With the recent announcement and fear that some Turkey and Romaine lettuce have been found to contain salmonella or e-coli bacteria, many will be forgoing their usual Thanksgiving meal and coming up with alternatives instead.

So for those who aren't taking any chances of getting sick, what is for dinner this year?

I've decided to take my mom and daughter out this year and will probably be getting something with beef in it and forgo the salad until they can get this all straightened out. Not that I'm really worried about it and have probably already eaten more than my share of deadly bacteria, but why take any chances, especially where family members are concerned.

It's kind of funny as on my way home last night I was thinking of making a Caesar salad to go with dinner as I had just purchased a fresh head of Romaine. But I didn't really feel like it so had dinner without it and then came the news to dispose of any and all Romaine lettuce.

And a salad is not really a salad using iceberg.

If you are using a deep fryer, would this be hot enough?

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Thanksgiving isn't supposed to be about turkey anyway.

The first one the pilgrims put on was celebration of a great fall harvest. Thanks to the help of the local native Wampanoag tribe, they were able to make it thru the winter with enough food to sustain them.

Not sure how long that respect for the native Americans lasted, or how many other feasts they were invited to, but that is supposedly the origin of the holiday.
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Mostly now it's dreaming about the traditional two NFL games and the best thing that's happened since the deep fried turkey, a third night game to boot!

By Monday you should be back to normal again.

I have many great memories of the Cowboys floundering on Thanksgiving as well. Including two against the Dolphins.

About 15 years ago or so Dolphin's quarterback Jay Fiedler looked like the second coming of Joe Montana against them and before that who could ever forget this one?

Although it is pretty common knowledge, for those not in the know, the Caesar salad is not named after a past leader of the Roman empire.

It is named after restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. He created the Caesar salad in the 1920s when a 4th of July celebration had depleted the kitchen's supplies, so he made do with what he had.

Cardini's daughter said that the original recipe included whole lettuce leaves, coddled eggs, and Italian olive oil. Although the modern take on it is much more flavorful to me.

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I just checked and this is the first year I can remember where all NFC teams play on Thanksgiving day. Could have happened before, I just don't remember it.

Used to be one AFC team would either play in Dallas or Detroit, switching off year to year. Even with a third game now, no AFC teams tomorrow.

I've never had deep fried lettuce before.

Reminds me of when people were dying from eating Jack in the Box and they were offering tacos 4 for 99 cents in the aftermath.

My buddy said "What a deal! I'm going to show you how to eat deadly bacteria and live!" So we did....

And truthfully no man is telling me I have to get a flu shot or eat contaminated lettuce. I look at them both the same. Two things I don't need in my body and risks I don't need to take.

There are a lot that would like to force their beliefs on others and guilt trip them into doing things they have decided they don't want or need though.

Looks like in 2011 the Cowboys beat the Fish by 1 point on Thanksgiving day, which was the last time they played that day.

Beside the Leon Lett blunder, this is the one I remember the best. Jay Fiedler never looked so good, and it sent the Cowboys reeling after a promising start that season.

Totally off topic, but I just did my first ever inspection on a Smart car. What a piece of shit that thing is!

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Oh sure. I've eaten things that I have no idea where they have come from and even some that didn't smell all that great and I'm still alive to tell about it.

But my 96 year old mother has spent her whole life worrying about everything, so i'm not taking any chances.

I know what you're saying too. But I wasn't sure you wanted to hear about that crab salad I dove into once.

Let's just say I'm usually not too nit picky when it comes to these things.

You sound like you have experience with one. This one had less than 50k miles and was a total clunker. The drive train in the rear severely jerks and clunks when you take off from a start. The little motor seems anything but smooth.

I wonder where they came up with the name.

I bet you feel real SMART for buying one when involved in an accident with a much larger vehicle.

As long as you bought it and threw it in the freezer before the salmineo outbreak, you should be good.

As long as it is a thick cut and rare, count me in! Way better than that turkey they have conned us into eating this time every year.
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Well. last weekend when I was at the market picking up some baby backs for the smoker I saw they had a couple of nice turkey legs in a package at a fair price, so I grabbed them even though I had heard the news.

So i gave them a 24 hour brine and a good three hour smoke and cook. The other one didn't kill me and was really tender and tasty so I think it might be a good time for a nice little snack.
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The recipe was supposed to get them as close as possible to the ones they get $12 for at Disneyland that everybody is walking around with.

When I went there I could barely afford a hot dog, so I'm not sure how close they are.

Glad I waited because it is eggs benedict I am craving today. And i know just the place.

We ended up doing what we did last year. I took my daughter and mom to the Black Bear diner. It is a fairly large chain that has great food and serves lots of it.

It was kind of late in the afternoon so instead of Eggs Benedict, I ordered a California Burger and fries.

If they had bothered to tell me they were out of avocado (key ingredient in any Ca. burger) before it was delivered to the table, I probably would have gone with the eggs benedict instead. But it was good enough and we got full so I guess that's all that really matters.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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They still are! I eat them once in a while and they are pretty much the same mystery meat deep fried treats they always were. Same taco sauce too. Now they are two for a dollar.

There are JITB all over the place here and one is across the street from the Black Bear we ate at today and I think I saw one car go thru the drive thru while we were there, but really wasn't paying much attention.

Are you out there in Indian country today? I remember when the first casino opened up . Big business now.

No it's on Harbor in Fullerton in front of Ralphs. Where Cocos used to be and before that Carrows and even before that Bob's Big Boy.

I didn't eat Turkey on Thanksgiving. Or yesterday.

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No that's Turkey legs and wings I slow smoked yesterday after soaking in brine overnight. Just like the ones they sell for $12 each at Disneyland, maybe better.

In one foil was potatoes, red bell and habanero peppers, and red onions. The other was chuck steak seared and then slow simmered in beer for three hours.

The conversation came up that I should probably run a food truck and sell these items from it, but that sounds like too much work.

Indeed. My buddy said his friend decided to run a food truck and then he got fat and died of a heart attack.

I think it is true you really need to keep on sampling what you are making to make sure it stays consistent.

On the news last night they told us it is once again safe to eat romaine lettuce... as long as it doesn't come from California.