Kim Shook

M. Lucia - I will try the second egg. The reason I am using bread flour is that that is what Alton Brown uses as opposed to AP in his chewy chocolate chip cookies. I think that I did cook some of them too long. I tasted them again last night and some of them were less brown and more chewy! So I will try these again after Thanksgiving. Shaloop - I have printed out your chewier ingredients and will try when I test the chocolate chips. Thanks to all! Kim

I used Jif peanut butter. Every recipe I have seen cautions against using 'natural' peanut butter - so I went with that. Besides, to be honest, my peanut butter taste buds stopped developing at age 6 - I actually prefer the Jifs, Peter Pans and Skippys! I think that the peanut butter chips do add a nice little burst of flavor. I just had another cooky. Taste is still really, really good, but they are awfully crunchy today. Crap. So what do I do? Add another egg? Why is this particular cooky so much trouble??? I make incredible ginger cookies with Sugar Babies that are perfectly chewy. They have molassas in them. Should I add molassas or some corn syrup? Help! Kim

So - here's the update. I spent the weekend on Peanut Butter cookies. I tried about three different recipes and finally came up with my own version that is the best I can do for now. I did try the flourless ones and the flavor was incredible, but I didn't care for the texture - they turned out fudgy and very, very flat. I wanted big, fat cookies. After I get Thanksgiving out of the way, I will be starting to experiment with chocolate chip cookies. I will check back in then! Thanks for all the information, everyone! Here is my recipe: Almost the Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Katie, I don't know if you could freeze just the roux or not - I'll have to let someone else answer that one. But I ALWAYS make my cranberry sauce ahead of time (I made enough today for Thanksgiving and Christmas). My recipe is just a bag of cranberries, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. orange juice and the zest from one orange. It turns out perfectly when thawed. If I were using your recipe, I would add the walnuts before serving. That sounds like a wonderful recipe!

ludja, that's one of the reasons that I do it in advance - there was NEVER enough gravy for me. I adore good gravy and have been known to pour it over leftover rolls for lunch! I do use the gravy drippings on the day of the meal. I just use a fat separator and add it to the hot gravy. Since I serve the meal buffet style, the gravy goes in a slow cooker early in the day and I serve it right from there. I love the look of a beautiful gravy boat, but don't like having to refill it constantly.

Kris, how does that freezing the cheesecakes work? Do you have to make any adjustments to the recipe? I'd love to hear about it. I love cheesecake and freezing them for special occasions would be wonderful!

Since I have Veteran's Day off and gravy prep takes three days around here, I am in the midst of getting Thanksgiving gravy ready for freezing. I always freeze it so that I won't have so many last minute things to do on 'The Day' and it tastes better anyway. Last night I roasted a gazillion turkey wings with onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, a sprinkling of Bell's poultry seasoning and slurry of tomato paste and olive oil. They got all tanned and sexy and the vegetables caramelized beautifully. This morning I am simmering them in water and the turkey version of ‘Better than Bouillon’ (I LOVE this stuff) in my 16 qt. le creuset and another big ass no-name stock pot. The aroma is luscious!! Later, I will strain and shred the meat and refrigerate the stock. Tomorrow morning I’ll have gallons of lovely turkey Jell-O! Then I’ll make a good dark brown roux and spend most of the day making the gravy in my mother-in-law’s huge cast iron soup pan, tasting and adjusting seasonings as I go along. I’ll add my shredded turkey bits and freeze it all. I love this process! The smells and tastes. It makes me feel like a real cook! So what preparations has everyone else started?? What do you do ahead? My mom is making the cheese potatoes for Thanksgiving and I got a warm, cozy feeling knowing that, even though we are a couple hundred miles apart, we are doing the same thing and will be together to share the results of our labors in a couple of weeks. Sentimental, of course, but that’s what holidays are about, no?

This is our favorite - fairly simple, but very good and rich. I put this recipe on the site a few years ago - if I were to update it, I would suggest using a Bain-marie to cook it in: Pumpkin Cheesecake

We are celebrating Thanksgiving at our daughter's dorm apartment this year. She is a Residential Assistant, so she can't leave (she volunteered to avoid Xmas duty) and we are joining her along with 2 sets of grandparents and a couple of other RA's. The menu is what she wanted - myself and grandmothers doing most of the cooking - but it's mostly our traditional stuff for all that. We love experimentation with new and unusual things, but NOT on Xmas and Thanksgiving - there are 363 other days in the year for that! Liptauer w/ Crackers Turkey Oyster Stuffing Gravy Sweet Potato Soufflé w/ Marshmallows and Bourbon Syrup Cheese Potatoes Broccoli Casserole Butter Beans Corn Casserole Cranberry Sauce Fruit Salad Bread Apple Pie Pecan Pie

Thanks for the ideas - I will try them and let everyone know the results. I have made the Toll House recipe and it just doesn't do it for me.

Every year I try a new recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies at Christmas. Help me, please!!! Here's what I am looking for: Chocolate Chips: chewy, buttery, strong chocolate flavor, NOT cakey, with a bit of a snap to the crust Peanut Butter: VERY chewy - almost, but not quite, dry; EXTREMELY strong peanut butter flavor; I want a big, thick cookie without any cakeyness Thanks so much! Kim

When I was 4 years old (1963), my uncle showed me that the can of peas said "English" on them and told me that they were the kind the Beatles ate - I choked them down for a couple of years before I wised up. Still don't eat the nasty little boogers.

Thanks, everyone! These are all good ideas - I am printing everything out and putting in my 'try soon' file! Hi, Katie! I love pot roast, too! I grew up with the opposite of the all-American mom as far as cooking went! Sautéed meats, rare roast beef, stir frys, fresh veggies, lots of pasta. No fried chicken, not pot roast, no casseroles! So, of course, I love all that stuff and had to learn to cook it when I grew up. My very favorite pot roast is Ronald Johnson’s from “Simple Fare”. It’s on my webpage: http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/..._Pot_Roast.html

With Fall almost upon us, I am in the mood for some comforting, sustaining foods. I want pot roast, Brunswick stew, CASSEROLES!! Well, I have my perfect recipes for the first two, but most of my beloved (in childhood, at least) casserole recipes start with: Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. Alas, I have discovered that my palate is just not suited to that anymore - I feel like I actually TASTE the metal can (I'm not really kidding here - I was really disappointed when I made a couple of old favorites and couldn't figure out why I didn't like them anymore - I tried fresh herbs, different herbs and finally realized that it was the soup ). So - here's my question: what can I substitute that will give that gooey, rich mouthfeel, but not that chemical, tongue coating flavor?? A thick white sauce made with chicken stock? I would really appreciate any help you could give me. (PS - this is first time I have started my own topic and only my second post - be kind if I've done something wrong )

My first egullet post! I loved this article so much and I was inspired to search for some of the Pleasures of Cooking on ebay. I am proud to report that I got 6 issues for $21.51 including shipping!! I can't wait to get them. Maggie, I love reading your posts - finding egullet has been like finding 'my people'!