The GUILD 11-21-2002 THANKSGIVING DAY RECIPE EXCHANGE!!!!

[Timeout]

Back to recipes. I finally found a recipe I want to try for T'giving and would really like y'all's input.

It calls for dried pears, but I want to substitute apples and I would add toasted pecans. I also left out Italian parsley, since I don't think it would compliment the apple. Do you think those are good ideas?

Wild Rice Stuffing with Wild Mushrooms
(Preheat oven to 350)
8 – 10 servings

1 stick butter
4 large onions (2 ¾ lbs) halved, thinly sliced
1 ¼ lbs assorted wild mushrooms ( crimini, shitake, etc), sliced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

5 C. canned low salt chicken broth (or turkey broth)
3 tsp. chopped fresh sage
1 1/3 cups wild rice (8 oz pkg)
1 ¼ cups long grain white rice
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped apple (instead of dried pear)
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (I added this)
parsley

Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, sauté until very tender and caramelized, about 25 min. Transfer onions to large bowl.

Melt remaining butter in same pot over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and 1 Tbsp thyme. Saute until mushrooms are deep brown, about 12 min. Add to onions. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Bring broth, 1 Tbsp thyme, and 2 teaspoons sage to boil in heavy deep pot. Mix in wild rice; return to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add white rice; cover and simmer until tender and almost all liquid is absorbed, about 18 minutes.

Stir in onion/mushroom mixture, remaining 1 Tbsp thyme and 1 teaspoon sage. Stir in apples and pecans. Cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.

Generously butter 9x13 glass baking dish. Pour in stuffing. Cover with buttered foil, butter side down. Bake until heated through, about 40 min. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 20 min. longer.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Fintan]

I'm sending my thank-you via email...

[lodwick]

It reads like a winner. Yum.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I'm sending my thank-you via email...

I am still waiting.

[mountaineer]

Apples sound better than pears for that recipe, anyway, in my opinion. I think you have a winner. Apples are good in so many dishes - I just made a cake with a layer of apple slices in the middle (and flavorful Penzeys China cassia cinnamon, of course), and it was delicious. I wonder if other dried fruits also would work in your recipe, e.g., apricots, cranberries or cherries?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

That stuffing sounds fabulous. I bet it would also be fantastic with goose and duck.

[Timeout]

... apricots, cranberries or cherries

I was actually thinking of adding some celery with the onion. And at the end throw in some chives and bacon crumbles. This is sounding better and better.

What is that cinnamon you referred to???

[mountaineer]

China Cassia cinnamon: China cinnamon is strong, and spicier than Korintje, with a potent sweet flavor which has been prized for centuries. Good strong flavor for all baking needs, great for cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle a bit into the batter for French toast, waffles or pancakes. Use to dust oatmeal, or add to powdered sugar to top fresh fruit.

[lodwick]

After you get to the chives and bacon crumbles...STOP.

This will be wonderful - you do not need to add the kitchen sink.

It sounds perfect to me.

[mountaineer]

INTERESTING GROUP showed up at Gary Danko on Sunday night: Bill Clinton and a party of 10, including old-time political friends Susie Tompkins Buell of bosky Bolinas, and Patricia and Robin Klaus, the pukka parents of Chelsea Clinton's steady beau, Belvedere's Ian Klaus.

But when it came time to get serious, the party split into two groups. Bill and the Klaus couple, intriguingly enough, stayed together in the main dining room in full of view of the public, if you can call the clientele at such a temple of gastronomy as Gary Danko, "the public." ... Ms. Buell and the seven others retreated to a private dining room. ...

One witness in the dining room says Clinton huddled with Ian's parents "intimately and in a focused manner. It was clear they wanted time with each other, away from the larger group. They looked like they were discussing substantial matters."

Like the gross national product? Or like having to live under the glare of the gross national press? "Like what life would be like for their kids together." Well, that's good.

Among other comestibles, the trio shared the famous Gary Danko cheese course and one bottle of 2001 Rochioli Russian River Sauvignon Blanc -- about $60. The bill went on one credit card -- but the card didn't belong to Bill or the Klaus family. ...[Well, of course. When did a Clinton ever pick up the tab?]

Bill's been all over the Bay Area lately. So he's news. And no, I don't think it's terrible that the Junior Paper's gossips went so far as to report breathlessly that Clinton stopped to take a leak in Vallejo at a Jack-in-the-Box -- though one might argue that printing such an item does reinforce the impression of the Junior Paper as a "chronicle of small beer."

Here at The Ex we look for the larger significance. Which in this case is that Bubba is pissing away a lot of time lately. Not only does he have to make a sudden unscheduled pit stop at a Vallejo Jack-In-the-Box, he had to make a sudden stop in New York, just a few moments from his office. The New York Daily News' Rush & Molloy report that "The night doorman at a certain West End Ave. building was suspicious when a guy turned up the other evening claiming to be a federal agent. 'We need to use your bathroom,' the G-man said with some urgency. The doorman demanded to see some official identification. Instead of producing a badge, the suit went back to his car and returned with something more convincing: William Jefferson Clinton. Our spy says the doorman promptly escorted the grateful ex-president to the basement restroom normally used by janitorial staff. A Clinton spokesman responds: 'I don't comment on leaks.'"

Well, jokes aside, is something wrong with the ex-presidential plumbing? Clinton's health was never an issue in any of his campaigns -- largely because as a younger man, there didn't seem to be any health issues. But if this, ah, need for frequent urination is pressing then maybe he has problems. Frequent urination is often a sign of diabetes. ... SF Examiner

[mountaineer]

They looked like they were discussing substantial matters." Like the gross national product? Or like having to live under the glare of the gross national press? "Like what life would be like for their kids together." Well, that's good.

Like what they're going to do if Chels ends up in the family way and both kids drop out of Oxford?

[lodwick]

Great reporting there - thank you.

On the "family way" front however, can you say, 'Planned Parenthood?' This is just not gonna happen with a shotgun negotiated wedding for Crusty Jr. and her brother...bless their hearts.

[mountaineer]

Remember that story several months ago about Chels buying a home pregnancy kit? I'm sure any such "problem" would be resolved quickly, but someone really ought to turn a firehose on those two. I've seen junkyard dogs who had more self-control.

[lodwick]

Night all.

[Iowa Granny]

I like the idea of a firehose.

[tubebender]

Kraft mayo? What? No Hellman's?

My fact checker is fast asleep but I do believe that they are one and the same.On the East Coast it's Hellmans and on the West Coast it's Kraft Miracle Whip and they meet I know not where...

[Iowa Granny]

I will wait for someone with more knowledge to make the difinitive ruling on this one, tube. But I don't think so. I live in flyover country, and both brands are available here. Kraft has mayonaise and Miracle Whip, both. Entirely different formulas.

[lodwick]

Check out The Guild's special day

[BigWaveBetty]

My fact checker is fast asleep but I do believe that they are one and the same.On the East Coast it's Hellmans and on the West Coast it's Kraft Miracle Whip and they meet I know not where...

Tubender, I must respectfully disagree. Hellmans and Miracle Whip have completely different tastes. Hellmans and Kraft Mayo are more similar but do taste differently.

Miracle Whip has a sweet tangy taste, almost like a cole slaw dressing, Kraft Mayo not as sweet and no tang, Hellmans no sweet and no tang. Take it from one who loves mayo and is very particular about the taste!

There now, more than you ever wanted to know about mayo. :-)

[BigWaveBetty]

Morning IG! You are right about the mayo see my above post. Be sure to click lodwick's link.