[Sca-cooks] mandolins (and Tday menu)

[Jennifer Thompson]

I bought a cheap plastic one at a Pampered Chef party, and got so used to
having it around that when I noticed the blade getting dull, bought a
pricier steel one. So speaking from personal experience, ditto to everything
Master A. said, PLUS,  the lightweight  plastic one skitters around my
counter if I do raw potatoes or anything weighty. My new steel one sits
still, making the actual slicing easier on me in terms of strength and
speed, since I'm neither having to keep a death grip on it with my left
hand, nor am I fighting to push both against the blade and against the tool.


Also, I don't use my holding tool much, but not because I'm concerned about
the cosmetic damage to my slices. I resent the waste and larger pieces are
topheavy, flopping around between the tool and the blade. If I hold them, no
flop. Until it gets to a smaller, flatter piece, then I get cowardly and use
the tool or another piece of potato or whatever.

And since I'm writing anyway... on the Thanksgiving menu... the MiL had the
local grocery cater, so dry turkey, gluey stuffing, green bean goo, and
insipid gravy.  Then we made nice fluffy cream cheese mashed potatoes, a
rather nice corn casserole and the obligatory Jello salad, which was
actually rather good. My contribution was breakfast breads - cranberry
orange swirl and a prune/dried apricot wheat bread (too sweet for
sandwiches, but *wonderful* as toast) and cookies - choc chip, banana nut,
and PB&J. And we came home early to get away from the family tension and ran
around in shorts on Sunday putting up our tree and roof lights.

Lann in suddenly cold Ansteorra - Sunday had 80 degree highs. today our high
is 33 F. Brrrrr.