maggiethecat

Two whole smoked turkeys!!!! Wow, that's what a call a business Christmas present! And yeah, with the marathon cooking and eating you've done recently, with more coming up, coasting a little on weeknight meals sounds like a sensible idea, especially if some father/son bonding over gingerbread is going on. I was thinking last night that I hadn't had gyros for ages, and that I want some soon. I used to live within a few blocks of Greek Islands, and you managed to make me very jealous and very nostalgic. Great blog, sir.

D'oh! Slaps head. Great idea, Oraklet, thanks.

I love blue steel, adore a metal handle I can put in the oven, and appreciate that these pans have been used, with satisfactory results, for hundreds of years. But while we're on the subject of carbon steel: I have a drawer full of Teutonic knives, lovely Globals, Chineses cleavers. What do I want? I want the Sabatier low carbon knives that rusted and pocked, and could be sharpened to a razor's edge by a five year old with a pebble. I have a couple of bowed newlywed Sabatiers I still treasure. I want more.

Yes. Aspiring food writers! Professional foodwriters. Wannabe foodwriters. Er, writers.

Leaping linzertortes! I can't forget the second annual round of this Holiday Tradition. Must get my way-behind the rum ball butt to the Recipe Archive and whip up three cubic yards of Jaymes's Caramel Corn! This year I won't allow my brother Ian to stand beside the can and eat the entire contents in the course of half an hour. He says it's the perfect pairing for sambuca--and- scotch coffee.

"Patio Daddy-O." I love it! 54,446. Let's see if we can break 55,000 by New Year's Day...

54,433. And Ronnie, thanks for reminding me of the Penelope Casas.

My god, that's revolting! Sounds like the description of a two week old murder crime scene... I've heard of murders connected to brandy, sure. But suet?

54,428. I'm off to Borders today. Thank you all for some great sounding books for me to add to my wishlist. I'll definitely check out Bill Neal.

Oh no, oh no, Jeffy, Smells sublime, tastes sublime. These would be the madly alcoholic homemade versions of course, the mincemeat oozing with beef, suet and brandy. With a warm puddle of lemon sauce or a big white glob of bourbon-infused hard sauce melting gloriously over all. Eggnog, now: just give me my rum by itself, please.

All right. I'm jealous. As a fan of Bud, are you going to hit Chinatown in a big way too?

How did you GM practical go, Nero?

Blog on, Ronnie! Let's hear about a "normal" week at the suburbans.

Many good entries Your judges are working hard Be patient with us

I'll be eating the meat protein and (perhaps?) sushi masterpieces of Col Klink at the ever-welcoming party headquarters of guajolote and flaca. I'll be sampling the various and magnificent culinary offerings of Heartland eGulls. Tippling with Nero, dancing to the music of Mixmaster Matthew. I'll meet Batgrrl! And I'll be raising toasts to my eGullet friends all over the globe.

Just an incredible spread. We'll be talking about the food at this party for a long, long time. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't have more of the smoked salmon, the beautiful sushi, the jambalaya, the meat balls, the ... Yes, wait for the pictures. A party for the ages; when I left people were still having a high old time. Did I mention Ronnie's cheescake?

Agreed. I tried them too, after reading Steingarten's Olestra piece a few years ago. I even made the sour cream/onion soup powder "California Dip" which he and his wife whipped up. No cramps, no "intestinal discomfort" and no anal leakage. I avoid potato chips because, as others have mentioned, I could be getting my fat allowance from bacon, but I remember thinking they were a fine example of the genre---especially the rippled ones. Mit dip.

My Nonna-in-law , God bless her, was landlady of two Chicago six-flats in Little Italy until the Lord saw fit to end her reign of terror on earth just after her 103rd birthday. She and your Nonna must have swapped recipes. She made this one a week for eight-five years.

I love this Jeffy Boy. I also love bacon and eggs. Welcome to eGullet.

Yes, the assistant and the bean source are one and the same. Did I mention that he also shined my shoes, washed my wife's back while she showered, resurfaced the driveway and built a small addition onto the house? =R= He didn't fold the laundry? He always does that here! Rest up, tonight Ronnie! Sounds as if you're going to need all the rest you can get!

Wow. That pate sounds amazing. I trust your assistant brought the coffee?

About the only thing I'm never without is Cream of Tartar, but I just realized that I'm out! Time to get a can for the next fifteen years.

Sure! Siren it is.

Ah, yes, Christmas Crackers. My mother instilled the Cracker Rules in us early, and we abide by them to this day. Each of us must read the silly joke, and it is forbidden to remove the silly paper crown during dinner. Unless it's on fire.

Jaymes: Santa moved the stockings from the mantle to the bedpost in our house too. My brother would come sit on my bed, and we'd take turns unwrapping. I love the idea of the kitchen food-favor fir a lot, but it's the bedroom trees that really, really make me wish that I had children still living at home. A beautiful idea.