Good Press

If you're baking and you run out of brown sugar, or you find you don't have quite enough, or if you find you need a little and you don't want to buy a 1-pound package because the rest will just harden in your cabinet, try this: Measure 1 cup of granulated white sugar and add 2 teaspoons molasses. Mix with a fork or an electric mixer. I learned this trick from author Joanne Fluke who writes the Hannah Swensen series of culinary mysteries.

I was surprised to find what I consider an upscale product at the Terra Alta Shop 'n Save. I am intrigued that there would be enough demand for a small grocery store to stock almond milk. But they have pleasantly surprised me before with products like acini di pepe, which I couldn't find at Wal-mart in larger neighboring towns. A half-gallon carton of the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze lactose-free, vitamin-fortified almond milk cost $2.99. I splurged. I made a kheer-like concoction (kheer is an Indian rice pudding) by mixing the milk with a little sugar, cardamom and vanilla extract and putting it over cooled basmati rice. It was OK but I made more than we really wanted to eat. I would much rather drink just the spiced, sweetened milk -- especially at bedtime. Just pour some almond milk into a glass and add a little granulated sugar, vanilla extract and cardamom to taste. Stir and enjoy. Good night!

The elephant in my kitchen all summer has been a turkey. This year for Thanksgiving, I decided to reserve a live turkey from a local farmer who sells produce at the farmer’s market across the street from my house. On the market’s opening day in June, I sought him out and signed up for my bird. Only then he tells me how big the birds were last year – and how much they cost per pound. Last year, his family cooked and ate a 48-pound turkey. That’s dressed weight, meaning the turkey had been stripped of feathers and other inedible parts. And his price, derived from the cost of organic feed, was $2.75 per pound. That would be $132 for my Thanksgiving turkey. He called to another shopper, Loretta Wotring, to tell me her story. She bought a 38-pound turkey. It barely fit in her roaster pan. And she had just served her family the last of the frozen leftovers that spring. I started to sweat. As the weeks slipped by till Thanksgiving, I tried to save money and I occasionally worried how I was go...

Last year, I posted an opinion piece that said food writers hate Thanksgiving because they are pressured to develop new recipes that will largely be ignored. Few consumers break with tradition when the day comes to break the wishbone. They will make green bean casserole and marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes despite all the side-dish variations and innovations presented in magazines and newspapers. My experience has also been that people want Thanksgiving to taste a certain way -- the recipes prepared the way they remember their mothers or grandmothers making them. A woman at church complained last week that her aunt wants to put lemon pepper on the turkey this year because she saw Martha Stewart do it. The changes I have implemented in my holiday meals are, in my opinion, not that radical, but I have met resistance of varying intensities. My mother-in-law distrusts my cooking because, in part, one Thanksgiving I was assigned to bring the green beans . Instead of boiling them within an ...

Turkey seasoning rub In making the turkey this year, I am going against everything I advise about 1. Trying something new for a major dinner instead of having a trial run first and 2. messing with how people expect something to taste. I am going to rub a mix of seasonings under the skin instead of just butter. This recipe comes from TV show host and cookbook author Jim Coleman. COLEMAN'S RUB 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon ground sage 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon powdered cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme 1 teaspoon powdered coriander 1 lemon Wash turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towles. Using hands, lift up the skin (without tearing) and rub herb mixture onto meat under skin, starting near the neck and continuing to rump. Squeeze lemon over turkey and use remaining herb mixture to caot the top of the bird. I...

When I read about this Spice Cake with Caramelized Pears and Maple Buttercream in the November issue of Gourmet magazine -- the last one they will ever print -- I couldn't wait to try it. I am considering offering it in addition to the pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecake at Thanksgiving. The batter is thick and luscious -- there are two sticks of butter in it after all -- and it is fragrant with vanilla and spices. The pears do not make the cake soggy at all. The maple frosting ties everything together. It is lightly sweet and quite yummy. I think it is the butter, the 5 eggs and the baking powder and the way you thoroughly beat the batter after adding each egg that makes the layers bake up even and near-perfect. Don't neglect to rap the pans in the counter to jar out air bubbles. Here is a link to the recipe for Spice Cake with Caramelized Pears and Maple Buttercream from the November 2009 Gourmet magazine. And in case they ever take down Epicurious.com, seeing as how Gourmet...