kayb

Any kind of basic sharp cheddar will do just fine.

Always proud to be of assistance. And y'all come on down to Water Valley, MS. (where you have to be intending to go to get there, as it is not on the way to anywhere).

I have come to the conclusion the best part of smoked dark-meat turkey is use of the leftovers in smoked turkey posole. Made with Rancho Gordo hominy. It'll make you change your mind about turkey, if you're not a turkey fan.

This is one of the coolest books, and one of the coolest places, I've ever seen. If you're ever in the vicinity of Water Valley, Miss., I highly encourage you to stop by.

Thanks. Buying the five-pound chunk next time I'm in Sam's.

Do you do anything to keep the cheese from clumping together? Do you freeze it in the quantities you expect to use, or is it fairly easy to scoop out how much you want? I'd LOVE to have the convenience of pre- shredded cheese that wasn't...pre-shredded cheese.

I actually had a very good biscuit in PA -- some little diner in Lancaster County, if I recall correctly. Have had some awful ones in the South, up to and including at a restaurant I love, where everything else they make is good but the biscuits are leaden. There are only three tricks to biscuits -- well, four: a soft flour, cold fat, a soft dough, and working it the bare minimum to make it come together. I do prefer buttermilk biscuits to those made with sweet milk, but will turn down neither. The buttermilk reacts with the baking powder to give a higher rise. Same thing can be accomplished by stirring in a little yogurt or sour cream. (As proof of my biscuit credentials I submit the fact I won the biscuit contest in sixth grade 4H.)

No Martha White devotees in this bunch? I didn't know you could make biscuits with anything other than Martha White Self-Rising flour until well after I was grown.

I have yet to find a cheese I do not like. I may have been a rat in a previous life. Cheddars probably top the list, followed closely by Gouda, Idiazabal, Edam, Gruyere, Tallegio, Manchego, Fontina, Butterkase, Brie, all the blues....Must have American for mac and cheese and pimiento cheese.

A Dutch baby with dehydrated tomatoes, shredded Serrano ham, and crumbled blue cheese. Next time I'll double up on the tomatoes and forego the cheese.

The best sushi and sashimi I had in Japan was in a tiny little place, about six tables, that sat on the side of a mountain (literally; the parking lot was level with the roof, and you walked down stairs down the mountainside to get to it) overlooking the ocean, just outside of Kamakura. We ordered platter after platter, and pitcher after pitcher of cold Sapporo. One of the best things I had was what looked like little tadpoles, white, less than 3/4 inch long, which you ate whole. They had been marinated in something. We asked the waiter, who in turn asked the chef, who told us they were "tiny white fish." That ranks as one of the best meals I've ever eaten.

FWIW, you'll get over it. In about six months or a year.

It is not difficult at all to get along in the big cities if you know no Japanese. As noted, much signage is in English, and most stores/restaurants have at least someone who's somewhat conversant with English. Picture menus are the grandest thing ever, too; just point. Visiting Japan damn near ruined me for sushi in America. Especially mid-America.

As we ate early and the kids have taken out Black Friday-on-Thursday shopping (I abhor stores that open on Thursday, other than groceries being open early for "oh, God, I forgot X"), leaving me with the grandchild and the TV, I'll kick off the after action reports. Turkey was excellent. I broke him (my daughter picked him up from my farmer source last Saturday, and named him "Herbie") down into leg quarters, wings and the whole breast. The legs and wings got the sous vide treatment for about 18 hours at 150, and then went into the smoker. The breast got rubbed with olive oil, sprinkled with a dry brine of salt, brown sugar and sage, and I roasted it this morning. I had already cut out the backbone to roast for stock. Sides included cornbread dressing and mac and cheese (not pictured), sweet potato casserole, and brussels sprouts. A trio of salads (grape, cranberry and broccoli) with deviled eggs. And rolls. As usual, no one wanted dessert, although I had apple-cranberry-walnut crisp and lemon icebox pie. Very little cooking the rest of the weekend!

I've done it as @heidih suggests with leftover roast chicken. Worked like a charm.

My tastes align with yours, particularly on that love seat you loved but decided against for price reasons. Why is it we have such expensive tastes? Love the glassware.

Didn't much like veggies, did he?

Damn. I wish I had some fried rice. Wonder if the Chinese joint is delivering?

My Broadbent's order came in today; I hadn't expected it so quickly. I guess I thought Thanksgiving would have delayed it, but perhaps they thought I was counting for it for my holiday dinner. I'm not, but it'll surely make some good ham and biscuits over the long weekend. Yum. I may be more excited about day-after-Thanksgiving breakfast than I am Thanksgiving dinner. This is, btw, something less than $100 worth of country ham. Plus shipping, which is not outrageous.

We had red beans and rice. Didn't manage to take a picture. Good housemade sausage from some little meat market down in Louisiana. Plenty of ham and chicken, too.

There are a lot of similarities between Delta (which is Monticello) and Ozarks cuisine. Things like greens and dry beans are the same; cured pork is about the same (though barbecue is decidedly different). The Delta has more African influences in its cuisine, as well as more Spanish/Creole influences (tamales, gumbos, etc.). Fish is bigger in the Delta, game in the Ozarks. Cornbread is common to both regions, but it's more likely to be sweetened in the Delta (an abomination, IMHO). There tends to be a bigger variety of vegetables these days in the Ozarks. Tomatoes are big in both regions.

Monticello's not quite the Ozarks. Southeast part of the state; Ozarks are north central, northwest.

I will NOT buy meat at WalMart. It's loathesome. I've never had any luck with produce there, either. So I just don't go, except when I get to jonesing for their black bean and white corn salsa, which is pretty doggoned good salsa.

I LOVED Kappabashi Street! Bought my Misonos there. If you have the chance, go to the Imperial Hotel and have a drink in the Old Imperial Bar. Only portion of the Frank Lloyd Wright version of the hotel that's still extant. And they have a marvelous selection of Cuban cigars and Scotch!

Grape salad is about as simple as can be. White grapes, black grapes, red grapes, all cut in half. Chopped pecans. Dressing is my late mother-in-law's "fruit dip" -- a blend of a 7 oz jar of marshamallow cream, an 8 oz block of cream cheese, and a tablespoon of lime juice. Put as much as you want on the grapes, put the rest in the fridge to dip apple slices or other fruit in later. Apple cranberry walnut crisp -- This is a recipe I saw somewhere over the weekend. Roughly chop a cup of fresh cranberries. Add in a cup of chopped walnuts. Peel and slice four or five apples. Add a cup of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice, stir it all up and let it sit a bit. The recipe called for a double crust, but as Child B has celiac disease, I just put it straight into a deep dish pie pan and covered it with a GF crisp topping of butter, brown sugar, oats and Bob's Red Mill GF pancake mix. Curry spread is Da Bomb for leftover turkey sandwiches! My recipe came from the grandmother of one of my friends. Here 'tis, and sorry it's hard to read. And I saw a recipe last week for mimosas with apple juice. Just know I'm trying that! See you Friday!