Krispy Kreme-bacon-cheeseburgers (Photo by Clay Caviness) Thanksgiving: Time to give thanks for and celebrate our bounty... but have you seen our bounty lately? It's ... well, it's bountiful. Bountylicious. America is having something of an epidemic of, er, bounty. And what was once a celebration of oh-thank-heavens-we-have-enough-food-to-survive-the-winter has become more of a gluttonous culinary dare to see who can eat a winter's worth of calories in a single day. But wait -- we're not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. Those of us with plenty on our plates should be thankful (and we should also remember -- and help -- those in need), and honestly, most of us could probably be a little more mindful of just how bountiful our everyday meals are, for the sake of our hearts and waistlines. But it's awfully hard to resist the urge to celebrate a harvest festival by eating everything in sight. We think the occasional celebration of gluttony is a wonderful thing, and Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate day for it. If there's ever a time for deep-fried turkeys, fowl stuffed inside one another, obscene quantities of carbs, and several dessert courses in one meal, this is it. But why stop with the traditional Thanksgiving fixings? Why not get all of the indecent cravings for food obscenities you want to try but know you shouldn't out of the way at once? Load that Thanksgiving table with bacon-crusted bacon with bacon dipping sauce, deep-fried pancakes, sandwiches with fried chicken breasts instead of buns, and deep-fried butter. And don't forget to save room for the deep-fried Twinkies, supersized creme eggs, and Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. We can have salads Friday -- and not the kind served in bowls made of bacon. Suggested Sites... This Is Why You're Fat - mostly meaty food obscenities that will either make you hungry or make you never want to eat again. The Bacon Show - one bacon recipe posted per day. Don't worry -- you can cook as many as you want. Super Sized Meals - the bigger, the better, according to these folks. Their doctors may disagree. Fancy Fast Food - turning fast food items into gourmet (looking) meals. Pimp That Snack - junk food writ large.

Directory categories: Thanksgiving Recipes, Holiday Side Dishes, Deep Frying Recipes, Turducken, Thanksgiving Desserts

Archived under: Cooking, Eating, Fanatics, Food and Drink, Holidays, Recipes, Society and Culture, Thanksgiving

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Ree Drummond's dinner roll, a la Eugenia (Photo by Eugenia Chien) If you'd lived where I've lived, you might think there's really no reason to learn how to bake bread at home. I grew up in Taipei, where you'll find at least two bakeries on every block. Here in San Francisco, I head to Tartine Bakery when I need a buttery fix, and for a good, crusty loaf, there's always the Acme Bread Company. So why bake my own bread? If only for reasons explained only by nostalgia, the idea of homemade bread, hot from the oven, makes me and my dinner guests go absolutely crazy. When I announced that I would be making bread, a handful of Yahoo! editors readily volunteered themselves to be the taste-testers. Bread baking could seem like a daunting undertaking, but a few no-knead, foolproof recipes have recently emerged to ease the novice baker into making bread. Food bloggers have talked endlessly about Mark Bittman's no-knead bread recipe, which uses a super-slow rising period and calls for baking the dough in a heavy, enclosed pot. For this Thanksgiving, I tested another no-knead recipe from Ree Drummond's fantastic website, The Pioneer Woman. Her cult-like following is easy to understand when you try this recipe. These sweet dinner rolls achieve their volume with the help of some yeast, a little baking powder, and baking soda mixed in at the end. I cheated a little by kneading the dough a few times before rolling it into little balls and baking them in a liberally-buttered muffin tin. These rolls baked quickly, and only 15 minutes later, my fellow Yahoo! editors were buttering the hot rolls and drizzling honey over them. I had plenty of dough left over to make a big braided loaf, which I sliced up for French toast the next morning, using the French toast recipe from "The Joy of Cooking." If you're looking to impress your Turkey Day guests, check out the Yahoo! Directory for even more bread recipes. Suggested Sites... Mark Bittman's No-Knead Bread Recipe - watch Bittman make this beautiful loaf. Eight Tips for Less Intimidating Bread - tips from Smitten Kitchen on how to bake beaming, bewitching breads. Broiche des Rois - Tartelette bakes a festive broiche and reaches epiphany. Warning: contains photography that will make you hungry immediately.

Directory categories: Bread Recipes, Baking, French Toast Recipes, Thanksgiving Recipes, Recipes

Archived under: Bread, Cooking, Eating, Food and Drink, Holidays, In Character, Recipes, Thanksgiving

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This might be satisfying, but it wouldn't exactly be polite. Violators beware! (Photo by Mark Wallace) Once upon a time, the term "etiquette" referred to knowing which fork one used at the dinner table (the one on the outside), or which side of the sidewalk a gentleman should walk on when escorting a young lady (the side closest to the curb). Lately, etiquette's become something of a dirty word, though. At best, it evokes a nostalgic sentiment for the "good old days;" at worst, a general disdain for a kind of archaic protocol that seems to have no place in the modern world. And while it's true that, nowadays, few people outside of historical reenactment societies need to know the proper way to leave a calling card, the art of civility and good manners is not yet obsolete. Consider the Internet troll who launches a flame war on your comments page. What's the proper way to tell them to mind their own beeswax without making yourself look like a fool? Then there's the sticky situation of how to politely deny your diabetic relative's request for marijuana. Not to mention the ever-important question of how to convey to the woman you've just walked into your apartment building after a date that you're not a rapist. No, this isn't Amy Vanderbilt's or Emily Post's brand of etiquette (even though Miss Vanderbilt’s “Book of Etiquette” was published on this date in 1952). But even in a post-Lewinsky world, it seems we still have some need for decorum (as so aptly demonstrated by the formal rebuke of Republican Representative Joe Wilson after his "You lie!" remark during President Obama's address to the Congress on health care). So turn off your cell phone when attending the theater, don't text while at the movies (we can still see the glow of the screen even if the ringer’s off), turn your radio down at the drive-thru, and send your thank you cards via e-mail  -- just make sure to claim it's in the name of saving the environment, and not because you're too lazy to buy a card, write a message, find a stamp, lick the envelope, and send it. Suggested Sites... Emily Post’s Etiquette Daily - http://www.etiquettedaily.com/ The Urban Etiquette Handbook - the answers to all your modern conundrums -- like who walks the bride down the aisle when there are two of them. Dear Prudence - Slate's advice column on manners and morals. The Core Rules of Netiquette - how to deal with forwards, flaming, and the dreaded caps lock key. Modern Manners Guy - podcast about modern manners issues.

Directory categories: Etiquette, Netiquette, Cell Phone Etiquette, Emily Post, Wedding Etiquette

Archived under: 1950s, Anniversaries, Authors, Books, Eating, Etiquette, Society and Culture, Telephones, Writers, dating

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Wonder if the Cream of Wheat man will ever be made CEO, like Uncle Ben was? What's the greatest invention to come out of North Dakota? The "Roughrider State" takes credit for the first parking meter, but in my humble estimation, Cream of Wheat is a far more notable contribution to world happiness. The hot cereal made its debut exactly 116 years ago, when a wheat miller in Grand Forks, ND, sold the first box. I've always liked my Cream of Wheat with milk and honey, but today's online foodies are showing me up with their creations. They're serving up the cereal with coconut milk, rhubarb, and even pumpkin and spices. We're also seeing a proliferation of recipes that use Cream of Wheat for non-cereal, non-breakfast purposes. While I can't vouch for the quality of these recipes, apparently Cream of Wheat can be a key ingredient for such diverse foods as filet of fish, chocolate bread, and dumplings. And for the category of "stuff I learned on the Internet that I never would have asked:" most dogs can safely eat Cream of Wheat. It's not the recommended use, folks, but there’s an eHow article devoted entirely to the question, "Can dogs eat Cream of Wheat?" The answer is yes, but you should remember that dogs, like humans, can have food allergies. Suggested Sites... About.com: Nutrition - find out why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. RecipeZaar - more recipes using Cream of Wheat. The History of Cream of Wheat - 116 years of hot farina cereal. Was the Cream of Wheat Chef a Real Person? - he was, and his name was Frank White.

Directory categories: Food and Drink, Eating Practices, Breakfast Recipes, Nutrition, Recipes

Archived under: 19th Century, Anniversaries, Brands, Cooking, Eating, Food and Drink, In Character, Nutrition, Recipes

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As autumn rolls in, we've been stocking our web pantry (a.k.a., the Directory) with great sites to help you out this season. Here’s a selection of the freshest choice sites: Best-selling author James Patterson has put together a site where he offers recommendations for kids' books, sorted by age group. It's a wonderful resource for teachers, librarians, and for parents of kids heading back to school. You can browse book lists by type, read and listen to author interviews, and view lesson plans. Now that "Reading Rainbow" is no more, this is just the kind of site we need! We're already looking forward to Halloween. The California Science Center must be, too. Their latest exhibition, "Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear," is traveling all over the country, and has a great interactive online exhibit to get you in the mood -- or at least explain the mood. Explore how fear works in the brain, in the wild, and in the media -- and find out how to deal with it. Fall is a season for cooking. But when you're ready to take a break and eat out, you may want more than "just" a restaurant review. Dishola allows users to review specific menu items at local eateries, and upload photos of their meals. For those who are trying to live green (a good idea in any season), Project Label provides "nutritional labels" for companies, revealing their social and environmental impact based on public info and user input. Suggested Sites... Read, Kiddo, Read! - the world of kids' books, according to James Patterson. Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear - online and traveling exhibit explains why our hearts race, our knees shake, and our bodies sweat when we're scared. Dishola - reviews for individual menu items at local eateries. Project Label - company "nutrition" labels rate impact on the planet, community, and workers.

Directory categories: Children’s Literature, The Brain, Restaurant Reviews, Green Product Reviews

Archived under: Authors, Autumn, Books, Children, Children´s Literature, Consumer Advocacy, Eating, Education, Food and Drink, Green Living, Green Products, Museums, Parenting, Psychology, Reading, Restaurants, Science, Society and Culture, Yahoo! Directory

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