heidih

I only had a maternal Oma (grandmother) and Alte-Oma (great grandmother). Oma did not let the kids do more than set the table, clear the dishes and wash up. She did let us go out to the minuscule patch of vegetable garden and harvest the Gruenzeug (green stuff in dialect). It was like a combo of flat leaf parsley and parsnip. The roots were always part of chicken soup and the leaves were the only herb we knew. We all enjoyed her green soup which was a simple roux based soup with a ton of finely minced parsley leaves. The seeds were brought over to the US by the lucky few who were able to afford to travel back to the Old Country. Seed trading and harvesting was a big deal. When I spied flat leaf parsley in a market in the early 80's I could not resist pinching a leaf and was transported back to childhood. Those were the days where curly parsley was all you saw. She also started the salad trend in our family which consisted of red leaf lettuce dressed with a simple mix of vinegar (industrial strength white) and a bit of salt and sugar. I was startled to see the same dressing in The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis I did not encounter iceberg lettuce until I was maybe 10(no restaurant meals in our clan). She worked full time as a cleaning lady at night in the big highrise offices downtown so her time was limited - always in a hurry. My cousin and I tried to surprise her by making bacon one morning - it burned a bit and I rushed the skillet over to the open window above which floated those lovely nylon or other synthetic curtains....meltdown....runaway grandkids. Maybe that is why she did not want us "helping" in the kitchen! She did cook delicious food but I was not privy to the process. The raise chicks for food experiment was a fail with the grandkids and even the adults now used to food less close to reality. We created quite the drama when she served them. Alte Oma on the other hand would at least let me watch. She was held in high regard for her noodle making skills; the thin noodles for the clear broth soups we had for Sunday dinner. She must have been good at the broth making as well since I recall crystal clarity. That taste memory is my standard. She emphasized that the noodles must be cooked separately in water so as not to cloud the broth. Noodles were made every couple weeks and then dried and stored in the aluminum tin (attached image). She used a big Nudelbrett (noodle board) that her son made and did the classic mound of flour with a well for the eggs. I learned at a very early age about the need to rest the dough before rolling it out to get the maximum thinness. Her rolling pin did not have any mechanics in it to allow it to spin - just a rounded surface with handles. When ready to cut she wielded the super sharp boning knife (my dad the butcher brought home sample knives from knife vendors and kept them surgical grade sharp). To this day my 91 year old dad fondly remembers her noodles which he has not had in 45 years or more and I am pretty good with doughs.

Here is the link to our Cook-Off on Summer Squashes mentioned earlier http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145452-cook-off-63-summer-squash/

To back up - are the people you are cooking for familiar with traditional US Thanksgiving meals and want to experience it in some way or is this a theme you have chosen? The difference to me would be whether there are expectations of certain flavors or if you just want to present a unique meal that riffs on Thanksgiving.

I jumped there as well when I read this. Yesterday I sampled this new product at Trader Joes http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=1347 The concept is a baked half acorn squash, filled with traditional turkey pot pie ingredients, topped with puff pastry. Everyone get their own "pie". Smoked tofu cubes or lentils in lieu of turkey perhaps? Since you are in India I think having a tamarind and a cilantro chutney alongside would rally give you great varied flavor bursts.

Munchymom's blog week has started here http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146287-eg-foodblog-munchymom-livin-la-vida-locavore/

Same here. For formal meals we fold the paper towels in a triangle. OMG. That's what we do. Casual meal - family and close friends - the roll is on the table or in close proximity. Formal? We tear off individual towels and fold them. Really, really formal? Like Christmas? Ikea is your friend for cheap, attractive, sturdy paper napkins. How many of us honestly find napkins necessary at EVERY meal? When it's only family. Even for buffet style family gatherings and holidays I always designated my challenged niece as the paper towel folder. She looked forward to it as a ritual, and we were all mess free and happy.

When our group of "junkers" goes to the local diner after the big flea market we always ask the waitress for extra "good napkins". They put tough ones on the table under the silverware but wimpy ones in the push dispenser on the table. You have to use maybe 4 of the wimps to achieve the performance of the toughies. Cloth does not environmentally or practically pencil out for me at home, especially when entertaining. I have often seen a guest scope out the paper towel holder rather than sully a pretty cloth napkin.

I stumbled into Whole Foods yesterday after a very long work day with the intention of grabbing some chicken necks and backs. Yes I could have driven 25 minutes to the big Chinese market, but gas costs and irritability factors prevailed. I needed to get some chicken stock going to save my sanity. I was pleasantly surprised that the organic necks (out of backs) were $1.99 per pound. The butcher also pointed out that they also had turkey necks and turkey wings for the same price. I got an assortment and also a few chicken feet (non GMO). They were pricey at $2.49 a pound, but I love the gelatin they add to stock. The turkey parts he said were in response to folks wanting to make turkey broth for gravy ahead of the holiday.

The generally accepted caution (and I have experimented) is that the pumpkins sold for display around Halloween tend to be stringy and watery when cooked as well as not too sweet or tasty. Of course as a free experiment you could have a go; roasting to concentrate would probably be the best method.

I am not a fan of glazed ham but was catering to the tastes of a majority when I hit on a winner. There was no elaborate planning, it was just "ok gotta do this". As I recall there was a bit of Dijon, and some brown sugar or honey, but the key was the citrus element. I had a ton of kumquats on my tree which have the lovely floral note in the thin skin and quite a tart burst in the juice and flesh. I whizzed it in the food processor and rubbed it into the scored ham. Very well received. I realize kumquats are not a standard item so perhaps a mix of tangerine and lemon juice and zest would mimic. I am also not a fan of cloves poked into ham - it reminds me of those ladies magazine images of hams with a perfect pattern of cloves, canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries.

From West Palm Beach, Florida

Yes Kerry - from personal indulgence to CSA - munchymom will be sharing with us on Monday

And last time it was not exactly veg centric

I am on the west coast and have to work tomorrow so let me throw this out as a bonus: We have seen her before

Dang inefficient eG search function

Yes - hoping Franci gifts us with a blog in her new environment soon but - she is, as you noted, in NYC - so not Franci

Our next blogger is a woman and she kinda gave it away with the last image - think, think, thnk

No Jason.

Last image:

No not judiu

Thanks Nancy - I felt for a moment like I was present at the celebration. I am now obsessing about roasting some winter squash over my fire pit! As soon as you described the corundas my mind jumped to these Asian leaf wrapped treasures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi For the corundas -I enjoyed this video Good cooking and eating is truly the universal language (well and holding babies)

Welcome Stephen. I am completely on board with all your dishes. Do you make your own green curry paste or use a prepared one? Also the Carib brown chicken stew intrigues me. I know some of the islands use a "burnt sugar" base as a flavoring and browning agent. How was the molasses incorporated, and did it just round out the flavors or is it a fairly sweet dish?

Definitely a view that makes you want to hang out and chill.......along the Intracoastal Waterway

I have purchased frozen Korean potsticker type dumplings that contain glass noodles. It add a unique texture and they also absorb liquids.

By "what coast" I meant to point out that there is land on two sides.