Pat

Turkey sandwiches with lettuce, provolone, cranberry sauce, and pear slices Corn and Crab Chowder from the Jan 2008 Bon Appetit

Fritos and cream cheese This was one of my favorite snacks as a kid. At some point, I started to cut calories and it went by the wayside. Sometimes I would mix the cream cheese with milk and fluff it up as a dip. That was my hostess appetizer: Fritos and cream cheese "dip." My parents indulged me, but I think it was also edible enough for the guests that they didn't see any harm .

spinach, escarole, turkey bacon, and shiitake mushrooms baked with shredded gouda and fat free half and half mashed potatoes with oyster mushrooms

We'll be at my in-laws'. My MIL is making the Christmas Eve meal: Roast turkey Rice Pilaf Squash or Sweet Potatoes I'm making dinner Christmas Day (she's making Christmas dessert: Swiss Broyage with a chocolate filling/accompaniment): Green Salad with clementine sections and vinaigrette Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese from Giada de Laurentis Green Beans with toasted almonds and crispy shallots Whipped Potatoes with Olive Oil and Parmesan (Bon Appetit, Sept. 1992) [posted in the mashed potatoes thread]

This morning a friend and I had breakfast at Market Lunch. There was a very short line at 11 AM and seats were available at the communal table. I figured the lack of crowds probably has to do with people going away for the holidays. At least, I hope so. This is the first weekend since reopening that I've seen a line short enough to make the decision to eat there. I had a very satisfactory scrapple brick (sandwich) and coffee.

kielbasa sandwich: about 1/4 of a garlicky sausage, split and heated; 2 pieces of oatmeal bread; yellow mustard; thin cheddar slice

butter lettuce with cucumber, red onion, artichoke hearts, croutons, and vinaigrette smoked turkey breast with gravy and dried cranberries mashed potatoes with oyster mushrooms maple glazed beans braised swiss chard with balsamic

It says the Executive Chef is Gael Cruchet. That's who is handling the catering menus. It looks like the holiday buffets are the only advertised meals they're offering until March 2008 that are not breakfast or Sunday brunch.

Would Cheesetique have something like what you are seeking? The website mostly lists cheeses (obviously), but I've seen enough of a variety of products there that it might be worth a call.

The only holiday baking I've done this year was a persimmon pudding I took to a friend's party last weekend. It was someone else's old family recipe. It turned out very rich, sweet, and delicious. I used more persimmon than the recipe called for, since I didn't know how many persimmons I'd need and had left over once I'd gotten the required amount of pulp. I didn't have any other use for it, so I put it into the mix. It was like a bread pudding made with pumpkin pie filling . When I was trying to work out some kinks in the recipe, I started looking for other persimmon pudding recipes to compare, and there's an entire website devoted to them .

Poached salmon Mashed yukon gold potatoes with porcini mushrooms* *I got this idea from a description of a restaurant dish on a recent eGullet blog. Instead of simmering the mushrooms in cream, I used chicken broth. The reduced chicken broth and a couple of tablespoons of mushroom soaking liquid went into the potatoes that had been smashed up with some extra virgin olive oil, plus the finely chopped mushrooms (1 oz. dry).

It's usually very busy on the weekends. There are always lines when I go by. As others have said, it's probably that you were there ahead of the crowds. I haven't even tried to eat there on a weekend in the new spot. (I pretty much gave up on that years ago. I hate long lines.) It's usually so packed inside the market in general that I try to buy what I need Friday afternoon, or right before closing on the weekend days (but then the selection is picked over).

Linguine with roasted yellow beets and arugula drizzled with olive oil; dusted with pecorino romano nachos (I had a craving )

But she didn't make the ice cream! :(. I'm having a pretty bad day, and this just keeps cracking me up. It sounds wonderful.

I'm stealing your garnish idea . I really like that.I made a small chilaquile casserole for my husband last night (a Mollie Katzen recipe) before I went out to a party. Since I was going to a party with a lot of food, I didn't eat before I left, but then when I was at the party, it was too late for me to be interested in eating anything substantial . So my dinner last night was a couple of handfuls of popcorn and some cheese slices. (There was a lot of good food at the party, which I'm sorry I missed out on. Once a certain time passes, I really don't have an appetite. Maybe this is a byproduct of my many years of dieting, in which I've trained myself not to eat late at night.) ETA: This is the chilaquile casserole recipe. It's an old standby. I don't think I've ever halved it before, but that worked fine. I only had enough old tortillas to make a half batch.

That has to be one of the most rewarding feelings that results from culinary enterprise. What a wonderful meal and worthy of the investment of time and effort. It's fun reading how everything came together. :(

Smoked turkey breast Cornbread-oyster stuffing Red beet-goat cheese salad

Thanks for your advice. If it happens again, I'll try that. A couple of days ago, I finally decided to get the mother out of the bottle and experiment, without having much plan. I was stymied at the first step, since the bottle had a narrow neck and a plastic pour spout I could not dislodge from the bottle. After a frustrating battle, I finally gave up and tossed the bottle. I had been thinking I would need the entire mother, but I guess I did just need to get a piece out. No dice with that plastic locked across the top . One thing I did discover in all this was that, separated from the mother, the vinegar actually is okay. I poured the liquid out into a mustard crock while I was working on the plastic top (not wanting vinegar to splash out all over). When I checked on it later, the vinegar smelled like vinegar again.

cornbread crumbs I'm in the process of turning cornbread into cornbread stuffing, minus the pieces I'm eating .

Green salad (romaine, tomatoes, avocado) with balsamic vinaigrette Turkey chili with pinquito beans White rice Cornbread

You didn't need the recipe, after all .Dinner last night was leftovers: fennel-orange salad, chicken legs, and kapusta.

This is making me think of the veal stock thread (i.e., using veal meat in addition to bones).That did look like a worthwhile stew recipe to explore. The gelatinous byproduct(s) of the bones sometimes seems much more potent than others. I'm never sure if it's something I've done or the bones themselves.

fish tacos (w/mahi mahi)

I've tasted the green but have not purchased any. Turkey sandwich sounds like a good for use for it. Any other suggestions?

It's discussed in the RTS thread.