Katie Meadow

My understanding of the stock that is used in gravy is that it is typically not made from roasted parts, but that's because you don't have roasted parts until the turkey is done, in which case it would too late to make a stock for gravy. We usually make the necessary small amount of stock for gravy by using the raw parts such as turkey neck and gizzard, and adding half an onion, some celery tops and simmering for up to two hours, ending up with about 2+ cups of stock. If our stock is too weak we boil it down a bit. That liquid is used to deglaze the pan as the first step in the gravy process. If you happen to have any type of strong turkey stock around before you have cooked the bird--whether from raw parts or roasted--I don't see why you couldn't use that. I do think there is a pretty distinct difference in stock made from raw poultry/bones vs roasted; that's why turkey soup made from the carcass and trimmings of a roasted bird tastes so special. But I can't see going out of my way to achieve roasted stock just for making gravy, since stock is only one ingredient in good gravy and you will be picking up the scrapings and drippings flavors plus the winey meaty flavor of brown sauce if you are including that in your gravy, and the buttery flavor of a roux if you add that for a little body. In a perfect world one might use a beef bouillion made from roasted bones for the brown sauce, but even James Beard used a can. I've never used a combo of roasted and raw turkey to make a stock, but I don't see why you couldn't. Doesn't Julia Child throw in raw and roasted things in the same soup pot?

It never occured to me to base the size of the turkey on the number of people eating it, which I admit is strange. In fairness, I don't always order the turkey myself, sometimes my FIL picks it up at the farm near them without even asking those who cook it what they want. I find anything under 12 lbs to be not worth the stuffing, and anything over 18 lbs to be unmanageable. That said, with the advent of teenagers and increasing numbers of adults who are no longer strict vegetarians, we've been doing turkeys on the big side the past few years. If there are 7-8 turkey eaters, close to an 18 pounder is enough for next day leftovers plus more, so I guess that's 2 lbs per person plus a few more. My main motivation for cooking a turkey (other than the the fact that no one else is willing to do it) is the carcass. So for me, big is better. And if there is more meat on the bird than leftovers can deal with, that just makes better soup. If you really have an overwhelming number of white-meat eaters, I guess it is worth the trade-off to undercook the dark meat (whatever is too rare just goes into the soup pot.) That would be my husband's solution if he owned the world. Unfortunately I love falling-off-the bone dark meat, but I'm in the minority. So, as the turkey approaches millenium, swords are drawn. We agree to let one of my SILs be referee. She shakes the leg and delivers her oracle (it was originally her mother's Nashville recipe, even though she doesn't eat turkey any more.) Every single year, she says it needs another half hour, which is probably based on nothing much, but is to my advantage so I can shut up gracefully.

Sam Sifton's description today in the NYT of the menu at Alinea was pretty funny, especially the dessert. Maybe you can save $100 if you BYOB: bring your own bubblegum. Needless to say, I'm positive that I will never be in a position--or have the inclination--to spend $877 on dinner for two. The last time I had burning leaves, tubes, foam and bubblegum together was probably when my family's old television exploded the October I turned ten. And of course I'm thoroughly unqualified to discuss Alinea, never having been within 1000 miles of it. I'm sure it's delicious.

We aim for around 6 pm. Since we have Thanksgiving on the coast, no one wants to give up all the best daylight hours that could be spent walking or playing on the beach--rain or shine. Plus it's essential to get away from each other and all dogs need to be made very tired. And some parties don't arrive until mid-afternoon. Besides, cooking a turkey and making dressing is a major undertaking, and our turkey is usually at least 17 lbs. Since my husband and I do that part, there's no way I'm gonna get up at 6 am and start cooking. And some of the teenagers who are responsible for side dishes don't climb out of their nests til noon. Yes, most of us nibble lightly or skip lunch, and some of us would like to see the complete disappearance of appetizers. But that will not happen in my in-laws' life time. We typically are forced to watch a slide show between dinner and dessert; mostly pictures we've all see a thousand times. The next day is much more fun: all play, leftover pie for breakfast (when you can really appreciate it) oysters from Hog Island at dinner. Best of all: no TV reception at the beach.

Not generally a huge Martha Stewart fan, but the sweet potato pie recipe from her original Pies and Tarts book is very forgiving, not overly sweet and tastes like, well, sweet potatoes. The recipe can handle slightly less sugar than called for, and works with more potato to same amt of cream and eggs, if you have a deep dish. The converse is true: you can cut back the eggs by one and the cream by 1/4 c and still use the 2 c packed potato. The recipe below reflects some adjustments I have made, and not the original. I tend to underspice this pie, since I really prefer to taste the sweet potato, and not anything that reminds me of pumpkin pie, but you may want to up the spices to your taste. The potatoes can be prepped ahead--I've never noticed any lack of quality. One unbaked pie shell, 9 inch (we use a simple pate brisee) Bake 4 big or 6-7 smallish sweet potatoes until very soft. Scoop out, mash and pack to approx 2 c. 3 large eggs lightly beaten 1/3 c granulated sugar 1/8-1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp grated lemon rind 1.5 c or slightly less light cream or half and half (You could use some heavy cream, and it would be richer) 4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl, set aside. Combine, eggs, sugar, spices, salt lemon rind and cream in a smaller bowl and whisk til combined. Pour this into the potatoes and stir til thoroughly combined. Add the butter, mix well. Pour into the pie crust and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until filling is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing. You may need to protect the edges of the crust from getting too dark, since this is a long cooking time.

What with chestnut bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked yams, wild rice, veg sides and salad, a veg main dish that's typically high carb, the absurd consumption of crackers or chips that get eaten with olives and hummus and cheese before dinner, and with a turkey big enough to feed six times the number of people at the table who eat it, we don't bother with bread or rolls at dinner. My nephews bake a sweet pumpkin bread that gets eaten after Thursday. My husband bakes four pan loaves of white/corn bread. Two get used for stuffing, and two get saved for breakfasts and sandwiches for the days after. On Wednesday night I serve as my sister-in-law's sous chef for pies. She preps/is responsible for five pies: apple, pecan, berry and two pumpkin. I make one filling for sweet potato pie, and she makes enough dough for that crust. Mostly its the kids who devour the pumpkin pies. Personally I don't like pumpkin anything, except seeds. No pie, no bread, no muffins, no mousse. Perhaps I would like kabocha? Sweet potato pie--not too sweet and with that vegetal edge--is the bomb. One year I made a mixed sweet potato parsnip pie, based on David Tannis' parsnip pie recipe. My non-baking SIL loved it, my pie-baking SIL found it interesting, my MIL said she liked it but clearly she was being polite, and the kids mostly ignored it once they were told what was in it. I found it sort of good, but not nearly as satisfying as straight sweet potato.

I am a major fan of steel cut oats for breakfast. So far I have not found a successful way of cooking them ahead or overnight. I don't own any kind of timed cooker. The size of the cut has a lot to do with how fast the oats cook. My favorite for both flavor and cooking time is Pinhead steel-cut oats from Scotland in the plaid can. McCann's Irish oats are good, but I think they take longer to cook. So do Bob's Red Mill take longer, despite the fact that the package says 10 minutes! I like my oats to have a bit of a bite, but they shouldn't be a struggle to chew. Pinhead oats take about 20-25 min from the time the oats go into the simmering water, and then another couple of minutes just sitting with the top on and the flame off. McCann's takes 40 to 45 minutes and Bob's takes the same, and both seem to need more water to go the distance. After 35 minutes I thought Bob's were awfully chewy and hard to eat; so far the only Bob's grain I don't love. My second favorite is the bulk steel cut oats from the place we do most of our shopping. Not quite as delicious as Pinhead, but they cook in about the same time and are a lot cheaper. I cook my oats with salt at a simmer, uncovered. For the Pinhead and bulk oats I find that The first 10 or 15 minutes don't require any attention. After that, you do have to be in the kitchen to stir. What works for me is 3 c water to a generous 2/3 c oats to make two portions. If you can busy yourself in the kitchen making coffee or getting other breakfast stuff ready or making bag lunches or whatever for the final half of the cooking time, it isn't really a lot of fussing. I like them toasted too, but I find that the Pinhead oats don't actually need the boost, they are so tasty. Perhaps I should try toasting the bulk oats. I used to use regular long-cooking flaked or rolled oats, and I always toasted those. The toasting really improves the flavor and can be done in bulk ahead, and then the cooking time is very fast, compared to steel-cut oats. Not in the same league, but a lot better than Quaker instant, that's for sure.

There's nothing creepier than having a critter fly out of your jar of flour (except having mice, of course.) Before my husband started baking bread regularly that was a problem. If you are looking for modest amounts of various types of grain, try Bob's Red Mill. The packages are manageable and the flours are high quality and seem very fresh. I especially like their cornmeal, semolina and buckwheat; I assume they sell whole wheat. We used to buy a lot of flour in bulk, as Isabel suggests, but I have not found it to be as fresh as King Arthur or Bob's. Truthfully, unless you know it has been recently ground and that you are buying from a source with high turnover, it is more likely to go rancid or buggy. Some bulk flours just seem dusty to me.

This is a wealth of information. I've never heard of many of these chocolates, and now I will keep my eye out for some of them. The Askinosie website is so cute it makes my teeth hurt. Amazing! Apparently they claim to be the only people in America who make a chocolate hazelnut spread from scratch. Now there's an idea for a great gift for several Nutella fans I know and love. My husband would save his judiciously for certain morning toast and my favorite twenty-something (besides my daughter) would probably go through the whole jar in less than 24 hours.

What does that mean, "worst?" Worst tasting or most unhealthy? The other day I ate some Kettle sweet onion potato chips. For dinner. They were absolutely delicious, but definitely the least nutritious thing I ate that day, except perhaps for the glass of Old Overholt that I drank with them. Rye is a whole grain, right? All in all a very good meal. But if my doctor asked me what I ate for dinner I would probably not confess. The worst tasting thing I put in my mouth and chew on a regular basis is assorted berry flavored Tums. There's only so many pills a person can stand to swallow. Now those are disgusting.

I was trying to be tactful, but I would have to agree that Reese's pb cups are some of the least tempting commercial candy bars, and I pass them up in favor of nothing. But I also agree with Chris, that the quality of both parts is all of a piece, and the pasty sweet pb and plasticky milk chocolate probably suit each other. Perhaps a high-end product would be a waste of resources. That said I've never even seen an artisanal pb cup. Maybe there's a good reason for that.

Okay, there is so much adoration at the altar of Reese's among eGers. Am I missing something? I do like the combo of peanut butter and chocolate. For instance I can really appreciate a sandwich of homemade bread with good crunchy PB and a smear of Nutella. Especially when hiking. But. I also don't like Jiff or Skippy any more, although I grew up on them. I like natural peanut butter without the added corn syrup. And I don't care for milk chocolate either. Why hasn't anyone made a treat that combines high quality PB with high quality dark chocolate? Or have they and I just need an introduction? With the numbers of people who are sentimental about Reese's and the numbers of people who prefer better chocolate, this would seem to be a no-brainer.

There are more than enough threads about ubiquitous, easily available chocolate candy, whether milk or dark, and we've all eaten all of the usual suspects at some time or other. We all have our "favorites" but to me, discussing the best drug store chocolate is like asking which one is the least awful. Yes, dark chocolate M&Ms are a little better than the regular milk chocolate ones, and if I am stuck at the airport I'm thrilled to find them. They're still nothing to write home about. What about your favorite artisanal or high quality chocolates? My only criteria here is that it be something you really like eating straight, and not just for baking--bars, not filled chocolates. Right now, for my money (okay, you have to assume that good chocolate doesn't come cheap) my favorite bar is Michel Cluizel Noir au Grue de Cacao: that's dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, 60% cocoa. I'm also very fond of the Belgian brand Neuhaus, but that's harder to come by. Although I would never turn down dark or bittersweet chocolate up to about 85% cocoa, I prefer something between 60 and 70%. What do you love?

Speaking of Asian style soups, the other day I made a Chinatown run for fresh pot-sticker skins and thin egg noodles. On a whim I bought a half of a roast duck, chopped. It comes with a little container of some kind of dark soy/duck juice thing that is always useful for something. At home I picked off most of the meat and set it aside (of course I ate one of the crispy skin legs right away.) Then I threw all the skin and bones into a pot with a little lemon grass and a modest amount of water and simmered it for close to two hours. After separating out most of the fat, voila, duck soup--about three good portions, mild but pure tasting. I cooked the thin wheat noodles separately and then poured the broth over them, adding a few tsps of the salty juice from the little container (which maybe I could have added at the beginning), tossed in some shredded duck and sprinkled on some scallions. Not bad for very little effort--that is, for not prepping and roasting a duck myself. Next time, if I wanted to dress it up a bit, I would buy a whole roasted duck, and save out the best, least fatty parts before adding the rest of the bones, etc. Then I would add back those pieces to the finished bowls. There's just something about the flavor of duck broth.

This is pretty much my perception of crockpot cookery. Or crackpot crockery, which is even harder to say. However, in cleaning out my kitchen this weekend I discovered that I owned one. It is so endearingly 70's I'm going to see if there is any reason to hang on to it. I don't even remember when or why we acquired it, but it has that nostalgic beige/orange/brown color scheme, and the simplest of controls: off, high and low. The only indication of maker is "Rival." Forgive me if I am repeating much or any of this thread; I don't have the heart to read 12 pages. I stopped reading after the above on the first page. What should I do with this sucker? Most all of the stews or braises or beans I eat are happily made in one or another cast iron enamel job. Most entail rendering or searing or browning of meat, onion, garlic, whatever, and so I can just use one pot for everything and lose no flavor. I'm not looking for a major change in lifestyle; I love my pots and I love my Viking stove. I'm just trying to figure out if there is a good reason to experiment with the crock-pot or if I should just give it away to my daughter or my nephew, if either of them wants it. One thing I do remember from my years in New Mexico in the 60's and 70's is that most everyone who made posole (including people who grew up there) used a crockpot. The red chile sauce was made separately and added at some point, and the pork was also added at some point, although I don't know if it was seared first. It made sense, since posole can take hours to become popped and tender. The way I make posole now, I could see using the crockpot for the first few hours of cooking if it saved substantially on energy. Now I just cook it in two stages on the stove. What about duck confit? I've never made it, but I'm curious. Since the crisping of the skin takes place in the half hour before serving and the initial slow-cooking is basically just a poaching in fat, would this crockpot be useful? How slowly should the duck be cooked in the fat? Should you see bubbles? If anyone out there uses a crockpot for duck confit I would be interested to hear your technique. Thanks!

Planning out the week's menus (more or less) provides the following advantages for us: it pretty much guarantees that my husband does the bulk of the shopping, which means the Berkeley Bowl run. This saves us money and wastes a minimum of food. And it usually means that I don't have to fret about what to eat for dinner; there are some options and all ingredients necessary. Meals with fish always happen on shopping day, and generally chicken or beef meals happen within the first two or three days of the week. I figure in leftovers and repurposed meals, and vegetarian or mostly veg meals happen later in the week, which usually includes a pot of beans. If there are ingredients that are okay languishing in the fridge I sometimes change things around. We often have a "kitchen sink" night at the end of the week to use up odds and ends. Nothing is written in stone, so if I miscalculate or just can't abide cooking for some reason, we treat ourselves to dinner out, but that doesn't happen very often; we are pretty frugal. Once in a while I get inspired and shop midweek for a few things that either don't keep or can't be had from the farmers' market or Berkeley Bowl. We have good friends, a couple, who alternate every week. Week one he plans the menu, does all the shopping and cooks all the meals; week two, she does it all. That's great if both partners are adequate cooks with flexible schedules and neither of them has anything close to a panic attack at the prospect of going to Berkeley Bowl. I can survive it, but shopping in Chinatown is more my speed.

Here are my criteria for purchasing Halloween candy: It has to be something kids like (no granola bars, lifesavers, peppermints, fruit roll-ups, raisin boxes or apples). It has to be professionally wrapped and sealed so parents don't worry their kids are going to get poisoned (other than by the normal toxicity of drug-store candy bars). It has to be relatively cheap, like 2 packs for price of one, or coupon-friendly (spending money on mediocre or worse candy is painful). There has to be a certain percentage my husband likes so he won't be disappointed (butterfingers or baby ruth or Kit Kats). It has to ALL be stuff that I don't like; that isn't too hard because the only commercial candy that really tempts me is M & M's or sour skittles. It can't be too pathetic, because if any is leftover you don't want to be embarrassed taking it to work. And finally it has be mostly chocolate, so that the parents will have something worth stealing and the kids will have to learn to be clever about hiding it. Learning to hide candy is an important skill for everyone involved in Halloween, whether before or after the event.

No one in my household has EVER cooked besides me. In fairness, my husband bakes great bread and various types of pie crusts, but doesn't mess with protein or vegetables as a rule. There's nothing he won't eat (I'm the picky one) and he has a hollow leg, plus he thinks using the gas to heat the house is a waste of energy. So my goal when alone is to light the stove as infrequently as possible, usually only for coffee or tea in the morning, and to raise the general house temperature and shed the sweaters. I eat leftover beans and rice, tuna salad on crackers and lots of cucumbers, celery, fennel and fruit or whatever is left in the fridge or freezer when he leaves. I plan some meals out with friends, and sometimes dinner is just a nice warm bowl of popcorn. Or I skip dinner entirely and go straight to my favorite late snack: a glass of scotch and a chunk of dark chocolate. Instead of spending time shopping or cooking I have a "paint the dining room vacation," or some other room. No arguments about color or waste of paint, and I get the added benefit of seeing someone really REALLY surprised. He either always forgets it's what I do, or just never believes I would do it again. Very satisfying. And after a few days of that, I hand him a long shopping list and I'm good to cook again.

Given a choice, I prefer apple pie over cake, but if my husband is unavailable for crust-making and I'm on my own, I like the Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze from Peacock & Lewis' Gift of Southern Cooking. It's simple to make, doesn't require a big mixer, and is a little bit gooey; sort of a cross between a tarte tatin and a caramel apple. Only it's a cake. Okay, tarte tatin is a bit of a stretch. And if there are kids around, poking wells in this cake and trying to drizzle the glaze down the holes is a party all by itself. Good warm with ice cream, just as good the next day straight from the fridge. I have cut back on the sugars to make it less sweet. Uses five fresh apples.

The only way I know to make satisfactory toasted cheese is to toast the bread first in the toaster, then put the cheese on and slip it under the broiler til melted. The cheese melts very fast, so the bread remains crispy. A little film of butter on the toasted bread before melting the cheese can't hurt. I have no experience with toaster ovens, but unless you toasted the bread as a first step, wouldn't you just have warm bread with melted cheese? For a perfect marriage to tomato soup I'd have to go with grilled cheese done in a cast iron skillet.

I can only speak for beans, since there are plenty of good local sources for grains, dried fruits and nuts. The type of bean you want, the freshness factor, the price per pound and shipping costs all figure into what determines an on-line buy, doesn't it? Some types of beans are hard to come by or unusual. For me, that's where Rancho Gordo comes in. The beans are always super fresh, and if you order several pounds the $8 flat shipping rate is a good deal. The beans are not cheap; if I wanted to buy pinto beans I probably would look elsewhere, but uncommon varieties such as Good Mother Stallard and Rebosero and other occasional beans have been worth the extravagance. I know enough now to order at least 2 bottles of RG's Mexican Oregano with every order. Purcell has about the largest selection of beans I've ever encountered, and they have a fair number of organic beans as well, if that's important to you. Most of their beans are a little less pricey per pound than RG, but their shipping costs can really add up. For a while they were my only source for rattlesnake beans (now I have no source.) Purcell's organic dark red kidney beans are the best; fantastic for Red Beans 'n' Rice. Their beans seem very fresh and are as clean as RG's. Barry Farms is new to me, so I went on line to check them out. The bean varieties seem to vary in price more than other suppliers. The more common beans like pintos are under $3 per pound, which is pretty good for mail order I think, although if you live in an area with some good Mexican markets the bulk pintos have a high turnover and are a better deal than mail order. I didn't get far enough to figure out Barry's shipping costs, but if other bean freaks on eG like their beans, I would assume the stock is fresh. After all, with RG and Purcell, the bar is set pretty high.

Scotch on the rocks or just rye, neat. Martinis and muddled drinks were invented after God invented the playdate where both parents stay; that way there's always one person to mess with the drinks and one to keep the kids away from the computer cables.

In New Mexico, where I cut my southwestern teeth, what you made would be more traditional than the Taco Bell-like contraption you describe. In fact, that standard American taco with ground beef, yellow cheese, limp lettuce and ersatz salsa was rarely served anywhere in New Mexico EXCEPT Taco Bell. We pretty much called anything wrapped up in a flour tortilla a burrito. Basically what you made is a chicken burrito with no rice, just beans, with your own version of a red chile sauce (as opposed to a chile verde.) When I think of a traditional taco, it can be soft and warm or fried and crispy, but it's always made with a corn tortilla. And rather than ground beef, it would be some type of deeply flavored long-cooked shredded or chunked pork, or grilled beef.

Those years when I worked full time AND had a smallish kid at home are a blur, actually, and I can't really imagine our meals were super exciting. I am sure there were plenty of leftovers, such as lasagne or mac and cheese or other casseroles made over the weekend. There was a lot of red sauce made and frozen in pint containers for pasta, and there were a lot of green salads rather than cooked veggies. The most versatile meal was burritos. That used up leftover meats of various kinds and beans. I discovered that leftover rice keeps really poorly in the fridge if it is unsauced, but is passably useful the next day if put away with a small amount of sauce mixed into it. If you have a source of good tortillas on hand (shame on me, I never made my own, but Trader Joe's "homemade" ones are not bad) and a variety of potential fillings it allows small kids to play with their food and everyone to customize. Chicken breasts cut into thinnish fillets saute quickly in butter and make tender shreds if you have no leftover roasted or grilled chicken. Fresh fish or shrimp can be sauteed in a few minutes and make great burritos with a cabbage slaw and plain white rice (Maybe it's just me, but I never liked seafood and beans together.) My husband and daughter preferred to load on the condiments: cheese of various kinds, avocado, crema or an approximation, salsas of different types, shredded romaine, whatever. Fresh salsa is pretty easy to whip up, and keeps for a few days, with or without a hot element, and Tapatio is always an excellent back-up. Those picky eaters can simply omit the vegetables or whatever. And I discovered that if I wrapped my daughter's burrito half-way up in foil, she found it more attractive and much easier to manage when younger. And burritos can usually be put together in the time it takes to cook fresh rice and quick-saute the protein source--20-25 minutes. Since we don't buy bacon very often, everyone was thrilled to have BLT's for dinner once in a blue moon.

The cure may depend upon the reasons for your non-inspiration. Mine always has to do with the fact that since I cook just about every night (only for two now, which is actually less inspiring than cooking for three) I just get sick of it and need a break. My solution is to cook large pots of very easy things (to create meals of left-overs) and supplement them with raw vegetables, coleslaws, tuna melts, popcorn and, when totally desperate, cold cereal (usually lunch, not dinner, unless I happen to be alone.) I make a big pot of beans, a simple mac and cheese, etc; whatever I can do in my sleep, essentially, and lay in a good supply of stuff for sandwiches, cucumbers, radishes, carrots and fruit that needs nothing more than washing, peeling and salting. After about a week of this I am rested and ready to contemplate cooking interesting food again.