Ginger - I only had 1 hour to make these things and it was Murphy's Law at work. The chocolate was not cooperating and I was rushing. I was trying to submerge the entire raspberry and it was a disaster. I had to settle for dipping as much of the raspberry as possible and then spooning some over them on wax paper. I couldn't find my squeeze bottle, but I think that would have helped. I thought of two different ways of trying them next time. Yes, I am trying them again. I may sit them on a rack and squeeze chocolate all over the top and let that set and then do the other side with them sitting on wax paper. OR I may use a chocolate mold, one that is deep. Put in a little chocolate then a raspberry and cover with chocolate. I think one of my problems was that I had to wash the raspberries and they are a lot harder to dry than strawberries, so they may have been a little moist and didn't allow the chocolate to adhere well. Mine weren't attractive, but they were quite tasty. They were gone by the end of the night and one of my friends called this morning to see if I had anymore for him LOL.

I have made this turkey for the past several years and it is a big hit. Something about the salty pancetta and sage. Yum! We have about ten people. Most of us are continually watching our weight. We don't usually do appetizers or many desserts. My kids are weird, don't have favorites. I will make something special for my niece, she usually wants chocolate mousse. We have butternut squash, baked creamed spinach and celery, some sort of stuffing (that's where I experiment), and we alternate the potatoes. Not sure what we'll do this year. Sometimes I just love plain old mashed the best. This year we are having a family Christmas Ornament swap on November 23. Because of other commitments and stuff, I have to start decorating for Christmas this week. It is going to be weird having Thanksgiving with Santa. Beth P. Here is a link that might be useful: Pancetta Sage Turkey

I made Chocolate Eclairs last week. I also made some "puffs" and filled them with the same filling along with raspberries. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Choux Pastry ============ Soure: Harrods Cookery Book 1985 3/4 cup unbleached flour pinch of salt 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water 6tablespoons butter 3 eggs, beaten Sift the flour and salt onto a sheet of wax paper. Place the water and butter in a saucepan and heat, melting the butter before boiling point is reached. Bring to a rolling boil, and immediately pour in the flour. Remove the pan from the heat. Beat the mixture until it is smooth and leaves the sides of the pan. Cool, then gradually beat in enough eggs to make the mixture glossy and smooth, and of a dropping consistency. You may not need to add all the eggs. Do not add the eggs while the mixture is warm or the eggs may scramble. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Custard Filling 1/2 cup sugar 3 egg yolks 3 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups milk 4 to 5 ounces of White Chocolate (Optional) 1 cup of whipping cream powdered sugar pinch of salt Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring for 1 minute. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir in about half the thickened sauce. Return to the heat and cook. stirring 2 or 3 minutes longer to take away the flour taste. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Pour into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place wrap on surface of custard. This stops a "skin" from forming. Refrigerate until cold. Beat cream with sugar until thick. Fold cream into custard. Chocolate 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate 1 tablespoon butter Melt chocolate and butter together. Stir until smooth. Dip top of eclair into melted chocolate. Cut top of eclair. Dip top in melted chocolate. Fill eclair with cream and top with chocolate coated lid.

Caramel Kissed Chocolate Cookies 1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips 1 3/4 c flour 1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1 c packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1 c finely chopped walnuts 1 c confectioners' sugar 50 caramel filled chocolate Kisses Melt chocolate chips. Whish flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and chocolate until blended. On low speed beat in flour mixture until combined. Stir in nuts. Cover and chill 1 hour or until firm. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll level tablespoons dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in confectioners' sugar to coat. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes until cookies set and tops are chracked. Cool 1 minute on sheet on a wire rack. Gently press a chocolate Kiss on each. Transfer to rack to cool completely.