Tick tock, you don't Strop? well, you should.

I am a classic non-listener. I can't explain it. It's not that i don't hear you...it's mostly that I think I'm right...about everything:) ok, I hope I'm not that bad (no comments on aforementioned subject, wifeshow), but I kind of feel like I can get that way about certain things. for example, I thought that I had a pretty decent idea on how to sharpen my knives properly. They were in need of some love, so I got out my stones and steel and as I was getting ready to take them to a respectable level of sharpness, I thought, "Hey...maybe I will do some research on knife sharpening." You see, I recently bought a new pairing knife and it pretty much floored me with how much sharper it was than my current line-up. I thought that maybe I was missing something. I found a pretty informative website called japaneseknifesharpening.com. it was talking about stropping your knives after sharpening them. I had never really done this before. WOW! couldn't believe the difference that it made. I used an old belt and stepped on one end, pulling the other end tight and then ran the knife's edge up and down the back side of it at a slightly aggressive angle (a little more than you would use to "steel" it) 5-6 times. if you want to take your knives to a new level (we're talking razors here, my arm hairs are scared to death, like they went to a midnight showing of paranormal activity) try it out. You could, however, buy a super fine grit expensive stone to get rid of the burr, but come on, whose wife doesn't have an old leather belt lying around? HA! (just kidding mames, used my own:)

ok, food: It's fall, which means it's time to get your roast on. all you beefeaters out there (the meat not the gin) had better fire up the oven, set it to low, grab some root veg and a hunk of meat, a dutch oven and set your watches to party. I like to chunk up some onion, potates, carrots, turnips, etc., season liberally with salt and peps olive oil drizz, and then set my beefhunk (a little thyme, a little rosemary, salt, peps, and paps) on top and then add some stock or beer (enough to come up about 1/2 way), put the lid on and slow roast at 300F for about 2 hours. can't be beat. after it's done, I let the meat rest, take out the veg with a slotted spoon (put in a bowl, it's too hot for your face at the moment), and thicken up the gravy with some roux and more stock. tasty.beefy. other pics are red beans and andouille and also shahi paneer. I based it off of this recipe, but ended up using a little tomato paste (my pal anuj tipped me off on that one) and also red chile instead of green and also some chaat masala (mdh brand. actually a long story, couldn't find any here and ended up getting some brought back from chicago. really funny, because they don't have it on their website either:)

So, I imagine that everyone making a thanksgiving dinner is either freaking out about everything they have to do, or has already started. Hopefully, most everyone is in the second category. Start doing little things like prepping veg that is preppable and making your compound butter that you are going to shove under the skin of the breast. You were planning on that, right? of course you were, but if not, I'll post it at the end.

DISH recommends:

le creuset 5.5 quart dutch oven:

or

Staub 5 qt dutch oven

either of these is a great pot to have in your kitch. I use mine every week and can't say enough good things about them. a bit of change to fork over, but so worth it. good for braising, stews/soups/frying/risottos/sauces/justabouteverything. would make a great gift for the hols. alittletip: there is a red one at tjmaxx right now for way less than the one I linked up. cheers

compound butter for your turkey:

1 stick butter

leaves from :

2 sprig rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs italian parsley

and about three sage leaves.

throw it all into a food processor, and blend it up. after combined. roll it up in parchment and fridge it. do this ahead of time. one less thing...

when you are ready to cook your bird. loosen the skin of the breast and rub (well-softened, as in take out the butter on thanksgiving morning and let it hang out for an hour or so) the compound butter all up in that turkeys business. super basty, super tasty. Do this after the brining process! and for extra goodness, lay some bacon/prosciutto/pancetta/jambon across the breast for the first hour and a half of roasting. once you are close, remove it (this will even out the browning process) and set aside. I like to crumble this stuff into my gravy.

going to have thanksgiving here in dishville this year with nance and carroll and three dogs. should be a good time. pieces.

It's hard to fall in a rut, when you run with the wolfpack.

CHEESE DISCLAIMER: The following post contains some supercute dog pics and some slight gushing about loving dogs. If you find this uncomfortable please go away or click on one of these websites for a more palatable internet experience.

www.antidog.com or Ithinki'lljuststayhomeanddonothing.com

I'm convinced that dogs were put on the earth to teach us lessons. You want to know about unconditional love? get a dog. Cuteness beyond measure? get a dog. how about cheering people up? get a dog. how to never take crap from clowns or magicians? yeah, get a dog. ok, so maybe that last one is an isolated event, but you get the point. One thing that I've tried to pick up from my four legged friendly is how to take advantage of every moment that I can. If people were as committed/excited to getting out and doing things, the world we live in would be a much different place. There are so many times that I have things I want to do or try, but for whatever reason, I get lazy and let them fall by the wayside. Dogs would not do this. in fact, this is anti-dog behavior. So, where on earth am I going with this? I don't really know, but it has something to do with thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday, no question there. people gathering around food, etc, etc. The problem with thanksgiving is that, well, there are actually two problems.

unfortunate thanksgiving problem #1.

The turkey. If you are not super careful and don't have a proper plan, you are going to be serving your loved ones dry roasted cardboard. Luckily, in this modern world we live in, people have eaten enough dry cardboardy fowl, that they have come up with some methods to get out of the turkey rut that takes down so many thanksgiving cooks. The one I most highly recommend is brining your bird. When you brine something it allows the protein molecules to expand and become hydrated to almost a false juiciness. you are kind of cheating here, but that's ok, just this time. this technique is better (in my opinion) than just basting, because it is like basting the meat from the inside. even if you overcook the bird, it will still seem juicy. you can still just baste the bird and cross your fingers, but you probably shouldn't. check out brining tips here. ( I always add some simon and garfunkel (come on, you know this by now right? (hint: scarborough fair)) to the mix, just in cases...

and

Unfortunate Thanksgiving Problem #2:

Leftover turkey.

This is assuming you have made plenty of delicious sides to go along with your meat, but I maybe have two times I can eat thanksgiving dinner before I am sick of it. So, to remedy this, I just use my turkey like it was raw poultry (within reason), and tackle any new (fitting) recipes that I have been wanting to try. hotpots, noodle bowls, not boring sandwiches, etc. Get out of your comfort zone this year and make something that you have never made with your leftovers. Or, use most of your leftovers to make something else. What about a turkey/caramelized brussels sprouts, and cranberry chutney panini, eh? sounds good to me. Or maybe take your leftover mashed potatoes and pour a little coconut milk and some curry powder in there, you get the idea. So, this year, on black friday, get creative and don't eat the same thing over and over. You had better not throw away that turkey carcass either, them's primo stock fixins, fools.

oh yeah, food: Made an asian noodle broth sort of thing (perfect way to use leftover turkey carcass/turkey meat) with meat that I had leftover from making chicken/duck stock. the duck added an extra dimension and made for a super flavorful soup. Just got the broth to a rolling boil, and added ginger, onion, chiles, cilantro, grean beans, and then some noodles, and threw the chicken meat in there at the end along with some fish sauce and soy sauce. Middle dish is sausage gravy made from the close to 50 pounds of sausage that was made this weekend! Should be stocked for a while (should be...). Last pic is of the ultimate slider. Well, ultimate as far as food goes. I knew this kid andy in first grade that was king of the playground...anyway, these particular mini burgs were topped with onion soubise (2 onions, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of water, and tsp kosh salt cooked very low until they turn into a sort of jam, try it, it's unbeleivable, takes around 1.5 hours though, stir every once and a while) a fried egg, bacon, and ketchup. eggs on burgers are awesome, try it...tomorrow.

ok, nonfoods: I have been riding wilderness park a lot lately. It's my favorite time of year to ride the bike trail (in fact, I'm going there right after this.). Dusted off my camelbak and have been having a lot of fun out there. Also, made it through a hellish two weeks at work, too many hours, too little rest. Ready to relax a little and possibly take some time off.

Also: We are getting closer to the remodel and as of now are toying with the idea of stainless countertops., if we can find somewhere to get them.( ok, I know what you are thinking, resale, and that they scratch. but the thing is, it's my house. and I'm not living in it with the sole intention of pleasing the next peeps, so there:P)

ok, hope to post more frequently, pieces

DISHrecommends: getting out and doing something. get out and enjoy the outdoors. go on a walk (with your dog!), ride bikes, jog, run, whatever. just don't get sedentary. it's the root of all evil. so is money, though. So, I guess if you are rich and just do nothing all day, you're pretty much the worst person in the world. Or at least really, really, ridiculously bad.

About this food, I have no reservations...

A couple of weeks ago, I received the new jamie oliver cookbook, "Jamie's food revolution." I've always been a pretty big fan of his stuff, and this one didn't disappoint. I was excited to see that there was a whole chapter on curries. He recommends using a brand of curry paste (korma, masala, vindaloo, called patak's.), if you choose not to make your own (but he does give recipes to make pastes, which I eventually want to try.) The chicken tikka masala pictured above was from that book. It was pretty good, would have been even better if I hadn't accidentally doubled the amount of tomatoes involved.

So, yeah, have kind of been on an indian food kick here recently. Also have been experimenting on making different interpretations of aloo (indian spiced potatoes). they're pretty addictive, if you are like me and could live solely on potatoes...forever. Last pic is of gus, who has permanently taken up residence below the flair's cooktop. Wifeshow and I were wondering what he is going to do with himself once the remodel starts. He loves it under there, primo spot for snarfs.

getting sidetracked here...Back to the cookbook, actually cookbooks in general. I really have been trying to utilize the ones that I have more completely. I know that a lot of people (self included) fall into the trap of buying cookbooks and never use them even to half of their potential. So, this week, take some time and pick out at least two recipes you have always wanted to try. It will add so much to your kitchen skills and give you more ideas to play off of. The finished product may not look like the picture, may be different than you had planned, but you will have learned something and perhaps can tweak it to fit your tastes. I try to do this at least twice a week, you'll be amazed at how fast you learn to cook new things and how much more interesting it will make your cooking seem. Totally interested to hear what you guys are going to try out, let me know!

Other stuff: Picked up some black mustard seeds at a shop on 25th and O street the other day. It's an eastern market that has ridiculously low prices on spices (even better than OH!). Also, We went to a halloween party as zoolander and hansel. Will let amy post those pics if she wants. Had a great time, ate some eyeballs, partied with devils, cowboys, indians (pun intended) gomez, pirates, and gypsies. In other words, a typical saturday night for the dish. oh yeah, I made some killer chocolate mousse, and piped it into phyllo dough cups, but forgot to take a picture:( recipe is here.)

Also, nonfoods, sort of: Finished the shining. Thank goodness for resolutions. I don't think I could have made it through that book without one. got so scared at one point that I slept on the couch with the dog ( i read before I go to bed during the day). Definitely a halloween-worthy read. Bakery boss is going on vacation so it's up to marth, the nabster, and I to run things. Sounds scary, think we can handle it though. not really looking forward to working all by myself on wednesdays, though. just have to suck it up...

Dish's Aloo (great as a side or all alone served with chapatis or papadum)

serves 2

2 russet potates, peeled

1 medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic minced

I red chile, small dice

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

small handful of cilantro, separated into minced stalks and leaves

5 threads saffron

1tsp, smashed coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp coriander powder)

salt and peps

olive oil

med. heat, add a couple of glugs of olive oil in a medium size pot and add the mustard seeds. they will start to pop, then add your onion, garlic, and chile, stirring frequently. add the rest of the spices and the minced cilantro stalks, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until the onions start to get some color. Then add your potatoes, and make sure that they are coated with the spices. Add approx half cup of water and stir potatoes every 30 seconds to a minute, until the water evaporates. do not cover pot! do this process multiple times until the potatoes are done to your liking. when you reach this stage, instead of adding one last 1/2 cup of water, add a little olive oil (or ghee if you have it), and lightly fry the potatoes, until you see the bottom of the pan starting to go brown. add the cilantro leaves, and more salt and pepper to taste. kill the heat, let sit for one more minute and then scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and stir to incorporate. (this should give you some nice crunchy bits, in with the soft potatoes) Garnish with natural plain yogurt and papadum.

DISH recommends:Shun Pairing knife/peeler, and all clad 14 inch non-stick skillet. sweet holy moses! That is one sharp pairing knife. Totally impressed with shun knives now. can't believe that something came from the factory that sharp. blade has a nook in it that is perfect for peeling things. while some would say the size of the pan is overkill, I am totally excited about it! my first position in a restaurant was saute so it's something that I am totally fond of and something that has a lot of good memories. Can do like a billion chicken breasts or whatever in this thing. these were both b-day gifts, great ones...