Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Is the b.goodmobile a...cruck? [Brookline TAB Blog]
•Resolved: when we have children, we will definitely make teaching them to cook a top priority. [Counting Sheep]
•Roslindale wine enthusiasts represent! [Harrumph!]

[Photo: Flickr: xchigirl]

•MP: Chicago is hot on the story of a bankrupt food coop.
•MP: Philadelphia alerted us to a new product: mints that look like crack. Presumably, they're for enlivening the mouthes of the characters on The Wire.
•MP: San Francisco focused on reports of a quality decline at The French Laundry. Is it an actual issue or Chowhound whining? We're too poor to find out.
•MP: "South Florida" is not "thrilled" about Zagat's "style."

Diner's Agenda needs to go do holiday shopping.

Saturday, December 1
•It's World AIDS Day on Saturday! In recognition, nine local restaurants, including Avila and No. 9 Park, will be offering special menus and items, the proceeds from which will go to the AIDS Action Committee. It's a good cause, so make your reservation! [AIDS Action Committee]
•Due to the fact that we have no impulse control whatsoever, we have never successfully completed the making of a gingerbread house. It's too bad, because it sounds like a lot of fun! 75 Chestnut will be hosting a Gingerbread House Party from 12pm-3pm, featuring all the fixings for decorating as well as a menu of special holiday treats. Call (617) 227-2175 to reserve your house. [75 Chestnut]
•The Rodman Ride for Kids is a charity that promotes children's health, so it only makes sense that their fundraiser provides a perfect excuse to stuff your face with food from Boston's top chefs like Marc Orfaly from Pigalle. The Celebration for Kids starts at 6:00 at the Seaport World Trade Center. Tickets, which cost $150, may be purchased online. [Celebration for Kids]

Mooo.... gets a B+.
The attention to detail
makes the price worth it.

Haru's lunch boxes
are so sophisticated
and quite the bargain!

New SummerWinter
is localism's beacon
out in Burlington.

We're sorry, but ever since we wrote yesterday afternoon's entry, we've been incapable of thinking about anything other than stollen. Even though the stollen pictured below contains marzipan, it still looks like an excellent specimen that we certainly would not mind having for breakfast. Have we mentioned that a stollen makes a great gift? Like, for an employee of your favorite menu site? Because it totally does. Kidding. Sort of.

[Photo: Flickr: su-lin]

Fruitcakes have a bad reputation. They seem to be the punchline to every Christmas joke. (True story: in high school we were in the now-defunct Faneuil Hall Christmas Chorus where we sang a song called "Grandma's Killer Fruitcake", which was just as awful as you might imagine.) We've actually never had an American fruitcake, but we bristle at the suggestion that fruitcake is a subpar food item. Why? Because we love stollen.

Stollen, for the uninitiated, is a German fruitcake. It consists of a dough filled with nuts, raisins, and candied citrus peels and a topping of confectioner's sugar. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not filled with all manner of dried fruits (cherries have no place in your stollen!) nor should marzipan be involved. When made correctly, it is delicious: moist and sweet, but not saccharine. For our money, there's nothing in the world nicer than a cup of milky tea and a piece of toasted stollen spread with sweet butter. Unfortunately, stollen can be difficult to find. When we were small, our grandmother (who was German) used to bring us back a stollen from Dresden, widely regarded as the stollen capital of the world. When we had to start finding our own stollen, however, we realized that it is very tricky to find a stollen of reasonable quality in the United States. So what's a stollen-loving Bostonian to do?

We would strongly recommend not making your own. Our grandmother, who, mind you, once cooked an authentic Mandarin dinner for thirty Chinese diplomats, rejected stollen-making because it's "too much of a pain in the tuchus." Baking stollen is labor-intensive and messy. If you are bound and determined to make your own, however, we must insist that you not follow this Food Network recipe. The inside of a stollen should look like the picture at this post's left, not some multicolored monstrosity! This recipe seems like a better bet.

If you prefer to buy your stollen, you have four major options in the Hub. The easiest is probably Whole Foods, which makes its own stollen in almond and rum varieties and sells them for $9.99 each. We don't know that we trust mass-produced stollen, but that sure does seem like a convenient option. Cardullo's has several varieties of stollen at prices from $7-40. Finally, both Formaggio Kitchen and Clear Flour Bread make their own stollen, although neither will be available for at least another week. If you're really serious about stollen, however, the best (and, tragically, most expensive) thing to do is to order it from a Dresden bakery. We absolutely promise that it'll be worth it.

[Photo: Rene Schwietzke]

Vlora is way great!
Simple Albanian fare
delights the palate.

Hmm, Myers + Chang.
It can be quite hit or miss,
but it sure is fun.

Waltham's Karibu
serves Indian-influenced
Ugandan fare. Yum!

Kingston Station's food
and bar are quite the delight.
It's the bistro's day!

OMG, celebs.
Wow. Where do they like to eat?
Expensive places.

Date night is so fun!
Dinner and drinks and dancing
sounds like a good time!

To say that we have a complicated relationship with Copley Place would likely be putting it mildly. When we were very small, our mother worked in the South End and we used to spend a lot of time in the mall, eating at the Au Bon Pain (back when it was located where Pink is now) and trying on hats in Neiman Marcus. Later on, we went to middle and high school in the Fenway and spent at least two afternoons a week reading magazines in the Copley Place news stand, sneaking into R rated movie theatres at the Lowes , and stuffing our face with Mrs. Fields and Sbarro. In short, we thought of Copley Place like any mall. Back in those days, we didn't know anything about designers. We thought the Louis Vuitton store, which was always empty, was just some weird place for old ladies. Although our allowance was by no means substantial, we always found something to buy at Gap or Express or (eep) The Limited.

We don't go to Copley Place much these days because it's just depressing. There's a Barney's in the movie theatre, a Burberry in the bookstore, and even J. Crew is selling $700 dresses. Recently, however, we found ourself passing through the mall for the first time in probably a year. The landscape around the atrium has changed pretty significantly (really? Dior? And where are the ornaments?), but we were tickled pink to see that one thing has stayed the same. Nestled in between the Porsche Design Center and Barney's and across from Burberry, the Chili's still stands. Now. We actually do not care for Chili's one bit. Even for a chain restaurant, it's mediocre at best. But. In a mall where the cheapest jeans will still run you almost $60, the presence of such a lowbrow chain makes us truly happy. We're certain that Simon, Copley Place's management company, would love for Chili's to leave so that a high-end steakhouse could take its place (we'd put good money on another Morton's, The Steakhouse), but we, for one, hope that Chili's is able to keep on keeping it real.

Chili's Grill & Bar [MenuPages]
Chili's Grill & Bar [Official Site]

[Photo: Christina O. Lee]

Gaslight gets a rave!
Resto's best review by far.
The lede is great too.

Kingston Station time!
Inferior to Gaslight
or so says Nadeau.

Animal crackers!
Italy's Zoo-Doria
biscuits are so cute.

Irish Farmhouse Plate
at Matt Murphy's is hearty
and satisfying.

We've been staring at the below picture of a smoked salmon, duck confit, quail egg, and celery "salad" from L'Espalier and we're not ashamed to admit that it brought very real tears of pure longing to our eyes. We can't think of anything we'd rather have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, brunch, whatever.

L'Espalier [MenuPages]
L'Espalier [Official Site]

[Photo: Flickr: Nodame]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•We strongly object to the inclusion of Friendly's on this list of the ten crappiest restaurants. We love brownie sundaes! [Boston Food & Whine]
•Hey, the Food Monkey is blogging at Bostonist! Awesome! [Bostonist]
•This Canadian PSA about kitchen safety is not appropriate for children. Or those prone to nightmares. Which means we probably shouldn't have watched it. Crap. [Deadspin]

[Photo: Flickr: theknittingphilistine]

Holiday parties:
Wow! So many suggestions.
We'd choose foodie feast.

Yum: vodka cocktails
are the very best cocktails.
So nice for winter!

Fancy chocolate:
The Dig teaches you what's what.
How very thoughtful!

Russian groceries
will keep you warm through winter.
Russian liquor too.

Diner's Agenda is singing Christmas carols.

Wednesday, November 28
•What better motivation could there be to get over the Wednesday hump than the promise of a post-work wine tasting? 33 Restaurant & Lounge will be hosting a grand tasting with some very impressive bottles of wine. Seatings are available from 5pm-7pm. Tickets, which cost $40, may be reserved by calling (617) 572-3311. [33 Restaurant & Lounge]
•Generally, we avoid discussing Cheers here, mostly because the constant stream of tourists asking for directions to the restaurant drives us insane. Tonight, however, they're presenting a good charitable event, so we'll cut them some slack. Despite its title, Cheers for Children will take place at Hampshire House at 5:30. There will be a silent auction and hors d'oeuvres aplenty. Tickets, which are available at the door, cost $35 and benefit the Globe Santa Fund, the Cam Neely Foundation, the Jimmy Fund, and the Friends of the Floating Hospital for Children. [Cheers]

Name: Lena Chen
Age: 20
Occupation: Student/Blogger/Freelance Writer
Neighborhood: Harvard Square

MenuPages: What's your favorite Boston restaurant?
Lena: Blue Fin in Porter Square, which serves up fresh and affordable sushi (without drinks, it's a challenge to go over $25/person). My dad owns three sushi restaurants in San Francisco and I've been eating it for years. If there's anything I've learned, it's that bargain sushi can be hit-or-miss, but overpriced sushi is almost always all hype and no bite. I'm picky about the quality of my fish (dining hall California rolls don't make the cut) and I can tell you that my under-$20 meals at Blue Fin trump the $100+ dates at Uni any night. (And for the record, that is a ridiculous sum to spend on a first date!)

MP: Agreed. What is your favorite meal in the city?
Lena: The Middle Eastern coffeehouse Cafe Algiers serves a merguesa (spiced lamb sausage) sandwich with hummus on flat bread. It's very savory and well-seasoned. But when I'm looking for comfort food, I go to Peach Farm in Chinatown. While moving me into Harvard, my mother spent freshman week scouring Boston's Chinese restaurants and determined that Peach Farm was the most authentic Cantonese in the city. I still call her while ordering to translate to waiters my favorite dishes.

MP: As its title implies, a lot of your blog, Sex and the Ivy, is about dating and sex. What are your favorite date restaurants?
Lena: In Cambridge, Temple Bar's atmosphere is romantic and upscale without being pretentious, and all its dishes are equally impressive. It's hard to find a place that does everything well, but the bar as great as its kitchen. When you really want to prolong your time with someone, a superb dessert and drink menu is key and this place doesn't disappoint with after-dinner offerings.

MP: You're from the West Coast originally. Have you found any sushi/burrito places in Boston that come close to living up to the ones back home?
Lena: I don't even attempt to look for authentic Mexican here. I've been over the border quite a few times and there's just nothing beyond the Southwest that can compare what Mexican food tastes like in Mexico! Sushi, on the other hand, can be fantastic in Boston. My favorite restaurant, besides the aforementioned Blue Fin, is Fugakyu in Brookline. I also have a weekly dinner date with a girlfriend at Cafe Sushi in Cambridge which marks down nigiri to $1/piece on Sundays. What can I say -- I like it raw!

MP: Where are your favorite places to grab coffee?
Lena: I don't drink coffee (we stick to smoothies in So Cal) but Cafe Pamplona in Harvard Square is a landmark and has a great signature drink called Coffee Pamplona which is a shot of espresso with sweet condensed milk. For an uncaffeinated pick-me-up, LA Burdick is where to go for the richest, chocolateiest hot chocolate you'll ever taste.

MP: What do you think is the best-kept dining secret in Boston?
Lena: BerryLine is a frozen yogurt shop in Harvard Square that just opened this fall and has become a campus sensation. It's not typical frozen yogurt in that it has live cultures and actually tastes like yogurt instead of ice cream. They also use fresh, locally grown fruits and berries, unlike the syrupy stuff typical of ice cream toppings. The owners, who got their Ph.Ds at UCLA, were inspired by the local Pinkberry craze in Los Angeles and decided to bring the concept to the East. This place hasn't been discovered by too many Bostonians yet but it's going to be huge.

Sex and the Ivy [Official Site]

[Photo: Lena Chen]

The below video is from the beginning of the month, but hey, we're not exactly a regular viewer of ESPN. If this is the caliber of programming on the network, however, we probably should start tuning in! Watch as commenter Rob Stone takes two incredibly ill-advised bites of the world's hottest chili pepper. Truly, truly amazing.

Rob Stone vs. NMSU's Chili Peppers [YouTube: Aggie2k1]

So, as far as openings and closings go this week, we've got nothing. We strongly suspect that anyone who might be opening or closing a restaurant spent the week in a food coma, watching The Wire on DVD. Or was that just us? Anyways, since we don't have much big news, we thought we'd take a look-see at our old friend, Craigslist's Food/Beverage/Hospitality jobs section. Looking for a new job? We found you three.

•Have you always dreamed of cable stardom? Didn't get it together to send in your tape for The Next Food Network Star? You, my lazy friend, are in luck, as there appears to be a casting call for a Snack Man to star in a cable pilot. Quoth the job listing, "The ideal Snack Man is late 20s to early 40s (any ethnicity) with a Big Personality and loads of charisma. Should be smart, fun, funny, have some edge and attitude and genuinely love all types of snack foods. Must be well-spoken, quick on your feet and able to vividly describe with enthusiasm the virtues of an endless variety of snack foods." Why can't it be a Snack Lady, yo? Anyways, if you fit the description, do send over your info and pretty please let us know as soon as you find out about the details.
•Good news: apparently, you can live for free in Lexington and all you have to do is cook reheatable dinners for fifteen hours a week. The bad news: we think this ad might have been posted by a serial killer. Right? There are deals in this world that are just too good to be true and this seems like one of them.
•Hey! Do you speak Mandarin? Are you a good flier? If so, you can become a Delta flight attendant! It's actually a semi-sweet deal: the hours are unpredictable, but you get free or greatly reduced airline tickets, so if you want someone to fund your travel habit, there are worse things you could do.

Casting: Snack Man for Major Cable Network [Craigslist]
personal chef services in exchange for rent free house in Lexington [Craigslist]
Speak Mandarin? Love to Travel? See The World with Delta Air Lines! [Craigslist]

It's been some time since we've written about Gwen Butler, the Boston woman who received a close-to-three-million tip while bartending at The Federalist, used it to unsuccessfully try to open a restaurant, worked as the opening general manager of Eastern Standard before entering into an epic feud with the owner, and authored at least two anonymous blogs, not even counting the third, reading of which is, apparently, by invitation only. Last we heard, Butler was getting ready to open Perpetual Oyster, a delightfully-named seafood spot, in the Coolidge Corner space currently occupied by Takeshima. When we called Takeshima to verify this, however, we were told that the Perpetual Oyster opening was simply a rumor. We were, to say the least, puzzled.

Yesterday, New York food blog Grub Street reported that Butler has been named as Director of Operations for struggling New York mini-chain Bubby's, one of the branches of which was recently temporarily closed after a roach infestation of biblical proportions. This information would seem to indicate that Perpetual Oyster was no longer in the picture. Indeed, the minutes from a September Selectmen's meeting show that the liquor license transfer from Takeshima to Perpetual Oyster was rescinded. When we called the licensing chair, we were told that "the owner of Perpetual Oyster rescinded the application for personal reasons." It would seem then that Butler is definitely in New York for the time being, which, frankly, makes our job a lot duller.

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Way back in July, we wrote a lighthearted post about the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. A commenter, one Jeremy, responded with "I have a less than favorable opinion of the "sport" of competative eating. My post The 4th of July Battle spells it out very well, but I see no reason to make a hero out of these people. IMHO." Curious, we checked out his blog, where he had written a lengthy post about the immorality of holding competitive eating events in a world plagued with hunger. We thought it was an interesting, if flawed (it's not like the hot dogs being eaten at the Nathan's event were going to be given to the hungry if the event were not held and anyways, Nathan's does give a lot of food to local food banks), perspective. It was also the first time that we'd realized that people didn't care for competitive eating events for any reason other than, as our mother put it, "they're gross."

We were reminded of all this yesterday when we read an article in the Washington Post about a wave of cancellations of eating contests. In the past few months, both the University of Iowa's annual corn-eating contest and the World Pie Eating Championship in Wigan, England have been canceled. The reason given for both cancellations is, interestingly enough, the inverse of Jeremy's argument. The Iowa and Wigan events were canceled because of concerns about glorifying obesity. This seems just plain dumb. The vast majority of competitive eaters are quite slender. Takeru Kobayashi, the premier competitive eater, has less than 10% body fat. Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas weighs 98 pounds. Furthermore, watching a competitive eating event isn't too likely to make anyone want to go out and gorge themselves. The events feature quite a bit of regurgitation and other disgusting behaviors that aren't too likely to inspire copycat behavior.

Our thought is that eating competitions are fun and funny in small doses. The Nathan's Fourth of July contest is a national tradition and the other competitions are an interesting subculture. At the end of the day, it's pretty much wholesome fun and what's wrong with that? Nothing.

The 4th of July Yearly Battle [Home & Business Interest]
Some Say Eating Contests in Bad Taste [Washington Post]

[Photo: Nathan's Famous]

The food blog world is abuzz over the news that Emeril Lagasse is leaving the Food Network. Well, sort of. The appallingly named Essence of Emeril will continue production, but production on Emeril Live will be discontinued.

Our feelings on this are somewhat mixed. While Emeril has never made us go to an Amanda Hesser place, we've never cared for his shows, mostly because the food just doesn't look very good. Although we've heard that his New Orleans restaurants are consistently great, we've never been, so we can't say much for sure. On the other hand, between this and the cancellation of Molto Mario, it seems that the Food Network is slowly forgetting about the chefs who made it what it is today. To our great horror, we've found ourself coming around to Rachael Ray, but it still seems rather unjust that she should be the most recognizable Food Network personality. Say what you will about Emeril, but at least he has restaurants. How many other Food Network hosts can say that?

What about you? How do you feel about Emeril's reduced circumstances? As always, we crave comments.

Admittedly, we speak exactly four non-food-related words of Japanese (we can say "thank you" and count to three...very useful!), but we're pretty sure that this Japanese commercial for (can it really be?) Consomme Punch flavored potato chips doesn't make all too much sense even if you speak the language. According to a commenter on Serious Eats, "The little boy got 0 on a test and is depressed. The dog tries to cheer him up by holding up obscure cultural reference signs. The first one says '7:3 split'. The second says 'Vice-Principal'. Next the dog dresses up as a farmer (not necessarily a granny) and does a "dojo-sukui" motion (scooping loaches, which are sort of like freshwater eel with whiskers). Dojo-sukui wearing a funny conical mask thing is a Japanese Comedy Touchstone. When that fails, the dog takes the boy to the store where they get a bag of Kalbee Consommé Punch potato chips." We deeply wish that there were more American commercials as deeply random and absurd as this one. Watch and enjoy!

Bizarre Japanese Potato Chip Commercial [Japan Probe]
A Japanese Potato Chip Commercial [Serious Eats]
Wacky Potato Chip Commercial [YouTube: humantetris]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•The venerable Miss Von Schtoop brings up a good point: the recently departed Bob's Southern Bistro isn't the only soul food game in town. [shamrag]
•We're glad someone is talking about the Westie Roche Bros. parking lot, which is the second-worst in the city, the first being the one for the strip mall on the VFW Parkway with the Bertucci's and CVS. So poorly laid out! [Universal Hub]
•Best live blog ever. [Sushiesque]

[Photo: Flickr: Kelsey Jarboe]

Giving people presents is delightful, but shopping for them? Not so much. It's quite difficult to find the inspiration for the perfect gift and the process inevitably results in no small amount of stress. Although we can't tell you what to get for your music nerd boyfriend (because that would mean we know what we're getting for our own), we can help you out with deciding on presents for the gourmand in your life. Below, a short list of gifts this foodie would be pleased to find under the menorah/tree.

•Grad school holds no appeal for us, but we sure wouldn't mind a PhD in Cheeseology ($89) from Formaggio Kitchen. This excellent kit comes packed with four cheeses, two varieties of crackers, and some quince paste. What a nice cure for the inevitable post-holiday doldrums!
•Cardullo's offers a delightful Valise Du Chocolat ($140) filled with a whopping thirty chocolate bars. Sure, it would be amazing to eat, but we think it would be even more fun to keep the chocolate in its accompanying briefcase and pretend to bribe people with it. Doesn't that sound like fun? Guys? Guys?
•Give that ambitious friend of yours who's training for the Boston Marathon the gift of carbs, delicious carbs, with a selection of flavored pastas ($3.95-5.85) from Capone Foods. We'd assemble a basket filled with basil, ginger, lemon, black pepper, and squid ink pastas, but you can focus on your own favorites. We'd definitely recommend including this awesome shirt ($14.95) with your gift package.
•We're a total sucker for "_ of the Month" clubs and Savenor's Meat of the Month Club is one of the best. At a whopping $1160.88 for the year, it's certainly not for the gift-giver on a budget, but to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, if you have the means, we highly recommend it. We guarantee that any giftee will be very impressed by their heart-shaped tenderloin in February, their Kobe beef hot dogs in July, and their November turducken.
•The ne plus ultra of "_ of the Month" clubs is, of course, the Bacon of the Month Club ($180 for six months) offered by Ann Arbor delicatessen Zingerman's. The website proudly proclaims that it's caused at least three vegetarians to convert and we'd bet that's only a fraction of the true number. Fact: everyone loves bacon. Depending on your family's level of religiosity, however, this might not be an appropriate Hanukah gift.
•If you want to get even more luxe (and, unfortunately, almost as treyf) than the Bacon of the Month club, you can give your loved one a membership to the Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company's Lobster of the Month Club ($479 for six months). Club members receive lobster in guises from stew to rolls on their doorstep. We can't think of a better surprise when we check our mail.

[Photo: Vulture]

Diner's Agenda needs a little Christmas, right this very minute.

Monday, November 26
•L'Espalier's Wine Mondays usually book up days if not weeks ahead of time, making it quite frustrating for slackers like us. Tonight, however, the gods have smiled and there are still spaces available! Tonight's session focuses on the wines of California. As always, the party starts at 7:00 and $55 gets you four courses with wine. Call (617) 262-3023 to reserve. [L'Espalier]

Tuesday, November 27
•We spent Thanksgiving in Sharon this year and were reminded of the fact that we keep meaning to check out Coriander Bistro, since, by all accounts, it is excellent. Perhaps Tuesday's cooking class might be a good opportunity to make the trek out to the burbs. The class is awesomely titled "I Was a Teenage Gourmand" and will focus on gourmet versions of classic kids' dishes. Class starts at 7pm and tickets, which cost $60, may be reserved by calling (781) 784-5450. [Coriander]
•We like wild mushrooms and we like Pinot Noir, but we've never really thought too much about putting them together. Fortunately, the fine folks at Lineage are more thoughtful. They're devoting this week to the two substances with a tasting menu and a la carte. Call (617) 232-0065 to make sure you get a taste. [Lineage]

If we were going to make a list of everything we liked in this world, cookies would almost certainly crack the top twenty (they are likely ranked below naps but slightly above picnics). Plain and simple chocolate chip cookies are our favorite variety, but really, we don't discriminate. We love all of the world's baked goods, except those containing nuts (we find them to be disruptive to the texture). Given our propensity for cookies, we were very excited to learn about the upcoming series of Cookie Nights at 75 Chestnut. Here's how it works: every Tuesday night, the restaurant will be testing out a new cookie recipe, which means there will be free cookie tastings for all visitors. Customers can bring their own cookie recipes and have it prepared by the 75 Chestnut team. Eventually, one recipe will be selected as the winner, and the person who submitted it will receive an excellent dinner for two at the restaurant.

When we make cookies, we generally just use the recipe on the chocolate chip bag (so reliable!), but that doesn't mean that we don't have more creative ideas. We'd love to see a cookie with berries (maybe blueberries? Is such a thing even possible or would the berries make the cookie too soft?) or a dark chocolate cookie with white chocolate chunks. We're also obsessed with recreating one of our favorite treats from our college years, namely, Martian cookies. Martian cookies are delightfully doughy treats that feature trace amounts of zucchini, which lend them a unearthly green hue. They may not sound like much, but trust us, they are awesome (fun fact: if you Google "Martian cookies", Smith College Dining Services is the third result).

What about you? What cookie recipes do you want to share with the world? We promise not to steal them.

75 Chestnut [MenuPages]
75 Chestnut [Official Site]

We know. You totally didn't listen to us and you made a turkey. Sigh. It's okay. Everyone does it. Not only did you make a turkey, however, but you made way too much turkey. Everyone in your household has been eating turkey sandwiches like they're going out of style, but there are still, somehow, endless leftovers. Because we're getting into a holiday-inspired giving mood, here are some thoughts on what to make now that sandwiches have gotten dull.

•Even we are down with turkey when it's used as a topping for nachos! We'd recommend adding some guacamole to the recipe, but other than that, it sounds like the perfect accompaniment for a night spent watching The Hills.
•You know what makes everything better? Cheddar cheese. This turkey potpie with a cheddar crust will probably be just the thing with a nice bottle of stout. Mmmm, just like being in a cozy pub.
•Screw this December 22 nonsense. After Thanksgiving, it's totally wintertime. And what's better in winter than soup? This Italian turkey soup is packed with turkey and hearty veggies and boasts a heavy dose of ravioli to boot. So satisfying on a cold night!
•Even if you are more of a turkey enthusiast than are we, you can't deny that pork makes turkey even tastier. This recipe for spicy turkey paella marries smoked sausage with turkey. The result is delightfully savory.

Turkey Nachos [Epicurious]
Turkey Potpie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust [Epicurious]
Italian Turkey Soup [Epicurious]
Spicy Turkey Paella [Epicurious]

[Photo: Sugar Mountain Farm]

Aaaaaaand, we're out. We plan to spend the next several days sprawled out in a food coma on our mother's couch. We will return on Monday morning, refreshed and, hopefully, rejuvenated. Have a very happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Photo: Flickr: PhillipWest]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Worst recipe name ever! [Serious Eats]
•We can haz Oreo truffles? [the pink shoe diaries]
•Even Ed Levine thinks you shouldn't make turkey for Thanksgiving. [Ed Levine's New York Eats]

[Photo: Flickr: Elizabeth Thomsen]

Diner's Agenda insists that you stay home until Sunday...also, there's nothing going on until then.

Sunday, November 25
•Sunday marks your last-ever chance to dine on glorifried chicken and other tasty treats at Bob's Southern Bistro before it closes and turns into Night Town, an "upscale lounge for college students and young professionals." The goodbye party will be going all day, so call (617) 536-6204 to make your reservations. [Bob's Southern Bistro]
•Every Sunday night, Rialto's Jody Adams cedes control of the kitchen to chef de cuisine Carolyn Johnson for a prix fixe menu of regional delights. This month, the focus is on Emilia-Romagna, so the $40 menu includes treats such as chestnut, bacon, and bean soup and tagliatelle with prosciutto, mushrooms, and parmesan. Call (617) 661-5050 to save your spot. [Rialto]
•The Metropolitan Club is having its own Sunday supper, but they're staying a little closer to home, cuisine-wise. Sunday's $30 prix fixe dinner is all about the bounty of Vermont. The thought of a starter of house-cured lamb leg "prosciutto" accompanied by feta, mint honey, and an apple-fennel salad is absolutely to die for. Call (617) 731-0600 to make sure you get some. [The Metropolitan Club]

It's been far too long since we've highlighted the vital contributions made by singing foodstuffs on this site. In this video, perhaps the most delightful we've found yet, clay-mated frosting sings Verdi. It's perfect for pepping up your morning today or distracting your toddler niece who keeps getting underfoot in the kitchen tomorrow. You're welcome.

Gourmet Food Opera [YouTube: mugupo]

This was not the best week for the Boston dining scene. We counted an equal amount of openings and closings, but only because we bent the rules to allow a grocery store to be regarded as an opening.. Sigh. We sincerely hope that the holiday season brings tidings of good eating with it, but in the meantime, let's check out this week's fallout.

Openings
•We realize that grocery stores and restaurants are not actually the same thing, but hey, it's a slow week and anyways, the grocery store in question is in Harvard Square, which has gone grocery-less since at least 2001 (we love Cardullo's with an unreasonable passion, but even we wouldn't call it a grocery store). The Crimson reports that Market in the Square will open in February 2008 at the corner of Church and Brattle. Get ready, hungry Harvardians!
•Ugh. So, it looks like Boston is getting a raw food restaurant. We have absolutely nothing nice to say about raw foodism, so we will keep our mouth shut for the moment. It seems that the restaurant will be called Grezzo and will open in the North End in January, where it shall be resolutely ignored by us.

Closings
•We don't get down to Kenmore Square too terribly often, so we didn't realize that Truly Jorg’s Patisserie had closed until internet128 posted about it. Between this and the July shuttering of Temper Chocolates, it has not been a great year for sweets in the Square.
•The Kosher Blog reports that kosher Hubsters have one less option downtown now that the Post Office Square branch of the Milk Street Cafe will close its doors at the end of the year. This is an especially big blow as it comes a mere few weeks after the kosher Dunkin Donuts in Brookline was shuttered.

[Photo: Flickr: FultonK]

Every year at Thanksgiving, our mother has everyone go around the table and say what they're thankful for this year. Although we usually roll our eyes about it (because you're never too old to regress to sullen adolescence during the holidays), we actually think it's a lovely tradition and a good way to reflect on the many ways in which we're incredibly lucky. In that spirit, we present a list of things in the Boston dining scene for which we are very thankful this year.

•The ever-increasing abundance of Mexican food options in the city. We may josh about burrito battles, but at the end of the day, we're happy to have so many options.
•The many bargains to be found in Coolidge Corner. Truly, it has become the best and cheapest place in the Hub to grab dinner and a movie.
•The Boston Cheese Cellar. Enough said.
•The very real possibility of Title Town. (Not dining related, but so awesome we couldn't fail to mention it.)
•The many trendy, yet reasonably priced restaurants cropping up in the South End.
•The BLT and all the baked goods at flour bakery + cafe.
•The Hub's many farmers' markets, which are only getting better and better.
•The city's ever-increasing cocktail culture. We could happily drink Periodistas at Eastern Standard every night.
•Mat Schaffer's rigid grading scale in the Herald.
•Robert Nadeau's increasingly hilarious reviews in the Phoenix.
•All of our readers, commenters, and those who send us emails. We're always delighted to hear from you. And by "delighted", we mean "we squeal and clap our hands like a baby seal."

Yesterday's Globe featured an utterly fascinating story on Barbara Lynch's forthcoming Fort Point mega-complex buried deep within the Business section. The complex, which we've mentioned before, is truly astounding in its scale: 15,000 square feet comprising a high-end fine dining restaurant, a bar, a more casual cafe, private dining rooms, and a retail shop selling baked goods and chocolate. Richard M. Griffin, VP of the development firm backing the project, refers to the complex "the Starship Enterprise", but we prefer to think of it as The Lynch Star. The depth of Lynch's preparations is spectacular. The complex will be located under the new FP3 condominiums and construction needs forced Lynch to commit to her equipment and its layout well before opening. Although the complex won't be open until spring, the kitchen has been fully designed.

The Globe piece offers little else in the way of tantalizing details (the menu for the fine dining restaurant will have prix fixes that cost "over $20 and under $200", which, you know, quelle surprise.), but does go on about the complex's spacious kitchens, in which food will be assembled brigade rather than banquet style. Lynch's plans for the kitchen make it sound quite a bit like Thomas Keller's kitchens at Per Se and The French Laundry.

While we're incredibly excited for The Lynch Star's opening, we are a little bit concerned that Lynch could be spreading herself a bit thin. In addition to the complex's many offerings, she'll still have No. 9 Park, The Butcher Shop, B&G Oysters, Niche Catour, Plum Produce, and Stir on her plate. This seems like an awful lot, even for someone with the vast reserves of energy of Lynch.

What do you think? Will The Lynch Star be the best thing to happen to Boston dining since lobster or a blow to the burgeoning Lynch empire? As always, we welcome your thoughts.

It's All In The Preparation [Boston Globe]

[Photo: No. 9 Park]

Cage free eggs: so hot.
Restaurants are serving them,
reports BU Press.

UMass: Alchemist's
food is quite satisfying,
if not too unique.

BU student loves
Maria's Pastry Shop's treats.
It's a good story.

North End in the Fens?
Trattoria Toscana
delights NU kids.

We can't stop thinking about Turducken. In related news, this just might be the best song of all time.

Seriously, we're pretty sure that this Ethan kid is a child genius.

Ethan's Turducken Song [YouTube: sarahsets1]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Single-origin coffee is a delight! [The Substantially Similar Weblog]
•Coal-fired pizza is also winning! [A Passionate Foodie]
•The much-hyped iPod docks at LTK , on the other hand, are not that exciting. [Teddy's Sports, Politics, and Pop Culture Blog]

[Photo: Flickr: mar00luz]

We've been outspoken about our mixed feelings on Thanksgiving. We generally spend the holiday at the home of family friends who are excellent cooks, but really, with the exception of sweet potatoes, we're just not that into Thanksgiving food. We have a fantasy of having our own Thanksgiving next year with a menu full of exciting new foods and no turkey in sight. Until then, we'll settle for telling you what we would make (and thus, what you should make). Who knows? Maybe you'll get inspired. Send us pictures and if you make the lobster stew, feel free to messenger over a sample.

Salad: Our mother has many strengths as a cook, but salad making is not among them. Her salads are usually filled with boring vegetables (just lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes) and blue-cheese dressing, which we hear is very good, but personally cannot stand. We'd much prefer this shaved fennel and apple salad. You can't go wrong with fennel and it pairs so nicely with citric fruits.

Soup: We've actually never had soup at Thanksgiving, but it sure sounds nice! If you're staying in town for Turkey Day, why not try this chunky lobster stew from none other than Summer Shack's Jasper White? It's delicious and quite authentic, since the first Thanksgiving almost definitely had a whole lot of seafood involved.

Mains: We made these bacon-wrapped quail stuffed with goat cheese for our boyfriend's birthday and they were amazing. The bacon flavor permeates the entire bird and the goat cheese adds richness. If possible, we would eat it every day. If you must make a turkey, we recommend a bacon-roasted one. Moral of the story: you can't go wrong with bacon.

Sides: For whatever reason, sage is the king of Thanksgiving herbs. Delicata, meanwhile, is the queen of winter squashes, so it's no surprise that the two come together beautifully in a side of Delicata squash with rosemary, sage, and cider glaze. Stuffing is, of course, the best part of any Thanksgiving meal. We like this wild mushroom whole wheat stuffing from No. 9 Park's Barbara Lynch for its rustic heartiness.

Dessert: Let's all just admit it. Pumpkin pie is not anyone's favorite part of Thanksgiving. Spice things up with pumpkin cake with caramel-cream cheese frosting. The texture is much more pleasing and the flavors are out of this world.

[Photo: KateSpot]

Diner's Agenda is not really ready for winter.

Monday, November 19
•It takes a lot for us to suggest decamping to northern environs, but the dollar Mondays at Swampscott's Red Rock Bistro are pretty compelling. Oysters, mini Agnus burgers, corn dogs and much more are a mere buck all day and all of the night. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to us! [Red Rock Bistro]
•The Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and is filled to the brim with gorgeous chateaux. Tonight's Wine & Dine Monday at Beacon Hill Bistro may not boast chateaux or flowers, but it will feature wine and food from the Loire Valley, which is almost as good. $55 gets you four courses and a lesson about the wines. The party gets started at 7pm, so call (617) 723-7575 now to save your spot. [Beacon Hill Bistro]

Tuesday, November 20
•This week's Wine Tuesday at the Natick Sel De La Terre has our favorite event title of the week: Groovy Grapes! We can't stop picturing a bunch of grapes dancing under strobe lights and a disco ball. $45 gets you four courses (including the excellent gnocchi) and four wines. The grapes start grooving at 7pm so call (508) 650-1800 to save your spot. [Sel De La Terre]

Last night's battle in Kitchen Stadium was Michael Symon's first as an Iron Chef and it was a doozy. The challenger? Ricky Moore of Agraria, which, as near as we can tell is some sort of haute barnyard restaurant in DC. In a result that surprised no one, Symon's cuisine reigned supreme, but the challenger put up a hell of a fight. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

•This episode was the annual Iron Chef Fall Classic, during which the Chairman chooses a traditional autumn ingredient as the secret ingredient. Far and away, the episode's highlight was a montage of the Chairman announcing past Fall Classic secret ingredients, to wit: "APPLES!" "TURKEY" and "squuaaaaaash."
•Last night's secret ingredient? Thanksgiving. Oh, we're sorry. We meant "ThaaaaanksGIVING!" The secret ingredient table was piled high with fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, apples, pumpkins, potatoes, etc. This is, as secret ingredients go, pretty dumb, a fact which Alton Brown did not seem particularly interested in hiding, although it did give him an excuse to discuss what was and was not eaten at the first Thanksgiving in great detail.
•The secondary highlight of the episode? The whiplash sound effects that occur every time the Chairman moves his head.
•We are unapologetic in our Michael Symon fandom and are not ashamed to admit that we cheered a little when he appeared in his new Iron Chef uniform, even if the turtleneck made him look like the captain of some (admittedly badass) chess club. During the cooking, Alton commented “I have to say, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Michael Symon in long sleeves.” Symon responded with a cheery "It's killing me!"
•The dishes themselves looked marvelous on both sides. As we've mentioned before, we hate turkey. Even we, however, were very interested in Moore's hot-sauce-marinated deep-fried turkey, as well as his potato/turnip puree and his bacon-wrapped loins of venison. On the Iron Chef's side, our favorite dish was undoubtedly the "turducken": potatoes topped with a poached duck egg, pureed chicken livers, and turkey cracklings.
•The judging panel was unusually strong: Ted Allen, Alex Guarnaschelli (of New York's Butter) and Jeffrey Steingarten. Serious eaters, all. (NB: That should not be confused with Serious Eatsers, although for the record, we totally think Ed Levine should be a judge.)
•This is probably the last recap we'll write until another Boston chef shows up on Iron Chef America, but it has been a pleasure large enough to redeem The Next Food Network Star. Thanks, Iron Chef!

Iron Chef America [Food Network]

When it starts getting cold, risotto quickly becomes one of our very favorite dishes. In the summer, we find it way too heavy, but in the winter it's perfect: the creamy grains are beautifully warming and hearty for an effect that's a bit like a haute macaroni and cheese. Mmm. Risotto. We happen to make a fabulous lemon risotto, but if you'd rather not spend a half hour constantly stirring a pot, here are four of the Hub's best risottos.

•Eclano's risotto verdure is pretty much the definition of luxury. The Arborio rice is herbed and then mixed with clams, shrimp, and crayfish.
•We very much like the approach Metropolis Cafe has to risotto. Their dish is made with sweet butter, parmesan, and whatever happens to be fresh, ensuring a delightfully seasonal dish.
•Mushrooms lend risotto even more heartiness, so its no surprise that they're a popular ingredient. The Washington Square Tavern's wild mushroom risotto ups the ante with sweet corn, asparagus, pecorino and a port gastrique. We would put port gastrique on anything up to and including our breakfast toast.
•Harvest goes in a rather British direction with their porcini risotto: sweet English peas, Berkshire ham, and fontina. We strongly dislike fontina, but other than that, it sounds just lovely.

Eclano [MenuPages]
Metropolis Cafe [MenuPages]
The Washington Square Tavern [MenuPages]
Harvest [Official Site]

[Photo: Whole Foods]