Fix-It and Forget-It

Most people would agree that ground turkey, turkey ham, and turkey sausage are better for you than their beef- or pork-based counterparts. There’s less agreement on how they stack up when it comes to taste. Continue Reading...

There are lots of ways to approach leftover turkey. We know some cooks who buy a turkey just big enough to serve everyone with no leftovers. Most of our friends, however, choose a large turkey and look forward to several days of Thanksgiving dinner reruns. Continue Reading...

When the Thanksgiving turkey platter is passed to me, I always root around looking for the dark meat. Early on, I must have hit a piece of white meat that behaved like sawdust in my mouth—and no amount of gravy could rescue it. Continue Reading...

Rebecca is my daughter. She’s a very good cook. While I couldn’t get her to chop an onion when she was growing up, she’s become a cook who tries everything now—successfully. She also is the Manager of The Good Cooking Store in our little Lancaster County town of Intercourse, PA. She taught Language Arts to middle-schoolers for 7 years. Now we benefit from all of her energy and good ideas. Don’t miss what she has to say!

As I was growing up, our Thanksgiving meals were spent gathered around my grandparents’ dining room table. We would enjoy eating ham or pig stomach (Yes, pig stomach. It’s a local favorite.), noodles with brown butter mounded on a platter surrounded with a moat of peas, sweet potato croquettes, and yummy chocolate pecan pie for dessert. Continue Reading...

Here’s an easy, all-in-one meal to keep in mind for the upcoming holiday season. It’s ideal for serving to houseguests after the actual holiday has passed and no one feels like cooking. Continue Reading...

So I got a call from our younger daughter and her husband the other night, asking if they can come for Thanksgiving dinner.

This is both embarrassing and heartening. Didn’t November just begin? Bottom line: I am very glad they felt free to call. Of course, we want them. I just hadn’t paused long enough to pick up the phone and ask.

Then they gave me the complete menu they’re hoping for. I consider this a compliment. And a relief. First, they apparently like dishes I’ve made through the years. Second, this saves me rooting through my stash of recipes, looking for something amazing.

But let me quickly add that with the menu they proposed came their suggestions about who should make what. This was clearly not simply a call-in order for a Thanksgiving meal.

Here’s the line-up they proposed:
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