This usually doesn't happen to me but I've always got enough ingredients on hand for a great big pot of SOUP or SHEPERDS PIE such as: Sheperds Pie: Since These ingred. I always have on hand and just about as good as CheeseCake Factories Sh. Pie Mashed potatoes (I use a good quality instant such as Paradise Valley brand via Costco - why bother with the hassle when they are great!) Just use once packet prep'd,,basically I'd say about 5 cups of mashed potatoes,,we like a lot so you'll have to go with what amount of potatoes your family likes OR...you could just add canned potatoes that you've drained and diced to the meat mixture, I'd say about 2-3 cans maybe. 1 pound of hamburger 1 med. onion chopped (could use dried, minced onion soaked in water to save time here) 1 med carrot diced (I always have the shredded carrots for salad on hand so I avoid that time) 1-2 celery stalks diced (most always have this on hand for salad but could substitute CANNED CORN if you don't have it) 1 can of mushrooms drained 2/3 C frozen peas 2 TBSP dried parsley 1 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp or more of Worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1 can of Beef gravy I can have this meal done in less than 30 minutes and you wouldn't need to bake it if you made the instant potatoes last, then just put them directly on the hot meat mixture. Basically, brown the meat and onion,,add the carrot and celery, sweat that or cook til tender, then add the spices the mushrooms and gravy. Lastly add the frozen peas. Mix together, put in a 9x13 pan and top with the potatoes. If it all isn't still hot then bake for 30-40 min in a 400 degree oven. Regarding the Soup: The knock off Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup 1 # hamburger browned with onion, 1 cup slivered carrots (says 7 oz but I just eyeball it or do the shredded salad carrots) 7 oz. celery diced 1 lrg can of diced tomatoes, juice and all 2 cans of beans (either kidney, pinto, great northern, whatever you have and like, could be 2 different ones, drained) 3 regular cans (44 oz.) beef broth or stock 1 1/2 tsp oregano 1 1/4 tsp pepper 2 1/2 tsp dried parsley 3/4 tsp tabasco sauce (optional, I don't) 24 oz of canned spaghetti sauce, your choice 4 oz. of dry small pasta, i.e. those bits for macaroni salad or other small shape Cook the hamburger, onion and carrot. Add celery and canned tomatoes cook about 10 min, drain the beans and add to pot, Add beef broth, spices, spaghetti sauce and pasta. Can be ready in 30 minutes. Makes 4 1/2 Qts. Pretty much everything is canned or frozen, the only iffy thing is the carrot and celery, I've used dried, minced onion soaked in water in a pinch. Everybody loves it.

My husband's uncle used to carve the bird at the table and did a masterful job. She was a home ec professor and the food was wonderful. And he attacked that beautiful bird with great skill and aplomb. He picked the furthest from him, looked you in the eye and said "dark or white" and proceeded to slice a neat slice or 2 from the proper spot. Then he cut a hole in the turkey behind the ribs and in front of the thigh and proceeded to spoon out a spoonful of stuffing, adn your plate went back to you and the next plate was passed while you filled your plate with wild rice and mushrooms, and greenbeans with pearl onions squash souffle etc etc! Good food at Aunt Tiny's house!

Most of the goat cheese I have had in the US is very mild, with a texture close to cream cheese and about as much bite/tang as sour cream. I would think it would suit many palates. In Europe, whoa, the goat cheese I had was very strong. Closer to a blue; which luckily I also like. I've a feeling that the range of goat cheeses in many places is about as broad as the range of "cow cheese." ETA, as for the original inquiry ... I think that a butternut squash soup might be sort of repetitive, as both veggies are sweet. I think a piece of grilled fish would be perfect. Beets and cheese and pistachios are rich. One of my fave local markets makes a puree of beets with some garlic in it too. I love it on a grilled crostini, with some baby arugula and a dollop of goat cheese. Looks pretty too. Of course I also love borscht. And beets are so often on salads, that we forget how good they are warm, with just enough butter to glisten and some salt, Oh yum. Personally, i don't care for the pre cooked peeled ones that are so often used as a shortcut by restaurants ... they can be mushy almost.

Drinks from the bar before dinner - lots of bourbon drinkers. In winter, I prefer a glass of dry sherry $ dont like holding a cold glass with ice in cold weather, and I could drink ant whiskey “neat” if a gun where put to my head! With Thanksgiving Turkey, Beaujolais Nouveau is served - perfect with the richness of turkey. With lobster stew dinner champagne before and during the meal. Christmas Eve beef tenderloin means a good red wine. Water goblets are always at each place as well, and children /teens still prefer milk. Beer and soft drinks are onky served at a very informal cookout. I never serve ice tea. I know - a sacrilege in the south! I used to drink it all the time - leftover from breakfast pot of tea. I no longer make a breakfast pot and don’t like instant.