SuzySushi

That's why I write a list and post it on my refrigerator door. . . I then forget to read it! That's why for Christmas dinner last year, with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, I forgot to serve the horseradish I bought especially for the occasion. For my eGullet blog, no less!!!

I can't vouch for it, but my sister's secret for cleaning stubborn stains is. . . toothpaste!!!

Wonderful blog so far! And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! Tell me more about the Zha Leung. I presume the rice noodles are wrapped around the cruller after it's fried. Hot or cold? Sweet or savory?

I agree with Jaymes on the walk-by-the-refrigerator-and-eat method of dealing with turkey leftovers. We never have much left over anyway because each guest gets a "care package" to take home for sandwiches the next day. One year we didn't even have that because we made up hot turkey dinner plates for the gate guards at our local military base. I've never tasted turkey divan casserole!

My most memorable -- and useful -- cooking images come from the early days of cooking shows on TV, from a Chinese cooking show on public television (aka "Channel 13") in NYC. This must've been in the 1960s or early 1970s at the latest, because I was still living at home with my parents. I wish I could trace the name of the chef, because he was really good! Does anyone else recall this show?? One of the lessons I remember was how to use a wok to stir-fry and started by heating the dry wok, then dribbling cooking oil around the inside rim. Another was on a "master sauce" for simmered chicken.

Sounds like the "waifs & strays" dinners I used to make when I was single in NY. Thanksgiving, above all, is about sharing with people, the camaraderie, the memories. . . even of the funny incidents. But if you love to cook, it's also about the love you put into the meal. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed!

What a great blog & super photographs! Was this a special food-related tour? How did you find out about it?

Guilty!

Oh, great! Maybe I will run into you! There are only 7 million people in Hong Kong. Hard to miss. ← This is a little OT, but stranger things have happened! On my first trip to Rome, I was walking down the Via Veneto, minding my own business, when I ran into someone who'd been in my Italian class in NYC!!! (How many people live in and visit Rome???) I hadn't known she'd be traveling there. She had an Italian boyfriend, and he took both of us on to see Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. On the way there, we stopped to buy a watermelon on the road, which he portioned out with his penknife, and on the way back, we had real Italian pizza for dinner. (Okay... I managed to link this neatly back to food!)

Reviving this old thread. . . . OMG, last week I found Mallomars on sale at Wal-Mart here in Hawaii!!! I haven't had them since I was a kid. . . I knew about their seasonality but never realized they were so much a New York thing and unavailable in much of the rest of the country. (I'd better buy a second freezer before spring!)

Both pumpkin pie and cheesecake made with Splenda are very good. The pumpkin pie is indistinguishable in flavor from the real thing, though the cheesecake needs a little perking up with other flavors. You can just substitute Splenda Granular in your favorite recipe, or PM me for recipes.

Oh, yum!!! I am so looking forward to this!!! Safe flights, and have a great trip!!!

Portuguese sausage & eggs for breakfast at McD's here in Hawaii, with rice, of course. You can also get a bowl of saimin (thin ramen noodles in soup) any time of the day. With chopsticks, if you ask. The pineapple's only in Waikiki for tourists, though.

Also, in the old days (i.e., when I was growing up in the '50s), neighborhood Chinese restaurants used to offer a choice of either egg drop soup or wonton soup with their lunch or dinner menus, so many Americans became familiar with these soups because they were "free," much like the egg rolls that also came with the meal.

Wooh! These are really over-the-top!

Spumoni ice cream has the colors of the Italian flag... ← Also pizza Margherita...

I actually baked this yesterday (not today) for a Mexican "Day of the Dead" party: Pan de Muertos, "Bread of the Dead," a rich sweetbread flavored with anise seeds, orange peel, and cinnamon. The shapes on the top are meant to represent bones.

True, "exchange diets" are mostly a thing of the past because they are at best estimates. They have been replaced by "carb counting," especially for those on insulin pumps. But I am puzzled when you say diet is a very small part of diabetes management -- especially for insulin-dependent diabetes (which both my husband and our 11 year old daughter have). Yes, they test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin before each meal and snack. BUT, they are on a sliding scale that depends not only on correcting their blood sugar level, but on how many carbohydrates they expect to eat at that meal.

Wow! The interesting things one learns by reading on eGullet!

First of all, my commiserations. But then again, it's not the end of the world -- not even the world as you know it. My husband has Type 1 diabetes, which was diagnosed when he was in his 30s. Our 11 year old daughter was diagnosed with diabetes 2 years ago. I cook for both, we all eat out, and enjoy almost everything IN MODERATION. Key one is that everything can be worked into a so-called "diabetic diet" -- starchy carbs, sugar, fat -- as long as you keep your diet reasonably balanced and you've taken enough medication (insulin or whatever other medication you're on) to balance your carb intake. Your doctor should have given you a basic diet plan. You should also work with a dietician so that you understand how much fat, protein, and especially how many carbs you can eat per meal. As long as you keep these numbers reasonably close to your goal, WHAT you eat doesn't especially matter. Sure, it would be unsound nutritionally to make an entire meal of desserts, but there are no inherently "bad" foods. Your dietician can also help you work out meal plans for lunch. Counting carbs is the most accurate way of measuring your carb intake, and there are plenty of guidebooks as well as online guides. However, your dietician may also give you an "exchange diet" where approximately 15 grams of carbohydrates = 1 exchange. That means 1 slice of toast bread, 1/2 a small bagel, 1/3 cup of cooked rice, a scant 1/2 cup of cooked pasta, or 1 small (3 ounce) potato is one exchange. Milk, BTW, is counted as a carbohydrate (12 grams of carbohydrates per cup). Multiply this by the number of exchanges you're allowed per meal to figure out your carbs. If you have a good eye for cooking, you'll quickly learn to eyeball portion sizes and be able to estimate their carb counts. Again, for more accuracy, popular dishes at many fast-food and chain restaurants are listed in guidebooks, or the restaurants will have nutritional data available (but I wouldn't expect this in a fine restaurant. A couple of other recommendations: Become a member of the American Diabetes Association (and through membership, a automatic subscriber to their excellent magazine, Diabetes Forecast). Through them, we've been aware of some new medical developments before our primary care physician! And when you're doing your fingersticks for glucose tests, use the sides of your fingertips -- they have fewer nerve endings than the tips themselves and are less sensitive to pain. Best wishes, and feel free to email me for more detailed information. I posted here when my daughter was diagnosed and I got some invaluable help and reassurance from other eGullet members!

This is going to sound really strange, but something else you can use to cut the almond paste is mashed cooked white beans (such as cannellini)!!! This is based on the bean-paste fillings used in Asian sweet pastries. The mashed beans approximate the texture of almond paste, and they don't spread during baking. You can sweeten the almond paste/bean paste blend to taste after you mix it.

Having grown up in Brooklyn (Ocean Parkway near Kings Highway) I am so looking forward to this! It'll be fun to read what changes have taken place (or not. . .) since the last time I visited.

Ooooh! These sound really good! My first time to hear of urfa-biber too, but I have a package of Aleppo pepper in the freezer and just bought a packet of ras el hanout, so I'll experiment with those...

Family of four here. Our Costco staples (I have this list pretty miuch memorized and we just go aisle-by-aisle!): Shelf-stable: Cheerios Kirkland canned chicken chunks canned mushrooms hearts of palm Del Monte (I think) pears in glass jars Splenda packets during the holiday season, Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix Kirkland pepper grinder, salt grinder, and vanilla (but these last a long time) Refrigerated: Hormel/Kirkland fully cooked bacon Frozen: Occasionally shrimp scampi or shrimp tempura Kirkland sirloin beef patties Deli: Kirkland smoked salmon -- that alone is worth our Costco membership as there are few other places to buy decent smoked salmon here imported cheese -- our local Costco recently increased its selection of imported cheeses and we can now find good Gruyere, AOC Comte, Ossau-Iraty, and other cheeses we like. domestic cheese -- coils of Karoun Lebanese string cheese Carnegie Deli/Kirkland pastrami Costco rotisserie chickens!!! Meat/Poultry/Seafood: steaks leg of lamb (occasionally) fresh fish -- salmon, catfish, trout, or whatever else looks good that day sashimi Alaskan king crab legs Fresh Produce: bananas whatever other fresh fruit looks good that day salad greens grape tomatoes miniature bell peppers artichokes other fresh vegetables as desired Bakery: La Brea Bakery rosemary olive oil bread Country Hearth raisin bread Soft Drinks: cases of soft drinks cases of Kirkland bottled water (for the car) Non-food: Kirkland AA batteries Kirkland toilet paper laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dishwasher detergent

Like Tri2Cook, my line is drawn when I plan the menu. Being a hospitable hostess, I try to serve dishes I know most of the diners will eat. Since my sister has severe food allergies and my daughter used to be an extremely picky eater, I am used to adjusting recipes to suit -- no dairy, no nuts, "nothing green" that can't be picked out before serving, etc. If there's a recipe I know would not go over well with a particular group of guests, I won't serve it unless it's at a big dinner (e.g., Thanksgiving) where there are other alternatives. No one has ever left my table hungry!