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 Roast a Turkey

• How to Stuff a Turkey

• Thanksgiving on a Budget

• How to Cook a Thanksgiving Dinner

• Three alternative Thanksgiving dishes

• Sleep in on Black Friday and do your shopping online.  You can check out my gift guide for cooks and foodies or head over to see some other Christmas Gift Guides and shop from the comfort of your own home.

Recipes

• 101 Cookbooks has a wide section of unique Thanksgiving recipes

• Two Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

• Creamed Turnip Recipe

• Sautéed Green Beans Recipe

• Holiday Mashed Potato Recipe

• Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe

• Traditional Stuffing Recipe

• Turkey Gravy Recipe

• Cranberry Salsa Recipe

• Turkey Chili Recipe

• Pumpkin Pie Recipe

• Pumpkin Pie Dip Recipe

• Green Bean Casserole Recipe

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

Ingredients

Marinade and dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tsp chopped garlic

Salad:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 portobello mushroom caps
• 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 1/2 red onion, peeled, cut through the root into 6 wedges
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 tomato, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/2 cup crumbled chèvre

Directions

1. Combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until uniform. Set half of mixture aside as dressing. Add thyme and garlic to remaining dressing to use as marinade.
2. Place chicken in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp marinade. Put mushrooms, zucchini and red onion in a bowl and toss with remaining marinade.
3. Heat grill to high. Grill chicken for 5 to 7 min a side or until grill marked and cooked through. Grill mushrooms gill side up for 6 min or until juicy, and zucchini and onions for 4 to 5 min per side or until tender.
4. Slice chicken and vegetables into pieces and place in individual rows on a platter with lettuce, tomatoes and chèvre. Drizzle reserved dressing over lettuce and tomatoes and serve at once.

Safeway has 3130 meals that can be prepared in under 30 minutes.

Jordon and Mark were watching Man vs. Food the other night and I was called into the living room to watch the segment on the Burger from Hell from the Coyote Bluff Grill.



After looking around, I found this recipe can be found over at Foodista.
Ingredients

• 2 pounds 80/20 Ground Chuck
• 4 Jalapeno Chiles
• 2 Serano Chiles
• 1 Habanero Chile
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Yellow Ballpark Mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbls. Cayenne Pepper
• 5 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 2 tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
• 8 Slices Orange Cheddar Cheese
• Shredded Lettuce
• Sliced Red Onion
• 4 Brioche Buns
• Mayonaise
• Salt and Black Pepper

Directions

• Split Chuck into 4 equal portions and shape into patties about 3/4 of an inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Combine Chiles and red wine vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil. Place chile mixture in food procesor and run until smooth. Mix the Vinegar sauce with Mustard and Chili Powder in a metal bowl and place in fridge.
• In a small saucepan, combine butter, cayenne pepper, and cilantro. Stir over low heat until butter is melted and everything is incorporated. Set aside
• Heat Nonstick Griddle over low heat and cook the burgers to desired doneness brushing with cayenne butter. Just before done, add 2 slices of cheese to each burger and cover with a metal bowl to melt.
• Spread mayonnaise on bottom buns, top with the burger, then mustard sauce, red onion, lettuce and the top bun.

Here is how they did it.

The key to re-creating the Big Mac is obviously perfecting the sauce. Some say it's simply Thousand Island dressing, but the clever folks at McDonald's deserve much more credit for this masterpiece we crave. To re-create the sauce, I had to ensure that I had a supply that I could taste on its own -- away from the other great flavors this burger stacks. So I requested "extra on the side." The friendly woman behind the counter didn't flinch. She quickly produced a sundae cup half filled with the salmon-colored sauce. When I took a big sniff, all I could smell was a chemicalesque aroma. Tasting, on the other hand, yielded that wonderful flavor. Several tastings and I was convinced. The secret ingredient? Mustard. Simple yellow mustard. Add that and a pinch of sugar to a Thousand Island-style sauce, and you'll be surprised how closely it resembles the real deal.

Click on the link to find the rest of the recipe.

From L.A. Weekly’s 99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die

The theme of this issue is somewhat morbid. We’ll admit to that. We were going to call it "99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Move to San Diego," but it didn’t have the same ring of finality. You could probably drive up from San Diego if you were really, really in the mood for a maple-bacon biscuit but from beyond the grave? I’m afraid our metaphysics isn’t quite up to that one.

It’s a fun list and one that makes me go back to Los Angeles. 

Why do we read cook books (and The Cooking Blog) according to Rachel Cooke in the Guardian?

Well, let's see. What you must understand is that cookbooks are not just for those who cook – though if you do cook, it goes without saying that they are an essential part of your life's quest. Devout home cooks are like something small and hairy out of Tolkien; the search for the perfect recipe is endless. Why? Because cooks are perpetually dissatisfied; too often the making is more gratifying than the eating. The other day, going off-piste for the first time in three weeks, I made a lemon cake from a recipe by Arabella Boxer. It was damp, it was delicious, it looked exactly like the one in the picture. But still, I felt restless… Perhaps there exists an even better lemon cake than this one, I thought, forking it into my mouth. Cookbooks are a repository for such restlessness because only they can deliver the next lemon cake, and the one after that. Like a boyfriend who blows hot and cold, they encourage the chase even as they purport to be able to end it for ever (consider how many cookbooks aim for Bible-status, to be the "only one you'll ever need").

via

Even if you weren’t elected President of the United States, you can eat like one.  After the president takes the oath of office and delivers his Inaugural address and following the departure ceremony for the outgoing President, he will be escorted to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for the traditional Inaugural Luncheon.  The Senate has posted the menu and also the recipes online.

In case you are wondering what the world’s best lasagna is, All Recipes has it and over 2100 people agree.

The New York Times puts together 101 meals that can be ready in 10 minutes of less.

99. Cook a couple of pounds of shrimp, shell on or off, in oil, with lots of chopped garlic. When they turn pink, remove; deglaze the pan with a half-cup or so of beer, along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, rosemary and a lump of butter. Serve with bread.