Whew. Party's over. We've cleaned up, kind of. Got to bed at 1:30 am. The tuna turned out pretty well. It was different from the previous fish. Flesh was softer, fattier, not as firm. I skipped the chirasi course because I didn't think this fish was all that suited to sashimi. And I skipped the last course because it was getting late and people were full. The third most favorite dish was tuna marinated in miso and lots of sea salt for 24 hours. Served with a topping of wasabi tobiko (wasabi-infused flying fish roe, buy it at a Japanese market) and a smear of honey-wasabi sauce (exactly what it sounds like, honey mixed with a-not-quite toe-curling amount of wasabi powder). The runner up was the blast-seared tuna. Mix soy sauce, honey, and wasabi. Marinate tuna loin block overnight. Roll loin in sesame seeds to coat. Light charcoal in chimney starter. When coals are ready, put blow dryer at base of starter, so that white flame is roaring from top. Place grill on top, sear loin, each side 20 sec. Slice loin into medallions. Top with reserved marinade. The favorite, by far, was a variant of the pan-seared tuna with ginger shiitake sauce. FOAS posted a link to this dish in the previous tuna thread. I made some modifications - pan-browned the shiitake slices first, omitted the soy sauce, omitted the lime juice, added lime zest. Several people asked for this recipe, so here it is, and thanks again to FOAS - - slice shiitake mushroom caps to 1/4 to 1/8 inch, dice stems - brown diced stems in butter, set aside - brown cap slices in butter, working in single layer and turning each slice individually, to crusty, set aside - chop 1/3 c green onions, 1/4 c cilantro, 2 tbsp fresh ginger, 4 garlic cloves - cook in pan medium heat a few minutes, add mushrooms, then 1 1/2 c whipping cream, heat to low, cook until sauce thickens, set aside - heat to high, get pan very hot, add olive oil, sear tuna just long enough to get 1/8 inch cooked layer on each side - reheat sauce, add zest of 2 limes, add a teeny splash more of cream if sauce looks tired, salt to taste (for me, about 1 tsp kosher salt) - plate and be sure to credit FOAS The last dish, which we skipped, was tuna and scallop ceviche with a salsa of my own tomatoes, peaches, and kiwi. It was something I should have served earlier in the evening. Well, I'll have it for lunch and deliver some to the neighbors.

Cynic, is that all???? I better get moving. LOL Maybe I will surprise my family and leave them to fend for themselves and take that trip to England for Christmas. I'll let them have my house and they can do their own cooking. Fat chance, they would starve. I think Laura's boyfriend knows how to cook though and my brother's specialty is Greek pasta salad. My sister is the Queen on Lean Cuisine. LOLOL Not exactly a nice Christmas dinner is it. Okay I have been reprieved, a ton of weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I just called my brother and he and his girlfriend are driving to Toronto for Thanksgiving. David is still at his store counting stock and will be there pretty much all night since the store just closed. He sounds happy to be retiring but I feel kind of sad for him. End of an era. I then called my friend Kathy to see if she had any bacon on hand and she said she did. I asked her to make me some bacon bits for the broccoli salad but she said not to bother making it since rarely do we have a cold salad at Thanksgiving and then she said I ruined her surprise. Kathy is one of my childhood friends and it has always been the tradition in her family to have that marshmallow 24 hour salad for their holiday dinners. I consider that more a dessert salad but hey who am I to mess with tradition and this is her first Thanksgiving without her Mom so I said that was wonderful she made the salad. I like it but usually at a shower or something like that. I never thought to make what we call my Grandma's green lime jello salad made with pineapple, celery and cream cheese LOLOL At our family dinners there was always that pale green Pyrex casserole dish on the holiday table that held the lime green salad. Refreshing it was and I had forgotten all about it. I will have to remember it for Christmas. Out of all the vintage Pyrex I have in my huge collection that pale green casserole dish is one I have never been able to find at yards sales or thrift shops. I think my sister Lizzie absconded Grandma's green dish so I will have to ask her if she still has it. Lime green cream cheese jello is just not tradition without serving it in that dish. Oh my. I now don't have to put 2 extenders in the table now so I should have a table cloth that will suffice. I know I should do it anyway but now I don't have to make that extra effort to make sure everything in my house is in perfect order and now I can hide books and my computer stuff on the attic stairs and the dog can still have his toys out and the dog food bag can remain where it is. I was getting ready to get on my butt and start cleaning baseboards since the "girlfriend" was coming. Tomorrows Menu Turkey Stuffing Cranberry Sauce Brussel Sprouts sliced cooked with garlic and cream Orange glazed carrots Squash Mashed turnip Mashed potatoes and gravy Tray with raddishes, olives, my pickled beets 24 hour salad Rolls Pumpkin pie Butter tarts - my Mom's filling recipe, Tenderflake shells I will go raid my Pyrex collection for all the autumn coloured pieces and that way I can keep the food warm in the oven and put right on the dinner table to serve. I wouldn't do that with good china which I don't have right now. I'm still waiting for my Grandma's china to make its way back to Windsor - it just needs a ride LOL Grandma's Royal Doulton china and her pale green Pyrex dish now that for a beautiful holiday table. Thanks again for helping me and listening to my rant. I am so relieved and now will be able to enjoy myself more with the usual suspects in attendance. Anne

Sdello and Sombreuil - thanks so much for your explanations and advice. What I think I am seeing is a separation of the turntable beneath the impellers. When I push the impellers with the wooden spoon handle, they actually spin too freely, and maybe even rock a little. This model is all stainless steel innards, so no rusting that Sombreuil mentioned. There is no water backing up or clogging whatsoever. I've removed the few pieces I had in there to grind, as they weren't grinding, so I am just operating the disposal "clean" to see what happens. There doesn't appear to be anything to clean or clear, nothing wrapped around anything, the disposal is a clean as can be. It appears to me that Sdello's analysis is correct - perhaps a a broken connection between the motor and the impeller. The disposal does sound normal when running, no odd sounds. As Sombreuil said, this 11-year-old disposal doesn't owe me any more. I actually called Waste King, and while they did not provide a specific analysis of what's wrong, they said that if there is no jam, and the blades are rotating, but maybe too freely rotating, the problems are not worthwhile to repair, and I should replace. They also let me know that they've recently been bought by Moen, to my surprise. Tim - my disposal has been handling Thanksgivings, and anything else I've asked of it, for 11 years problem-free. I've said it already a couple of times, but you seem determined that a disposal should not grind anything but the littlest bits of food. I can attest that for 11 years that has not been the case. Not all disposals are the weak Badger style that you may be accustomed to seeing. When you get into the 3/4 hp and 1 hp class, it's a completely different ball game.

I command a lovely table. So said because I decree and let the minions do the actual laying of the table. I have cloths and chargers, wine stems and water stems and gold flashed company flatware, to set for dozens. And it's all cheap junk bought on closeout sales to make it even cheaper, and it looks fabulous! An advantage to the cheap stems is no lead to leach into the wine, though they don't sparkle like crystal. And when I didn't have all that, I set a simpler table with plastic party cloths, paper plates and matching cups from the catering supply store, with my mother's old stainless flatware she got mostly with Betty Crocker points back when you only had to pay the shipping. And it was lovely. A few flowers, candlesticks, and interesting serving pieces (some of which are $2 foil trays from the catering supply which can be washed and reused if you're careful). If you have lovely things, use them! It doesn't matter if they're heirlooms or junk store finds, or paper, or anything in between. Use what you have, and make it look nice. Pretty is good! How you get there is beside the point.