kayb

I contemplated the pot pie; wasn't certain how the sprouts would pair with beef and gravy, but one serves them as a side to beef, I guess, so...OK. Not in my Brunswick stew, though; I'm a purist on that, just lima beans and corn and that's it. Now there's a thought. Thanks!

@Okanagancook, glad that's past and hope you're continuing to do well. I am now faced with post-holiday cooking that involves using a veritable mountain of leftovers. I have leftover pot roast; leftover smoked pulled pork butt; enough leftover ham to float a battleship, if it were liquid; a bunch of leftover brussels sprouts (roasted); slaw, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese. Will feed the small people, whom I have until 1/1 or 1/2, leftovers, but not sure how big a dent I'll put in them. I guess the pork and the ham can be vac-sealed and frozen. Any thoughts on what to do with the leftover sprouts? They were just roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. I'm thinking the beef will go into a beef pot pie, and instead of using regular crust, I'll use the gluten-free Cheddar Bay biscuit mix. Also contemplating a big batch of Brunswick stew with some of the barbecue.

For the first year in a long time, no food/kitchen related gifts,save a pair of silicone mitten-type potholders, and a metric s***-ton of candy that I assuredly did not need.

I thought the coffee grinder had ground its last the other morning when it refused to work. Discovered/remembered I had unplugged it to plug up the Instant Pot the night before.

Yes, please!

Caught something on TV last night about peeled, boiled eggs being recalled. Not that I think anyone in this group would purchase pre-boiled, pre-peeled eggs. The first time I saw them, I stood in wonder for some time. People BUY those? People don't know how to boil eggs?

Welcome. Anxious to see your products.

Lovely spread. I should think no one left your house hungry.

I agree the manual sucks. I broke mine out t'other day, planning to use it to melt some chocolate. Found never get it through the first step where it's supposed to "anbi" or some such. And the sensor never so much as flickered. Having no time to fool with it, I put it away. And now I have the flu, so I've slept much of the day. Oh, well, as long as I'm better by the weekend.

I use low.

I typically pressure cook my dry beans, if not presoaked, for an hour with sauteed onion, garlic and a bay leaf. I don't salt until after that. If I'm going to do a tomato-ey sauce, I do that after the beans are cooked; I can then either transfer them to a baking dish or leave them in the pot and switch over to slow cook.

Open invitation! Will make latkes at any provocation. Have home-canned apple butter to go with them, too!

Good God, but that's a lot of latkes! I'll likely make some for Christmas morning. Depending on whether my friend comes Christmas Eve and spends the night, it will likely be just me that eats them, as Child A doesn't care for them. But they DO warm up nicely in the CSO!

I have used, roughly, 15 pounds of sugar, six pounds of butter, five pounds of pecans, assorted other nuts, a a whole heap of chocolate, caramel, white chocolate and peanut butter chips in the past two weeks. I'll finish up tomorrow with one more batch of fudge, another batch of Chex mix and a couple of batches of brittle, and I'll be done until after Christmas. Then I'll do macaroons, stove-top oatmeal fudge cookies, GF brownies and yet more Chex mix for when the kids descend Saturday. Need to get out and take some candy to the neighbors tomorrow, as well. The American Dental Association should put me on retainer. No, not that kind of retainer. Never mind. I'm tired. Merry Christmas, all.

I do essentially the same thing -- with the addition of some garlic powder, some onion powder and Tabasco. Same sauce I use on my Chex mix, but Child C begs every year for just pecans done with it. When I can find raw cashews, I do them as well. @David Ross -- I made your sticky buns yesterday and put them in the freezer. Will report on how they work.

Cannot cook without it. Love it on most all meats. Use with some veggies, particularly sauteed squash. Must have for potato salad dressing. I buy the big containers from Sam's and refill my hand-sized shaker.

I cheat. I get canned chocolate frosting, and nuke it until it's runny. After all, it is a cake mix-based cake.

I am fond of what I call "Methodist Latkes" -- cooked in bacon fat. I love them with sour cream and apple butter, and I'll make tiny ones on New Year's morning to eat with sour cream and caviar (keep your blinis, give me baby latkes). Will be making some Christmas morning for breakfast. Have not made my pilgrimage to Lee County to get my domestic caviar from the fish market there, and it remains to be seen if I'll get that done or not. I have taken to using Yukon Golds, which I use for most everything. Grate, drain, squeeze out as much water as possible; mix with grated onion, an egg or two, a handful of bread crumbs. Fry. Gorge.

As I will have several folks around over the next few days who are subject to wanting a sandwich, I set out this morning to make some King Arthur Harvest Grains bread, only to find that, horror of horrors, I have no harvest grains blend. I improvised with some poppy seeds, some flaxseed meal, and some sesame seeds, which I fear, on reflection, may have been quinoa. I can only hope, if it was, the long rise and the bake will soften them a bit. Should have thrown in some oatmeal, but forgot it. So that is rising, as is a batch of dough for @David Ross's caramel sticky buns, which I will make and freeze in small pans for future breakfasts and/or Christmas gifts. First time I've baked bread, other than cornbread and one batch of biscuits, in six months. I will report in. Right now, I'm off to make chicken salad, because I have a urge and two chicken breasts I need to use up.

No, they've never stayed around long enough. I don't see why they shouldn't freeze, though. Maybe wait about glazing/frosting until after the thaw?

That's lovely. Wonderful connection between the land and the food.

Dammit. Now I have that for an earworm.

I find that a couple of table knives work pretty well.

Country ham is, by its nature, salty. I generally slice it thinly, soak briefly in cold water, then fry. Yes, it's excellent in beans. Think of using it the way you would proscuitto. One doesn't cut a big slab of it for a sandwich, but uses it more as an accent to other things. It's marvelous with pimiento cheese, or with good sliced tomatoes and lettuce (an HLT, if you will, vs a BLT). It's good chipped up on a pizza or sprinkled over pasta. It's great in a salad, and I've had deviled ham that's pretty awesome. But I think my very favorite is on a biscuit with some sorghum molasses and scrambled eggs on the side.

Soup here, too, on a cold day that started out grey but the sun has come out. Vegetable beef soup, been on in the IP all day; 10 minutes pressure cook, and just on low since then.