I haven't tried either of these. They were in our newspaper today and looked interesting. MINTED WILD RICE PILAF WITH TURKEY, FETA, AND OLIVES Prep and cook time: About 1-1/2 hours Makes: 2 servings 1 tbsp. salted sweet cream butter 1/2 cup brown rice 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary 1 cup bite-size pieces cooked turkey 3 oz. feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/4 cup pitted, chopped kalamata or other Greek olives 3 tbsp. chopped fresh mint Mint sprigs Melt butter in a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat. Add brown rice and onion. Cook, stirring often, until rice is lightly toasted and opaque, about 6 minutes. Add wild rice, broth, parsley, and rosemary. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until wild rice is tender to bite and liquid is mostly absorbed, 45 to 55 minutes. Uncover pan and stir in turkey, feta, and olives. Stir often until meat is heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in chopped mint then transfer pilaf to a serving dish or individual plates. Garnish with mint sprigs. Per serving: 658 calories, 38 percent (252 cal.) from fat; 35 g protein; 28 g fat (13.5 g sat.); 66 g carbohydrates (5.2 g fiber); 1082 mg sodium; 115 mg cholesterol TURKEY-COUSCOUS SALAD WITH GINGER-PEACH DRESSING Prep and cook time: 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling time Notes: While you wait for the water to boil, slice the vegetables. To save more time, use jarred pureed or chopped garlic instead of peeling and chopping fresh garlic. The dressing can be made and kept refrigerated up to one week in advance. Just before serving, combine salad, dressing, and turkey. Makes: 6 to 8 side servings Salad 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 box (10 oz.) plain couscous 3/4 lb. diced cooked turkey 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 1/2 cup half-moon sliced cucumber 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, well drained Peach Dressing 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger 1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh garlic or garlic puree 1 can (8.5 oz.) sliced peaches, drained Salt and hot sauce Pour 2 cups boiling water into a 4- to 5-quart casserole, bowl, or other non-plastic container with a lid. Stir in oil and couscous. Cover tightly for 5 minutes. When grains are hydrated, fluff them with a fork, re-cover, and place in the refrigerator to cool for 30 minutes. When cooled, fluff and separate couscous grains again with a fork. (If making ahead, refrigerate, covered, for up to two days). Meanwhile, make dressing. In a blender or food processor, puree lemon juice, vinegar, oil, ginger, garlic, and peaches. Add salt and hot sauce to taste. Gently mix turkey, red bell pepper, cucumber, celery, green onion, carrot, and pineapple into cooled couscous. Add peach dressing. Stir mixture gently but thoroughly to ensure dressing is evenly distributed. Serve immediately. Per serving: 308 calories, 16 percent (145 cal.) from fat; 16 g protein; 5.4 g fat (0.8 g sat.); 49 g carbohydrates (2.5 g fiber); 264 mg sodium; 95 mg cholesterol

I make tamales once or twice a year. Actually, I'm not sure that tamalies have a good consistency for dressing. I ALWAYS make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. Obviously that isn't the taste you want, but it sure is good! Good luck with your search.

Busybee, the gingersnap crust was sooooo much better! It wasn't soggy at all. While I still prefer the thicker custard-like regular pie pumpkin pie versus the chiffon-type of filling, the pumpkin chiffon with the gingersnap crust was definitely good. When discussing desserts with my mother, she said my niece was bringing a sweet potato pie, and my mom would make the regular pumpkin and this chocolate pie my kids love. I told her we'd do the pumpkin chiffon and also an apple pie. She thought that was too many pies for 17 people, but I knew that everyone would want some leftovers. Dh's apple pie was so good that not a morsel was left by the end of the night and only about 1/4 at most of each of the other pies so very few leftovers! I didn't even get a second piece of pie tonight. I think I'm going to have to make a second apple pie this weekend since I only had a tiny sliver last night b/c I was afraid I wouldn't get any (and I almost didn't - i took a tiny sliver right b/f my nieces and their boyfriends came in and finished it off). So I think from now on dh will make the pumpkin chiffon with the gingersnap crust - I'm not sure why in the past he used a graham cracker crust since it calls for a gingersnap crust. Definitely way better with gingersnaps! Hope everyone enjoyed their meals and the company of family and/or friends.

plllog, I misspoke, I raised Black/Gray Slate turkeys, not Black Spanish. That said, the poults still cost me $10.25 each for day old birds. I can't really count food, as 5 of them died within the first three days, so I didn't feed them much. Two more died the next week, and one died after about a month. I did factor the mortality cost into the cost of the final bird. When dressed, the turkeys weighed between 11 and 18 pounds and cost $45 to raise. 15 pounds was the "average" that we reached between one small turkey/one big turkey and all others were in the middle as to weight. So, that's $3.00 a pound just to get the poults and feed them. They require a longer growing period and they are fussy, needing light and heat, watching them so they don't forget to eat and starve to death, or drown by falling asleep next to the water dish. Mine got infectious sinusitis and required antibiotics, so much for organic birds. Even after they are big, you have to watch them. One was so dumb that he stuck his head through the fence and didn't realize how to take one step back and take his head out. He just stood there and screamed until I walked over, pulled him a few inches backward and he realized he was no longer "stuck", not that he ever was. They are, without exception, the dumbest thing I've ever encountered, although they were friendly. So, truthfully, I'd say $10 a pound is a bit of a stretch, even for something as labor intensive as those bird brains were, but I'd have to charge someone $7 a pound, at least, to compensate for the time of plucking and cleaning as well as feeding, cleaning pens, rescuing them from the fence, etc. And, of course, I don't have to make a living. I probably spent at least 6 or 7 hours on each bird, so there's approximately 48 hours of work. At minimum wage that's $8.15 per hour, or $391 in labor. Divide that by the 7 birds and there's $55 a bird, plus the $45 to feed it and buy it in the first place. So, $95 if I'm only making minimum wage, divide that by 15 pounds and you get $6.33 per pound just to raise the things and that is if I'm making $8 an hour! More birds, of course, translates into less cost for feed/etc., so someone who raises more than a dozen could probably do it more cheaply and spend about the same amount of time I did raising my 7. And, of course, you're helping to ensure biological diversity, something that I can't put a price on, plus you are hopefully getting a bird that's been humanely and sustainably raised. As they say, "Eat them to save them", otherwise they become extinct. Annie