I neglected to post my turkey roasting experience this year, but needless to say, this year the turkey went without much drama. I did add a new ingredient to unify the Thanksgiving meal, and it made a much bigger impact on my gravy and mashed potatoes than the turkey itself. The star ingredient: Swanson’s Chicken…

In a sweep-the-kitchen mood, I set out to make some fried rice from the LAN party leftovers. I intended to make a simple Filipino-style fried rice, all garlicky goodness, yet threw in some unusual suspects, asparagus and roast turkey. The result was good ol’ fashioned comfort food. 1 cup day-old steamed rice (actually 5 days…

Feeding the troops for the New Year’s LAN party teaches you a few things: patience, planning ahead, and preparing more food for unexpected guests. And…last minute improvisation. I went with a turkey (Kroger brand again), this time a 17-pounder. Luckily, it barely fit in the brining pot, but it displaced a lot more liquid than…