Whereas I used to decimate the bacon bin at any given breakfast buffet. These days I keep it to 3-4 slices, but still... bacon. Mmmm...

HA - after posting last night about how I always try to bring non-cream-non-bacon dishes to Thanksgiving dinner? I'm not hosting this year, we're going to Ethan's aunt's house because she lives in Brooklyn and I'll be 35 weeks pregnant at that point (normally we go to one or the other parents' house in DC and I do most of the cooking). She finally got back to me on what she wants me to bring - onion pie and creamed spinach. So much for providing a lighter option!

Maybe I'll offer to also bring green beans in a nice citrusy vinaigrette, just for balance. Or offer to make the salad.

[Huh. Posting that reminded me that I was pregnant at Thanksgiving last year too. Last year can seriously go fuck itself.]

So of course, given all the shit I have to do, I'm kicking it off with a mani-pedi and the DVR.

People who would walk out of a wedding over the food are assholes of the first order, and should be sentenced to a long walk and dinner with Bear Grylls. The kind where he dares not light a fire, and has to eat the snakes and grubs raw.

My two best friends are a vegetarian and a vegan, and never once have they made me feel guilty about my omnivorous ways. We host an urban family thanksgiving for our local friends, and the only thing that has meat is the turkey. I don't trust stuffing in the bird (and I use Trader Joe's amazing stuffing, btw, which is om nom nom), and Alton Brown's recipe precludes it anyway (you put aromatics like a baked apple, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks in), so it seems to work out well. Everyone has plenty to eat, and no one feels judged. Win.

The best inside/outside stuffing compromise I've ever found is Cook's Illustrated's high-roast butterflied turkey. You butterfly the turkey and then roast it on a wire rack over a roasting pan full of stuffing. You still get the full flavor benefit of drippings infusing the stuffing with turkey-y goodness, but also a nice crispy top from being in the oven AND the turkey cooks faster & more evenly.

(It does mean making extra stuffing for the vegetarians and cooking it separately, but extra stuffing has never really struck me as a Thanksgiving problem.)

Mmm Jessica, onion pie sounds delicious. Do you have a recipe handy?

anybody ever try combining cheese and chocolate?

Process cheese (Velveeta) and chocolate make a remarkably smooth and tasty fudge.

Mmm Jessica, onion pie sounds delicious. Do you have a recipe handy?

I usually play around with it a bit, but Paula Deen's is pretty close - more or less a quiche, but with a Southern pedigree:

[link]

One thing I always do is cook the onions until they're completely soft and almost starting to caramelize so there's no chance of biting into a crunchy one in the finished pie.

Cat pee on dog bed. ::sigh:: Message received, felines.

Oh that looks good. In my head I was imagining something different, more like a caramelized onion tart.