kayb

I have a dab of turkey left over, so today it's going to be turkey, corn and sweet potato chowder from a recipe I saved from somewhere: SOUTHWEST CHICKEN, CORN AND SWEET POTATO CHOWDER Serves 4 to 6. Ingredients 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped 1 large onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch dice 1 quart chicken stock 2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped 2 teaspoons adobo sauce 1 15-ounce can creamed corn 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (thawed) 2 cups half-and-half — Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish Directions 1 Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut in 3/4-inch dice. Heat butter in 4-quart soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until chicken is opaque. Add the pepper, onion and garlic. Cooking, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the sweet potatoes, stock, chipotle chilies and adobo sauce to the pot; stir well. 2 Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes. Add the creamed corn, corn and half-and-half. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately, sprinkling each serving with cilantro. I'm just going to add the diced turkey (I have about a cup and a half of it) after the onion and other veg are sauteed and then simmered for a bit. Note to @rotuts -- not to worry, no bell peppers will be harmed in the making of this soup.

Do you let them thaw, and then do you need to squeeze any water out of them? I prefer apple butter to applesauce. AND I want sour cream, too. A bite with one, a bite with the other.... And when I have local caviar in the house, as I hope to by NY Day, I make tiny ones, which of course, are topped with sour cream and a dollop of caviar. Sublime with a mimosa.

I believe you can get a list of what they have any given week in the FAQs. It changes from week to week, naturally enough. I didn't discover that until I'd already signed up. I've seen no card-related issues, and as I told @Shelby, I'm truly impressed with their shipping and the condition the veggies are in when they get here. They have a big variety of greens, and I did in fact see collards this last time. I will PM you a link that'll get you a discount and me one as well for referring you, if you'd like. @chefmd -- so sorry to hear of your delivery issues. My two boxes so far have been right on target for delivery; in fact, the Thanksgiving week one was supposed to arrive on Wednesday, my regular day, but I got an email saying it would be a day early because of the holiday shipping schedules (?). My cucumbers held up OK for a week.

Don't shoot me...but I don't much care for Nashville hot fried chicken. Or any other fried chicken. Genetic fault, obviously.

Had to spring for the Great Cookbook. That has promise.

I was perched at the keyboard and ready to order today when my Misfits Market window opened. They were out of nothing. So early ordering is the key.

Great story. Thanks, Alex.

Mine are fresh. Should work well with the cured, too. Putting bacon wrapped dates on the NY menu.

Shank is the very bottom part of the ham, and the upper part of the hock. About six inches long; upper end is maybe 3 inches in diameter, tapering quickly. So a little more of the upper end of what's traditionally seen as a hock. To the best of my recollection, the skin was scored and left in place, making a great crackling you enjoyed with the meat. That would lend itself nicely to traditional sides -- scalloped potatoes, green beans, maybe roasted sprouts, and of course, the ever-present mac and cheese for the kids. But I kinda like the all-day graze spread, too.

It's December 1, and we're probably all jonesing to get this mess of a year behind us. The holiday season will be, like Thanksgiving, small-scale and quiet, but we can still enjoy our favorites for holiday meals, snacking, drinking and gift baskets. @Shelby mentioned we needed a Christmas Eve/Day thread, and I took the liberty of tacking on New Years as well. I'm never as hidebound over traditional meals on Christmas as I am Thanksgiving. I've done pulled pork and pork ribs, a big seafood boil, and cocktail buffets we started grazing on at brunch and nibbled all day, and beef tenderloin. All are wonderful. This year, I think I'm going to try a roasted pork shank in apple cider with honey, a treatment I had at Murphy's Wine Bar in Atlanta several years ago that remains possibly the best use of pork I can think of. I have frozen heritage pork shanks in the freezer; I think I'm going to make up the stock with cider and warm spices and roast them uncovered in it, low and slow, basting them frequently. Then I'll reduce the stock with some honey for a glaze. I think roasted butternut squash would go well with that, and green beans and maybe sauteed brussels sprouts and a broccoli salad. Oh, and there will be cranberry salad; that comes out, regardless of what's on the menu. Day after Christmas, I think the kids will be here, so it'll be yeasted waffles for everybody else and latkes for me and Child B, the two celiacs in the house. New Year's Eve, I'll likely make a big pot of chili or beef stew and lay in a bottle of bubbly to see the year out, or rather, boot it out, with a "Goodbye and good riddance!" Breakfast casserole with a base of hash browns topped with ham, egg and lots of cheese for New Year's Day parade-watching (will there be parades) and football and basketball. Remaining bubbly from the night before for mimosas. More ham for sandwiches. Deviled eggs for munching whenever. Some form of grab-a-handful sweets -- maybe coconut macaroons and chocolate oatmeal no-bakes. That should be enough calories to see me through the end of this year and into another one!

How did you like the bigger box? Or have you gotten that size yet?

This is my second year to dry-brine. After I spatchcocked the bird (he was a 15-pounder), I sprinkled about 2 tbsp of salt inside, then flipped him over, loosened the skin on the breast and thigh, and rubbed in about 2 tbsp more salt per side, so six tbsp all told? That's an estimate. That was Tuesday night. I folded him back up, put him in a bucket covered with foil, and stuck him in the fridge until Thursday morning. Took him out, rubbed him down with olive oil, laid him on a bed of sage and roasted. He was luscious.

I have her "CookWise," and I love it.

I've learned it's best to sign on as early as you can when your window opens. I was late last time, and several items were out.

I love this.

I actually kinda like buckwheat groats. And I've become a fan of sorghum, which works well cooked, spread out to dry and cool, then used in a salad or grain bowl. Sadly, all the wheats are off limits to me, as is, I believe, barley. Corn is my friend, though, anyway from hominy to cornbread. I use grits a lot as a starch instead of noodles or pasta. Oats, steel-cut or rolled either one, are hard to beat as a breakfast grain.

Last night, of which I failed to take a photo, was taco soup. Because I wanted somethign with that flavor profile, and it was cold and rainy outside. Cannelini beans made it creamy; chili powder and taco seasoning made it tasty. Two quarts in the freezer, too!

Early dinner, because I didn't have lunch because I didn't have breakfast until about 11. So why not have breakfast for dinner?

@Smithy -- Will you be visiting the place where you got my glasses? I may want to place an order....

Glad to have you! What did you do to your pan?

My favorite use for turkey breast is on a sandwich, spread with curry spread (a mix of mayo, chili sauce, Worcestershire, curry powder, assorted other spices). On white bread. Small bits and the dark meat will go into a pot pie, tetrazzini, maybe turkey spaghetti, maybe turkey noodle soup.

Clockwise from 12 o'clock, cranberry salad, corn pudding, green beans, asparagus with almonds and hollandaise, bird, sweet potatoes, dressing. I passed on the mac and cheese and the rolls. Desserts were pumpkin pie and butter cake. Pretty easy day. I made everything the day before except the asparagus and the mac and cheese, and one butter cake and the rolls. Got up and made the butter cake to replace the one I tried making in the brownie tins (FAIL! Don't do this!)then put the turkey (he'd been brining since Tuesday night) on to roast, and made up the roll dough and let it rise. Pulled the turkey about noon, started rotating casseroles through the oven, shaped the rolls and set them in the garage for a long second rise in a cool spot, and started the mac and cheese. Roasted asparagus and baked rolls when son-in-law called to report he was en route. Gave away enough food that I don't have to contend with an ungodly amount of leftovers. ETA: Breast meat looks dry. It wasn't. I'm a firm convert to dry-brining.

Bet you love it. Like @Shelby, I upped mine to the larger size this week. Pretty significant difference in quantity.

Damn, your CSO's clean! I'm kinda ashamed.

Aaahhh. There is a Bahn Thai in Memphis. One of my favorite restaurants. God willing, we will get past all this and I can enjoy Tom Kha and a salad and Spicy Old Man on the deck listening to the blues.