Category: Holiday

Visions of Sugarplums Dance in Their Heads

Reposted from December 21, 2019. This is one of my favorite recipes for the Holidays to bake for family and friends. Republished from 12/11/2011 from the What’s Cooking Archives at The Stars Hollow Gazette In Autumn, the appearance in grocery stores of stacks of candied fruit and mountains of nuts in all their wonderful variety …

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What’s Cooking: Don’t Throw That Turkey Carcass Out

Republished and edited from November 25, 2010 for obvious timely reasons. I know by tomorrow tonight you will be sick if looking at the remnants of dinner, especially that turkey carcass but you aren’t done with it yet. I’m going to walk you through making turkey stock. First you will need a big pot, I …

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Translator: Thanksgiving: (Almost) Everything You Know is Wrong

We lost our friend, Translator aka Dr. David Smith, seven years ago last January. He suffered from depression and his untimely death left those of us in the blog communities who knew him wondering if we could have done more to help him through his struggles. The holidays are rough on people who suffer from …

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And Now The Movie

53 years ago Arlo Guthrie took to the stage at the Newport Folk Festival and for 18 and a half minutes entertained the audience with his storied song “Alice’s Restaurant.” You could close your eyes and see the old church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts where the story is centered. At the end of the song …

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If you want to end war and stuff you have to sing LOUD!

Reposted from October 3, 2015 by TMC for ek hornbeck From the Group W Bench I’m so mad. How mad are you? I’m so mad. No, really. I’m so mad I’m not even going to sing my aria. This song is called Alice’s Restaurant, and it’s about Alice, and the Restaurant, but Alice’s Restaurant is …

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What’s Cooking: Pan Gravy and Carving the Bird

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner is the gravy made from the pan drippings. Here are Alton Brown’s directions for making a smooth, not greasy dressing. It’s actually pretty easy. Now the last task is carving the bird, for which you’ll thank yourself for investing in an electric knife. It really makes it …

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An Anthology of Turkey Day Helpful Hints and Recipes

Republished from November 18, 2012 because it’s that time of year again. Over the last couple of years I’ve shared some of the recipes that I served at the annual Turkey Feast. There have also been diaries about cooking the bird, whether or not to stuff it and suggestions about what to drink that will …

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What’s Cooking: Thoroughly Modern Meatless Mince Pie

Mince pie is a old holiday tradition that can be traced back to 13th century when European crusaders returned from the Middle East with recipes for meats, fruits and spices. Mincing was a way of preserving meats without salting or smoking. The pie has been served at royal tables and, at one time, was banned …

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What’s Cooking: Turkey Technology

Oh dear, it’s that time of year again when you invite all the family members and friends whom you haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving to partake in the great American traditional gorge. Only this year is different. Because of the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and many health department are urging people to keep …

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Beltane: Fire and Folklore

Sadly, this year the Beltane festivals are cancelled but, virus or no virus, the spirit of the holiday lives in the warming of the earth by the sun of May. This article was first published May 2, 2015. You call it May Day, we Pagans cal it Beltane. It may be a day for workers …

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Happy New Year – 2020

We all sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight on December 31 but what are the lyrics? Most people don’t know that it is a Scottish poem written in 1788 by Robert Burns and later set to the music of a folk song. Here is a you tube with the lyrics and English translation. Happy New …

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Carol of the Bells

Twitter is a strange place. Depending on who you follow or what you read in the news on the internet that leads you there, it can be informative and educational. A blog post led me to a tweet where I found this tweeted response   And Carol of the Bells is based on a Ukrainian …

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