now food up at Yale. Food and drilnk were a big part of the Yale tailgate episode last year as well.

Thanks for helping in the research Gifted! (and on posting your 4000th post right here... ) I did finallly find something on the stacked pies and the info was under my nose... in Bill Neal's Southern Cooking. I got a hint on-line re: chess pies and then looked back in my books. Here is a quote accompanying his Chess Pie recipe: Once I searched with "chess", I also found these sites: Lemon Stack Pie (This recipe is also for lemon chess pies that are stacked (3); then a caramel sacue is poured over the whole. Here, the pies are baked in foil pans which can then be peeled away...) and stacked chess pies I guess I'll see what my friend finds out over Christmas from his aunt in West Va. He is going to bake with her to learn how to make her coconut cake and some other recipes. She's the one who mentioned "stacked pies" in the first place, piquing my interest. The apple stake cakes sound delicious as well-- I'll probaby try that first it being apple season and all. I'm both attracted to and a little scared of the stacked chess pies--I have a feeling I will have to try it sometime...

Thanks Darcie B. (and welcome)... Tha cake sounds delcious; thank you for taking the time to share it. I would like to surprise my friend from West Va. with a stack cake. Go 'Eers... (Boo B.C.)

Ciao Faith, Thanks for the reminiscences, as well as the mention of Andreas Hellrigl's book. It is too bad that it is out of print, but I would like to track it down if possible. Do you recall what language the book is in and maybe the title? I'm sure it doesn't compare the best speck available, but in central CT thare is a residual Austrian community and there are a few butchers where you can still get speck. My parents send me one out to CA now and then... I'm carefully using one up right now! Thanks again, and I appreciate it if you have further information on Hellrigl's book. Ciao, ludja

Thanks Gifted Gourmet. I like Lundy's book, Butterbeans and Blackberries so this might be another nice addition. Good link to the stack apple cake recipe as well. Besided the recipe, the local cookbooks described sound potentially interesting. Has anyone ever made a stack cake like this? I'm very intrigued by the "stacked pies" I've heard of as well, but there is little info I could find on the web... Has anyone had a stacked pie or even heard of them?

Also, instead of completely removing the stems, you can roughly peel them. This removes some of the bitterness. Also, I think it depends on what you serve with it. If you make a pasta dish with broccoli di rape and sweet Italian sausage, the latter balances the 'bitterness' in a most wonderful way.

individual puddings, served warm, cut in half and served with brandy or milk punch ice cream inbetween? Maybe pour a little warm hot sauce over the whole...

Made a great vegetarian mushroom goulash for friends the other night based on a recipe from an old Fine Cooking. The simple ingredients belie the great taste of the finished dish. Clean button mushrooms if needed and let sit out for several hours or overnight to dry out a little. Sautee lots of minced red onion until soft; remove from pan. Thinly slice a red bell pepper and sautee; remove from pan. Trim stem ends, then slice mushrooms ~ 1/8 in thick thru cap and stem. Sautee mushrooms in batchs at high temp to quickly brown, sprinkle with bl. pepper as cooking. Lower heat, add all the mushrooms back in, onions and peppers, paprika and salt. Mix in heavy cream and serve. Rough proportions of ingredients: 1 large red onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1.5 lb mushrooms, 2-3 tsp paprika (I served them over parsley spatzle, but rice or butter noodles would be nice as well).

Same here, love fennel, dislike black licorice... Tomato and Fennel is a great combination too-- in risottos or a soup.

A good friend originally from West Virginia was recently at a family wedding back home. He got one of his favorite aunts to talk about traditional dishes, and she, being a great baker, mentioned lots of pies and cakes--including "stacked pies". I think one of the traditional fillings is usuallly dried apples-- and when I've heard mention of this it often seems to be from the Appalchia area. I looked on the web a bit and found some info on stack cake here. "The number of layers stacked in this cake varied from five to nine in the recipes we received. Most included molasses, but some left it out. Some recipes used what was basically a cookie dough; others a pie-crust dough. And some of these cooked the dough in a skillet instead of an oven. Also, note that though the filling usually consists of reconstituted dried apples mixed with spices, prepared applesauce can be substituted to save time. " How does one "stack" pies? (i.e. get them out of the pan) What are traditional fillings? What types of stake cake do you know of? Good recipes appreciated if you are motivated to share!

Dear Ms. Willlinger, Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Coming from Austrian roots I'm intrigued with Sud Tirol cusine which I believe combines elements from both Italian and Austrian/German cuisine. Do you have some favorite and/or unique dishes that are from that area? And secondly, do you know if there is a cookbook that focuses on this region, including or not including Southern Austria as well? Thanks so much in advance!

Citrus goes very well with sweet potatoes-- like the lime juice mentioned above. An easy quick meal is a baked sweet potato topped w/lime juice, black beans, spicy salsa and yogurt (or sour cream). Something I've made for many Thanksgivings-- baked sweet potatoes, cut in half and served with a compound butter made of lemon and black pepper and a little brown sugar. (a really good combination). For dessert-- Bill Neal's Sweet Potato Pie in his first cookbook, Southern Cooking. The eggs are separated, with the whites folded in last to lighten the texture. Flavored with butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and Bourbon. Topped with a butter/brown sugar/pecan crumble. (This graces my Thanksgiving Table each year also).

You might also find some interesting ideas in this thread, What makes a pecan pie Southern? from the Southern Food Culture Forum. Welcome Bochalla!