velveeta

Purchased an 18 lb frozen turkey yesterday, Nov 19. I am thawing it in the bottom shelf of the spare fridge (kept very cold). Is this too early for Thanksgiving (Nov 26)? It should thaw in less than 5 days, then it will sit in fridge for another 2 days before cooking. I noticed there were many fresh turkeys in the grocery store that said sell by Dec 2. It seems to me that the frozen will stay fresher than a fresh that is allowed to sit around that long. I opted for a frozen for this reason, even though a fresh sounds better. Is a quicker thaw in a tub of water better than the long refrigerator thaw? Advice or comments on this subject? Am I in the right window or should I pop it back into the freezer for a few days?

My secret weapons are two large bus tubs from a restaurant supply store (the deepest ones available). When the dishwasher fills up, I just put my two bus bins on the countertop, and they keep all the dirty dishes and pots and pans contained. This is easier to look at than dirty drippy dishes stacked everywhere, and I can even leave them until the next morning if needed. It's really hard to go to bed and relax with dirty dishes all over a kitchen but if they are in the tubs it seems more civilized. I will also do a dishwasher load prior to dinner even if it is not full. Just a short cycle is usually enough for prep items. Then I can have an empty dishwasher to start with as cooking gets underway. (the bus tubs have many other uses year round, I am using one right now to thaw my turkey. I also use them for cleaning fruits and vegetables, and to bring food in the car. A towel on the bottom and around the sides works well for hot casseroles or even delicate pies)

Good project! How many people were served for this price? Thanks.

I am comparing black teas: Darjeeling and Ceylon So far, Darjeeling is the winner.

Tarragon.

Not a bartender just a bar patron. The Seelsbach seems to have an overwhelming amount of bitters, so unless it's described that way I would hate to serve it to the unsuspecting. Never had a French 75 but it has such a sophisticated sound to it. ooo-la-la. Can you serve that on a frilly doily? It is always surprising to me how many people have never had a Champagne Cocktail, and don't really know what it is. Always a pleasing drink.

Second brewing of the Ginseng Oolong. I enjoyed it better than the first brewing. The nuggets are unfurling and leaving some traces in the tea. It almost seems to have better legs now. The ginseng element is still escaping me.

In a cooking related use: plate warming. Put a bit of water in between plates. Sometimes I cover with a towel. Microwave carefully. Dry off slightly. They can get too hot very quickly and of course it is dependent on the type of dishware.

I just explored the Ginseng Oolong for the first time. The ginseng was very elusive to me. I added some honey to the last half of the cup. It seemed to overwhelm the other flavors and in particular the nice aroma. Next brewing will be drank all plain without the honey.

My teadrinking strategy for the day is to drink outside the bag. I'll be dusting off all my collected teas. Starting with an oolong purchased at a Pike St Market tea shop. An earthy almost chocolatey aroma. Satisfying and quiet flavor, but thin in the body, I might have made it too weak. I'll try it stronger next cup. Then it's on to the Ginseng Oolong. It looks a little bit like clots of dirt or manure....but I'll try it. I looked it up online to be sure it's supposed to look like that. It's from Vitaltleaf.com in San Francisco.

Reading the tea threads has brought to my attention the fact that I happily drink in great quantity mostly "pitiful" or at the least very pedestrian teas. As part of the educational process on teas, tell me what specifically differentiates a pitiful tea from a more supurb tea? Taste, color, texture, nasty chemical content, brewability (?), aroma, etc etc. Details please.

Lisa, are you talking about Cantler's? It was pretty low key way back when.

What a nice thought. My plan would be: Chocolate chip cookies Small precut bunches of grapes Small rolls made into ham and turkey sandwiches, just a few bites each (even though the boss is getting lunch) Gatorade assortment (small bottles) on ice Roasted nuts or a Chex Mix type concoction (I make mine with fresh roasted nuts, oat squares, raisins, dried cherries) Rice Krispie bars cut into small pieces Carafes of hot chocolate and coffee We had some work done recently and I was surprised at how healthy and careful the eating habits were.

St. Dalfour brand makes organic bagged teas in several varieties that are widely available at grocery stores. The Earl Grey is especially nice, hands down the best bagged EG I've had anywhere. Very perfumy and flowery. For that reason alone it makes it to my tea shelf and the organic claim is just a nice addition.

It seems to me that tea that has been sitting for a while after brewing almost needs a decanting - to remove that filmy deposit that forms on the sides of the cup or pot and the slightly crusty filmy same deposit on top (like ice forming on a pond). This deposit surely must contain flavoring compounds. Is it the tannins as you mentioned or was that just a guess? How best then to filter aged in the cup tea. I am thinking cheesecloth. I agree on the mellowness of aged brewed tea, it often goes into the fridge if it is not drunk and then used as iced or cool tea the next day. My tea sometimes gets re-microwaved many times as I follow my cup around the house and forget to drink it while it's hot. This just seems pretty abusive to the tea, it gets nasty quickly.

I tried one today at a kitchen shop. It seemed to take a very thin peel off of a carrot. Does anyone have comments about these good or bad? Don't remember the brand. There were two types Or are they not so new?

Do I need to run out in my bathrobe to stock up on gin?? Horseradish is a must. Pickled green beans. Celery twizzler. Plain tomato juice. Fresh ground black pepper Lemon Vodka

apples jicama grape halves pretzels celery radishes homedone croutons or Cardini brand ceasar variety are pretty good.

1) Ritter Sport Bittersweet bars 2) Girl Scout Samoas (the chocolate coconut ones with about 1,000 grams of fat per) 3) A tie: Kit Kats and Andes Mints Nutella is not considered a candy, it's a nutritional spread, right?

For labeling, I now use 3x5 cards written with big marker and inserted into a ziplock bag. The super finicky can get tricky and categorize with different color cards. The ziplock just holds the label and independently wrapped item together. I reuse the ziplocks because they get no food ju-ju on them.

May I add a wonderful ameretti recipe here? It was from someone at my opera club many years ago, no source noted except that it's a "treasured family recipe". I've made them myself now several times and they are delicious. My Mother’s Amaretti Treasured family recipe. • 1-1/2 pounds almonds, finely ground plus extra whole almonds to garnish cookies (I toasted the almonds first) • 2 cups granulated sugar (plus 1 cup extra sugar to roll the cookies in) • 1-1/2 tbsp. cocoa • 4 eggs • 3 tbsp. almond extract (this is not a typo, it’s 3 T) 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Position your oven racks so that one rack is at the bottom of the oven and the other rack is in the middle of the oven; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 3. In a large bowl, combine ground almonds, sugar and cocoa. 4. Add eggs and almond extract and mix until well combined. 5. Using a tablespoon or your hands, scoop out enough of the almond mixture to form a ball that is roughly 1-1/2 to 2 inches in size. 6. Roll each ball in the 1 cup of extra granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet. 7. Use extra whole almonds as garnish by placing one almond in the centre of each cookie. 8. Bake cookies on lower rack for 10 minutes and then move to middle rack for an additional five minutes. 9. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 10. Once cool, store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for up 10 days. Note: This recipe will yield anywhere from 50 to 70 cookies, depending on the size of the cookies.