From the New York Magazine

What is decanting? Simply put, it means transferring (decanting) the contents of a wine bottle into another receptacle (the decanter) before serving. It may sound silly (how can pouring wine from one vessel into another make it taste better?), but it works.

Wine geeks love to sit around for hours and debate the pros and cons of this procedure, but I'm confident -- based on my experience of opening, decanting and tasting hundreds of thousands of bottles of wine -- that careful decanting can improve most any wine.

Obviously, it's not the mere act of shifting liquid from one container to another that accounts for the magic of decanting. Rather, when you decant a bottle of wine, two things happen. First, slow and careful decanting allows wine (particularly older wine) to separate from its sediment, which, if left mixed in with the wine, will impart a very noticeable bitter, astringent flavor. Second, when you pour wine into a decanter, the resulting agitation causes the wine to mix with oxygen, enabling it to develop and come to life at an accelerated pace (this is particularly important for younger wine).

Check out the New York Magazine for information on how to decant.

Ingredients

Bread

• 1 package Banana Quick Bread mix
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1/2  cup mashed banana

or you can make your own banana bread.

Egg Mixture

1. 3 eggs
2. 1 teaspoon vanilla
3. 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. (If you need to make Banana Bread) Heat oven to 375~.   Grease and flour bottom of 9″ loaf pan. In large bowl, combine all bread ingredients.  Stir 50-75 strokes; just until dry particles are moistened.  Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until tested done.    Cool in pan 15 minutes; remover from pan; cool completely. Cut bread into 12 slices.
2. Heat skillet to 375~.  Grease lightly with margarine. In pie pan, combine eggs, milk and vanilla; beat well. Dip bread slices in egg mixture, turning to coat both sides well. Cook in skillet 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with syrup.
   

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

• 1/3 cup melted butter

• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
• Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix.
• Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour.
• Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Ingredients

• 1 can crescent rolls
• 1 pound sausage -- cooked and drained
• fresh mushrooms – sliced
• 3/4 pound Monterey Jack Cheese – grated
• 6 eggs – beaten
• 1 can Cream of Onion soup

Directions

Line a 13x9 inch Pyrex dish with rolls, sealing perforations. Cover with sausage, mushrooms and half the cheese. Mix eggs with soup and pour over casserole.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Chill overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Note: For variation, you can use cooked, crumbled bacon or bite-sized pieces of ham instead of sausage.

While in Calgary recently, we decided to check out Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Macleod Trail for the first time.  We tried it out around 7:00 p.m. on a Friday in Banff.  While the restaurant was fairly busy, there was no line for us and we were able to find seats.  All of us ordered burgers and fries and if I had read the reviews first, we would not have ordered the fries.  While all of us were quite hungry, the burgers finished us off and we may have eaten three fries between the four of us.

While we waited, they have free peanuts to snack on which satisfied the boys but the wait wasn’t an issue at all as our food was up right away.   Of course eat burger is customized the way you want it with these ingredients.

• Mayo
• Lettuce
• Pickles
• Tomatoes
• Grilled Onions
• Grilled Mushrooms
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Relish
• Onions
• Jalapeno Peppers
• Green Peppers
• A1 Steak Sauce
• Bar-b-q Sauce
• Hot Sauce

Jordon said his burger was fantastic but said if he did it again, he would not have gone with A-1 steak sauce. It wasn’t Five Guys fault but that is what you get when you pick the ingredients.  Myself and the boys all loved ours which I guess proves I know how to make a better burger than Jordon does.

In the end we want to try it again and we hope they come to Saskatoon.

I've searched the archives and found a bunch of Thanksgiving related links for you as you prepare for a house of in-laws that you didn't really want coming over anyways but now you have to cook for. While I can't take your in-laws off of your hands, I can make it a little easier for you with some recipes and tips posted here. Hope this helps!
Tips

• How to make gravy without the lumps
• How to Choose a Turkey
• How to Deep Fry a Turkey
• How to Know When Your Turkey is Done
• How to Stuff a Turkey
• Thanksgiving on a Budget
• The Vancouver Sun has a great Thanksgiving 101
• How to Cook a Thanksgiving Dinner
• Testing out the Canadian Living Thanksgiving Dinner
• Three alternative Thanksgiving dishes

Recipes

• 101 Cookbooks has a wide section of unique Thanksgiving recipes
• Two Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
• Creamed Turnip Recipe
• Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
• Sautéed Green Beans Recipe
• Holiday Mashed Potato Recipe
• Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe
• Traditional Stuffing Recipe
• Turkey Gravy Recipe
• Creamed Turnip Recipe
• Cranberry Salsa Recipe
• Turkey Chili Recipe

You can also explore The Cooking Blog deeper by browsing the Thanksgiving, turkey, and holiday tags.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon water
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. chopped bacon
• 3 tsp. chopped garlic
• 4 oz. browned butter *recipe (see below)
• 8 oz. dry spaghetti
• 1/2 cup Mizithra Cheese

Directions

1. Bring about one gallon of water to a boil in the sauce pan. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water for approximately nine minutes.
2. While the spaghetti cooks, preheat a large skillet and sauté the bacon for approximately three minutes.
3. When the bacon is done, add mushrooms and sauté for 45 seconds.
4. Then add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the Mizithra and browned butter and mix well.
5. Drain the cooked spaghetti in the strainer and add the spaghetti to the large skillet with the ingredients, toss with tongs and serve immediately.

*Browned Butter recipe:

1/2 cup butter (one stick – 1/4 lb)

1. Cut butter into cubes and place in a small saucepan with a light-colored interior (this makes it easier to gauge the color of the butter as it browns). Cook butter over medium heat until it comes to a low boil, stirring frequently with a whisk for about three minutes. Cook while stirring constantly to prevent residue from sticking and overflowing, about four minutes or until foam subsides.
2. Continue to cook until the liquid turns an amber color, one to two minutes longer. Remove from heat.
3. Set aside for three to five minutes to let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan. Pour the browned butter through a strainer into a small bowl and discard the sediment.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 large green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced ham, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 slices sourdough bread, torn into pieces (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping
• 8 large eggs

Directions

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Whisk the half-and-half, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a small bowl.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until just softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bell peppers; cook until the peppers are soft and the shallots are golden, 5 to 6 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, ham, bread, parsley and 1/4 cup water and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from the heat.
3. Make 8 evenly spaced indentations in the bread mixture with the bottom of a ladle or small measuring cup. Crack an egg into each indentation. Slowly pour the half-and-half mixture over the eggs. Bake, rotating the skillet a few times, until the whites are set, about 15 minutes. Top with parsley.