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Gator Pam

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Posts posted by Gator Pam

  1. 1 hour ago, wittenlover said:

     

    And apparently we're going out for Chinese for dinner that day? Maybe one of these days Dad will actually let me cook for him...? Ah well... At least the weather forecast for Christmas looks like making the drive to said restaurant won't be overly difficult. (Basically equates to meeting halfway between our homes)

    Any chance you could make something that travels well for him and have him take it home after the meal at the restaurant?

    • Like 1
  2. 14 hours ago, lucyismycat said:

    I managed to get Covid over Thanksgiving, but didn't realize I was positive until Saturday night.  It's been kicking my butt, but I think I've finally found a combination of things that might help me knock some of the symptoms down a notch.  Miraculously, none of my family members seem to have caught it from me.  This is by far the nastiest virus I have ever dealt with. 

     

    https://pin.it/4vKpY99

  3. My favorite use of Thanksgiving planned overs. Be forewarned, this is a long one.

    Here is the recipe I base my version on in case I didn’t.
     
     
    Doctored up Copycat Bennigan’s Monte Cristo Sandwich 
     
    I started with the planned over crockpot stuffing.
     
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    I then heated up a thin level of extra light olive oil in a pan
     
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    Whipped an egg and mixed into the stuffing as a binder

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    Shaped the stuffing to be about the same size as the keto sandwich slices and fried it up to help it hold together 
     
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    Almost ready

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    The recipe doesn’t call for it, but I like putting Gulden’s mustard on the ham side and Best Foods mayonnaise on the turkey side 
     
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    American cheese on the ham side and provolone cheese on the turkey side to start. We had some bacon left from Sunday morning, so I decided to add that to the ham side as well 
     
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    Two slices of ham rolled up and split in half on one side, planned over turkey meat on the other. We’re only 3 or 4 typically for Thanksgiving, so I used Boar’s Head sliced ham from the deli. But if one has both planned over turkey and ham, this is a good use for it
     
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    I reversed the cheese I covered each side with, so both sides have a slice of American and a slice of provolone on them
     
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    I put the stuffing patty over the turkey side, as I felt the ham side would be the easier side to flip over without things falling apart and out
     
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    Triple decker assembled
     
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    I had forgotten that the sandwich holds together better if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and allowed to sit overnight with a weight on top. So, I did it for an hour
     
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    In the refrigerator being pressed for an hour. Overnight would be better
     
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    Egg and water whipped together, salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder 
     
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    to make a thick batter for dipping 
     
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    After the hour under weight in the refrigerator 
     
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    The recipe doesn’t say to cut the sandwich in half before dipping into the batter, but that is my memory of how Bennigan’s did it. So, the toothpicks are placed for two triangular halves
    As Kenji says: “Triangles taste better!”
     
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    Pressed, picked, and sliced in half. Ready for batter
     
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    The recipe calls for deep frying, but I don’t have a dedicated deep fryer other than my turkey deep fryer, and I dislike using so much oil in a pan. I have found with gentle handling, shallow frying works fine.
    Start by frying the long cut edge of each half
     
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    Continue to flip and cook the edges first. I find this helps prevent items from falling out
     
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    Last of the three edges
     
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    First full side
     
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    Flipped and doing the other side
     
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    Finished in the pan and resting on paper towels 
     
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    The two halves now cut in half and showing the exposed innards
     
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    Plated for service with a dusting of powdered sugar and planned over cranberry sauce for dipping instead of the usual raspberry preserves
     
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  4. Alright. Thanksgiving feast 2023 is complete.

     

    The spread 

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    A different angle showing where the crockpot with the stuffing was

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    Individual items:

     

    Deviled eggs
    Half topped with paprika, half topped with dried dill weed

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    Bird is the word 

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    Mostly carved for service for four, with what’s left kept aside for planned overs
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    Crockpot stuffing

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    No starch thickener gravy 

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    Homemade cranberry sauce 
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    Green bean casserole

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    Corn pudding fresh out out of the oven 

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    An interior shot of the corn pudding. I finally made my taller pudding!
    I used a 2-quart 8”x8” Corningware casserole. The cooktime took about 90 minutes, due to the deeper casserole, rather than the 35 to 40 minutes for a 9”x13” pan stated in the recipe

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    My dinner plate, minus a slice of pumpkin bread. The person who made it didn’t want individual photos of her contributions (pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie), but you can see the Bundt shaped pumpkin bread in the table long photo of the full spread up top

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    The turkey broken down and packaged for planned overs
    Far left: the breast meat which was still on the bird sliced for sandwiches 
    Middle: legs, wings, what was left from service, and what I was able to pick off of the carcass
    Far right: the carcass broken down and bagged to be frozen until I make my next batch of Instant Pot bone broth 

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    If anyone wants recipes for anything, I’m happy to share.
     

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  5. 58 minutes ago, Bopeep said:

    I could have saved myself $20 on the AirPods if I had only been a little patient, lol. I really expected $189 to be the norm for them this year.

    Can you do the old Perimeter Perusing at Target hack of buying again at the same price and returning with the older receipt? Or would you only be refunded the current sale price?

  6. 5 hours ago, stevierocks said:

    Thank you you guys . I’m so glad I asked . I would have felt like a fool not bringing gifts . So.. would I likely bring gifts for everyone there ? Or just the one who invited me ?  

    Again, ask your friend what’s expected at their party. Traditions and customs vary from family to family.

  7. First thing to keep in mind is that the festival of Hanukkah is not a holy day, such as Shabbos, Rosh HaShannah, or Yom Kippur. While it is religious based, it is more ethnic/cultural, similar to Thanksgiving. In fact, when the Ethiopian Jews started their immigration to Israel in the 1970s (I think?), they had never heard of Hanukkah because their community had left the area where the sages were creating such an event prior to it happening, and they had no contact with the greater Jewish community in all of those centuries.

     

    As such, the party will probably be a party, with very little religious significance, except for perhaps the lighting of the menorah and the decorations. Traditional foods tend to be fried; the most common served are potato pancakes and/or jelly doughnuts.

     

    Gifts are given on Hanukkah, but it varies by household. Some only give gifts to children under the age of b’nai mitzvot (age 13); others give gifts to everyone. Because it is an eight day festival, most gifts tend to be trinkets, but others go all out, equating the Hanukkah gift exchange to Christmas gift giving. I would check with your friend as to what they wish their guests, especially non Jewish friends, to bring, if anything.

     

    To get a feel for Hanukkah, I love to recommend this video by a Jewish a capella group called Six13. It s very well done musically, but you’ll also notice there is a lot of humor (no, that’s not blood on the “drummer’s” shirt, it’s supposed to be a jelly doughnut stain).

     


    I hope this helped! Feel free to ask about anything else.

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