Bon Appetit!

[Big RR]

BSG--we have a number of le creuset pots that we bought from the local outlet (which sadly has closed recently), and they are great to cook with; I especially like that they can go from the stove top into the oven. I also have a couple of older revere wear saute pans that are stainless clad with a thick copper core (I bought them many years ago from a revere cookware outlet that has since closed); they weigh a ton, but they can withstand all the high heat my stove (which is a "professional" model that can generate ultra high heat for blackened dishes) can dish out. I agree, investing in quality cookware makes sense i you can do it; those revere wear pots were purchased over 40 years ago and are still as good as new). Cast iorn pots and pans are also good (I have a couple) but they are even heavier and must be treated correctly (I remember when I was a kid one of my friends scoured his mother's cast iron fry pan as a surprise, and didn't understand why she got so upset).

[BoSoxGal]

I had a few pieces of Lodge cast iron before my Le Creuset and definitely appreciated the cooking experience for some things (no long simmering tomato based dishes, obviously), but I never totally warmed to the care regimen they require. Anyway I didn’t have room for both so I gave my Lodge collection to my cousin’s nephew and he has thanked me every time he sees me since, he loves using it.

I love that the Le Creuset has almost all of the benefits of cast iron with the ease of care of enameled coating. It doesn’t hurt that it comes in lots of pretty colors; my collection is a mishmash because all the pieces were bought on clearance or color special sale but I have purples, pinks, blues, yellows, and the famous original flame color. My kitchen is small so some of the pots and pans live on display on my stovetop which makes a cheery sight.

Also I am maintaining upper body strength lifting them!

[Burning Petard]

I have a couple of good kitchen knives from AG Russell and a wonderful Japanese style 8" utility knife made in Japan that i got from a Commercial kitchen supply- Then there is two very old high carbon chef knives (one no name, one Chicago Cutlery) that I paid someone on the west coast who also is a distributor of very expensive Japanese knifes of all type, to 'recondition' Cleaned up the rust and some of the natural stain that comes with High Carbon then put a convex edge on them that will slice hair and is is easy to maintain. Finally there are several cheap paring knives that are just thin SS sheet stamped to shape and a machine ground edge. I just hit those with the diamond stick and a ceramic stick about every time I use them, but that's ok.

Good tools are always a pleasure.

snailgate

[Big RR]

BP--when I quickly read your post and saw Japanese knife with commercial, I thought you had a Ginsu knife which was the subject of many a long commercial a while back (you could prune a bush with it and then slice tomatoes thinly). But it sounds like you have good knives; the biggest problem I have is resharpening--eventually they need someone who knows what they are doing to professionally sharpen them (and they are becoming hard to fined)--nothing is worse (or more dangerous IMHO) than a dull knife.

[Burning Petard]

No accounting for taste. My wife loved a long knife made from unknown maker using an unknown variety of stainless steel. I would not take an edge and keep it, but she till preferred to use it, over a Chicago Cutlery 8 inch chefs blade, with her name engraved on it. Eventually our daughter acquired the chefs knife. Have several different sharpening devices. Mostly diamond coated or ceramic. If one knows what they are doing and it is decent steel to begin with, one can get an edge to shave with, even on an ax, with the back of a heavy china dish, and then the side of a leather shoe.

I can do that, but I cannot get to the "scary sharp" that will shave the side of a human hair, or AG Russell's old demonstration of shaving off thin strips of plastic packing peanuts. That kind of edge will let you cut yourself and not even know it until you see the blood. BUT it will never slip and go where you don't want it.

snailgate

[BoSoxGal]

I was always a bit frightened of really sharp knives until it finally dawned on me that dull knives were far more dangerous in the kitchen.

[dales]

Dull knives, dangerous?

Look who we have in the White House.

[Joe Guy]

Dull knives, dangerous?

Look who we have in the White House.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I was always a bit frightened of really sharp knives until it finally dawned on me that dull knives were far more dangerous in the kitchen.

Racist!

[Gob]

[BoSoxGal]

Making a big batch of butter chicken today!


Don’t know why the pictures upload sideways sometimes, sorry!

[Long Run]

That may have to get on my Christmas list -- the pots and pans, not the gravity-defying chicken dish.

[Sue U]

I am reporting here that my turkey soup is frickin fantastic.

That is all.

[TPFKA@W]

My husband always does all the Thanksgiving cooking. This year he made a sausage stuffing that was the best stuffing I have ever had. I am about to go get a plate of leftovers. (There was just us 2 this year in keeping with suggested standards.)

[MajGenl.Meade]

We had sushi. Too sick for the past eight days with whatever to cook. Celebrated Black Friday by going for a covid test.

[datsunaholic]

First turkey-free Thanksgiving since I could eat solid food, I suppose. I baked up some salmon, which was better than the alternative of Jack in the Box drive-thru (the only place that was open at 7PM when I got home from an emergency call at work). Also my first Thanksgiving home, alone.

[BoSoxGal]

Not my first Thanksgiving alone; living far from home and being too poor to travel, I often joined celebrations with friends’ families, and have tasted so many great approaches to the cuisine I consider myself very lucky - even if I always missed my gran’s oyster stuffing.

A couple of times I was alone by choice, cooked the full meal, treated my dogs and had lovely leftovers for a week. The piece and quiet was always nice for this introvert, and the holiday melancholy no more pronounced.

This year I stayed home while my cousins went to her in laws - a slight risk considering they’ve been an expanded bubble for months. They brought me back a lovely turkey & fixings plate and I’m guilt free on the possibility of exposing anyone should I be unwittingly asymptomatic carrier due to work & shopping exposures.

I watched several good videos and enjoyed a quiet few hours, then all the house noise returned. Melancholy as always and don’t think the quiet much impacted that holidays just trigger grief.

I’m still enjoying the amazing pies and real vanilla bean ice cream (snailgate, I can’t recommend it highly enough - Haagen Dazs vanilla bean, much better than plain vanilla and the ice cream is like they made when we were kids).

[BoSoxGal]

On another note, y’all may recall I got into tea this pandemic. Been drinking hot and iced from rise to rest nearly every day, and I think the antioxidants are really improving my inflammation.

Anyway I could rave about all the varieties, but these two are particularly fine and should be tried. Harney’s is a hassle free online ordering experience and well worth the per cup pricing, I think. (But do search for coupons as they often have 15-20% off specials.)

I never thought I’d be glad to see the end of a tin of Irish breakfast or Scottish morn, but now I’m not sure I’ll ever buy another tin of those varieties. Boston & Paris are both just heavenly.

Boston: black tea, cranberry, vanilla, almond natural flavors. The flavor is just the right amount, not at all overpowering.

Paris: black tea, oolong tea, vanilla, black currant, bergamot oil, caramel natural flavors. Also just right.

[Sue U]

Younger daughter is taking a cooking class in her high school so took Thanksging as an opportunity to meet some course requirements and get some extra credit. She made a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, biscuits and mashed potatoes all herself, and helped with everything else -- with no bitching or moaning (she's 16, so bitching and moaning usually comes with every activity, no extra charge). All of it came out splendidly, I'm so proud of her.

[Guinevere]

Le Creuset makes lovely things, just carefully look over anything you buy at the outlets. I bought a red grill pan, which appears to have been coated wrong, as it always gets a terrible hot spot.

I prefer Staub, the french enameled cast iron cookware. They almost always have their small pot on sale for $99 around the holidays, which is a super price. The red is glorious!

Cast iron for searing meats is the best. I have some vintage skillets I got for $1, so don’t overlook that option for any high quality cookware. Taken care of these pieces last forever.

I was going to go to my sisters for the holiday, since we are in each others pods. But they had a Covid exposure at their barn, so I decided to do the right thing and stay home. No one is sick, but it’s impossible to tell who might be carrying.

So the kittyboy and I spent a nice day on zoom with family and friends, and had a take out meal from a local restaurant, with enough for leftovers. Will see my Swede this weekend.