So there are different philosophies about heritage foods. And what is the pumpkin [sic] stuff you speak of?

@[brining]: As with marinades, brining changes the basic characteristics of the bird, taking what is already a tender meat and breaking it down unnecessarily further. Its other touted benefits, such as moisture retention while cooking, can be replicated with good cooking technique. The flavor brining, which is what most brining Americans practice, is extraneous. I prefer to cook with less artifice, and drowning a bird in salt water overnight so it can soak up flavors other than its own has never produced a better tasting turkey for me.

The long and the short of it is: I’ve never cooked a dry bird, and not one of them did I brine. There is a history of cooking technique at my disposal, and armed with this knowledge, I can cook anything; simply, deliciously, and well.

It’s hard to make my point when I can’t serve you a dish. Of course, talking about food on the internet is like watching people have sex on the… oh.

@ash room: I haven’t tried that with sugar. My fear would be that the wetness in the ginger would make a sugary/sticky mess of my porous mortar… but I’ll try it!

@simple cooking: My “recipe” for toasting almonds demonstrates why I will never write a cookbook. “Spread a single layer of raw almonds on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 375, then go watch a movie in an adjacent room. When you can smell them, they’re done.”