thistle

Zora, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving, w/ the break, although I'm sure you cooked the whole dinner in your head. It's a different experience being a guest at someone else's dinner or a diner at a restaurant, but being thankful is something that happens every year, no matter where or who you eat with. Cheers, everyone...

I am thankful for Pitbull & Ne-Yo at halftime of whatever football game that was- in a coma at an extended family T'giving, I was pulled back from the brink of unconsciousness- making turkey stock today, hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I transported 2 smoked turkeys, bean dip, & growlers of Forge Brew Works' roggenbier & cranberry saison.

"Tom Sietsema Reviewed Eight DC-Area Caterers For Your Next Fancy Dinner Party" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.com I enjoyed this feature in WaPo's magazine, although I agreed w/ the comment after the article that catered dinner for 8 is probably not a true test for a caterer, rather it's how well they can execute larger events. It's a nice fantasy piece, though, since not many people would spend 1K$ for a catered meal at home, most would probably host at a restaurant.

I know I'm not invited to your T'giving, but I vote for celeriac.

You're smart to do a dry run-I'm in a similar dilemma, tasked w/ bringing smoked turkey to the family gathering, I remember the last time, when my smoked turkey was underdone & I had to commandeer the oven-how embarrassing. So this year, I'm trying to decide whether to do it ahead of time & reheat, or smoke it overnight & take my chances again. It's so fricking cold already (I think the wind ruined it last time). I have 2 birds- 14.25 & 9.5 lbs, I was going to get 1 & a breast, but getting a whole bird was more economical.

My dirty secret- to my Bozzelli's cheese delight sub, which I order w/ lettuce, tomato, black olives, but dry- no mayo or oil- I then go home & mix Hellman's, w/ Pace picante sauce & Cholula, & add it liberally. Some things just really need commercial mayo (even if you embellish it).

Tonight is a perfect night for soup- it may be the last of the beautiful fall weather, going to get cold tomorrow. So, soup mashup- some of that duck stock, w/ leftover sautéed veg-mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, sauerkraut, bacon, smoked paprika-heavy on the cabbage, light on the broth.

Recently, I made a duck stock, w/ a carcass from the first duck I chopped up, it's very gelatinous, heated up w/ scallions, mushrooms, bits of chicken or shrimp, & a touch of commercial Tom yum paste (chiles, oil), I think it's a very good fall/winter soup.

I could tell Pinto stories for days ( my kids are already over it). Mine was purchased by my dad for $100 & a couple of buckets of shrimp- he was totally taken. But he opted for a fancy paint job, blue w/ silver racing stripe down the center.

A Yugo, huh? My first car was a Pinto. Wish I was younger &/or headed west (or that I could play a fiddle or a banjo or do splits while jumping on a trampoline). I didn't like country music growing up, but now I like the melancholy & heartbreak, & weird optimism. There will always be people writing bad stuff, it's easy enough to get it online, you read it & forget it (glad you didn't join their blog). My cousin (who's much younger than I am) is headed cross country, to start a new life in CA, I envy him & I hope this trip is memorable for him. It's kind of scary, uprooting yourself from your comfortable surroundings, & starting fresh-but what an opportunity!

Lame, certainly, but the worst thing ever written? Makes me miss dirty jokes & mouse sightings...

I am definitely going to try this w/ all the duck skin I pulled off today-I broke down my first duck, so breasts, legs, & misc skin, fat have been thrown back in the freezer, until I figure out what I want to do, & the wings & the rest of the carcass (chopped up w/ my Thai cleaver) went in the pressure cooker w/ ginger, garlic, lemongrass, peppercorns, soaked shiitake mushrooms Thai basil & rau ram, bay leaves, chilies, & some fish sauce for a stock, which smells miles better than my beef bone broth (which the puppies have enjoyed). I chickened out, & didn't use the innards.

Thanks for all the tips, I look forward to visiting.

I said no accapella, but this was playing in the commissary this morning, a blast from the past..I'm glad I grew up in the south, it affects most of my thoughts.

Restaurant/brewery/boat docks, & goats & chickens? Sounds like my kind of place. My husband has been posted to Germany (Stuttgart), & I'm looking forward to going over for visits, I love beer, & German beer is some of the best.

Soup/sludgy lentils- gold lentils, red onion, smoky bacon lardons, water, chicken broth, s&p- MUCH more than the sum of it's parts. & I'm sure everyone notices how I get on here about 1/wk & post about everything under the sun, I promise no accapella videos this evening.

This sounds good, I made a avocado/ cocoa pudding that was delicious, here's a frosting-http://paleospirit.com/2013/avocado-chocolate-frosting-paleo-and-vegan/ You might have to omit the chocolate chips, doubt they would be dairy free.

Definitely great pictures-beef tongue & beets? not something I can imagine craving, but it looks amazing (just like the rest of the dinner), & I like the picture of the surprisingly small kitchen w/ the iPad or tablet up on the shelf, I cook like that, too.

SPOILER-boom, right off the bat, we've lost both local contestants (George Pagonis & Joy Crump). It's a shame, because I would have liked to see more from both of them. It's early to call a favorite yet, but i already have my LEAST favorite chef picked out. This episode wasn't much fun, team challenges are such a pain in the butt.

It's done & it looks & smells good-it seems much more clear than stock made in the slow cooker, & so fast, after pressure came up, only cooked for 50 min. I'm going to chill it so I can take the fat off the top. I loosely followed the NomNom paleo pressure cooker beef broth (adjusted quantities because I only had 2 lbs of bones, used rau ram instead of thyme). I'm sure the beef bones I got are not grassfed, but at $1.88/lb, it's a worthwhile experiment. I've made broth before from chicken/turkey carcasses & pork neck bones, but I usually use the slow cooker. My next cooking "first" will be duck- I picked up a frozen duck & I'm going to break it down & try a couple of things.

This thread inspired me to pick up a pack of beef bones at the commissary this morning & I'm making a broth in my pressure cooker, wish me luck...I think I've only used the pressure cooker once before.

I like Buzzfeed, my best chia seed tips have come from there (still learning to love that gelatinous little seed).

This is sad, prayers for his family & friends. My best friend (we've been 'sisters' since we were 9) told me 6 weeks ago she has stage 4 liver cancer & I haven't accepted it yet- it sucks. I'm sure many people have wonderful memories & stories about him, though-he sounds like that kind of guy.

I promise not to post any more accapella groups for 6 months, if someone else posts something interesting/freaky on Fridays. Or just stream of consciousness ramblings...

I think the most important thing w/ a seafood soup/stew is to eat it right away- if the seafood is overcooked, it won't be good. Best thing would be to have a stock/base & slide the seafood in on order.