How do you know the recipes you find online are any good without trying them? Do votes or comments make you more confident? If you've wondered about "user submitted" recipes, you're not alone.

Recently I was invited to a taste test of recipes submitted online. The culinary social network CookEatShare held a cooking contest and brought together a number of restaurant chefs and food professionals to cook and judge the recipes. I wasn't a judge, but I did get to try all the dishes.

What a surprise! Some recipes that sounded terrible ended up being terrific and others that sounded great really missed the mark. I guess this proves that you can't necessarily tell a good recipe without cooking it. I'll let you know which ones were my favorites and then you can follow the linked recipe name to get the ingredients and preparation details.

While it didn't win any top prizes with the judging panel, TomCo's Yogurt Pumpkin Pie was my favorite recipe and it also received the highest number of reader votes. I can honestly say this was one of the best pumpkin pies I've ever eaten. It had an almost cheesecake-like texture and a crunchy cinnamon nut topping that was irresistible. The executive chef from Draeger's markets who tested the recipe said it was very easy to make.

The winning recipe of the contest was Cranberry Yogurt Relish. The chef testing the recipe wasn't sure if the cranberries were supposed to be dried or fresh, so she used a combination, but I believe the size of the bag, 12 ounces, was a dead giveaway that the recipe meant fresh (that's the standard size of fresh bags of cranberries). Judges agreed that the author of the recipe might not come from California since she used, gasp! canned peaches. We all thought this recipe sounded less than ideal, but it was surprisingly good. It was fresh and creamy and had a nice tang from both cranberries and yogurt.

Finally, despite its ridiculously long name, I liked the Chesapeake Memories Sausage and Oyster Dressing with Red Quinoa and Crispy Apples. This dressing has lots of traditional ingredients like sausage, sage, onion and celery and some unusual ones such as English muffins, rosemary, quinoa and sun-dried tomatoes. I particularly liked the texture. Quinoa in dressing, who knew?

Here's hoping all your holiday dishes are winners. Happy Thanksgiving!

Listen to Thanksgiving 2.0 on KQED's Forum.
Aired on KQED 88.5FM Mon, Nov 24, 2008 -- 10:00 AM

Thanksgiving 2.0
KQED talks with local Bay Area chefs about new twists on the traditional Thanksgiving meal and listeners call in to share their new traditions.
Host: Scott Shafer

Guests:
Charles Phan, owner and chef at The Slanted Door
Douglas Keane, chef at Cyrus
Joey Altman, chef at Miss Pearl's Jam House
Annie Somerville, chef at Greens

Looking ahead at this week, it would make perfect and predictable sense for me to contribute yet another Thanksgiving-themed piece to the steaming, teeming masses already out there. However, I will not.

I am not being obstinate. I am moving. After five+ years in the same tiny (albeit well-appointed) San Francisco apartment, my husband and I are relocating for the suburbs where he can have a five-minute bike ride to work and I can have a larger-than-life kitchen while ferreting out fresh food finds. So, taking advantage of the 8 days off Stanford gives their professors, we are talking boxes and bubble-wrap, not turkey.

I'll tell you something, it's a singular feeling to be eschewing all things yam and cranberry, while all around me discussions of brining, side dishes, and three kinds of stuffing abound. For a San Francisco foodie, it's partly lonely not to be spending the next four days plotting out how to shop, cook, serve, and digest a massive feast, but mostly, it's rather liberating.

There are few times when a happy cook can be made to feel more inadequate than around the holidays when each fish tale of festal feed becomes more elaborate than the next. I would even venture to say that Thanksgiving is more daunting than Christmas because everyone is making the same general things: potatoes (of a sort), cranberries (in some manner), side dishes (varied but consistent), stuffing (too many arguments to list) and a big ass bird (non-negotiable). How will yours stack up? And what obscenely creative measures will you take in dealing with the resulting leftovers?

The questions swirl around the blogosphere, "Is the turkey heritage?"

"Is the cranberry sauce gelatinous?"

"Are the yams sweet potatoes?"

And everyone's favorite: "To brine or not to brine? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the dried and tough flesh of unbrined meat or take arms against a sea of relatives and by brining juicify them?"

On that last one, the wisdom seems to change every year. Personally, I've never had a refrigerator large enough to hold bird and brine and I've also never done a side-by-side taste test to judge the relative merits of each.

Instead of answering any of these questions in my own kitchen and instead of ingesting pounds of tasty, seasonal, and cockle-warming victuals, I'll be unloading boxes and sneezing through thick reams of dust. Next year, I'll be back cooking in my upgraded kitchen but this year, my DVD player will do the basting and carving.

The House of Yes: If seeing them around the holidays makes you remember how infuriating your family can be, Parker Posey's creepy family dynamics will make you realize what "dysfunctional" really means.

Piece of April: I haven't been able to take Katie Holmes seriously since she joined up with whackjob Tom Cruise, but some people seem to like this "quirky" movie about a young slip of a thing preparing dinner for her dysfunctional family in her tiny New York apartment. I predict food catastrophes.

Home for the Holidays: One more movie about the travails of having a dysfunctional family and then I'll stop, I promise. This one features a long-suffering Holly Hunter, sibling rivalry, a difficult daughter (Claire Danes), and a gay brother (Robert Downey, Jr.) bringing home a "friend" (Dylan McDermott) to meet his family. Shocking, indeed! Bonus elder set: Geraldine Chaplin, Anne Bancroft, and craggy Charles Durning.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: You can't properly celebrate a holiday until you've seen Eeyore-ish Charlie Brown almost ruin his. Besides, toast and popcorn is just about in line with what I'll be eating this year. I just wish these recordings had the old Dolly Madison commercials.

The Thanksgiving Visitor: Not as much of a tear-jerker as Truman Capote's other holiday story, A Christmas Memory, but it's still quite sweet to see the relationship between Buddy (young Capote) and his elderly relative, Miss Sook. Also, Geraldine Page as Miss Sook is quite fantastic.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Three words: "Those aren't pillows!"

Son In Law: It's a chance to see Carla Gugino before she was Karen Sisco, Tiffani Thiessen when she still had the "Amber," and Pauly Shore when he was (sort of) relevant. It's also a chance to see how a pure farmer's daughter becomes corrupted by Southern California -- tattoos, spandex, and roller blades, oh my!

Fri, November 21, 2008
The California Report
Host: Scott Shafer

Butchery 101
Thanksgiving cooks will be brining, stuffing and roasting their way into next week's turkey feast. Foodies looking for a bigger culinary challenge can find it at a San Francisco market where home cooks can learn to be their own butcher.

Reporters:
• Lisa Morehouse

Listen to the program

Pick Your Own Chestnuts
If you're into eating locally grown food and plan on including roasted chestnuts with your holiday meals, we have good news for you. California is one of the few places in the U.S. where you can still find American chestnut trees. Four types of them grow on Skyline Chestnut Orchard -- a grove perched above the Northern California town of Woodside.

Listen to the program

As far as I'm concerned, side dishes are what make a Thanksgiving dinner great. Sure, I like turkey, but I truly love stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes. For me, carbs topped with gravy make this holiday meal delicious. The problem is that most of us don't make these three dishes very often, so preparing them once a year -- for a table full of family and friends no less -- can seem intimidating and make you feel a bit like Dorothy walking into the dark unknown forest with the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. (Some of you may be able to tell that my daughters have just discovered the joys of watching - and rewatching and rewatching and rewatching -- the Wizard of Oz).

I made my first solo Thanksgiving dinner when I was 22 years old. My mom was sick and so I jumped in at the last minute. I had never made a chicken, let alone a turkey, but was excited to help out my mom and cook the meal. I muddled through the day, making boxed stuffing, lumpy mashed potatoes with the skins mixed in, and watery gravy. It was the worst Thanksgiving meal my family had ever eaten, but nobody seemed to care. Everyone just seemed thankful that they didn’t have to cook all day, and, of course, we were together.

Since then, I have cooked numerous Thanksgiving meals, some with help and some by myself. Each year I learn something new, try something different, and gain a little more confidence. My stuffing is now always made from Ciabatta and oven-roasted chestnuts, my mashed potatoes are creamy, and my gravy is (thankfully) thick. So, if you’re in need of a little Thanksgiving advice, here are a few things I’ve learned throughout the years about my three favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal.

Moist Flavorful Stuffing
To stuff or not to stuff, that is the question. Although many recipes call for placing the stuffing in a baking dish and cooking it separately from the turkey to avoid bacterial contamination, I think this makes it dry. I therefore bake my stuffing in the turkey so all the lovely juices drip into the dressing, making it moist and flavorful. Without those, the stuffing is really just a mix of bread and other stuff. I then scoop it out when I take my turkey out of the oven, place it in a dish, and stick that back in the oven so it can heat up to the proper temperature while the meat rests. This allows you to get all the flavor of a stuffed dressing, while making sure it won't kill anyone.

Note: I won't recommend a specific stuffing recipe as there are tons of recipes out there.

Here's what I do:
1. Make your favorite type of stuffing, place it inside the turkey, and bake according to your turkey baking instructions.
2. When your turkey is resting, take the stuffing out of the turkey and scoop it into a buttered baking dish.
3. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of turkey broth on top.
4. Cover your dish and set it in the already heated oven for about 15 or 20 minutes while you make your gravy. The cover on the dish helps keep the moisture in, but baking it longer gets it up to the right temperature to be safe.
5. Bake until the stuffing is 170 degrees.
6. If you want a crisp topping, take the cover off for the last five minutes.

Basic Gravy
There are so many gravy recipes out there, but as far as I'm concerned, there's only one proper way to make it. Yes, I'm sure many of the results from those recipes are delicious, but the simple fact that gravy has to be made at the very end of the cooking process means it should be quick and easy. I don’t have time to chop up giblets or add special ingredients.

Here's my basic recipe:
1. Make a stock out of the turkey neck, giblets, onions, celery, carrots and whatever herbs you’re using for your turkey earlier in the day.
2. Warm the stock right before you take the turkey out of the oven.
3. When the bird comes out, set it on a serving dish to rest and then drain all the juices from the pan into a fat separator.
4. While the fat separates from the juices, put your turkey baking dish on the stove, mix in 2-3 tablespoons of flour. If you don’t have much fat in the pan, add in a couple of tablespoons of butter and create a roux.
5. Slowly start to deglaze the pan with the turkey stock. Don’t add any black crispy burnt pieces, however, as they’ll taste bitter.
6. Pour the deglazed juices into a pot, add the defatted juices, and then add more turkey stock until you have a smooth and rich gravy. If you have lumps, just whisk it or put a blending stick in and pulse until the lumps are gone.
7. Add in any chopped herbs you would like to accent the gravy. I like to use about a teaspoon of fresh thyme.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Velvety Mashed Potatoes
I like my mashed potatoes creamy and so put them through a ricer to get a smooth consistency. If you don't have one, you can also mash the potatoes with a fork to get the same fine texture. It just takes a little longer.

Here are some tips to making velvety potatoes:
1. Use Yukon Gold potatoes as they have an innate creamy texture. I usually use about 2 - 2 1/2 pounds.
2. Peel the potatoes before boiling them and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Make sure the potato pieces are all about the same size so they cook equally.
3. Salt your boiling water to help season your potatoes.
4. When you can easily poke the potatoes with a knife, drain them, and then stick the potatoes back into the now dry pot and heat on medium for about a minute while stirring. This will dry any excess moisture from the boiling process so the potatoes can soak up your milk, butter and cream.
5. Place the potatoes in a ricer and press them into a large bowl.
6. Heat 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream and 1/4 cup of butter in a pot.
7. Add the heated milk mixture to the potatoes and stir. Stop adding when the potatoes are the consistency you like.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Fluff the potatoes a bit with a fork to aerate.
10. Set the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish, top with small cubes of butter, and bake until the top is slightly crispy.
11. Serve.

Thanksgiving is a huge business in this country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 45 million turkeys are purchased for Thanksgiving alone. Most of those turkeys are raised in confinement, on large factory farms, and are types which are raised for their large, white breasts. In the Bay Area, we have access to many types of sustainably-grown, free-range, and heritage variety turkeys that you may be interested in considering for your dinner table.

A heritage turkey is an old variety of turkey that is not the typical broadbreasted white variety. Organizations and individuals are working to bring these turkeys back into the mainstream -- their flavor is usually more complex and interesting than typical turkeys. To read an excellent summary of sustainable turkey types, check out the Sustainable Table turkey guide.

Below, you will find a list of some Bay Area stores that will be selling sustainably-grown turkeys. Because of the demand of sustainable and small-production turkeys, all turkeys listed below should be pre-ordered from the store. Call the stores directly, and soon, to discuss an order.

GUIDE TO ATTRIBUTES:
L = Local (generally 150 miles from the Bay Area)
H = Heritage
FR = Free Range
O = Certified organic

PRATHER RANCH MEAT
(H, FR) Good Shepherd Ranch Heritage Turkeys. Good Shepherd turkeys come from Lindsborg, Kansas from a co-op of growers who all raise less than 1500 birds. The Good Shepherd Ranch has worked with Heritage Foods USA to provide heritage breeds of turkeys, and the ranch's turkeys are certified under the Animal Welfare Approved label. $6.99/lb.

AVEDANO'S
(L, FR) Branigan's Turkey from Woodland, California. These turkeys are raised longer than standard in order to develop flavor.
(FR, H) Mary's Heritage Turkeys from the Fresno area. This is a turkey project which is a joint effort of Slow Food and small farmers.
(L, O, FR) Willie Bird Turkeys. Willie Bird is from Sonoma County, and has been providing turkeys since 1948. While not all Willie Birds are organic, Avedano's will be providing organic turkeys.

BI-RITE
(H, FR) Good Shepherd Ranch Heritage Turkeys. Size will be 8-24 pounds. Price is $6.99/lb.
(L, FR, H) Bill Niman Heritage Turkeys. Mr. Niman is the founder of Niman Ranch, but stepped away from that nationwide operation last year. He's back to ranching on a small scale on his ranch in Bolinas, and this year's turkeys are his first flock. Edible San Francisco has a great article about his turkeys. If I were cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, this would be my first choice of bird.

FATTED CALF
(L, H, FR) Hudson Ranch Heritage Turkeys. Turkeys raised in Napa's Carneros Region. Size will be 22-30 pounds. Price is $7.75/lb.
(H, FR) Good Shepherd Ranch Heritage Turkeys. Size will be 8-24 pounds. Price is $6.50/lb.
To order from Fatted Calf, call (707) 256-3684 before November 2. Pick-up from the Napa store Thanksgiving week or from the Berkeley Farmers Market on Tuesday, November 25.

DIRECT PURCHASE FROM LOCAL SOURCES
(L, H, FR) Wind Dancer Ranch. [SOLD OUT 10/29/08]
(L, O, FR) Willie Bird Turkeys.
(L, H, FR) Slow Food Russian River (PDF) runs a program with local 4H and FFA clubs. You can order turkeys direct from them. While not certified organic, the turkeys are being fed an organic diet and are available for pick-up in Petaluma.

On my way home from Thanksgiving dinner, I walked down Capp Street in the Mission, fully bloated and lightly buzzed from an over abundance of great food, good wine, and a mild case of self-satisfaction over having won two games of Celebrity. I had just spent the past eight hours feasting and laughing with friends. As I turned the corner onto Mission Street, I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk. He stared at me and I stopped in my tracks and stared back for a moment. He didn't ask me for anything and I realized then that I didn't have anything to offer him. No leftovers, just a bagful of dirty dishes and a book of short stories by Saki. The warm, fuzzy glow of the evening I had just spent evaporated and all the casseroles, turkey, and pie turned to cement in my stomach. It was clear that our respective celebrations of the holiday differed. I felt thankful that his experience was not mine and impotent to do anything about improving his. The exchange lasted about three seconds.

If you are reading this, chances are you own a computer and pay for online service, which means that, in all likelihood, you can afford turkey and, if not all, then some of the trimmings. Like me, you probably spent Thanksgiving with friends or family or both, either sitting about a giant dining table stuffing yourselves silly, or milling about a party, drinking and grazing your way through relish trays and pumpkin cheesecakes (Please tell me you didn't spend the day locked in your bedroom, quietly drinking). Whatever the case, the chances are slim to none that all the food was consumed.

What can you do wth the leftovers? Apart from salivate over Madame Laidlaw's ideas from yesterday's post (I am a sucker for a good quesadilla), you might think about donating food to your local food bank, if your feast of plenty was too plentiful.

Of course, most places aren't going to accept a couple of slices of pie or a pile of turkey skin. Most food banks request items that are in some sort of packaging, but I wonder, since there was a shortage of deposits at local food banks this year, according to Maris Lagos of the San Francisco Chronicle. When you are shopping next year, buy an extra thing or two and just give it away-- nearly every grocery store has some sort of food drive happening.

I suppose we should think ahead to next year, not that one need only give on Thanksgiving. If you're saddled with cooking dinner for 20, why not push that number a little higher. Feed an extra person or two. Or twenty. If you are affiliated with a particular church or mosque or temple or glee club for all I care, find out if they are involved in any feeding programs, like Glide Memorial Church, for example.

If there are organizations that accept cooked food from private homes, I would very much like to know. Why not bake a pie for a total stranger? It's a not-so-random act of kindness.

If you are in the restaurant industry and have a surplus of holiday fare, contact Food Runners in San Francisco, they'll know what to do with your leftovers.

During this time of year, we're supposed to take time out of our lives to think upon what it is we are grateful for. Last night, among other things, I was grateful I wasn't that guy sitting on the sidewalk on Capp Street. I have promised myself that next year will be different. Not that I will be that guy sitting on the corner, mind you. I've just realized that I actually can do something, which is get up off my lazy, self-involved ass and give something, whether it be time, food, or money. Most likely time or food, since I don't have any money. I suppose it would be unethical to suggest that, while you are giving food and time to those in need, you make large monetary donations to me. I am thankful that I know better than to make that particular request.

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite holiday of the year (ok, I love Christmas too) because it's a time when I get together with my friends and prepare a delicious feast (always a good thing in my book), and look back over the past year and think about how lucky and grateful I am for everything I have in my life. So, without getting too mushy because I'm a big sap, I want to wish everyone out there a cozy, warm, and festive holiday.

If you're anything like me, you made way too much (or you are in the process of making way too much) for Thanksgiving. And in the days that follow, you will be looking for ways to not waste that delicious food you spent hours preparing.

When it comes to Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm always looking for something new and different. Something more than just reheating the turkey and stuffing and eating it again and again with cranberry sauce. I find that making it into a whole other dish, something that doesn't even resemble Thanksgiving, and adding spices that give it a new lease on life, gets me excited all over again.

Cheesy Turkey Quesadillas with Spinach and Mushrooms

Quesadillas are one of the yummiest ways, besides a frittata, to use up your leftovers. You can add all kinds of vegetables, like peppers, spinach, zucchini, or mushrooms and/or cooked meats like pork tenderloin, sliced steak, shredded chicken, or even bacon. Sandwiched together with gooey melted cheese, quesadillas are simple, quick, and deeeeeelicious. This recipe makes about 4 small quesadillas,

Small pat of butter
About 5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
About 1/2 cup cooked chopped spinach, squeezed dry (I just dry saute fresh spinach in a pan)
Light olive oil or vegetable oil
8 small (about 4-5") corn tortillas
About 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack, pepper jack, cheddar or other mild cheese
About 1/2 cup shredded turkey
Guacamole, for serving
Salsa, for serving
Crema, sour cream, or yogurt, for serving

In a large frying pan, melt the butter, add the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until tender. Remove from the pan and add to the spinach; stir to combine. Lightly brush one side of 4 of the tortillas with oil and place oil-side-down into the frying pan (or use two pans if you can't comfortably fit all four tortillas in the pan without overlapping). Sprinkle the tortillas with half of the cheese, dividing it evenly between the four tortillas. Divide the spinach-mushroom mixture evenly between the tortillas, adding it in an even layer over the cheese. Divide the turkey evenly between the tortillas, adding it in an even layer over the spinach-mushroom mixture. Sprinkle the tortillas with the remaining half of the cheese, dividing it evenly between the four tortillas. Place the remaining four tortillas on top, and brush the tops lightly with oil.

Fry the tortillas over medium heat, turning once, until crisp and brown, and the cheese is melted. Serve, cut into quarters, with guacamole, salsa, and crema.

Turkey Pie

Who doesn't love a good pot pie? I mean, come on...have you ever had a homemade one? Well, maybe it's time. This is a really delicious way to use the rest of your turkey, or a roast chicken, or a bit of beef or lamb stew. Really, you could put any kind of stew in a pot pie, top it with pastry or biscuits or mashed potatoes and you'd be in heaven. Plus, this is the ultimate comfort food. This makes four or five individual pies.

4 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium leek, halved, cleaned, and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 cup shredded turkey
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
About 2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup frozen baby peas
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups mashed potatoes (good way to use up leftovers!)

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a deep saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the carrot, leek, and thyme and saute just until tender, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a bowl. Add the shredded turkey to the vegetables and set aside.

In the same pan, melt the remaining 3 Tablespoons butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture starts to brown. Slowly add the broth, whisking constantly, then the milk. Whisk until smooth and let simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce into the bowl with the turkey and vegetables. Add the peas, and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture between four or five 1-cup ramekins. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes and bake until the potatoes are golden on top and mixture is bubbling, about 25 minutes.

Spicy Yammy Bacon Soup

The amount of soup you make will depend upon what you have leftover from your feast. You can use yams, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, or any other winter squash, assuming you have one of those traditional side dishes on your Thanksgiving table. Granted, each of these will impart a slightly different flavor to the finished soup, but that's part of the fun. A word to the wise, if you are going to use these in a soup, and sweet Aunt Bea brought her yam surprise to the potluck, be sure to scrape those melted marshmallows off the top. This soup works best with simple roasted or pureed yams or winter squash that haven't been doused with loads of sugar.

The recipe that follows is based on one from Nigel Slater, one of my favorite British food writers. It is good for maybe 4 people, so double, triple, or quadruple it depending upon how many yams you have leftover. My own personal soup philosophy is that you can never make enough soup because it freezes really well and then you have yummy warm homemade soup one cold, rainy night when you are too tired to move.

2 slices bacon, chopped into small pieces
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
About 2 cups yam puree or other pureed winter squash (if it's not pureed, just stick it in your food processor and let 'er whirl)
About 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup whipping cream
Whipping cream, creme fraiche, or plain yogurt for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel with a slotted spoon and discard all but 1 teaspoon of the fat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the yam puree, stock, and cream. Depending on how you prepared your yams to begin with, you might need more or less stock to thin the yams to soup consistency. Add the soup to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and heat gently over medium heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls, drizzled with cream and sprinkled with bacon.

The cost of an American Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people is $42.26, according to the American Farm Bureau. This is up $4.16 from last year, when the cost was $38.10.

In 1986, the Farm Bureau invented a "survey menu" based on what the typical American eats for Thanksgiving, and then every year they send out volunteer shoppers to purchase these items to get the average.

While the cost of the Thanksgiving dinner has increased in real dollars, it has actually gone down from 1986 when factoring in inflation.

The AFB menu breakdown of costs is as follows:

16-pound turkey ........... $17.63
Cube stuffing, 14 oz. ........... $2.40
Pumpkin pie mix, 30 oz. ............ $2.13
Pie shells (2) ........... $2.08
Sweet potatoes, 3 lbs. ........... $3.08
Rolls, 12 ........... $1.89
Green peas, 1 lb. ........... $1.46
1 pound relish tray ........... $.66
Milk, 1 gallon ........... $3.88
Fresh cranberries, 12 oz. ........... $2.20
Cream, 1/2 pint ........... $1.56
Misc ingredients ........... $3.29

For more information, read the American Farm Bureau press release.

Photo from stock. Used with permission.

Cassie Clemmons, 1942

I've always loved celebrity cooking stories. Maybe it's because they're proof that the starlets actually eat, or maybe it's because it tickles me to think of them puttering around a kitchen with knives and saucepans just like us. Not that long ago, I hit a gold mine when I discovered Frank DeCaro's library of celebrity recipes and I've spent hours paging through recipe contributions by Debbie Reynolds, Ida Lupino, and J. Edgar Hoover. (I'm sure Rock Hudson's cannoli is quite tasty.)

Growing up, I heard celebrity cooking stories from my Grandma and Grandpa Clemmons. Both of them worked and played in Hollywood and both of them loved to cook. Grandma, who once won a Charleston dance contest with William Bendix and was presented a string of pearls by judge Bette Davis, was a fashion sequence model at MGM, appearing briefly in The Women, The Great Ziegfield, and Dracula. Grandpa had studied architecture at University of Michigan but made his real career out of being a "funny man." He was a gag writer for Bing Crosby's radio show and later a script writer and storyman for Walt Disney, listing The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Aristocats, The Rescuers, and The Fox and the Hound among his credits.

My mother still recalls the annual holiday dinner parties thrown at their house in Glendale, where the Clemmons family hosted friends and neighbors who didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays. (Unlike today, when we have to deal with "busiest travel day" of the year, people back then just didn't hop on a plane to visit family every time a holiday popped up.) Some of the regulars at these raucous parties included Bill Morrow (Bing Crosby and Jack Benny's head writer) and his various girlfriends, including actress Pat Dane, a boxer named "Society Kid" Hogan, and Bing Crosby himself.

The food was a potluck affair with the guests bringing their favorite dishes and my grandmother taking care of the main course. A few Christmases ago, my mother put together a family cookbook for my two sisters and me and the three of us now have a sampling of some of these recipes as well as the stories. The recipes are, of course, very retro with lots of sour cream and mayonnaise. Clogged arteries aside, however, the recipes are absolute gems.

My favorite story in The Family Moveable Feast is Grandma experiencing a Julia Child moment. While my 80-year-old Great Grandma Mimi entertained the guests by doing the Cakewalk with her daughter Anita at the piano, Grandma was in the kitchen taking care of that year's roast turkey and Bill Morrow was in the kitchen keeping her company and feeding her cocktails. Ready to serve, the big bird was nestled on a platter when it slipped off and plummeted to the floor with a rather juicy smack. Grandma looked at Bill and Bill looked at Grandma. Grandma picked up the bird, brushed it off, and served it and Bill kept his mouth shut.

No one but wedding buffets seem to use chafing dishes any more. I have a lovely chafing dish that was a wedding present, but I'm afraid to take it out and see how tarnished it's become. However, if you do have a chafing dish you're not afraid to use or polish this Thanksgiving, here is one of the more decadent recipes in my family's cookbook.

Chafing Dish Mushrooms

3 pounds fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cup Amontillado sherry
1/2 cup water
1/2 pound butter
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried dill seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pint sour cream

1. Using a damp paper towel, brush off the mushrooms and trim the ends. Put the mushrooms in a large pot and add all the ingredients, except the sour cream.

2. Cook over medium heat for thirty minutes and until most of the liquid has reduced. Fold in the sour cream and serve in a polished, elegant chafing dish.