SylviaLovegren

Ditto that!

A nice pot of leftover stew or split pea soup or some such. Or a quick small steak, nice piece of bread or micro'd potato, salad, glass of wine.

I once had a really good recipe for a rolled cake -- the cake was a pumpkin sponge baked in a large tin, then filled with ginger spiced whipped cream and rolled up. If I knew where it was I'd share it...

Leftover mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy get eaten as they are because there is nothing better...and since I have to wait a full year to have them again, I do nothing to dilute the purity of their deliciousness. Depending on how much turkey is leftover, it goes into hot turkey sandwiches, turkey salad, creamed turkey on biscuits, etc. But the best part is turkey soup from the carcass. I do a variation on Huntley Dent's turkey soup and make meatballs with (bought) ground turkey, spiced up with jalapenos, cumin, garlic and oregano. The broth has shredded zucchini, onions, garlic and rice, sometimes garbanzos, and all the shredded meat that comes off the carcass. It is the apotheosis of turkey, the broth gets extra turkey richness and the bite of the jalapenos is just perfect. Delicious. I've been known to make it throughout the year with chicken stock if no turkey is available.

In Ontario, restaurants have to cook ground beef to well-done. When we first came here from the States, I couldn't stand the hamburgers because of that. But now I've got used to it and medium-rare, which was how I ate burgers for 40 years, taste raw and icky. Funny how what you're used to becomes "good".

Very traditional menu here: Salted almonds and sherry for before Baby lettuce greens with orange segments and pomegranate seeds Roast Turkey Mashed potatoes and gravy Roasted sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter (maybe I should go with maple syrup since we're in Canada...) Homemade stuffing, the 1950 Betty Crocker recipe my mom always made, with the addition of toasted pecans and raisins Buttered baby peas Cranberry relish that's almost like a chutney, with apple, orange, honey and cardamom Pumpkin pie and whipped cream Port (an excellent one we found at Niagara-on-the-Lake) Coffee The stuffing is non-negotiable and the best ever. Also very easy as I sweat the onions and celery in the butter the night before and tear the bread to pieces the night before too so it's nice and dry, then just combine in the morning and bake alongside the turkey, basted with the drippings. Trying a new pumpkin pie recipe this year, with sweetened condensed milk -- I'll see if I like it better than "regular". If my MIL were with us, we'd be having cranberry/walnut jello but unfortunately we're apart this year and I'm just not up for making it. I'd ordinarily make brussel sprouts in browned butter but this year it's just the peas as I won't have my usual helpers.

What?! Heresy! Actually, I don't have them for Thanksgiving because cheese is just a fat bridge too far for me on Thanksgiving, but cream cheese celery sticks are a special snack any time of the year. Also, peanut butter filled celery...sometimes topped with raisin "ants".

Where do you find the 150 degree room?

And the guy shouldn't diss the Trappists monks. Those guys make some good stuff. And they're not rednecks. Grrr.

Ironing machines used to be fairly common and they're very popular with vintage fabrics folks who are always on the lookout for the old ones. But the old ones are becoming less and less available and more and more expensive if you can find one. Still, I'm not sure that most vinties would be able to fork over a couple of grand for a new one.

I can also recommend Karen Hess's "Carolina Rice Kitchen: The African Connection", a scholarly but very readable -- and fascinating -- examination of how slaves brought agricultural knowledge as well as cooking techniques to the New World. And ditto John Thorne's books. He is one of my heroes.

Laura Shapiro's books are wonderful. I'd also recommend anything by Betty Fussell -- her books on corn and beef are great reads, Laurie Colwin's "More Home Cooking" is good. Andrew Smith's various books on American cookery are entertaining, always. Andrew Coe's "Chop Suey" about Chinese food in America is really really good -- and his mother, Sophie Coe's, book on chocolate is superb. Lots of good books about food. Curious to hear ideas from other folks.

Cranberry ice, of course. What were you thinking? Personally, I couldn't even think of eating cheese at the end of a Thanksgiving meal. The extra fat and salt would put me straight into coma world. Pecan pie isn't amazing enough all by itself? You could do a bourbon accented pecan pie. Or maybe a lemon chess pie somehow accompanied by candied spiced pecans...

It's actually a combination of an old recipe from Clementine Paddleford and my own recipe for fried oysters. You basically start with fresh oysters and make a stew with the oysters, oyster liquid, butter, worcestershire, paprika, celery salt, milk and hald and half. It's a fairly soupy stew. Then I garnish it with a fried oyster. My basic mix is to dredge the oysters in a mix of flour, cornstarch and potato starch, then deep-fry in canola oil at 350 for about 3 minutes. Immediately before service you put a fried oyster in the bowl and spoon the stew in and around. You've got to taste and eat before the fried oyster gets soggy, but this is one delicious way to enjoy oyster in different textures. That sounds delicious...I wish I liked oysters!

Hah! I've always wondered about it -- old household books always talk about keeping the eggs in isinglass.

I have 20 year old Duralex as well. Got a few scratches but nothing major. It's great stuff. A local "hip" store just started selling Duralex (I guess it's "retro" now) so I just bought 12 more of the 8 oz size.

Ice cream or sorbet seem like overkill, with all the complexity of the cake. But if you're dying to try something, I'd go with a hazelnut or almond praline gelato to compliment the flavors already in the cake. Adding an additional flavor just seems wrong.

This is very much like the Cuban black bean soup that I remember loving in Florida and Puerto Rico in the 70s -- will definitely try your recipe. It sounds delicious! I do like it with some grated cheese and chopped red onion or chives.

I played with it many years ago. I played with it many years ago. And?

My experience is that cold cooked potatoes keep not long at all. They get nasty fast. I think you'd have better luck figuring out a better way to store the uncooked ones -- being in the dark should keep them from sprouting, then make sure there's good air circulation so they don't rot.

Sounds like a southwestern gazpacho. So why not make it a cold spicy soup -- blended -- with some crunchy toppings to finish?

The recipes I've seen are all for soups, stews or soupy braises.

It does? It can have toasted rice as an ingredient -- a small, optional ingredient -- and is often served with rice, but doesn't require rice as far as I've known it.

That sounds absolutely delicious. And I like that it is classic yet with a modern twist. And it is nicely seasonal as well. Excellent!

Jasmine rice as an accompaniment -- I prefer white but you could do brown. Also a pork larb is easy and delicious. Vegetarian or shrimp Thai dumplings with hot dipping sauce (most freezer sections have the dumplings and TJ has a great Thai style dipping sauce, so easy!). A very easy dish is chicken (or pork, beef, shrimp, what you will) with mint or Thai basil -- nice and spicy and a quick stir fry. Prik King -- meat sauteed with red curry paste and green beans -- is another classic that is delicious. Pork or chicken are the most common.