This is a very flavorful chili that is also good and spicy. You can control the spiciness by the amount of chipotles in adobo you add. The amount called for is plenty spicy. Turkey Chili  2 tablespoons oil  2 large onions chopped  2 tablespoons garlic chopped  2 1/2 pounds turkey ground  1/4 cup masa harina  28 ounces whole plum tomatoes drained and chopped, reserve juice  2 cups chicken stock, and maybe 2 cups more  6 tablespoons pasilla chili powder  1 tablespoon cumin ground  1 teaspoon oregano  1 teaspoon cinnamon  1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground  1 tablespoon salt  2 tablespoons cider vinegar  2 small chipotle chilies in adobo sauce chopped  40 ounces beans (black or kidney) preparation: Heat the oil in a dutch oven and saute the onions until golden. Add the garlic and saute for another 2 3 minutes. Add the turkey and saute until the meat loses its color, stirring to break the meat apart. Sprinkle the masa harina onto the meat and stir to incorporate, cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except beans), the reserved tomato juice and 2 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, adding the remaining chicken stock if necessary. Add the beans and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes to heat thoroughly. Serve with corn bread, tortillas, diced onions, grated cheese, sour cream, chopped fresh coriander, or anything else you like with your chili. NOTE: Try and get the ingredients listed. DonÂt use regular chili powder. If you canÂt find pasilla (you can mail order it at http://www.mexgrocer.com/9674.html), substitute ancho (usually available in super markets). This chili has a nice "earthy" taste with a hint of smokiness imparted by the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. The "heat" also comes from the chipotle chiles, so add less or more to taste. Ground beef or pork can be substituted for the turkey.

Meatball are great! Giada de Laurentiis has a good recipe: Mini Turkey Meatballs * 1 small onion, grated * 3 garlic cloves, minced * 1 large egg * 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs * 3 tablespoons ketchup * 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves * 1/4 cup grated Parmesan * 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper * 1 pound ground dark turkey meat * 3 tablespoons olive oil * 26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce Directions Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet. Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks. Simple Tomato Sauce: 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes 4 to 6 basil leaves 2 dried bay leaves 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors. Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months. Yield: 6 cups Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes Ease of Preparation: Easy [this is my favorite tomato sauce for pasta!] Also, these Feta Turkey Burgers are wonderful! Feta Cheese Turkey Burgers from AllRecipes.com 1 pound ground turkey 1 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced 2 teaspoons dried oregano ground black pepper to taste 1. Preheat the grill for medium high heat. 2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, feta cheese, olives, oregano, and pepper. Mix together, and form into patties. 3. Lightly oil the grate. Place patties on the grill. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through. [these can be cooked on a Foreman grill or in a skillet]

Dear gardenlad: As a food writer and former employee of the Brown Hotel, I'm curious to see where you got your information about the origins of the Hot Brown. Below, you will find the Brown Hotel's official version (as far as I know) of the sandwich's origins, as recounted by Rudy Suck, a manager there in the 1920s. The story quoted below also explains the incorporation of turkey and pimento in the sandwich. I have never heard any claim that mushrooms were an original ingredient and wonder if there is any substantiation for this. Thanks. ____________________________________________________________ The Hot Brown was developed three or four years after the hotel opened when the supper dance business was falling off. The band would play from 10:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. When they took a break, around midnight, people would order food. It was usually ham and eggs. We decided we needed something new. The chef, Fred K. Schmidt, said, "I have an idea for an open-faced turkey sandwich with Mornay sauce over it." At that time turkeys were only used at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they had just started selling them year-round. I said, "That sounds a little flat." The chef said, "I'm going to put it under the broiler." The maitre d' said, "It should have a little color, too." So Schmidt said, "We'll put two strips of bacon on top of it." I said, "How about some pimiento." That's how the Hot brown came to be. ____________________________________________________________

ever since making cranberry jezabel a few years ago, i decided that i actually liked cranberry sauce! not a doubt in my mind that i need to do a test run on that ginger/pear recipe! and what's even more clear is that i am just going to have to try out marilyn's version of stuffing! and you are right, ann--you don't mess with family favorites on thanksgiving and i know that ted's sister would just love that sweet potato recipe of yours and i'm going to make sure she gets it--thank you! and thanx for the "cheater baked beans" chase. i've made annie's several time and i'm sure we'd enjoy your version as well--we both are fans of limas! and of COURSE your family must have those beautiful dills of yours! it just wouldn't be right, otherwise...i'm glad you and elery will be able to share the time together annie, and raise a toast to all that have gone before us. sometimes traditions change long before we are ready for them to do so... i was going to try out one other new dish this year--an apple and cranberry sauce. it smelled so good while it was cooking that i even toyed with the idea of making some little pastry cups and adding in a teaspoon or two of the leftover sauce for later on. well--back to the drawing board. there wasn't room for everything in the fridge and it's been quite cold out so i put the covered sauce pan out on the deck and sort of forgot about it. we had just finished mixing the stuffing last night and time to rearrange things, and i remembered my sauce! so i went out to get it. man, that saucepan was HEAVY! well you boob. we'd had a driving rain the night before and that lid just couln't compete with the wind--my cranberry sauce is now soup! ladle anyone? anyway, a clink of my coffee cup to all--hope you have a wonderful and peaceful day regardless of what is or isn't on the menu this year!