Another of those dreaded Thanksgiving Recipe Threads

CookingWithCarlo.com ^ | 11/11/2004 | Carlo3b, A PROUD AMERICAN

[carlo3b]

Well, it's that time again, when we old timers dust off the holiday recipes. For you newcomers, just bear with us, it won't take long, and you could just move on if this is too corny for you to handle. Otherwise, cut and paste, and have a great Thanksgiving.. This is a bit early because I will once again be on the great oceans this years cookin and spinnin my tales of the kitchen.. ENJOY..
God bless you and your family!.. Chef

Remembering Our first recorded Thanksgiving Day
The Mayflower 1620- 2002

The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 from Plymouth England, to Plymouth Rock started as a journey to find peace and justice in a new world. It began as a fervent prayer to give freedom a chance, and remains today as the promise each year for a new beginning. Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of hope, and remembrance.
Today, we bring our families and friends together to share our tables and our hearts, and give thanks for all that we have to be grateful for in our new and glorious country. From this grand experiment and it's courageous settlers, to the greatest nation of the world, we have a lot to be thankful for, indeed.

Remembering my Italian family Thanksgiving

My earliest memory of Thanksgiving was the fuss over preparation of the wonderful food being planned in advance of our holiday feast. Being a traditional Italian American, midwestern home, a full cornucopia of cookies of every ethnicity was in abundance. Thanksgiving morning was a special treat with a home filled with the scent of baking bread, and roasted turkey which transformed our tiny cold water flat in "Little Italy" on the lower East side of Chicago into a 3 room palace.

Everyone was involved, family and friends, young and old, with 4 generations of our own majestic women. An unspoken but respected hierarchy prevailed, with the eldest women in control, and a dance like rhythm appeared to take charge of this traditional and noble endeavor. It didn't take long before our small kitchen and dinning room filled, and every flat surface was covered. People scurried into the hallway, where neighbors shuffled pans and pots, in and out of their apartment kitchens to make room for more, always more so everyone could share in the abundance.

The Preparations

Preparation started days earlier, with the making of the pasta. I recall my great aunt bringing in the clothesline from our back porch, the one that strung across the small yard to the adjacent porch and back. She washed and bleached this cord to string across our living and dining rooms, from sconces to chandelier, and doorjambs to windowsills. It was strung as tight as possible to hold the pounds of lasagna noodle, and spaghetti needed to hang dry, to satisfy the hearty Italian appetites. I recall as if it were yesterday listening to our nightly radio programs with the shadows of stringing pasta on the faded floral wallpaper, lending an eerie overtone to the Green Hornet, or Gangbusters.

How could I ever forget opening my eyes in the morning with the sight of hanging pasta overhead, but then, why in the world would I want to forget that magical moment after all, and what it meant to a young boy that a wonderful and glorious holiday was just around the corner?

The Family and Friends

Each family was represented in the choice of menu items. Every wonderful cook in each branch of the family offered to prepare their own special version of the chosen food. This made for a memorable feast indeed, there were at least 4 successful individual restaurant owners in our family. The competition was playful and fun filled, with chunks of bread, ladles, and spoons dipping into everything, testing, tasting, and teasing.

The Cooks

It should not be construed that the food preparation was the exclusive provence of our family women, to do so would be to underestimate the culinary contributions of some of the finest cooks in the clan. A few of my uncles, cousins and grandpa were cooks in the Army, Navy, and Marines, as well as in their own restaurants. My great uncle served as a cook in the Italian army, then captured and recruited to cook in the prisoner-of-war camp, when upon his release, served 2 tours as a cook in the US Marines during The Korean War. However, whatever greatness the men may have achieved in the outside world, the kitchen was ruled by those formidable, yet diminutive, strikingly gorgeous, black clad matriarchs of the family. Great grandmothers from both sides of the lineage, grandmothers, great grandmother-in-laws, and great great aunts.

Man I'll tell ya, it was a sight to behold at best, and an Italian culinary rivalry at least. Although sharing an Italian heritage, the 6 uncles married outside the Calabrian niche, creating a scrumptious provincial food fight.

The Kids

Children weren't immune from the holiday chores. Chairs were pulled up to the stove for short perpetual stirrers. The teens were given the sink, for the never-ending pots and pans, and preteens were runners for last minute fetches and food deliveries. I was honored almost exclusively with the delivery of food for the church and hospital shut-ins because I had the bike with a giant basket. Trying to describe my cousins and most of the local kids wasn't hard, the first thing I recall was, hair, lots of black hair, big doe eyes, dozens of beautiful children with wide grins. At least one kid, sometimes more, was forced to bring his or her accordion, and at every holiday gathering some poor child was browbeaten into playing "Lady Of Spain"!

The Holiday Table

Serving 30-40 people, in a one bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor, rear, walkup, was a challenge, but doable. It took the coordination of most of our wonderful neighbors, and the cooperation of all of the residence, which were always invited anyway. Everyone brought pots, pans, dishes, and utensils, at least a chair, and some brought their kitchen tables. Everyone brought something eatable, most were prearranged as in bread, but some were heirloom dessert recipes, enough for at least a good spoonful, for everyone to get a taste. Older adults, always got a chair at the table, all adults got a seat, and kids sat at the card tables, on the stairs or on a carpet in front of the radio in one of the neighbors homes.

The Prayer

All kids had to be within earshot of the saying of the formal Grace before dinner. Then everyone recited their own prayer in various languages of their native tongue. Our family and friends were of many faiths and nationalities, the overwhelming majority of coarse were Italian. Most remembered a loved one not present, and the names of every absent serviceman and woman were individually read aloud. With all heads bowed, everyone gave thanks for the wonderful gifts of food and health, and each and every person present, gave a special thanks and how grateful they were for being in the United States of America.

The Family

Any good excuse to gather the clan in our family was and still is, paramount. Weddings, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, births, baptisms and unfortunately funerals are used as good excuses to get together and, you guessed it.... eat. This is usually done at the familial home of eldest member of the family. The Italian family circle is close and tight, and many families still living within their hometown even today, and still live within walking distance of one another. In our family as in many, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins grow as one single family unit.

The elders live within the homes of their offspring or siblings. The hierarchy is established by the ability of the surviving parents to have living arrangements central to the greatest number of kids and kin. Love of family is the reason, and love of food is the cement. Thanksgiving is one of the most popular days of the year, and has been since my earliest memory. Even today as I did with my parents in my youth, I talk to each of my 5 children and each of my grandchildren with rare exceptions, every single day, I am truly blessed.

The Food

Food for an Italian holiday is second to only to the family. Present at every holiday feast were several types of entree, lasagna, ham, veal, and one or more specialty pasta and of course, the giant stuffed Turkeys. There were Kosher dishes aplenty for our many Jewish friends. Our next door neighbor kept a Kosher kitchen and always shared their wonderful food with us as we did in return. No holiday would be complete without homemade sausages, meatballs, and grilled peppers. A strange calzone, one I recall with nuts and octopus was always somewhere on the table as was Braciole (Italian beef rolls), and great cannoli desserts were always compliments of our Sicilian side of the family.

Salads and antipasto were a mainstay, with favorites cellentani con Insalata di Peperoni (cellentani with pepper salad), and the ever popular soups, usually a bean, as in minestrone. Breads, rolls, pizza and a mixed variety of biscotti, were always in abundance. Side dishes were a meal in themselves. A vast array of vegetables prepared as specialty items, like artichoke and bacon frittata rounded out every holiday meal. Even our popular lasagna, the recipe that created a chain of famous restaurants, has broccoli or spinach as a principle ingredient to the recipe. Desserts... oh my, great custards, and pastries, ice creams and cakes such as lemon berry tiramisu or frittelle di zucca (pumpkin fritters)

The Moment of Truth

My great grandfather sat at the head of the table, and next to him sat a gallon jug of his homemade Italian red wine. Almost everyone seated for dinner were given a glass of his wine, if only for the many toasts that were posed, to the cooks and a milieu of other celebrations.

The moment of truth came when he would call the name of the boys that he felt were to be worthy of manhood, a scholarship know only to him, usually by some unknown merit method. If you attained that status in his trusted eye, he would invite you to accept a glass of wine and he would toast your new position and with everyone's applause you drank a glass and thanked him.

When my moment came, I had just turned 10, and having worked with him on his paper stand in downtown Chicago for 3 years and to my surprise he felt I was ready! Proudly I swallowed a huge gulp, and felt the heat go down my throat and explode at the core of my stomach and began to rush back up. I forced a smiled and swallowed again and hugged him as tight as I could, until my uncle secretly handed me a chunk of bread, which I bit into and forced down before I let my pa loose, perhaps in the nick of time because he slapped me on the back and everything went back down... I never drank another drop of his wine, but accepted his offer to take a glass, each time he offered it until he passed a year later. How I loved that man.

The Carving was done at each end of the long tables where the huge turkeys were displayed. The male head of each of the households was given the honor of carving these beautifully prepared golden trophies. It was a ritual and with surgical skills each bird was sliced and distributed to all in attendance until nothing remained but the bare bones. At the conclusion of this wonderful occasion, the men stood and with glasses raised toasted the blushing ladies as we sang... in our best voice, and in Italian, a song dedicated to our wonderful women, .. "Momma"

Holiday Roast Turkey with Herbal Rub

• 1 13 pound whole turkey, fresh or thawed

• 1 medium onion, quartered

• 1 lemon, quartered

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon

• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey and reserve for the broth.
3. Rinse the turkey with cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Place onion and lemon quarters in the neck and body cavities.
5. In a small bowl, mix the oil with the herbs, salt and pepper.
6. With your finger tips, gently loosen the skin from the breast without pulling off the skin.
7. Place 1 tablespoon of the herb mixture under the skin; and replace the skin.
8. Rub the cavities and outside of turkey with the remaining herb mixture.
9. Secure the neck skin to the back of the turkey with skewers. Fold the wings under the back of turkey. Place the legs in tucked position.
Note: May be prepared to this point, covered, and refrigerated for several hours.
10. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large shallow (no more than 2-1/2 inches) deep roasting pan.
11. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful it does not touch the bone.
12. Cover bird with a loose tent of foil. Roast turkey in the preheated oven for about 2-1/2 hours.
13. Remove the foil and baste bird with pan juices.
14. Continue to roast for about another hour, until meat thermometer registers 180°F in the thigh.
15. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
16. Transfer to a large platter and serve with gravy.
Yields 18 servings at 6 ounces per portion
 

Good Old Fashioned Bread Dressing

• 3 to 4 loaves of white bread (or 5 if you like leftovers)

• 2 cups water

• turkey inners

• 1 or 2 onions

• 2 bunches of celery

• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 teaspoons sage

• oysters (optional)

• mushrooms (option)

• chicken broth

The night before
1. The night before you want to eat the stuffing, break the bread into small pieces (about 1 inch squares) into 2 huge bowls or pots. Let the bread sit overnight to dry out.
The next day
2. The next day, remove the insides of turkey and boil them in water in 2/3 quart sauce pan until cooked (about 20 to 30 minutes).
3. Remove the insides from the saucepan for later use or discard. Keep the broth and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. Chop the onion and celery and place into food processor until minced.
6. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
7. Sauté the onion and celery in butter until heated through. Do not brown! (Sauté the mushrooms also at this time, if wanted).
Note: Depending on how much stuffing you want and how much celery and onion you've chopped, you may have to sauté the onion and celery in two parts.
8. Once cooked, pour the onion mixture directly over the dried out bread.
9. Sprinkle the sage over bread mixture.
10. Take your turkey broth and pour slowly over the bread mixture. The bread will shrink as you do this. Be careful not to pour too much water in.
11. Mixture thoroughly.
Note: If you need more liquid, open a can of chicken broth and pour over bread. If you need more spice, add more sage.
13. If you are using oysters, add them now.
14. Once stuffing is of a consistency that it will stick together and does not look too dry, do not add more liquid.
16. Either stuff in turkey to be baked in oven, or put in 9 x 13 pan.
17. If using oysters, it is recommended that you bake the stuffing in a pan so as to ensure the oysters will be cooked through.
18. Bake in 350°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the stuffing to have a nice brown crust on top.
Note: If you are cooking the stuffing in a pan and not inside the turkey, try stuffing the turkey with small apples. It smells wonderful and the apples have a great flavor when you take them out.
 

Real Homemade Turkey Gravy

• 1 package..  neck, heart, gizzard from turkey giblets

• 1 medium carrot thickly sliced

• 1 medium onion thickly sliced

• 1 medium celery rib thickly sliced

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 turkey liver

• 3 tablespoons fat from poultry drippings

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a 3-quart saucepan, place neck, heart, gizzard, vegetables, and salt in enough water to cover, and cook over high heat.
2. Heat to boiling.
3. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Add the liver and cook for 15 minutes longer.
5. Strain broth into a large bowl; cover and reserve broth in the refrigerator.
6. To make gravy, remove the cooked turkey and roasting rack from the roasting pan. Pour the poultry drippings through a sieve into a quart size measuring cup.
7. Add 1 cup giblet broth to the roasting pan and stir until the crusty brown bits are loosened.
8. Pour the deglazed liquid/broth into the measuring cup.
9. Let the mixture stand a few minutes, until the fat rises to the top.
10. Over medium heat, spoon 3 tablespoons of fat from the poultry drippings into a 2-quart saucepan. 11. Whisk flour and salt into the heated fat and continue to cook and stir until the flour turns golden.
12. Meanwhile, skim and discard any fat that remains on top of the poultry drippings.
13. Add the remaining broth and enough water to the poultry drippings to equal 3-1/2 cups.
14. Gradually whisk in warm broth mixture.
15. Cook and stir, until the gravy boils and is slightly thick.
Makes 14 servings at 1/4 cup per serving
 

Home Sweet Home Potato Casserole

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 tablespoon margarine, melted

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Mixture will be very soupy.
Bake for 1 hour.
 

Crackpot Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes

• Cooking spray

• 6 to 8 potatoes, thinly sliced

• 1 can cheddar cheese soup

• 1 cup Velveeta cheese, chunked

• 1-1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

• Salt and pepper

1. Spray the crockpot with the cooking spray.
2. Fill the crockpot with half of the sliced potatoes.
3. Layer half of the soup, velveeta cheese, Cheddar cheese, and milk.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Layer remaining the remaining potatoes.
6. The layer the remaining soup, velveeta cheese, Cheddar cheese, and milk.
7. Cook on high for about 6 hours.
Note: You need to check to see if you need to add more milk. You can pre-boil the potatoes for quicker cooking.

[Utah Girl]

I made roasted root vegetables for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Yum.

Roasted root vegetables
1 med onion, cut into eighths
2-3 parsnips, peeled and cut
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1 lb acorn squash (or your preference), peeled and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Cut the vegetables approximately the same size so they will cook evenly. Toss vegetables with oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Spread on a large baking sheet. Roast in 450F oven for 25 minutes, turn vegetables and cook for 15-25 more minutes or until vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork.

[mjtobias]

My sister stuffs the turkey with fruits too sometimes, but cooked oranges have a bitter taste. I would omit the oranges and use canned or, even better, fresh pineapple. The juces from the canned pineapple can be poured on the turkey in stages.

[ladyinred]

Oh good. I told my hubby this might be the Cinnabon recipe and he was thrilled! We don't have a store where we moved now.

[ImaTexan]

ping

[Cate]

God Bless You... what time is dinner again? :)

[mcgiver38]

Non traditional but good to keep people happy during the ball games etc.

Bacon Cheddar stuffed Mushrooms:

I adapted this recipe from the
standard ones over the years for people that didn't like seafood and all
the common recipes have clams or crab in them. As far as I know it is
original, it is a hit everywhere I take them. I've never written it down
or looked for it.

Hopefully you can find stuffing mushrooms, here in San Diego they are
common and are from 2 to 3 inches around, you can also use regular sized
mushrooms, just buy the bulk and pick out the larger ones, wash the
mushrooms well and carefully pull out the stems to leave a nice intact
cap, trim the yucky part from the stems and dice them fine, you will end
up with allot, set em aside.
Fry 1 pound of good quality lean bacon. Press out grease and crush
fairly fine, not powder but a little larger than bacon bit size.
Finely dice 2 bundles of fresh green onions including a portion up into
the greens.
Finely dice around 6 cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons of the crushed
garlic in the jar (saves time)
shred fine or buy fine shredded 8 oz of sharp cheddar cheese. (The
cheese is a variable on your part depending on the people served, you
might want to try Monterey jack or mild cheddar, the sharp cheddar gives
them a bite that I like)
Mix it all together and toss in a tablespoon of italian seasoning, a
pinch of salt and a teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper, don't add all
the stem mixture or cheese, but add as you go, I usually find I end up
with some of those left over, you want the stems mainly as a filler but
the other ingredients should dominate the mixture, you don't want too
much cheese or when it melts the filler will fall apart, I usually use
almost the entire package of store bought shredded cheese, which is why
I buy it, you don't want thick shreds and I don't have a fine shredder
yet.
When its fully mixed it should be a paste like mixture, stuff this
tightly in the caps to a mound a half an inch to an inch over the top,
to be pretty you can use a tablesspon to shape it, (I just jam it in
there cuz Im in a hurry) and place on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with
parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, the cheese should be
melted and the mushrooms will have a nice color, I've read to brush the
mushroom caps with butter or oil before baking to improve the color but
I never have.
After baking I either pierce the bottom of the cap with a fork or make a
small slice in the side to drain the hot liquid into the cookie sheet
then I drain it before serving or place them on a platter after
draining, this is important to prevent people from burning their mouth
if they are eaten right out of the oven as the mushrooms contain a lot
of water and bacon will release a lot of fat.
Out of all the variations I've tried, sausage, seafood etc. these always
go the fastest and there are never any left over at parties, which is my
measure of a good appetizer. So if you make them, hide some from your
guests and refrigerate after baking because they are good reheated
slowly in the microwave the next day :) This recipe is in an
unconventional format cuz its out of my head, next time I make it I'll
try to be more precise in the measurements of the stems etc and post it
in a real recipe format, they sure are good, try em!

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Oh I just throw the stuffing mix out.. we don't actually eat it. I use the mix just to infuse the Big bird. I make bread stuffings separately. But the pineapple is an interesting idea.

[baseballmom]

Yum, Carlo. Bookmarking this thread.

[mcgiver38]

You will enjoy them, the only thing I havent got down yet is getting the dough so thin, I use my whole kitchen table to roll them out but I still dont get them as thin as the store bought ones. I think I need one of those heavy stone rolling pins. They still turn out great, 4 fill a 9x9 pan so have plenty of pans ready! enjoy, Darrell

[carlo3b]

PANELLE
(Sicilian Chickpea Fritters)

              Chickpeas are one of the world's oldest foods and considered a "poor food" by historians, who have dated their use to prehistoric times!
Chickpeas are packed with protein and can be served in a variety of ways, soups to marinated salads.

• 2 1/2 cups (8 ounces) chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 3 cups water
• 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley or oregano, optional
• 4 to 6 cups vegetable oil

1) In a heavy saucepan or copper pot mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together off the heat. Slowly stir in the water and blend in with a heavy-duty whisk, being careful to avoid lumps from forming. Stir in the parsley or oregano, if using.
2) Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens and begins to move away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
3) Using a rubber spatula, divide and spread the mixture thinly among four 9-inch plates, making sure to cover the plate completely to the rim. Set the plates aside to cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Run a butter knife around the outside of each plate. Carefully pull the panelle away from the dish. Stack the panelle on top of each other and cut them in half lengthwise, then into quarters. Cut each quarter in half. There should be 32 panelle.
4) In a deep fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 375ºF. Fry the panelle until they are nicely browned. Drain them on brown paper and serve immediately.

Variation: Another way to form the panelle is to spread the cooked mixture out onto an oiled cookie sheet or cutting board. Let the mixture cool and then cut into rectangles. Or fill an empty tin can with the bottom removed with the mixture and let it cool. Push the mixture out with your hand. Cut the dough into rounds and fry. These are best eaten hot.

Note: To make ahead, form and cut the panelle and freeze them in single layers on a cookie sheet uncooked. When they are frozen, remove the panelle to plastic bags and seal well. Defrost as needed and fry.

          MAKES 32 FRITTERS

[calcowgirl]

Yum Ping!

[carlo3b]

Yummmmmmmm.. Roasted root vegetables.. looks outstanding, can't wait to try them.. Thanks.. :)

[Max Combined]

bump

[Petruchio]

TIP:

If you are going to stuff the turkey before cooking, first line it with a single layer of cheesecloth. Then stuff as normal, and twist the cloth closed. After cooking, just one tug and all the stuffing comes out. No mess, no fuss.

[Jen]

Moompie! What a cool name. Do you drink RC Cola??? hahahaha I notice that you're flying the (old) Georgia flag on your profile! Hello and welcome to FR, neighbor! Where are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in Fayette County.

[Jen]

Oooops typo! Should be "Moonpie". Sorry. :(

[carlo3b]

Here is a bonus for your kind words, meant as an encourage you to do it again.. LOLOL

Italian Steak with Pasta Sauce
(Costata Alla Pizzaiola)

•  2 lb T bone, delmonico or shell steak
•  1 tb olive oil
•  2 med. garlic cloves, minced
•  1 tb butter
•  3/4 c  tomatoes, peeled, chopped
•  1/4 ts oregano
•  2 tb parsley, chopped
•  1 salt/pepper

1) Trim any visible fat from steak.
2) Gently saute' garlic, butter, tomatoes, and oregano over medium heat fir 10 minutes. Remove from pan but keep warm.
3) Add olive oil and steak to pan. brown steak over high heat for 3 minutes on each side. Return tomato mixture to pan with steak. Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes until steak is cooked to your liking.
4) Sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper.
 

[VRWCer]

Here's a slightly different way to season your turkey:

I put the turkey in a deep pan, with a couple of inches of water in it. I do the stuffing in a separate pan by itself, and instead, I stuff the turkey cavity with chunks of onion, cloves of garlic, and sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, etc., you can buy them in packets in the produce section of the supermarket). The turkey stays very, very moist (it gets steamed while roasting), and the vapors of the herbs, onions, and garlic seep all through the meat. The smell, too, of the spices cooking just fills the house and drives everyone crazy till dinner time!

Love this thread! Keep those recipes comin', FReepers!

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[4Godsoloved..Hegave]

Bump for a great Thanksgiving get together for all here on
Free Republic!!!