Smithy

It was a Kliban cartoon of a cat, playing guitar and singing that catchy little tune. I remember it well! May even still have the book. I'm with @Nyleve Baar on the sticky glue traps. Years ago I went through the process of trying to de-mouse my kitchen (and the rest of the rental house). I began with live traps and relocating the mice about 10 miles up the road. Friends and family laughed, of course, and assured me that the critters would be back. I never knew whether those particular mice made it back, but it didn't make a dent in the population and I assumed it was because I didn't have enough live traps. I added sticky traps, thinking I'd be able to free the mice from the glue. Not a chance. They clearly died a horrible, slow, terrifying death. I stopped for a while, until they went beyond the pale and got into my Girl Scout cookies. Then it was war! I moved on to snap traps: quick and deadly. I don't remember what bait I used, but I got rid of the little devils.

@rotuts, I have a love/hate relationship with that plastic threaded spout attached to the cardboard milk or cream carton. It seems an unnecessary use of plastic, but it does make for a spill-proof container. That spill-proofness is important when we're traveling. Since the waxed-cardboard cartons don't seem to be recyclable anyway, I think it's more a personal kink on my part than any practical reason to object to that plastic spout. I don't remember whether I was in Northern Ontario or South Africa (I know, about as far apart as possible) when I first encountered milk--in-a-bag. Never saw it in my U.S. places of residence. It's interesting to read about the development of the system, and to know that it has turned up in parts of the U.S.

Is that something you can summarize here?

@Kim Shook, you put on the sort of spread I'd like to put on. Even if we had a large enough group to justify it, though, I doubt I'd have the organization skills to pull it off. Between those meals and the Christmas sweets, it looks like you're feeding an entire neighborhood! I can assure you that the smoked salmon spread would not have gone to waste if I'd been there, or any of my family. You may send it to me, if you wish! On the other hand, that darling candy cane dish with olives would be a magnet for me and ignored by my husband and all of his kin. Lovely folks, but some of their dislikes mystify me. I hope your Burning Mouth syndrome - or whatever it is - is resolved quickly and fully!

Thanks for that link, Anna. Questions: Did you use less spinach than the recipe suggests? What would you do differently, if anything, to cut down the richness? I may be trying this recipe very soon, since it looks good and I happen to have everything except that much spinach.

I do think they end up with slightly different textures, so yes - that makes it interesting. I also like the combination of flavors of the different beans. This time around, I tried the "hurry up" method: no soak, boil for an hour and a half, then add the seasonings and extra ingredients (tomatoes, chilis if you use them) and simmer another 45 minutes. It wasn't thick enough, so I added a pint of jellied bean liquor that's been taking up space in the fridge. That thickened the lot and added nice flavor that had been missing. The results were good, but in future I'll stick to the slower method: soak the beans first, then drain, then do a quick boil and a long slow simmer until it's all properly done.

I should have found this topic before I posted to the New Year's Eve 2019 topic! For that dinner, I cooked up a batch of jalapeno cornbread from a mix I'd bought last spring, in Tucson. It's worth noting that this is very crumbly stuff. The taste is pretty good, but the chunks of dried jalapeno might be a bit jarring. It was fun to try, but I don't think I'll make a point of stocking this particular brand. It is instructive to me to see that this does have a bit of sugar. I don't like "sweet" corn bread and have eschewed the sugar idea. but this isn't too sweet.

I was wrong about the cornbread mix using blue corn, but I did indeed cook up a batch of Hambeans Soup, with smoked pork hocks that have been taking up refrigerator space in a sealed bag since last September, and the cornbread mix. Somehow - perhaps it was the wine - I didn't get pictures of anything served, but here are the elements: (Bean soup is not especially photogenic without garnishes, is it?) We've been eating on the leftovers since NYE. The cornbread was an impulse buy last spring, in Tucson, and is part of a desultory exploration of cornbread that began over 2 years ago. This stuff is very, very crumbly. It's pretty good, but I don't think I'd bother with it again. I think I'd prefer something with a bit more cohesion.

Ponchovilla, what did you do finally, and how did it come out?

I think I'm glad I didn't buy when these were on sale.

@haresfur, more info on the mountain pepper berry, please? I don't want to derail this topic, but I do want to know more about that spice.

I had planned shrimp ceviche for New Year's Eve, with special crackers or bread and maybe some wine. However, it's supposed to be cool tonight, and I think of ceviche as more of a warm-weather dish. Instead I'm leaning toward bean soup with smoked pork hocks and some blue corn jalapeno cornbread from a mix I bought on a whim last spring. It will all help heat the kitchen...and get one of my impulse buys out of the cupboard!

We ran out of bread and are at least a week from visiting a grocery store. In the interests of having sandwich bread rather than my usual so-small batards or too-flat boules, I went for a loaf of sandwich bread. The recipe was one I've used from a Peter Reinhart bread-baking class, though I generally use it to make rolls. We're set for a few days, and if necessary I have enough raw material to do it again. I'm glad I can do this by hand, even though he recommends a mixer! The loaf came out well and I'm starting to regain confidence in my bread baking after a months-long hiatus.

Adding detail to lindag's answer: it's the Philips Avance Smokeless Grill, with Cleaning Tool included as a bonus. Tempting!

I didn't do a prime rib this year for Christmas or for Thanksgiving, but this is essentially the same technique I use. I think it gives great results; your photos are a testament to that. Maybe next year I'll do it in degrees C and see if it's any better that way.

We've been completely out of communication for the past week, and our Christmas plans more or less fell apart due to poor weather preventing my sister from being able to get to us. It was just the two of us, with a slightly abbreviated dinner that still gave us way too much food and too much post-dinner dish cleanup. It was delicious, but overkill. Because I had planned for company, I allowed for many decadent breakfasts and dinners that still haven't come to pass! @Shelby, that broccoli and sausage strata looks like one of them. Is that perhaps a recent recipe from King Arthur Flour? That was my intent. Yours looks wonderful. @Okanagancook, I'm sorry your Christmas was so badly disrupted! That's one for the books! Glad you're on the mend now.

David, what a fun book! Many thanks for sharing it with us!

Welcome, GRiker! It looks like you'll fit right in here, and we're glad you've decided to de-lurk. The chocolate and confectionary topics have really been taking off, and there's a lot of community support for folks learning the ropes. I've never done anything more elaborate with chocolate than fudge or fondue, but I enjoy watching people's progress.

@David Ross, you're making me thoroughly sorry that I'm nowhere near the West Coast and have no plans to get there this season!

Norm, I've been looking at Stollen recipes and debating between Melissa Clark's version on the NYTimes or Alton Brown's version on the Food Network. I bet yours is better. Do you have a link to it?

This will be the first Christmas we've hosted for the entirety of our marriage, because it has always been another, more centrally-located family member who brought everyone together. The clan has scattered, and it will just be my darling, my sister and me. That said, it should be plenty for all: beef short ribs, carrot salad ("steaks") with bearnaise sauce and thyme, green beans with bacon (the only traditional family favorite to appear here), potatoes roasted in duck fat, bread of an as-yet-undetermined type, and passionfruit panna cotta. That's the dinner. I haven't decided yet for breakfast whether it will be something sensible or something decadent. Sensible options include yogurt, fruit salad, cereal and toast. Decadent options include sausage rolls (with thanks to @Shelby, @Kim Shook and @JohnT) or a King Arthur Flour Holiday Breakfast Strata that caught my eye. Since my sister will be visiting more than one day, I suppose we can spread the decadence out a bit.

I agree with @Anna N's observation that there are spectacular bread bakers here with no classroom training. If you're interested in an online course, I recommend Peter Reinhart's course on Artisan Bread Baking. When I took it, he interacted with the class and answered questions, even though the videos had been shot some time before. I don't know how long that can be counted on, but since the course is still available he may still be checking in on it. The class is taught under Bluprint.com. You can join Bluprint for an annual fee, or buy individual courses. I think I paid $15 or $20 for this course, when it was on sale. Artisan Bread Baking with Peter Reinhart

*Bump* How would one go about making the flan's caramel layer with caramelized fruit juice? I ask because I had an amazing and delicious flan last year with prickly pear caramel. I wouldn't mind trying to make it myself. Could it be as simple as cooking a fruit syrup until it begins to turn brownish, like caramel, then go on with the rest of the custard as usual? Would syrup be the better starting point, or juice?

This is very useful information, and I thank you for it. Noise is something that has put me off the idea of getting an induction unit, based on comments I've read here and elsewhere. It seems the A4 folks have got that problem figured out.

@blue_dolphin, it's also possible those clerks didn't know good wine! In that case I'm being irresponsible repeating that story. Please report back when you try the wine!