Dancing Spoon

Thanksgiving Game Plan

Planning Holiday

by J. Michael Wheeler
Thanksgiving Tips: Game Plan
There’s no question about it, for me, Thanksgiving is absolutely the best holiday: it’s all about getting together with friends and family and eating a great meal. No Christmas present stresses or New Year’s Eve anxiety. Cook a lot of good food and share it with friends and family. One of my favorite Thanksgivings was when I was in college in San Diego and I organized an “Orphan’s Thanksgiving” for my fellow college friends who wouldn’t be traveling home for the holiday. It was a bit less than traditional, but the spirit certainly was there.

Of course, for the host, Thanksgiving might not be all that stress-free. Still-frozen turkeys, wallpaper-paste gravies, and well, we’ve all got our stories (we’d love to yours). So in the interest of everyone enjoying our favorite holiday, we’re sharing with you some tips for a great Thanksgiving. We’ll start out with an overall game plan that we call, cleverly, T-Day Game Plan.

Shitake Bear Stew

Ordinary Out of the

OOO by Kate Krukowski Gooding

Shitake Bear Stew
Fall is here and we are going from grillin’ to chillin’ outside. Perfect weather for a stew and when you have dried mushrooms on hand it gives you more  flexibility of use and variety throughout the year.

I was in Beijing and Xiamen, China for the holidays this year to see my step-daughter, Julia, who is a Fulbright Scholar in Beijing. Understandably, she wanted family around for the holidays and Don and I use almost any excuse to travel.

We quickly discovered you cannot go anywhere without an interpreter. Thank goodness I could recognize most of the spices and products in the market. I pointed, picked the size bag, which translated to the amount I wanted to buy, and paid for my culinary treasures. The biggest bag went to the dried shitake mushrooms, the price was very reasonable so I stocked up. I also picked up dried cumin, unnamed hot red peppers, and these yummy Nori treats.

I love using dried mushrooms, they add another level of flavor and you don’t forget to add the reconstituted juices!

Burgundian Raccoon Stew

Ordinary Out of the

OOO by Kate Krukowski Gooding

Braised Burgundian Raccoon Stew and Provençal Bread
Many of my cooking adventures take me to paths unknown, with herbs, spices, meats, seafood, vegetables and wines. Raccoon is a new meat for me. It has a very light gamey aroma, looks lean and is delicious! I decided to try a layering of herbs rather than spices and braising to infuse yet another layer into the dish.

I know the rule about red wine with meats and white with fish, but not here. With the combination of fresh and dried herbs, white wine, white beans and white broth, this adventurous dish came out a winner. The fresh-made bread and complementing wine made this a complete and delightful meal, game for everyone!

O’Reilly’s Most Excellent Scones

Scones Visionary

by Edie Freedman

Tim O’Reilly’s Most Excellent Scones
Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media (oreilly.com), is many things: visionary, writer, technology advocate, and much more. He also happens to be an excellent baker.

I have worked with my friend Tim for nearly two decades and I know that his scones are legendary; he makes them for friends, colleagues, and just about anyone who shows up around breakfast time chez O’Reilly. I can speak from experience: it’s hard not to wolf down more than your share of these wonderful pastries, especially when they’re just out of the oven.

Tim's most excellent scone recipe follows...

Handcrafted Kitchen Knives

Kitchen Handcrafted

by J. Michael Wheeler
Kitchen Art That Starts in Your Hand
It doesn't matter what your passion is: when you've got it, you've got it. We recently had the pleasure of meeting Adam Simha, a master at handcrafting kitchen knives. He is very passionate about his craft. He makes superlative bench-made knives. We are honored to be one of the only venues where MKS Design knives are sold.

Knife designer Adam Simha designs and handcrafts absolutely superb bench-made high-performance steel blades for his knives. These designs feature body geometry influenced by the best of both Asian and Western traditions. His blades are tempered to a Rockwell 56 hardness to provide toughness, easy sharpening, and remarkable edge holding. Steels used in the different blades are 13C26, 440-C, 154CM, and SF77 stainless.

The unique grip: MKS knives come with an injection-molded bicycle grip that is tightly fitted over a naturally bacteria-resistant stainless steel tube. The bicycle grip, with its deep grooves for the fingers, provides a perfect balance of shock absorption and control.

Each knife is tuned precisely for weight, balance, and control. They are visually remarkable and functionally exquisite and have been featured in many publications including Atlantic Monthly, the Boston Globe, City, and Kitchenware News.

Foodie's Emporium is proud to be an exclusive online retailer of Adam's amazing knives.

MKS Design Knives are produced in limited quantities and are available at Foodies Emporium.

For a very limited time we are offering our readers
10% OFF any MKS Design Knife Selection or Knife Set.
Use Promo Code MKSPRCNT at check out.

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Five Simple Kitchen Tips

Org Kitchen

by Nancy Black, Professional Organizer
Five Simple Kitchen Organizing Tips
Having an organized kitchen will save you time and money. You’ll save time by having what you need easily accessible; you’ll save money because you won’t buy duplicates of things that you already have!

Here are five simple kitchen organizing tips:
1. Alphabetize your spices so that you will be able to see which spices you already have, avoiding duplicate purchases.
2. Use drawer organizers to arrange items in “junk drawers” and drawers used for cooking utensils. Use appropriate organizers to accommodate different utensil’s sizes and shapes.
3. Use rectangular storage containers to store foods in the refrigerator: they stack well and allow you to store more food in the same space. 
4. Small packages of nonperishable foods can be organized in containers to keep them neat and visible.
5. Know the interior measurements of your refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, and pantry. This let’s you choose the right containers or shelf dividers to make the use of the space you have.

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Still overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start?
Nancy Black is a Professional Organizer
Contact nancy@organizationplus.com for more kitchen organizing tips.  
www.organizationplus.com

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My Life in France
by Julia Child
Julie Child's memoir of her first embrace of France and cooking. Julia Child singlehandedly created a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, but as she reveals in this bestselling memoir, she was not always a master chef. 

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
by Julie Powell
Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that's "irresistible....A kind of Bridget Jones meets The French Chef" (Philadelphia Inquirer), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.

Hand selected Books for Foodies are at Foodie's Emporium! 

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Night of 1,000 Cupcakes!

Cupcakes 3,006 Little

J. Michael Wheeler

Cupcake lovers celebrate the glory that is the cupcake in Jaffrey, NH with the 4th Annual Night of 1,000 Cupcakes! On Thursday, July 16, 2009, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, the front lawn of the Jaffrey Civic Center will be covered with thousands of cupcakes!

Every summer since 2006, hundreds of bakers, decorators, judges and connoisseurs have gathered for this cupcake celebration. Guinness Book take note: last year’s count was 3,006 brilliant little cakes!

Art exhibitions, live music, wine & punch accompany an embarassment of cupcakes, all delicious, beautiful and, well, stimulating. Sets of gourmet cupcakes will be raffled off.

Dancing Spoon is pleased to join the Night of 1,000 Cupcakes as its first ever media sponsor. The JCC is located at 40 Main Street in Jaffrey, NH. Admission is always free and open to the public.

Directions to The Night of 1,000 Cupcakes!

Award Categories and Sponsors.

Join the Night of 1,000 Cupcakes Group on Dancing Spoon Community!

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Frieling 0103 5-6 Cup French Press: Beautiful? Yes! But, there is more than what meets the eye. Double-wall construction keeps coffee or tea hot and cold drinks cold longer. (55 customer reviews)

Features:
• 18/10 stainless-steel, double-wall construction keeps coffee or tea warm after brewing
• Full-length handle is comfortable in the hand
• All-steel mesh plunger easily pushes down coarse coffee grounds or loose tea leaves
• Also works as a pitcher for hot or cold beverages
• Measures 8-5/8 inches tall; disassembles for dishwasher or hand washing

 The Best for Coffee Lovers at Foodie's Emporium.

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Fresh, Really Fresh, Eggs

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
The Hip Egg
In case you hadn't heard, the chicken coop is what's new.  Kathy Lohr (Backyard Coops Make Chicks Chic, All Things Considered, May 21, 2009) reports that “Chickens aren't just for farms anymore. That's right — urban hens are hip. Across the country, city dwellers — attracted by the idea of having fresh eggs, a new hobby or even unique pets — are keeping flocks.”

Chicks And The City
The backyard chicken movement is catching on, thanks no doubt to the variety of resources for people who want to learn more about keeping chickens in their backyards. There are Web sites, coop tours, and in Atlanta, there's even a class called "Chicks and the City." The class, offered through a community garden's education program, teaches everything would-be urban chicken farmers need to know.

Some cities don't allow residents to keep chickens, because they worry about the noise, the smell and the rodents that are attracted to the feed. And, of course, there are those who say they don't want chickens next door. Yet many are taking another look at the idea.

From how-to to where-not, Lohr's story makes great listening. Click here to Listen.

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The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal

Award-winning New York Times–bestselling author Mark Kurlansky takes us back to the food and eating habits of a younger America: Before the national highway system brought the country closer together; before chain restaurants imposed uniformity and low quality; and before the Frigidaire meant frozen food in mass quantities, the nation’s food was seasonal, regional, and traditional. It helped form the distinct character, attitudes, and customs of those who ate it.

Click here to buy The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

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Chat for Foodies!

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
We're always looking for ways to help our Foodies Connect!
We're very excited to tell you that we've just launched Chat for Foodies on Dancing Spoon Community. With our new online chat you can have conversations with other members in real time. You can even have private chats.

The Live Chat Window

Gaston Lenôtre 1920-2009

by J. Michael Wheeler
If you’ve visited France, or have been fortunate enough to have lived there, you’ve most certainly stood and stared, like a small child, wide-eyed at the treasures lying just beyond the windows of the pastry shops. With their artistic displays of artistic delights, the French patisserie captures even those of us who are not often mesmerized by a dessert tray.

Lenôtre Paris has been a pinnacle of the patisserie world since 1957 when Gaston and his wife Colette bought a store at 44 rue d’Auteuil, in the 16th Arrondissement of Paris. It was an immediate succès and today the familiar blue and gold logo tops 52 boutiques in 13 countries, a cooking school, a Michelin three-star restaurant, and chic cafes.

I have been one of those fortunates who have lived in Paris. I certainly allowed myself to be seduced into more than one Lenôtre Paris. Those patisseries have become one of the icons in my mind of my time in that city. Toques off to Chef Lenôtre.

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Hand selected books are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

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