A Fistful of Collars: Winter Pick at Modern Dog Magazine Book Club
“A mesmerizing mystery and as entertaining as the last, A Fistful of Collars is the perfect page-turner for any mystery lover looking for a fun, suspenseful read.”
http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/gallery/connie-s-book-club-winter-20122013
Welcome ZgZag & Wilson, Meco the truffler.
Tags: A Fistful of Collars, Modern Dog Magazine
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 at 8:49 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
9:01 am on November 21st, 2012
Good morning! Happy Turkey Day Eve.
LOL Poor Bee is losing that fight: “a fun, suspenseful read”.
9:33 am on November 21st, 2012
I think that fight is unfortunately lost. Mommy’s audiobooks are now called “listens.”
9:47 am on November 21st, 2012
Your Highness Sammie, did you see Wose’s post from this morning? EEK! She is getting those lightning bolts! And we aren’t there!!!!!
Luna, Luna, where are you? Come and pick up all the Smoochers!!!
Sammie, should I try on my own, and pick you up? You are so tiny, I should be able to carry you o.k.
9:48 am on November 21st, 2012
Sammie!…That is so wrong on so many levels…grump!
10:04 am on November 21st, 2012
Good morning all.
10:06 am on November 21st, 2012
Boutique!…Hey the Black Friday Holiday Boutique opens in TWO DAYS!…snort!…Count ’em! TWO!…So don’t go blowing all your hard earned money on cawfee and crullers…sniff!…Save some for the wonderful Items that will be on the brand new shelves of the store…wheeze!…I can hear Rebecca hammering away right now!…Wooooo!
Opening!…The doors will open at 8:00am Giant Time, or 12:00 noon EST….snort!…So don’t forget to stop by and Buy!…heh!
10:20 am on November 21st, 2012
Rio – didja see Macy’s post late last night? Didja?
Heh heh.
10:22 am on November 21st, 2012
Kat, I’m ready to spring into action to take care of our Rose. Come pick me up. I had a hair cut so I’m a lot smaller now.
10:24 am on November 21st, 2012
Thanks for recognizing me, Princess, even though I messed up my avatar.
Leaving now. Look for me. (hope I don’t get lost again).
10:30 am on November 21st, 2012
Rio,
Alice told me to check last nights post. It seems you again raided your penny bank. Does your ‘friend’ know about this Rio? Hmmmm?
Should I put your 3000 pennies on the official Shake your Booty list? I will tell Alice to refrain from ‘eyeing’ you until I get your answer. (It would make our total 500.00! 😉
(I don’t know if she will obey, but I will tell her.)
10:31 am on November 21st, 2012
Rio,
Alice told me to check last nights post. It seems you again raided your penny bank. Does your ‘friend’ know about this Rio? Hmmmm?
Should I put your 3000 pennies on the official Shake your Booty list? I will tell Alice to refrain from ‘eyeing’ you until I get your answer. (It would make our total 500.00! 😉
(I don’t know if she will obey, but I will tell her.)
10:32 am on November 21st, 2012
RIOOOOOoooooo
heh heh heh
Kats do not take direction well.
10:33 am on November 21st, 2012
heh heh heh! A whole new method of doing a Double-D.
Kat just disappeared before our very eyes. Boy is Mom going to be mad if she is not back here for Thanksgiving Turkey.
10:33 am on November 21st, 2012
LOL, Don’t they know read is not a noun!
Have to go read (verb) last night’s posts.
10:38 am on November 21st, 2012
Staff!…I don’t think that last pledge is legal…sniff!…I was hypnotized by Alice and only said I would give more pennies under duress…grunt!…And besides you need to check your SDD…grumble!
10:44 am on November 21st, 2012
Heh heh heh heh. Watch the pug squirm…
10:46 am on November 21st, 2012
Well Rio, I would do what you want except for two things.
First, you put it in writing. My lawyers say if it is in writing….sorry bud.
Second, it puts us at $500.00 which means we will be one quarter funded and I just can’t keep us from hitting that mark. It wouldn’t be fiscally responsible of me.
So Therefore…pay up deadbeat.
10:48 am on November 21st, 2012
Alice!…You can’t get pennies out of a turnip-pug…grunt!
10:49 am on November 21st, 2012
Lawyer!…Wookie is my lawyer. I bet he will back me up if I pay him enough…snort!…Oh wait, I’m broke…grump!
10:51 am on November 21st, 2012
Ahem, I have Wookie on Shake Your Booty retainer. You will have to make do with some other lawyer. Sorry honey pug.
10:52 am on November 21st, 2012
Gah!…I’m a stuck-pug!…grunt!
11:15 am on November 21st, 2012
Whooo Hooooo
The Shake Your Booty donation central announces the official total is $500.00
Shake your pug booty!
GO Pug GO! Wheeeeeeeeeee….
11:16 am on November 21st, 2012
Whooo Hooooo
Methinks that Pug looks worried.
11:17 am on November 21st, 2012
AliceMJohnson: Can I order a life-sized head shot of yourself for fund raising purposes?
Whew! No new snow last night. I will catch up on shoveling today.
Rose: I know the Smoochers will be there for you. I hope your day is restful.
11:17 am on November 21st, 2012
I think Alice is a big meanie
11:20 am on November 21st, 2012
Abbie – aw, don’t be like that. Alice is our hero!
11:21 am on November 21st, 2012
Dawson, of course you can. I only ask a slight percentage in residuals. However since you are practically a relative I will cut the percentage in half. Heh heh heh
So that is only 7 salmon bon-bons per week.
(Abbie will have to starve)
11:24 am on November 21st, 2012
Dear Basil and Sage.
I am glad to be your hero. I am not sure the Pug agrees but what can one do? You can’t please everyone. And the dogs need their booties!
Here is a little cartoon just for you…
11:26 am on November 21st, 2012
I think Alice is a big meanie and she should give me back those salmon bon-bons…sniff.
11:27 am on November 21st, 2012
Good one, Herbs!!!
11:38 am on November 21st, 2012
Percentage!…I just know Alice is making money on this Bootie deal…sniff!…I just know it!
11:47 am on November 21st, 2012
Now Rio, How could I be making any money. (heh heh heh)
The money is going straight to Rebecca and I can’t get my paws on it.
Just kick back and relax there little pugster.
11:47 am on November 21st, 2012
Wose: How did I miss you were having lightening bolts today? Never fear, when you wake up all the Smoochers will be with you.
Kat and Sammie: Stay put. I will be there to get you in two shakes of a pug’s tail.
11:48 am on November 21st, 2012
I’m just in time to be able to say “Good Morning” instead of Good afternoon.
Been running around doing errands. Have to go out one more time. In a minute.
Please keep up good thoughts and prayers for YSAS. Will tell you more when I get back.
Rose, good luck. This is how I see you . .
11:49 am on November 21st, 2012
Alice!…I want to see your tax returns from the last 10 years or so…grunt!
11:52 am on November 21st, 2012
This has been fun, but I have to cut Alice off now.
She is giving away too much info..I have to go do turkey day prep work and she is being a pest.
BBL
11:54 am on November 21st, 2012
Rose! Glad the smoochers are there to help with the lightning bolts. You are looking strong from here!
12:01 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rose, It isn’t fair that you have to do the lightening bolt thing the day before Thanksgiving. Maybe the smoochers can stay and fix you and the Prof. a turkey dinner. I would put Masquers in charge of that if I were you.
Maybe we will have some news soon on YSAS!
12:01 pm on November 21st, 2012
That was a close one. Masquers went on ahead so Wose wouldn’t be alone and the rest of us weren’t far behind. Kat and Sammie did try to blur themselves and did well enough with the act of blurring, but it was the destination that causes problems. Missing the mark a bit, we found them surrounded by a gang of marauding goats. I’m glad we got there when we did. Belle Starf scurried to my back, I grabbed Kat by the scruff who grabbed Sammie by the scruff and we were out of there. Whew! Now, we just wait for our Wose to wake up from the lightening bolts.
12:19 pm on November 21st, 2012
Smoochers are here at home with the Prof and I. I didn’t want to say anything before hand, because I did not want to interrupt Turkey Day by having you blur out here and miss it. Youse guys are just the greatest. Luna, thank dawg you managed to escape those nasty marauding goats. I don’t know what I would do without you all.
Siber-H: I didn’t think it was fair either. I guess lightning are equivalent to what a turkey feels when it is deep-fried! Yeep!
Melanie: :^) You have a very active imagination!
(Whispering): To my Smoocher best girlfriends….I have a 25% off Coach coupon…maybe we can shop for sparkly things…..
12:22 pm on November 21st, 2012
Snigglefritz! It wasn’t my fault. Mom wouldn’t let me use her Gal Pal Sal (GPS).
12:25 pm on November 21st, 2012
In the 22 years we’ve lived here, we’ve gone to the parade at least three times. Tomorrow, we’re opting for hot cocoa in the den. I always took pictures, but this one from our most recent parade is my favorite.
12:33 pm on November 21st, 2012
Wose: You are family. And, no matter the holiday, you do for family. To his credit, the Prof didn’t bat an eyelash when we appeared with a dog on my back and Smoochers held by the scruff two deep. He also gave a look to challenge the medical staff when they protested our unorthodox arrival.
Kat: You did well and were just a couple of blocks in the wrong direction.
12:58 pm on November 21st, 2012
Luna: Thank you, Luna. Your love and concern mean so much to me. I’ll tell you a secret….the Prof loves having you here as well. Just an extra spritz of nasal spray gets him through the day.
12:59 pm on November 21st, 2012
Alice M: Very funny cartoon…LOL!
1:00 pm on November 21st, 2012
Terry, that is a great photo!
1:03 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff: I think we will leave the sledding to the dogs.
Terry: Who is that balloon guy?
1:07 pm on November 21st, 2012
Thanks for your concern, Dawson!
1:30 pm on November 21st, 2012
Did anyone have an answer to why I see pug-as-cat on my iPaw. I checked and it IS Alice’s avatar that shows up. heh-heh, snort
Rose, I think you may feel better after lightning bolts than the turkey does apres-frying.
1:30 pm on November 21st, 2012
Wose: We have to have you in tip-top shape for your trip up North! By the way, a donation has been made to the Anchorage checkpoint in honor of the Smoochers! Your checkpoint is a couple of whiskers away from being fully funded.
Fruitcake! I’ve always been told that you have to let it ripen, or cure, the longer the better. I made so much this year that I decided to try one right out of the oven. Delish!
1:41 pm on November 21st, 2012
Dawson – not sure. I even looked it up in Google Images, found three photos, but nobody identified him. He’s a regular that’s been around forever – maybe tomorrow we’ll know.
1:45 pm on November 21st, 2012
Whew! Done with errands. Also have finally had brunch. Didn’t have time for breakfast. I had some gluten free peppered salami. 4 slices with a bit of cheese and tomato to top it. What I didn’t realize is how spicy HOT this type is . . . whew.
Bella, please check your SDD.
1:45 pm on November 21st, 2012
Dawson, Nobody actually eats fruitcake!
Luna, thanks for rescuing our miscreant.
1:46 pm on November 21st, 2012
Terry, love the photo. I have never been to the parade. My sister went when she lived in NYC. I think I will suggest it to YSAS.
1:46 pm on November 21st, 2012
Okay I found it. The balloon is “Harold the Fireman.” There’s a balloon with an identical shape but colored blue – ‘Harold the Policeman.” The answer was found at Macy’s own web site.
1:50 pm on November 21st, 2012
About YSAS. I have permission to say this . . he went from day extra to recurring extra. This is a good thing. What we are hoping for is he becomes 1 person in a group of 8. We think he has but he won’t know for sure until Sunday. He is working Sunday and maybe Monday. He will not be home for the holiday. That is okay. I keep telling him it’s okay, but he’s been at every Thanksgiving he was 13. He’s a little sad about that.
But, happy about the other. So please keep him in your thoughts.
He did say I could put up this link. . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837709
1:51 pm on November 21st, 2012
Time to start the spaghetti sauce!
2:04 pm on November 21st, 2012
We aren’t sure whar Recurring Extra means exactly, but it sure sounds good. YAY YSAS!
That movie sounds very good too.
2:05 pm on November 21st, 2012
Don’t youse hate that moment between hitting the Submit button and noticing a glaring typo? Jeesh.
2:09 pm on November 21st, 2012
Harold! Ever since I received this dedication, I have been seeing Harold’s name everywhere.
🙂 Masquers dedication to the (now) Family & Friends Memorial checkpoint: 🙂
I would like to dedicate my 2-Legged Memorial donation to my step-father whose dream it was to move to Alaska and begin a great new adventure. He loved dogs and had a special communication with all of God’s creatures. Harold, please join us with Team Snowhook & The Plunderers on the Iditarod Trail in 2013.
2:10 pm on November 21st, 2012
Wow. A lot of familiar names on that list Melanie. Good luck to YSAS.
2:12 pm on November 21st, 2012
I love that dedication because AJ and Rebecca are living Harold’s dream and sharing it with all the Plunderers. Welcome to the Iditarod Trail, Harold.
2:25 pm on November 21st, 2012
I just got to Sam’s house and she’s not here! Good thing I checked for a note before calling the police. She’s a good girl and left a note letting us know where she was going. Rose is in good paws with all the Smoochers.
2:31 pm on November 21st, 2012
🙂 One more dedication today…short and sweet.
From the OleyHowlers donation dedicated to:
“My beloved sister and dog lover, Rosemary Wood”
Rosemary, we cannot have too many dog lovers on the Trail. Welcome.
3:00 pm on November 21st, 2012
What Dawson is failing to tell youse is that our mom refused to donate to the *(^%#@*(&$ Retirees checkpoint because she is green with envy of them.
3:03 pm on November 21st, 2012
Fellow Sibers, My folks like fruitcake but only the one mom has made for years or the one from Swiss Colony. Mom knows better than to give anyone fruitcake for a present.
Dawson, Mom says this is a first…finding someone else who likes fruitcke.
Good news from YSAS!
3:17 pm on November 21st, 2012
OleyHowlers: Judging from the miserable rate of donations to the Retiree checkpoint, you are not the only envious one. If I was still working I would not be able to do this checkpoint job so…also 4 of the 6 donations have come from Retirees…just saying.
I love fruitcake! What’s not to like?
3:29 pm on November 21st, 2012
Howlers: Think nothing of it. Some of us, more experienced in life, have found ourselves in worse trouble.
MPM: Luckily, Sam weighs little more than a feather. Trying to blur three Smoochers as once was very taxing. Altogether, they weigh less than the Giant, wiggle more and squeal less.
What lovely dedications for those who have crossed the Bridge.
3:34 pm on November 21st, 2012
heh heh Dawson! We here do appreciate the time the Retiress take to help the rest of us working
slobsPlunderers support Snowhook. Still, we want our mom and pop to be just like youse all and play all day with us!Harold’s spirit on the Iditarod Trail will be a very good omen for Snowhook.
3:46 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy: The avatars have been scrambled on my Ipaw for some time. Sometimes Rio looks like a Kat, other times petite Sam looks like a Newf. It keeps it fun.
3:49 pm on November 21st, 2012
Busy day-before-turkey-day on this here blog. Barb is going to get a hair cut, so will bbl.
The parents of the people next door are visiting from the Ozarks. They brought their 11 month old chocolate colored Newfie. The man keeps coming over to the back fence to see Gus. He wants a picture taken with the 2 News before Gus leaves on Friday. Barb will post one too.
Mid 60s tomorrow, then a 20 degree drop on Friday. Winter is a comin’.
3:50 pm on November 21st, 2012
That avatar scrambling used to happen on our iPaw too. But not lately..wonder why.
Pop had to go to work in the wee wee hours this morning. So he is now home already. Mom also called it an early day. So guess what? We are all going for a HIKE ! TTYL
3:53 pm on November 21st, 2012
Stover!…Please check your SDD – snort!
3:55 pm on November 21st, 2012
HOME!…My friend got away from the busy-place early today. Before she came home she did a little shopping…snort!…Christmas stuff and liquor!….woooooo!….Course her nosey mother had to help carry stuff in and peak…grunt!
4:00 pm on November 21st, 2012
Melanie!…Will Clarkson be in scenes with all those big time actors?….Wheeeze!…How exciting!….Wooooo!
4:03 pm on November 21st, 2012
Paws crossed for YSAS! I feel a big break in the making. Melanie, please let YSAS know we are solidly placed in his corner.
4:11 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rio: Done.
4:52 pm on November 21st, 2012
5:29 pm on November 21st, 2012
Howlers – we LOVE that card! Gilly is especially good at being an avid watcher of absolutely anything edible. Mama got us some pig ears the other day as an attempt to keep us occupied while we has company. It distracted Gilly for all of five minutes before it was gone, and she was looking for the rest of the pig.
Gramp got the call today. His glasses were finally in. We raced down to the eyeglass store, and he tried them on. They are very nice glasses with brushed steel rims that look lovely with his silver hair. Unfortunatly, the eyeglass place had put the wrong prescription into the frames….
sigh
6:05 pm on November 21st, 2012
Oh Tupper and Gilly. Those glasses were doomed from the start weren’t they? Jeez Louise.
Well the pumpkin/sweet potato pies are in the oven. My recipe makes two pies so we are forced to eat a lot of pie. Mr.Staff’s Key Lime pie is ready. The turkey is prepped and in a cooler on top of 20# of ice. I have most of the broccoli salad prepped. Tomorrow I have to bake the turkey, make the sweet potato and apple side dish and (maybe) make biscuits.
Oh I am forgetting the giblet gravy. I was disappointed in the giblets. No kidneys, no heart, just a neck and the liver. sigh. I don’t know how these turkeys live with so little inside them. Still they have simmered most of the day and I will grind up the meat and veggies and make the gravy base tonight.
I think I am ready.
6:11 pm on November 21st, 2012
My Thanksgiving dinner preparations are all completed. They involved buying store bought pumpkin pie with love to take to Mick and Jodi’s house tomorrow.
6:18 pm on November 21st, 2012
Thanksgiving!…I’m prepped and ready!…snort!….Bring it ON!
6:19 pm on November 21st, 2012
GAH!…Everytime I refresh the page Alice’s Eyes are right there!…wheeze!
6:19 pm on November 21st, 2012
Mom and Dad never eat fruitcake! Mom says it reminds her too much of the plum pudding her mom used to made every Christmas…gah, as many on the blog say! Fruitcake and hot fruitcake. Nasty stuff.
6:55 pm on November 21st, 2012
Around here everyone swears by Collin Street Bakery Fruitcake. They started with just fruitcake and now they make a gazillion things, all out of our price range. When we are down that way, we stop in and graze the free samples.
Howlers, we have wee wee hours here too, but usually they are just before we turn in for the night.
STAFF, mom wants to know how to make the gravy base ahead of time, sounds like a great idea.
7:00 pm on November 21st, 2012
Mom says that Thanksgiving is a day of miracles, because it is the one day that she actually cooks something. Her stuffing does not even need turkey, but I will take a little slice any way. One big iron skillet of cornbread, some cut up toast, bacon, celery, onion all mushed together with broth fresh from the bird. Cook till it doesn’t look mushy anymore. Mom is very precise in her recipe. She also makes the gravy. Many years ago she video taped her grandmother making it so she would always be able to make it like her. Yum-my. OMD I am making myself drool, mom will kill me if I mess up the couch.
7:07 pm on November 21st, 2012
Hello,all. Prof here.
I want to send out a sincere thank you to all of you who have so generously donated money to our checkpoint.
Ro and I are looking forward to our first trip to the top of the world and being part of this event.
We’ll try to capture as much of this experience to pictures as is humanly (or doggedly) ‘paws ible.’ 😉
Prof. Steven WItte
7:16 pm on November 21st, 2012
I thought this sounded good! Here is a turkey recipe that also includes the use of popcorn as a stuffing ingredient. When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect for people like me, who are not sure how to tell when turkey is thoroughly cooked, but not dried out.
Turkey Recipe
8 – 15 lb. turkey
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is Good)
1 cup un-popped popcorn (ORVILLE REDENBACHER’S IS BEST)
Salt/pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt,and pepper.
Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan making sure the neck end is toward the front of the oven, not the back.
After about 4 hours listen for the popping sounds.
When the turkey’s butt blows the oven door open and the bird flies across the room,…. it’s done.
And you thought I didn’t cook…
7:18 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff, Barb always uses the misc. turkey parts for gravy base and stuffing. She cooks the neck, gizzard, heart and liver in water till everyting is well done. Then she strains it, and uses this broth for both gravy and stuffing. She chops up some of the giblets and adds them to both. She has never used kidneys.
7:19 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy, Pop must have really had to ‘go’ because he said it was the wee wee hour.
We are ready for Thanksgiving here too. Pop brought a bottle of white wine to take to our neice’s place. heh heh. Sure would have made Staff’s life easier, but still we would love to have some of thst sweet potato pie. They don’t make (or eat) anything like that where we are going.
7:22 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy, We thought you were really serious for awhile!
7:23 pm on November 21st, 2012
The Prof has spoken! Steve, we here at Snowhook can’t wait to meet you in just a few short months. You will get a behind the scenes look of the race that many fans don’t get.
7:27 pm on November 21st, 2012
Hey Professor! I bet this will be your best winter vacation ever!
MacyMinPin: Your mom’s stuffing sound delish but I’m not sure I want to clean up after that turkey recipe. I looked up that fruitcake bakery – they have some yummy looking cheesecakes too.
7:28 pm on November 21st, 2012
Oh dear, we do love sweet potato pie. And fruitcake (but Mama can’t have the nuts). We love stuffing and gravy and smashed taters and cranberries and just everything else. We could just do without the turkey.
Mama did make one special thing for Thanksgiving – reservations.
7:48 pm on November 21st, 2012
Prof!…Hey! The Prof has a bit of Wit(te) about him…heh!heh!
7:54 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rio: Do you think the Prof will get along with Pancho and Lefty? I wonder if he’ll want to hit the trail for a little bit with AJ?
7:55 pm on November 21st, 2012
Smoochers, thank you so much for your donation to our checkpoint . My eyes are blurry. Sniff.
Macy, you cracked me up with that turkey recipe, and your earlier post about my lightning bolts and deep- fried turkey.
Staff: The gizzard is my favorite giblet. Whenever my mom made fried chicken, you coated the gizzard with breadcrumbs, and fried it. I always got the gizzard!
Melanie: Whoooohooo on YSAS! A star is born!!!!!
Dawson, the Prof says if it isn’t the best, it will certainly be the coldest! 🙂
Rebecca: We here are so excited to meet you too! Many of the people we tell about our trip think it is the coolest thing! Belle Starr and I have been doing pawstands all day!
BTW: Smoochers will spend the night (we have shared some pre-Thanksgiving dinner with them) to rest up. Talk is they will be leaving very early in the am to be back for Thanksgiving…
7:59 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rebecca!…The Prof sounds like he is ready for anything!…snort!
8:00 pm on November 21st, 2012
Hi Professor! Good to hear from you. I wish I was going up there with you and Rose.
Having a good time here. OTAS and GLAD are here. We have just finished dinner.
All of the recipes sound good.
YSAS will hopefully be appearing over several scenes. That is what it means.
Terry, I asked YSAS if he and SO were going to the parade. They are not. They are getting fun food and hanging at the house. Then they will do Thanksgiving.
GLAD says, “HI EVERYONE!”
8:02 pm on November 21st, 2012
Wose: I am so glad you are up and at ’em enough to post on this here blog. I assume you have been doing some online window shopping snuggled in your Wizard of Oz blanket. Belle Starr raves about the blanket all the time.
Coldest if not the best! I have been struggling to get warm all day! I am working from home and hit a section of green firewood in the pile. Burr! AJ came home from a training run today and said he was frozen. His cheeks were red and his beard was white.
8:03 pm on November 21st, 2012
Glad!…Remember that old commercial, “Don’t get Mad! Get GLAD!”…heh!heh!
8:05 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy,
I use Grandma Drew’s giblet gravy recipe as translated by Maggie who watched her closely many years ago. I watched Maggie in 2004 to get this version.
Like Barb (and Maggie) I simmer the neck and giblets for hours in water that has onion, garlic, celery and carrot bits added to it. And salt and pepper. This year I added some Better than Bouillon turkey base instead of salt.
I drain off and save the broth and then use Mom’s old fashioned hand crank meat grinder and grind up all the veggies and meat pieces from the neck and giblets into a bowl. I like the color that the carrots and other bits add. I add this slurry back into the broth and mix up a bit lot of flour and water. About a pint. I start heating the broth and when it is simmering I add the flour mix and whisk it and simmer it and whisk it until it is quite stiff. Now it is starter.
Then I cool it and store it in the fridge. The next day, after the turkey is roasted I take the roaster and all the juices and put it on the stove to and cook begin adding spoonfuls of the starter. It melts into the warm juices and I keep adding the starter and whisking until it seems nicely thick. I don’t like runny gravy.
If you don’t like giblets you could just use the broth and make starter without getting the old fashioned grinder all messy. I am sure it would be just fine without the ‘texture’.
If you want it gluten free you could use cornstarch instead of flour. It will be more clear. The flour makes it opaque.
8:06 pm on November 21st, 2012
Head bumps to GLAD!
8:09 pm on November 21st, 2012
Oh I should mention that I seldom need to use any salt in the final version. The spices in the starter are enough.
8:10 pm on November 21st, 2012
So off I go to make the starter now. Sigh. It is easier to talk about it. snicker
Rose, I am jealous of your cold vacation that is for sure. How many days left? I am sure you know.
8:15 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff, don’t the giblets turn to mush after all that cooking? Oh, never mind, I just re-read the instructions. We have pieces of the giblets in our gravy.
Sunday we had Thanksgiving with the spouse-man’s family. Gravy was pan drippings with added broth. Tasty enough, but the consistency of water. Meh.
8:16 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff: My Two-Legged and I seldom agree. But, we both agree that the invitation stands to all Plunderers to join us for Iditarod. We would both love to see the sisters with the pretty smiles at the race. Humph!
8:25 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff: 98 days and counting….
Tough lightning bolt day. Smoochers are tucking me in, and then getting ready to listen to some kool jazz.
Pleasant dreams to all!
8:25 pm on November 21st, 2012
Starter!…That sounds like an aweful lot of work to do so late at night…grunt!…It takes a lot of guts….heh1heh!
8:26 pm on November 21st, 2012
The Man of the House made history tonight for dinner. We had left-over turkey sandwiches before the main event. He cooks the bird the day before and pulls the meat off, then we warm it before dinner. The sandwich was out of this world, still warm from the oven. Now I am forbidden to open the Tupperware dish again until tomorrow. Once he goes to bed…
8:44 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff, That grinder looks like the one we used for grinding the cranberries and apples for the jello. It attached to the counter and you hand fed the stuff into it and cranked the handle. It had a different blade than yours.
Our recipe is similar except we just chopped a little of the giblets and added to the gravy rather than grinding.
Rose, When Barb was a kid her mom always fried the chicken liver for Barb. The gizzard was not so popular.
9:12 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy and Bella – please check your SDD when you have a minute
9:33 pm on November 21st, 2012
I’m off to bed.
YSAS has decided that when he comes up we will have Missedgiving dinner.
Started as a strange child . . still is . . snicker
Patsy is snoring. TTFN
9:49 pm on November 21st, 2012
MacyMinPin: The man of the house has an interesting way of doing the turkey. The stuffing will be done tomorrow, right?
9:54 pm on November 21st, 2012
Melanie!…You were up very late tonight!…heh!…I’m Glad you are having a good time…snort!
Dawson!…Someone has thought about cooking the turkey the day before, but decided that the wonderful smell of roasting turkey is one of the high points during Thanksgiving day….slobber!
9:56 pm on November 21st, 2012
Dawson?? …I meant Macy!!…snort!
10:28 pm on November 21st, 2012
South!…Hey!… Gone With the Wind was on tonight…grunt!…We missed most of it but are watching now as Scarlet struggles with hunger and poverty…dammit!…I would really love to see this movie from front to end one day. Seems we never have…wheeze!
10:32 pm on November 21st, 2012
Macy, Heh, Mr.Staff’s mother used to make gravy that same way. She also didn’t use much in the way of spices. She had salt, pepper and several year old sage in her cupboard. My mother has 36 jars in the cooking cupboard and another 18 in the baking cupboard. They are not all full. She probably only has around 50 that are full.
When Dawson is here we always have to fill up the baking spices. She uses them up. YUM!
We also had pre-leftovers for supper tonight. No turkey, just the sausage/wild rice dressing with mashed and gravy and some warm pumpkin pie.
One of my favorite Thanksgivings was when we had it a week late so everyone could be here. It doesn’t matter when you have it, the food makes it Thanksgiving. The day has nothing to do with it.
Speaking of Dawson…
Hey Dawson I have been using up your condensed and evaporated milk today.
Well I have to put the gravy starter in the fridge and then I am heading for bed. I am ready!
(for bed, that is.)
10:36 pm on November 21st, 2012
Staff!…You cook till all hours and my friend quills to all hours – what a pair of ya…snort!…I have the best job of napping and watching tv…heh!
10:53 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rio, Gone With The Wind is about 5 hours long. Hard to watch it all at one sitting.
Night all.
10:59 pm on November 21st, 2012
Five!….Good dawg! No wonder we’ve never seen the whole thing…grunt!…Right now we are watching parts we’ve never seen before…sniff!yawn!…But tomorrow is a big day and who knows how long we can stay up…wheeze!…Beau is already in his bed. He has never gotten used to the time change…heh!heh!
11:16 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rio: Have you changed into you collar with the elastic band yet in preparation for turkey day?
11:25 pm on November 21st, 2012
Bellie!…No! But what a good idea…heh!heh!…I’m so ready for the eating to begin…snort!
11:29 pm on November 21st, 2012
Smells!…I swear I smell that turkey roasting already…snuff!snuff!…Tomorrow will be unbearable. I have over-heard that her brother and his wife will be joining us for the meal…chuffle!…Beau and I really like her brother. Whenever he is here we follow him everywhere he goes…chuffle!…He is a Giant, but he likes us guys…wheeze!
11:43 pm on November 21st, 2012
Rio: I plan to go in the buff tomorrow so as not to be restricted by my enhanced diet.
11:44 pm on November 21st, 2012
Wind!…Well, we are LOVIN’ this part we’ve never seen before of this saga, but someone has said we cannot stay up any longer because tomorrow is always a big day, no matter how few people will be here…grunt!…I am so hungry I could DIE! Right now! DIE!..yeep!
11:47 pm on November 21st, 2012
Clothing!…I’ve heard someone say I should wear my bow-tie tomorrow, but I’ll be damned if I let her put that thing on me…gruffle!…Goodnight!
1:00 am on November 22nd, 2012
The stuffing will be finished tomorrow Actually, I guess it is dressing, since it will never see the inside of the bird. As for the turkey smell, simmering the giblets gives the house a nice turkey scent. Today’s bird had limited smell as it was done in a cooking bag. We put chopped egg in our giblet gravy. Does anyone else?
Since I still have to get up and mop in the a.m. Ii will bid you all happy turkey filled dreams and happy fine dining to the Royal’s parents. Ah, no dishes to do!
1:24 am on November 22nd, 2012
Recieved SDD. Loved it. You should send it to a magazine.
6:30 am on November 22nd, 2012
Rio: Please check your SDD.
6:45 pm on October 18th, 2013
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