Start Off 2017 Right

With some delicious breakfast/brunch/"any time you can finally face being awake and upright" items, of course!

As for me, I'm on my third coffee of the morning ...

What's In a Name? A Turkey By Any Other Name Would Taste as Great

Naming names and Meleagris gallopavo!

Thanksgiving Recipe Festival!

The big day is nearly here, my darlings. Need some recipes? Here you go!

• Crispy sweet potato roast. Please do not desecrate lovely sweet potatoes with marshmallows!
• Mashed potatoes. Carb-errific! Please pass the gravy. 
• How about these pretty potato stacks made in a muffin pan? They look like roses!
• The ever-reliable Alton Brown offers his own version of green bean casserole.
• How I do green beans: steam or blanche them briefly, and then saute for a couple of minutes in olive oil and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper, and that's it. They should be bright green and just a tiny bit crisp, not mushy. Try a bit of fresh lemon juice on top at the last minute for a tangy variation.
• Roasted parmesan green beans are a nice option.
• Try some roasted Brussels sprouts!
• Cornbread dressing that's leaps and bounds ahead of the insipid white bread variety. Make your own cornbread, obviously.
• If you already have the gorgeous cornbread dressing, you probably don't need dinner rolls (they're just filler anyway), but I know some people insist on them, so here's a recipe from King Arthur flour, and I have to admit that that flour is excellent.
• Try making your own cranberry sauce if you don't want the canned kind.
• Finally, the main event: Horrify your vegan friends and delight your fellow carnivores with a spectacular bacon-wrapped turkey. (Need a refresher on how to carve said turkey?)
• Dessert: So many options! I'll leave you to pick your favorite(s). I always go for pumpkin pie first myself.

MM in the Kitchen: Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew

Cold autumn days and nights need a good stew! By the way, you probably already know this, but most stews/soups/chilis taste better the day after you make them.

Happy Valenswine's Day with Bacon Roses!

MM in the Kitchen: Buttermilk Roast Chicken

Fast, easy, and  delicious.  Thanks, Nigella!  Serve with a crisp green salad since we're all trying to eat more healthily after the unabashedly rapacious caloric orgy of the holidays.

MM in the Kitchen: Kimchi Mussel Bouillabaisse

East meets West as a Korean food icon meets a French one!

MM in the Kitchen: History via Recipes!

Specifically, recipes from 1600-1800.  Edible research!

Quirky Asia Files: Japan's Black Cheeseburger

Hungry?

MM in the Kitchen: Roast Pork with Salsa Verde

Make. This. Now.

MM in the Kitchen: Chinese Ginger-Garlic Poached Chicken

This dish often associated with Hainan is so simple and so good.  You can't go wrong with garlic, ginger, and scallions, really!  There's even a helpful video:

Make rice (jasmine's my favorite kind) with the poaching liquid and serve with the chicken.  Add something green (I like baby bok choy sauteed with ginger or garlic), and you have a wonderful meal.  The menfolk in the family love adding spicy chili sauce (and also the inevitable Sriracha). For a twist, make rice porridge and serve the chicken with that; it's especially good for a winter breakfast.  For lunch the next day, shred the chicken and put it on top of salad greens with maybe a soy sauce sesame oil dressing.

A Taste of Sochi

When in Rome, eat as the Romans eat!  When in Sochi, check out the local dishes. Georgian-style dumplings with beef and lamb filling? YES, PLEASE.  I might try making these soon as a massive snowstorm rolls over the entire Eastern seaboard and I won't want to go outside!

Super Bowl Sunday Gluttony: Totchos

It wouldn't be a Super Bowl party without a mountain of food.  Yeah, I know buffalo wings and such are traditional, but let's not fall into a rut.  Here's a deliciously creative twist on nachos.   Why didn't I think of this? 

Now ... ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???!!!!

UPDATE: Link fixed. Sorry.

MM in the Kitchen: Roast Salmon Salad

Perfect for your summer table.

Mystery Meat in China Has Been Disgustingly Demystified

And you thought the UK horsemeat scandal was bad!  Get an eyeful of this:

More than 900 people have been arrested in China for selling fake or tainted meat in the last three months, state media say.  Officials say they uncovered almost 400 such cases and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of fake meat. In one case, the suspects made fake mutton from foxes, mink and rats after adding chemicals, state media said.

I'm pretty sure the thing is actually worse than this.

MM in the Kitchen: Irish Stew + Soda Bread

Did you have a nice breakfast?  I hope you're hungry for dinner later: here's some Irish lamb stew and soda bread.  Oh, and if you're not a lamb person, here's a beef version.  Here's a video lesson if you want some visual aid.  (Want more Irish edibles?)

Headline of the Day: Mystery Meat

Right on the heels (hooves?) of the UK horsemeat scandal, there's this from South Africa: "Waiter! There's a giraffe in my kudu!"

Bacon Roses For Valentine's Day

Tired of the same old gifts?  Try this, carnivores.

Super Bowl Sunday Recipe: Buffalo Wings

The classic for this annual sports extravaganza.  Enjoy!

Quote of the Day: The End Is Nigh, and We're Clucked

Here it is entertainingly taken out of context from a post by sci fi author Sarah Hoyt:

"I've seen the apocalypse, and it all ends in chickens."