NulloModo

No time to thaw a turkey between now and Thanksgiving? How long does it take? Just leave it out on the counter overnight and flip off the food-safety nazis.

My grandmother's recipe is something along the lines of this: Several cans of candied yams (yes, syrup and all). Crush in some pecans Add about a full jar of maple syrup, some karo, and a touch of molasses, I think brown sugar is also used liberally to thicken this. Add a stick or two of butter Bake in the oven (temp unknown to me) until all bubbly and delicious smelling. Pull out, place a bag or two of full size marshmallows on top, and back under the broiler until they brown over and get that wonderful smorsey gooey texture. This stuff is pure heaven in a pan.

The smoking thing is an interesting comparison. OK, so things started out with warnings on cigarette packs, fair enough, if you sell something that is dangerous and addictive, might as well warn people. Then it moved to advertising restriction. OK, to protect the impressionable kiddies, handicap the tobacco companies ability to advertise, it didn't seem to hurt them too much. Then laws about smoking in certain public places came to be. I can totally get behind these, I mean, hospitals, office buildings, places people have to be (instead of choose to be) and with a mix of smokers and non-smokers, well, the non-smokers shouldn't be exposed to the second hand smoke. Now, personally, I think it has gone a step too far. In my state (Delaware) a law was passed last year that makes it illegal to smoke indoors anywhere, any business (even a small business owner can't choose to make his or her place smoking or non-smoking), no smoking sections in restaurants, even if the air is filtered and they are completely set apart, no smoking in bars, no smoking in strip-clubs, no smoking in casinos. While there are certainly places one should not be smoking, there are places where one should just expect smoke, and the smoking section of a restaurant, a bar on a friday night, or a casino are examples of these places. The state has already lost millions in revenue to the bars and casinos due to this law, people just drive to PA, MD, or Atlantic City. People know smoking is dangerous, but the government hand-hold on the issue is fucking ridiculous. If someone wants to kill themself with a smoke, by gods let them. I could see this anti-fast food lobby becoming the same way. First it is mandatory warnings and information (I am all for mandatory posting or nutritional information, although I think warnings are a bit extreme, let each diner decide what is or isn't dangerous to them). Next will come advertising restrictions, no more Ronald McDonald or the Taco Bell Dog (not that he is around anymore anyway), they go off to hang with Joe Camel in the unemployment line. Then maybe restrictions on where fast food can be sold (well, I would agree to some restrictions here, I know some school systems have fast food places in the school cafeteria, this shouldn't be, but if you really look at it, it isn't that much worse (or any worse) than the slop school lunches are already made of). But what if it goes further? What if McDonalds can't set up shop within a certain distance of a school? What if You suddenly need parental consent to buy a big-mac. What if they regulate how much fat/how many calories a sandwich from a fast-food place (or any place) can contain? Government hand holding and babying just really piss me off. Let adults make their own decisions, let parents educate their kids to make their own decisions. I don't need anyone to legislate my day to day activities, and I resent the hell out of it when someone tries.

Well, personally, I don't see it as a bastardization, just a variation. Enjoying the real thing in moderation is just not an option on the low-carb plan I am on, or else I would consider that. As for skipping, why skip what you can recreate? My goal is not to make some disgusting abomination of bread, but rather a flavorful loaf that will see all sorts of duty. I am copying a bread that was on the market commercially for a while, and was wonderful. It was indistinguishable from flour based breads, I think mainly because of a great blend of the properties of ground flax meal and the wheat gluten. My attempts to bake with 100% proteins have led to overly chewy and tough results, while baking with pure fibers has led to dry crumbly goods. I think that if I can combine both and figure out how to get enough moisture into it, I will have a winner.

hmm, wow, some good idea in this thread. My spice cabinet is currently a mix of spices in the jars they came in (McCormick and etc), baggies from the co-op where I buy bulk spices, and some in paper bags or ziploc bags when the co-op bags inevitably bust open or when i buy big bags of SWAD stuff at the Indian grocery. I need a system too, I was thinking of moving to heavier grade ziploc bags and getting a cork-board that I could just pin the bags up to (theoretically through the upper lip, the part above the seal so as to not compromise the spice. I'm not sure how well that would work in practice however.

So today I went out grocery shopping with my father (I am heading out to my parents' place for Thanksgiving) and I think the menu is starting to come together. I am cooking some, they are cooking some, and our old neighbors (who still come to have Thanksgiving dinner with us, and in return we go to have Christmas dinner with them) are cooking some. Some will be low-carb, some high-carb, some traditional, some not-so much. Here is what it looks like for now: Appetizers: Relish Tray - Italian Marinated Mushrooms Italian Marinated Artichoke Hearts Dill Pickle Spears Pickled Okra Hearts of Palm Anchovy stuffed Hot Peppers Peanuts Pecans Smoked Oysters Tray of assorted Salumi and Hard Cheeses Includes various dry-cured salamis, pepperoni, prociutto di parma, 3-year aged Gouda, Parmesan Reggiano, Gruyere, various aged cheddars (including one whiskey infused and one washed with port wine), Marinated balls of fresh Mozerella, and whatever other things pop up. Crackers will also accompany this for the high-carb people. Tray of fresh cut vegetables and soft spreads Including Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Celery, Herb crusted Chevre, garlic-herb Boursin, sundried tomato and herb Boursin, various dressings. Main Dishes: Deep Fried whole turkey injected with a cajun marinade (this will be my first attempt at this, my father has placed me in charge of the bird... uh oh, no pressure there ;) ). Ham in an orange and coke glaze (my father is doing this one, the glaze is fairly high-carb, so I will imbibe this in extreme moderation). Sides: Squash casserole (involves yellow squash, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and fried asian-style onions on top. It is crispy, cheesey, and oh so decadent, my grandmother's recipe, lightly modified for low-carb duty). Southern style green beans with ham-hocks. Southern style collard greens with ham-hocks. Oyster Bread Stuffing (high-carb, the neighbors always bring this). Traditional corn-bread stuffing (also high-carb, my father is making this) Low-Carb no-bread stuffing (based on a recipe from FoodTV's Low-carb and Loving it) Candied yams (high-carb, with marshmallows on top, this will be hard to resist, but I will be strong. This used to be my favorite Thanksgiving dish). Faux Candied-yams (canned pumpkin, 'candied' pecan topping, maybe a meringue marshmallow topping as a stand in as was previously discussed). Low-carb cranberry Relish Fresh corn-bread (high-carb) Fresh low-carb dinner rolls (if Honeyville gets me my order in time and my initial experiments work out) Roasted assorted vegetables Onion Confit Creamed Onions Brazilian Style fried rice dish (high-carb) Low-carb creamy rissoto of cauliflower with saffron, cardamom, and chorizo. Desserts: Caramel Apple Pie (high-carb) Low-carb dual layer cheesecake/pumpkin pie with macadamia nut crust. Bourbon-molasses bread pudding (high-carb) Bossa Nova (a Brazillan Dessert - high-carb) Home-made ice cream (high-carb, although I might try to make a batch of LC ice cream if I can get ahold of the machine long enough) Various Coffees/dessert wines. So, while there will be plenty of high-carb temptations, I think I will be able to manage with the low-carb choices there as well. I am also looking forward to tons of leftovers and not having to cook for a bit.

This isn't the first double-huge burger to hit the market though. Bennigan's, the aforementioned Red Robins, McDonalds (with the double quarter pounder), In&Out (Double Double with cheese and bacon anyone?, or even a 4x4?), and other chains all have their huge mammoth burgers. This might be slightly bigger, but really 2/3 lbs vs. 1/2 lbs of meat is not that big of a difference. The others sell well, they have been on the menus for years. Actually, Hardees has had a 2/3 Lbs Thickburger on the menu already since the introduction of the line, it just didn't have a special name, and came with lettuce/tomato/onion instead of gobs of bacon and cheese.

Just wait until it's 6 PM and you're exhausted and don't feel like chopping carrots. You'll remember I said this, Rocks. ← Hehe, I am not going to argue against the convenience, but even in the world of dining and convenience food there are healthy and unhealthy options. Instead of heading off to McDonalds or Burger King why not go to Subway that has an entire array of salads and subs that can be made fairly healthy (and pretty decent for fast food), or head out to whatever ethnic places you have in the area, build up pallates for different taste profiles from a young age that way too.

Stone - I had totally forgotten about that combo. Every wing-joint in town down here offers up fries like that too. It is an awesome combo, heat and tang from the cayenne and vinegar in the hot sauce, fatty mouth-feel and cheesy creaminess from the blue-cheese, crisp fries soaking it all up, heaven.

I'm curious, do you have kids? Personal responsibility is very big in my book, too. But, as a parent, you're fighting multinational corporations with nine-figure advertising budgets being disbursed by people who have spent decades learning how to manipulate their target audience -- it's a bit of a struggle for, say, the overworked parent of a four-year-old. By the way, the wholesome stuff you prepare at home doesn't always appeal to children. Just as they prefer cartoons to Joyce, they often prefer hot dogs to steamed vegetables. I'd suggest you cut mom and dad a little slack. ← I didn't mean to come off as digging on parents. No, I do not have children of my own. However, I work as a teacher, grades 5 - 8, and due to my subject I see those students all year for all four years. This is only my second year in the position, but I have already gotten to know a lot of them very well, and I do understand the difficulty in reasoning with/educating kids. The personal responsibility rant partially comes from this, there is a lot of junk I end up dealing with that should be handled at home IMO, but I dig right into it anyway, just because I won't get anything done otherwise. This is a big reason I am in no hurry to have children of my own, I know it is a major undertaking, and I honestly don't think I am ready yet. However, when I do, I plan on raising them on wholesome home-cooked food from the very beginning. I have a feeling I have gotten into this before on eG, but as it pertains to this thread, I hope that if they are raised on the good stuff from a very young age, they will know better than to crave the fast-food junk as sustenance. I have a feeling it is far more difficult to wean kids already addicted to that slop off of it than it is to just keep them away from it from the get-go. Of course, when it comes to that the pervasive advertising could definately present a challenge, but then again I have issue with unsupervised mass-media contact for many hours a day at a young age anyway (that is a whole other rant). I am not trying to come off as condescending or elitist here, I just feel that too much blame is placed on corporations for essentially doing what it is they are in existance to do: sell a product. Our entire economic system is based on free market capatilism (well, close enough) and if we start forcing companies to take a fuzzy-bunny wholesome approach to advertising it could lead our economy even further into the crapper than it already is. Given the options, I will just expend the extra effort and educate my kids from the get-go, even if that means moving to Montana and cutting off the TV feed.

Ah. I am sure that if I were baking normal bread it wouldn't be an issue at all. However, when doing low-carb baking a lot of chemistry seems to come into play. The main ingredients of the rolls are vital wheat gluten (or perhaps wheat protein isolate, I will play with both and see what works better), flax seed meal, oat fiber, yeast, and polydextrose (which should feed the yeast, I am going to try to sub this for inulin). I suppose that I will have to try it without the sodium stuff, and who knows, maybe I won't even be able to tell a difference.

Make them all. You can never have too much on the table at Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving with my family and our old neighbors there will be an assortment of traditional, low-carb, and Brazillian dishes aboumding.

Rich - There are locations all over Northern DE, as well as other random places across the country (the chain started in New Castle County, DE). The one I usually go to is the Newark, DE location in Newark Shopping Center, but here is a full list: http://www.capriottis.com/images/newmenu.htm They also have a menu on the website. My personal favs are the Capastrami, the Bobbie, and the Slaw-B-Joe.

Regarding Primos: I have never been to one of the Philly locations, but I did get a sub from the one that opened on Main Street in Newark, DE a little over a year ago (summer before last I think). The selections are pretty expansive, and honestly, I can't remember what I ordered other than it not being that stellar. The meat was good, and in good quanitity, but the bread was dry, the flavorings were weak, and while I wasn't ready to trash it, it wasn't enough to bring me back to the place. When put up against Capriotti's, who IMO makes the best subs anywhere, DE, Philly, NJ, wherever, there is just no comparison, Capriotti's obliterates them. Capriotti's also has the benefit of baking all of their bread on premisis, so it is always fresh. Although this is a disadvantage if you go late in the day: you are limited in your sub size choices to the size of rolls they have left. Some busier days they have to close early because they run out of bread. Still though, if you like good sandwiches, you really need to check one out. The Capastrami is a personal favorite of mine.

I haven't read this book, but I am generally wary of anyone who takes the 'Big evil corporations vs. the good of the Nation' approach. I am a huge proponent of personal responsibility, and of parents raising children to make educated decisions. In my opinion this includes being able to filter out truth from fiction in advertising, and showing them that fast food really isn't that good to begin with, and that with a modest bit of effort far more tasty dishes can be prepared at home.

Hi, I am currently undertaking a baking project to recreate my favorite LC Bread, which unfortunately recently dissapeared from the market and the company who made it has apparently fallen off the face of the earth. Some like-minded individuals have helped reverse engineer a likely recipe for it, but one of the ingredients that has popped up is 'Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate'. Someone from another board dug this up for me about it: Now, preserving the rolls I will make will not be a huge issue, as I can basically cook them up as I need them. What I am wondering, is if I should try to get ahold of some of this stuff to toss in (I have no idea where I would even begin to find it) or if my rolls would be just as good if I left it out. Does anyone use this stuff? Are the effects dramatic, subtle. or something else? Also, the recipe calls for Ascorbic Acid (which I am told is Vitamin C). Will I be able to just buy some Vitamin C tablets at the grocery store and grind them up, or does baking use a different grade?

What goes into 'Da Bomb'? A local (very good) Greek-Style deli does a sub called 'Da Bomb' that includes: buffalo chicken strips, fried mozerrela sticks, marinara sauce, french fries, blue cheese dressing, fried onions, and a huge mound of melted provolone.

I am a sucker for candied yams topped with candied pecans and browned marshmallows. I know that apparently eG is marshmallow phobic, but in my mind, no better preparation of yams exists than covered in syrup, and baked under golden brown gooey marshmallow goodness. Now, if I could only figure out how to do that sugar-free.

Ah, but let's say you are on a typical 2000 calorie a day diet (is that what is typical now?).... If you eat a light breakfast, maybe some coffee and a piece of toast, you can indulge in the thickburger for lunch, and then, well, you probably won't be that hungry for dinner so you can get bye with maybe some fruit or a salad. When you look at it that way, it isn't that awful, but then again, if you indulge in the thickburger with an already loaded up daily caloric intake, maybe it becomes issue-ridden. ← So technically you can have a 250 calorie per slice of pizza for breakfast, one for lunch and then a thickburger for dinner, and have a hundred calories to play around with... That sounds reasonable. ← You'd probably be better off moving the thickburger further up in the day though, so as to night sleep with all those calories suddenly inside. Then again, I am afraid of the breakfast implications of such a dish, it brings to mind Simpsons references with the 'Good Morning Burger' (which I believe was a half or full pound of beef, five or six pieces of bacon, cheese, fried ham, and who knows what else).

Perhaps the original recipe didn't call for the duck to be cooked for so long? Maybe the paper didn't want potential liability issues from rare poultry and ordered it changed? Maybe if you leave out that overcooking bit the recipe is really good. (have you tried it?) I wouldn't throw myself into a tizzy until I had all of the facts and had given it a chance. I mean, I am sure there are better ways to prepare duck, but that doesn't look like it would be bad.

Ah, but let's say you are on a typical 2000 calorie a day diet (is that what is typical now?).... If you eat a light breakfast, maybe some coffee and a piece of toast, you can indulge in the thickburger for lunch, and then, well, you probably won't be that hungry for dinner so you can get bye with maybe some fruit or a salad. When you look at it that way, it isn't that awful, but then again, if you indulge in the thickburger with an already loaded up daily caloric intake, maybe it becomes issue-ridden.

Well, regular butter goes for around $4 a lbs at the grocery store, so, with shipping, this is only marginally higher than that. I have never bought butter in bulk however, how long will this keep in the fridge? Can I/should I freeze what I will not immediately use?

Hmmm, a pan of smoked greens could be interesting. I will also echo the advice of a smoked turkey leg though, or perhaps a couple drops of liquid smoke added to the pot liquor. Don't forget to add a bit of extra fat (olive oil I guess would work, or peanut oil, I suppose butter isn't kosher for all uses?) to make up for the leaner than pork turkey-meat.

I'd answer a hearty yes, yes, and yes (well, maybe not just mayo and cheese, but mayo and cheese in the context of a burger, definately).

Ah, that is what I was thinking of, not Midas Touch... hmmm, Midas Touch must be one of the other specialty brews.