[Mike Nolan]

I really like the Norpro non-stick 9" metal pie pans I have, they are one of the first non-stick products I've had that really lives up to the name.

After the pie is cool, just give it a twist and it slides right out of the pie pan. Sometimes I just put it on a plate, which makes it a lot easier to slice, but other times I've put it in a different pie pan. If I'm sending a pie to my wife's office or taking it to someone, I transfer it to a disposable aluminum pie pan.

I think it may just be the two of us for Thanksgiving, maybe we'll invite a friend over. (My older son and family are coming here for Christmas, haven't heard back from the younger one yet, but he's got Zeldathon in Erie PA right after Christmas, and he's kind of been absorbed into the Google world.)

I probably won't buy a whole turkey or even a turkey breast, largely because nearly all of them have been saturated with a brine solution and have way too much sodium in them.

Looking at the NorBest site, their 'all natural' whole turkey has 80 grams of sodium in a 4 ounce serving. Their 'basted' one has 320 grams of sodium in a 4 ounce serving. Guess which one is easier to find in stores?

I've been buying turkey tenders (from the breast), which are NOT brined. I think 2 or 3 turkey tenders might be enough for 3 people for Thanksgiving, and they'll cook a whole lot faster, too. I'll look around for some frozen turkey necks/giblets to use for gravy. (I'm not sure I've got any turkey stock left in the freezer, I think I lost what I had when the freezer failed a few weeks back.)

[Mike Nolan]

I can't stand the way part-skim mozzarella melts, so I buy whole milk mozzarella in 5 pound bags at Sams Club and divide it up into smaller bags (around 12 ounces) and freeze it. That's the ONLY place in town I can find whole milk mozzarella. (I know several of the local pizza chains use it, but they buy in bulk from wholesalers, or possibly directly from Leprino Foods, the nearly invisible Denver company that supplies cheese to many of the major pizza chains. It's so secretive that when Forbes did a story on it recently, they could not locate a picture of James Leprino, the CEO, and he wouldn't allow photographers into the building.)

[Mike Nolan]

The Kraft website seems to indicate 2% cheese is still available, it may be a regional issue, or related to not being in an urban area.

The last few times I've been in NW Illinois, where I grew up, the grocery stores seemed to carry a lot fewer products than what I can find in Lincoln. And when I'm in the Pittsburgh area visiting my son, the products available there are quite different, and it's not just different brands.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Mike Nolan.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm making a big pot of potato leek soup for supper, half or more of it will go in the freezer.

[Mike Nolan]

Tuna salad for supper here.

The more I read about saturated vs unsaturated fats, the less I'm sure of. :sigh:

[Mike Nolan]

This article says never use high heat for blind baking:
Blind Baking

[Mike Nolan]

I try to fill up the dishwasher as I'm working, but sometimes I use more than what will fit in one load. At chocolate school, the chef was pretty insistent we clean up messes right away, because they spread quickly. I find that's pretty good advice when it comes to things like flour, too.

[Mike Nolan]

I haven't seen winesap in stores in decades. I got some from the farmer's market a couple of years ago and got some from a u=pick orchard last year.

[Mike Nolan]

I don't specifically remember offering that advice, I think the most important part of blind baking is to make sure you have plenty of pie beans.

I'm not sure what we're doing for either Thanksgiving or Christmas this year, we've told the kids that we're not making the trip to Pittsburgh this year. My younger son, the one who lives in CA, has Zeldathon (an online fundraiser) in Erie PA right after Christmas. My older son was talking about possibly coming here for Thanksgiving, but I haven't heard if that's a go or not. We may invite my wife's sister to come over for Christmas dinner.

[Mike Nolan]

I may drop a line to SFBI and ask if I can post it. It's a really good pie filling, but probably not anything particularly different from other recipes.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm making Vienna bread today.

[Mike Nolan]

No, it's the one I got at SFBI pastry school, I'm not sure if I can post it or not.

[Mike Nolan]

Winesap is a great pie apple, but it is too firm for applesauce. It is the best pie apple I've ever used. There are some European varieties that are supposed to be even better, but good luck finding any of them on this side of the pond.

I pre-cook the pie filling and then freeze it. That way it's ready to be put in a pie shell. It also works great in Irish Apple Cake.

[Mike Nolan]

I made a regular and a gluten-free Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake the other day, using King Arthur's gluten-free blend for the latter. I think adding cocoa masks the taste of gluten-free baked goods, but that recipe isn't vegan.

[Mike Nolan]

I don't think Empires are good cooking apples, though some sources say they are, they're decent eating apples, though. They have a thick skin, so they don't bruise easily and ship well. My experience has been that they don't store well, they get mushy.

They're a Cornell cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious that dates back to about 1945.

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