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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Makes you hungry, doesn't it? C'mon; you know you want it. (Photo by Lorenia) WARNING: If you find yourself watching the Food Network with the kind of enthusiasm most toddlers save for Barney, think recipes without pictures are stupid, and constantly refresh your browser to see if anything new has been posted on foodgawker, you may be addicted to food porn.* Food porn addiction, also known as Iron Chef Syndrome, is an affliction commonly found among foodies and amateur chefs. It's often expressed through such profound philosophical statements as, "How am I supposed to know what I want to eat if I can't see it?" and "Me wanty."** Alas, in the interest of economics, many cookbooks tend to skimp on the pictures, rendering many recipes useless except to the most adventurous of chefs. However, thanks to the Internet, there are countless websites with full-color photos and step-by-step instructions on how to make your favorite dishes. There's Smitten Kitchen, a website that combines the deadly force of succulently roasted chicken with the cuteness of cinnamon swirl hair. Or TasteSpotting, a visual carousel of temptingly delicious recipes best not looked at before lunchtime. And the irreverent-yet-tasty Cook to Bang, which aims to not only please the palate, but other parts of the anatomy, as well. So, if you find yourself drooling at the computer screen on your coffee break, dreaming of lobster thermidor while asleep in your bed, or wondering helplessly what to do with those cranberries in your refrigerator, you may be in need of an intervention: a tasty one. * Be wary of typing "food porn" into a search engine. ** Quotes not at all taken from this writer's sister. Suggested Sites... Epicurious - recipes, menus, pictures, and ratings of thousands of dishes. foodgawker - a collection of recipes and images from all over the Internet. Foodista - a food encyclopedia users can edit. Serious Eats - a blog all about recipes, dining, and all things food. The Amateur Gourmet - restaurant reviews, recipes, how-tos and more.

Directory categories: Recipes, Food Blogs, Gourmet Food, Cooking, Ingedients

Archived under: Books, Chefs, Cooking, Fanatics, Food and Drink, Photography, Recipes

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(Photo by foooooey) Cookbooks have a prominent place in my tiny apartment. My kitchen doesn't have a lot to brag about except for its charming built-in bookshelf, which I've packed with my favorite cookbooks. Sure, like most of you, I probably look up hundreds of recipes online (the Yahoo! Directory boasts an amazing collection of recipes). But when I really want to relax and cook something that I know will turn out just right, I turn to one of my trusted "kitchen bibles." In the age of the Internet, Food Network, and food blogs, how does a cookbook survive? The books that make it onto my kitchen shelf are the ones that have withstood the tests of many home cooks. These cookbooks are more than just a collection of recipes: they include explanations that are so nuanced and detailed that they make for an interesting read even when you're not standing in front of the stove. A true example of this is Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." Anyone who's followed her recipes knows that the paragraphs preceding the recipes are as important as the ingredients themselves. For polenta, Marcella instructs you to rain the polenta over simmering water so slowly that you can see individual grains. Her Bolognese sauce is simmered for four hours or more, and you'll know why there is milk in the sauce only if you read carefully. My other kitchen bible is from America's Test Kitchen. Their recipes have gone through the gauntlet of scientific tweaking, and the book explains why each recipe has won out over the rest of the test batches. Try the lemon bars from the book and you'll be a convert (the secret is whole milk -- shh!). Now, cookbook fans, don't get your aprons all twisted -- I didn't forget "The Joy of Cooking" or Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything." Enough poetry has been waxed about these books, so I'll spare you. So, what's your no-fail kitchen bible? Tell us in the comments below. Suggested Sites... Omnivore Books on Food - a bookstore dedicated to cookbooks and all books on food. For Better, for Worse, for Richer, for Pasta - Marcella Hazan, profiled by The New York Times. Jamie Oliver - books and recipes by the Naked Chef. From the Design Desk: Focused on Food - Chronicle Books explain the design behind books on food.

Directory categories: Cooking Techniques, Shop for Cookbooks, Julia Child, Chefs

Archived under: Books, Chefs, Cooking, Food and Drink, Home and Garden, Recipes

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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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