Smelling Good . . .

Between my pumpkin pie and SJ's loaf of sourdough, this house is starting to smell awfully good. I'm not so sure about the pie crust for this one, since I made almost a double batch of dough earlier in the week, and used most of it for the double crust boysenberry pie (now, sadly, and deliciously deceased). That wouldn't have been so bad, except that I forgot to put plastic wrap over the extra dough before I shoved it in the fridge. But what the heck--it rolled out just fine this afternoon, and as far as I'm concerned, it's the filling that really counts, anyway. The batter passed the taste test before I poured it into the crust, so it should be fine.

I think tomorrow will be a bit of a test. I've always just used the broiler pan that came with the oven to roast birds, but it's really messy, not to mention a PITA to heft the bird off there onto a carving board without dripping gooey stuff everywhere. Right after Thanksgiving I treated myself to a brand new Calphalon roasting pan and rack--on half price sale at a new kitchenware store around the corner from my office (The Broadway Panhandler). I really didn't want a non-stick one, and the stainless steel one just happened to be a featured sale item. As far as I'm concerned, it's just as well made, and heavy duty, as All-Clad, but less expensive. I did compare the two brands side by side, and would have spent more had I seen any extra value in doing so.

Though I'm just your average home cook, I really do appreciate having quality kitchen tools, from Henckel knives I bought myself, to Revereware pots mom gave me that are older than I am, but I also have cheap stuff like an indispensible set of Lodge cast iron skillets. My mom gave me her Cuisinart food processor right after Thanksgiving, but I've really only ever used it once. That's one more time than she used it. Dad bought it for her for Christmas, I think, back when I was in undergrad college. Newer models are better designed, but I don't really see that it can do anything that a mandoline, mortar & pestle, mezzaluna, food mill, quality whisk, or a chef's or santoku knife can't do, except speed up the slicing and dicing of mass quantities of ingredients. For your average two-quart pot of chowder, cream of mushroom, or potato-leek soup, I just whip out my Braun "boat motor" to "whoozh" it to the proper consistency. It's easier to clean than a blender. The blender only gets hauled out for an occasional fresh blueberry-vanilla (or lemon) yogurt shake--perhaps twice a year.

My Spock Market ranking climbed all the way from 475 to 501, even after gaining 65.4 million kopeks. I must be among a really competitive set of players who are all clustered around my "net worth." It's odd that 659 million would lose 26 places in the ranks, but so be it. It's still a fun game to play on a Saturday afternoon.