Take it away, TaMara:
First and foremost, it’s Veterans’ Day, so go kiss a vet. I’ll wait…..Okay, now back to tonight’s menu.
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As winter settles in (we had our first snow last night) I find I want more vegetables. (Pause for a moment as my mother picks herself up off the floor). So a primavera sounded like a good recipe for the menu tonight. And it is cranberry season, so dessert with cranberry is a must. As Thanksgiving nears, if you have any cooking questions, ask away. If I don’t know the answer, I will use my various resources (I’m looking at you Kirk Spencer) to find one for you.
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On the board tonight:
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1. Pasta Primavera
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2. Crusty Bread
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3. Cranberry Apple Cobbler
Recipes and shopping list, as ever, at the link.
Maude
A lovely menu.
I’d like to say I fired the chef, but a lot of people don’t get the joke.
Martin
Tonight was homemade chili and cornbread w/ salad. Needed to break in the new 8 qt dutch oven.
Total cost: $7 to feed 4 of us, with leftovers which should cover lunch tomorrow.
sfinny
That Cranberry Apple Cobbler is going on the short list. Usually I visit family over thanksgiving, but that is not on the table this year. So I figure I will spend the time off cooking and sharing some goodies with neighbors.
Moses2317
Just a reminder that tomorrow would be a good time to make some calls to urge Democrats to reject the Catfood Commission Co-chairs’ recommendation to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and taxes for the wealthy elite.
http://www.winningprogressive.org/push-back-against-the-fiscal-commission%e2%80%99s-misguided-proposal-to-balance-the-budget-on-the-backs-of-the-middle-and-working-classes
Cat Lady
Just when I started going to the gym again and have sworn off carbs, I found the most delicious crusty ciabatta baguette in the market next to the gym that I think about all the time. Why is crusty bread so good?! Why is pasta so good? Why does the FSM tempt me with all its noodly glory?
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
Cranberry apple cobbler…?! Why has no one introduced me to this notion before?! I may even have to make it for faux-Thanksgiving with my family this weekend!
Wow, just saying it makes my mouth water. Craaanberrrry apppple cooobbblerrrrr….
WyldPirate
Seems like a Chief of Staff for a Dem Senator wasn’t too impressed with Axlerod/Obama weasling and inaction on the Tax Cut extension:
“Tell me about it”:
“It’s hard to know what to make of David Axelrod’s tax policy comments to the Huffington Post, and Dan Pfeiffer’s subsequent denial, other than maybe it was a trial balloon that got shot down, or maybe Axelrod went further than he was authorized to go.
In any event, the White House and the Democratic congressional leadership made a terrible political mistake by avoiding a fight with the Republicans on this issue before the election, when it could have clearly demonstrated the hypocrisy of the GOP’s constant harping about deficits, as well as their most critical concern: the “plight” of the poor rich people.”
snip
“Now it appears that we may well make the same mistake again (unless you assume the HuffPo writer got it wrong, and I don’t). If that’s what we do, it will make President Obama’s many comments about fiscal responsibility an utter joke how can we talk about raising fees for veterans’ health care, messing with student loans, etc., when we’re going to blow a $700 billion dollar hole in the budget because of our concern for folks who make $250k and over, who are doing more than fine? Or because those bad Republicans are just too mean?”
(bold emphasis added)
“Utter joke” sounds about right to me.
Yutsano
@Cat Lady: Because there really is no such thing as a “bad” food. There are foods we should watch our intake of, but as soon as we forbid them we just end up wanting them more. Take everything in moderation and enjoy your life and your food. At least that’s my opinion.
Martin
No cooking questions, but here’s a tip for people cooking a turkey. Gravy tends to spook people, and making it after the turkey is a bit of a pain and a time crunch. Do Alton Brown’s schmaltz manie.
It puts most of the work day(s) ahead, and works very, very well with a really nice texture. In addition to that recipe, I tend to add quite a bit more seasoning and I use some of the meat from the roasted wings and break down the fibers until they’re very small and add this to the gravy. I like the extra turkey in my potatoes.
You get a decent bit of tasty dark-meat stock out of it which is good for your stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Cat Lady
@Yutsano:
Moderation. Ugh. Do I have to wear Easy Spirit shoes too?
Maude
@Yutsano:
You said it. Extreme diets are really bad for the body and soul.
I don’t like the attitude forming against people who have a bit of weight. They know they have the weight. It’s turning into a moral issue.
I read that they have found a virus that can cause serious weight gain. Some people could be waling around with that.
Oh and Al Gore is fat.
MikeJ
@Moses2317: How can they reject something that is never coming up for a vote?
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@Cat Lady: @Yutsano: Everything in moderation — including moderation. Every once and a while, you go nuts. Then you stop!
My son recently confessed to me that he ate an entire, full-sized candy bar every.single.day of his week of sleep-away camp this summer. I responded with but a single word: “Awesome!”
He was rather surprised.
(And no, you don’t have to wear Easy Spirit shoes. At the age of 46, I just discovered that Doc Marten’s are about the most comfortable and supportive shoe I have ever owned. Go buy some Docs and you can stomp about the place without anyone ever knowing that you’re being moderate!)
TaMara (BHF)
I am still working, so I can only stop by for a moment. Glad there are other cranberry fans here. I’ve already roasted my first turkey and made my first batch of cranberry sauce. I won’t be cooking for Thanksgiving this year, so I’ll just do faux-givings before and after. I kinda go a little crazy for the turkey and cranberries.
And if Just Some Fuckhead shows up in this thread, sir, I’d love it if you emailed me if you were serious about sharing some side-dish ideas with me.
Okay, back to the grindstone.
Cat Lady
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther:
I’m cranky. I’m really pissed off about everything – the bullshit politics, the firebagger whining, the superficial fail media, the petty drivel of everyday discourse around me. Doc Martens remind me of A Clockwork Orange and revenge fantasy. I want to be a droog.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TaMara (BHF):
Meh, I already ate. Ask when when I’m hungry. :)
Mark Haag
Tonight’s photoshop of the mind activity:
Take one picture of Ed Grimley
Take one picture of Wisconsin’s Governor elect
Imagine putting Ed’s cowlick on Wisconsin’s governor
Then underneath put the words “Trains are scary, I must say!”
LTMidnight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzAgpjk_9Y
Van Jones on the “Professional Left”
People like Joe Beese, Wyld Pirate, and the rest of the Obama Derangement Syndrome kiddies need to answer the question Van asked.
Jim K.
Angela Merkel speaks truth at G20. Shared responsibility.
Irishtimes coverage.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
@Cat Lady: Oh dear. That’s a very bad mental association. I say: Barefoot then! Barefoot forever!
And may tomorrow be much, much better!
Mnemosyne
@Cat Lady:
Easy Spirit shoes are REALLY uncomfortable. Of course, I have strangely shaped froglike feet with wide toes and narrow heels, so most shoes are uncomfortable to me, but still.
I haven’t had a pair in a while, but I remember loving my Docs, though my mom once looked at them, looked at me, and said, “You’re never going to find a husband wearing shoes like that!”
I would love to say I met my now-husband while wearing Docs, but I don’t think I had a pair at the time.
Moses2317
@MikeJ: By issuing a public statement saying that they think the approach proposed by the Catfood Commission Co-Chairs is unacceptable. Pelosi has already done so, and on the flip side a couple Democrats have already issued statements offering some praise for the proposal.
Because the Commission was created by President Obama, the Co-Chairs’ proposal is already being attributed to the Democrats. It is important that Democrats push back and make clear that they are not going to eviscerate Social Security and Medicare, or impose the burden of balancing the budget on the middle class while cutting taxes for the rich.
Winning Progressive