ludja

It's been a while since I made this recipe, but Paul Bertolli has a red pepper soup in "Chez Panisse Cooking" that uses water instead of stock and uses cream as a garnish rather than mixing it into the soup. I found an online copy of the recipe here I've heard people say that they think vegetable soups can have a "clearer" vegetable taste when using water instead of stock (and no roux). This may be a different approach to try as well with the red peppers. (I've made a simple spinach soup from the same book when I was making a vegetarian dinner and I didn't have time to make vegetable stock and I remember it came out quite well!)

Here's a thread on Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur: click and here is a website with some more description of the Stone Pine Liqueur and some other Austrian spirits. It looks like they have distributor(s) in NY but I can't tell exactly where from the website. I still haven't tried it yet! I usually have them after a meal but a Calvados, Poire Williams or Lambig/Lambic might be nice at Thanksgiving as they are made with apples or pears. If you want an American and autumnal product for T-day a bourbon would also be nice...

This could be nice because this dish could also be used as squash side dish for the other guests. Also, if only one person can not eat eggs (and they eat poultry) you could make a savory ttart, turnover or gratin as the vegetarian "main dish". There are a lot of nice recipes in Annie Somerville's "Field of Greens". There is cheese in some of the recipes.

Thanks for the idea re: the Liptauer spread, GG! I make Liptauer cheese quite a bit for an hors d'oeuvres but hadn't thought of pairing this with bagels. Doh!

Looks tasty, gfron1! Beautiful piping work as well! Just to add though, that the traditional Bienenstich I've seen are usually completetly covered on top with a thick layer of sliced almonds. For example see the link to this photo: click I really like this cake a lot although I haven't tried making it myself yet. A local German bakery in Sunnyvale, CA makes a wonderful version that they sell at the Saturday Farmer's market in downtown Sunnyvale. It's my favorite local breakfast! It's also often baked in a tray and cut into "Schnitten" or "Stuck" (umlaut over the "u") or "slices" or "pieces" and then it looks like this: click

If you make your own spreads, you can use a better quality cream cheese that does not have guar or other gums added to it. I think natural cream cheese tastes a whole lot better than the regular supermarket type.

Spumoni ice cream has the colors of the Italian flag...

and the wingtips, if you like!

The soup may be something you are able to keep in even if you pare down the menu a bit. You can make it ahead and it's a small portion... The warm squash salad sounds very interesting; I may consider doing something liek that myself this year. I always have a soup as a starter but I may cut down the portion size of that and add the salad! Was this a recipe you also found inspiration from on egullet?

Thanks for the report, weinoo! Did you notice if they had any desserts on offer?

Great advice re: the gravy and the mashed potatoe. After many years of peeling or having someone help me peel the potatoes at the semi-last minute, I make them a few hours ahead by putting them through a ricer. It's easiest to reheat in a double boiled and I'll do that with smaller amounts but my double boiler is not large enough for T-day, so I do as jgm says--i.e. make them a little dry. Then, before service, add some more half and half and butter and blend and reheat on low. Once they are nice and hot you can cover the pot, remove from the heat and store on a trivet; the potatoes will stay warm for a while. I agree w/all of jgm's comments about the gravy too--nice and hot it warms up the turkey, stuffing and potatoes, there is never enough, it can be the most stressful part of the meal if you're not used to making gravy often. I think it's good to make some good turkey stock ahead of time, then the AM of I make more stock using the giblets, neck and wingtips. Even if you make some of the gravy ahead of time, use the drippings from the actual bird as well. Even if things are a little frantic, take care with the gravy--don't overthicken and tasted the seasonings carefully.

My simple Donvier (frozen insert, hand crank) ice cream maker is one of my favorite purchases for the kitchen. So easy to make so many interesting ice creams! Good luck with your experimentation and let us know; I'd really be interested in this dessert as well. I was inspired to replicate an unusual ice cream dessert once after a splendid dessert at the now defunct Pastis in San Francisco. The dessert was a flourless or nearly flourless slice of chocolate cake served with a oval of Thail basil ice cream covered with shards of dark chocolate... Another was a parfait of tangerine granita and yogurt sorbet inspired from a meal from Kokkari in SF. So many possibilities. A fun book to look at *after* you get your ice cream maker ( ) is Emily Luchetti's recent "A Passion for Ice Cream". She has many wonderful ice cream/sorbet recipes in there and in many interesting plated desserts.

^Thanks for the details on the chickens, chef. Sounds wonderful!

speechless... Thanks for your generosity and skill in documenting this special event! Any other details on the preparation of the chicken? Salt, pepper and olive oil? They must have tasted magnificent. Thanks also for the descriptions of all the pizzas.

It's funny; i've been having the opposite problem lately. I like the pure strong taste of almond paste and lately I've only seen cans of Solo "almond spread" rather than pure almond paste in the stores around here! Argghh!

Has anyone been to the newish La Boca? i've heard some good buzz but haven't tried it yet. click

This sounds like such an interesting dessert... I like the baroness' suggestions for amping up the anise flavor in the cake. I think I would probably start with a pineapple upside down cake recipe. I wonder if the fennel needs any pre-preparation or if it would just slowly cook and caramelize as with pineapple. (I'm guessing the latter.) I wonder if the dusky gray licorice ice cream gets its color from melted licorice candies as in this recipe: click This recipe is purported to produce a black ice cream but maybe cutting back a bit on the candies will produce a dark gray. Hope you report back on this and also, welcom to eGullet forums!

My current quote: "We watched him use his spoon to mold the mashed potatoes on his plate into the shape of a volcanic mountain. He poured gravy ever so carefully into the opening at the top. Then he set to work ridding his steak of fat, veins and other imperfections. It occurred to me that eating is the only form of professionalism most people ever attain." -- Don DeLillo, 1985 "White Noise" This does not really address the heart of this discussion but I thought it was an interesting observation...

Yikes! I'm sorry I waited too long to get this cookbook as well. I've checked it out of hte library numerous times and it was definately on my "to buy" list. I searched on Random House to see if there was any news for a re-issue; in paperback perhaps but found nothing. I send them an email and will update here if they respond. (Please, add me to the list if any one is interested in selling their copy.)

^Cool information, Jay. Thanks for sharing that.

A few others: From the Land of Figs and Olives: Over 300 delicious and unusual recipes from the Middle East and Africa by Habeeb Salloum and James Peters From Tapas to Meze: First courses from teh Mediterranean shores of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa by Joanne Weir (I've used this book quite often with great success.) and another great Wolfert book: Mediterranean Grains and Greens: A Book of Savory, Sun-Drenched Recipes by Paula Wolfert Does anyone have any comments on Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun? The book by the chef at Oleana in Cambridge came out a few years ago and sounds very interesting. I know people that have great meals there and the dishes sound fabulous. As far as I understand, it's not based on traditional dishes but rather traditional flavors from the region.

Good luck in your quest to change things, cheguevera, and I'll add my thanks for a fascinating blog!

Details, please! Have you made this recipe before? Will you cut the cake into two layers and fill w/apricot glaze/jam? Let us know how it turns out.

These sound incredible and your recollections are also wonderful to read. Thanks for sharing!

Another great book, although not exclusively focused on chile is Robb Walsh's "The Tex Mex Cookbook". There are at least 10 chile recipes in the book as well as many other great Tex Mex recipes. I also like Jamison and Jamison's "The Border Cookbook" for chili recipes and more. Out of curiosity, I searched for "chili" on Amazon and found many books!