Punk, I'm not sure if I have too many new ideas for you, my DH is a M&P guy so we don't do anything too different. There are lots of yummy menus here from others tho. Our kids aren't coming home this year but we're still doing a big dinner. We don't eat ham (altho I do love it) so often have turkey several times a year for special dinners. It's one of DH's fav meals and I like it altho I think I like the dressing and sweet potatoes even more than the meat! And I love the leftovers so we always cook lots. Our menu is crudities as appetizer, roast turkey, dressing (do you all call it stuffing or dressing?), cranberry sauce, gravy from scratch, crockpot scalloped potatoes (we usually do mashed but thot these would be easier), mashed sweet potatoes, some green veggie - either asparagus, French green bean casserole, or baby peas. I'm going shopping tomorrow so I'll decide then. I often change my mind at the last minute so will have everything on hand. Honestly haven't decided on dessert - something easy unless DH wants to make pies tomorrow. He makes a great apple pie. However I might make baked custards which I like better. Some topping on them. LOL I shouldn't have posted to this until after the dinner, I change my mind so many times.

This has been wonderful to read! Thanks for sharing all the great garden stories and pics! I am encouraged and inspired not to give up on the tomatoes in pots. I could perhaps install some of those hanging tomato gizmos, my neighbor did. I tried growing a "patio tomato" last year, I got two golf ball sized mediocre tomatoes from it. I also grew yellow pear bite sized ones, which were cute but didn't taste all that great and I had gazillions of them. Then Becky/Boo turned me on to making home canned spaghetti sauce, so I'm inspired to try romas this year. I also like them in salads. I'm like a lot of you, I tuck my culinary herbs in all over the garden, they are the easiest garden treats to grow, and are so wonderful in the summer to use in cooking. Poor Tricia! Interesting that you seem to be ok with herbs. I know a lot of herbs originated in the wild on the mediterannean coast. Surely there must be something you could grow. Are you familiar with beach plums? I saw some listed in a catalog I get from a nursery out on the west coast called "Forest Farm." I've gathered them in the wild up in the UP of Michigan. Another edible plant that might survive the mist is blueberry.

Kim, you really should explore the world of seafood, as it is ideal for fast meal prep. The whole secret with cooking shrimp, scallops, and other shellfish is to make sure you don't overcook it. But the particular critter usually gives you a clue. Shrimp turns pink when it's done. Scallops turn opaque. Clams and oysters curl at the edges. The hard ones are calamari and abalone. But even they give you clues. To clean shrimp you need to remove the shells and the mud vein that runs down the back. This can be done before or after cooking, depending on recipes. Hint: Shrimp cooked in their shells are more flavorful. There are special tools for prepping shrimp. But a regular table fork works just as well. Stick one tine into the shell from the head end, pointing into the mud vein. Then push the shrimp onto the tine. The shell and vein will pop right off. If you look at the Nuts & Bolts thread I've posted a simple recipe for Shrimp & Sausage Carbonade that you might want to try. Finned fishes, too, can broaden your choices. Fish does not require a long cooking time in any recipe (the rule of thumb is to cook ten minutes for each inch of thickness). Virtually any cooking method---from poaching to deep fying, baking to barbecuing---can be used for fish cookery.

OH, my, I'll never catch up! We lost our internet during the storm and when it came back, I was kicked out of Houzz, had to reload my browser, the phone still doesn't work! We got about 2 feet of snow, so we've been busily moving that anyway, and Mother is here so she keeps me busy. What really jumped out at me was Cookebook's blue and white plates, they're lovely! Jasdip, I kind of know the feeling, I was happily divorced for a while, then it got lonely doing everything alone. The girls grew up and had their own lives and then there was just me. I had no idea how to even start dating in my 50s, and wasn't really sure I wanted to anyway. And then, there was Elery, it sure took me a long time to get it right! As for the air fryer, I'm still pretty "eh" about it. It makes fried chicken really well, and I've roasted potato wedges successfully, but I really don't see a big difference between most items prepared in that and those prepared in the oven. (shrug) Neely, perfect steak! Shambo, I'm glad to see you back cooking, that sausage looks really good. Sleevendog, black garbanzos? I never heard of those? And how were they? Do they taste like regular garbanzos? Today it was cold, definitely soup day. I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup, one of those "clean out the refrigerator" pots of soup. Surprisingly, Mother ate a whole bowl, I was astounded. We had homemade bread with it, but I didn't take a picture, it really wasn't pretty, LOL. This was Elery's shrimp and sausage, it was pretty good, I like shrimp very much. I made burritos last night, didn't take a picture of those either, I'm definitely slipping! I did take a picture of the fluffy "southwestern omelette" with green chilies, cheese and corn, we liked it a lot but it needed more chilies. Served with a quick pickle made with that baby head of red cabbage from Misfits, but it was too sour for either of us to eat, even as a condiment on sandwiches, I've definitely got to work on that recipe! Broccoli was also from Misfits: I panfried a new-to-me fish, rockfish from the Alaskan seafood box. It was very good, reminded me of walleye, I'd definitely get that again. Served with homecanned Purple Dragon carrots glazed with some Habanero Gold along with a cold salad of peas and peanuts: Elery made some potstickers the night I went to pick Mother up, also very good with some of that sweet dark soy sauce for me, Sriracha for Elery. And so, I guess I'm caught up. I got my new Misfits box, and so I have some beets, some leaf lettuce, some onions, a head of cabbage. We'll see if I get creative or just roast the beets and saute the cabbage, the way Elery and Mother both like it... Annie