50 Comments
Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

I read this whole post to find out about vaginal estrogen only to find out I have definitely not been using enough butter in my mashed potatoes! So do tell, does vaginal estrogen help at all with brain fog or night sweats? Why should we take that? Inquiring crones want to know!

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author

more on this soon, i swear!

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

I just started on the cream this month. Life changing. It's really hard not to tell everyone I see how much it has helped, because clearly only specific people only want to know about my life changing vaginal cream.

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saaaaamme

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Oh my gosh! Please tell every woman-of-a-certain-age who you stand beside in front of the plentiful ice cream section at your market. You know ice cream and Netflix is an indicator of vaginal estrogen need!

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

I was also here for the estrogen! We need an estrogen post! But the gravy looks pretty good, too

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I'M OBSESSED WITH CATHERINE NEWMAN BEING ON SUBSTACK YESSSSSSSS

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author

ha ha ha! love you, kate.

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Nov 17, 2023·edited Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

Read much of this aloud to my home-from-college daughter. One of our favorite Thanksgiving tricks is to mill the potatoes straight into a crockpot, where the sticks of butter are already melting. We add lots of cream to make sure they don’t dry out. Super hot potatoes every time!

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WHAAAAT? That is such a good idea, omg! How long do you leave them in there?

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

Maybe two hours? I try to give them enough time to get nice and hot (on low), which is probably an hour.

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Brilliant!

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Yes! My mom is a mashed potato master and she puts them in a giant crockpot on low for maybe 1-2 hours and then switches to warm so they don't get too hot.

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such a joyful grumpy recipe! I usually make the mashed potatoes the day before, then re-heat them in the oven. (this works even better now that my husband has starting smoking the turkey, so it's not in the oven all freaking day.) we call them "mashed potatoes with every kind of dairy" because we add butter, milk, *and* cream cheese, an innovation we discovered when we live in Wisconsin.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

The cream cheese makes the difference! My grandmother used to add it in hers and she was from Tennessee.

Also I add white pepper to my mashed potatoes, but that's not for everyone.

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ooh *white* pepper, sounds fancy! I also add garlic salt and onion powder, though not too much!

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Nov 17, 2023·edited Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

It is really, really good and my kids recognize the flavor as "Thanksgiving potatoes," which I love. I worked in a tea room that served twice baked potatoes and white pepper was their secret ingredient!

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My mother added white pepper to her fondue. When we cleaned out her cabin kitchen this past year when we renovated, we asked if we could toss the *tin* (that tells you how old it was ... 30? 40 years?) of white pepper. "Oh, no! I need that!"

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okay, okay! I am really hearing you all on the cream cheese!

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My grandpa in Indiana always added cream cheese. What a fucking revelation.

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Adding cream cheese to the shopping list.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

As someone who just had an embryo transfer and can’t drink on Thanksgiving (okay maybe a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau..), thank you for the mocktail!! Need to grab rose water somewhere!

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author

Ahhhh, good luck, dear Emily! If there are middle eastern ingredients anywhere near you, that's where the rose water will be.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

I have been on a search for 2 years for a room temperature mocktail. I want something to fill in for a red wine on a cold winter night. Any ideas?

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I totally feel this desire too. I've had some decent de-alcoholized red wine. Mostly I end up heating a mug of apple cider in the microwave with a clove and a sprinkle of cayenne, and it kind of gets it done for me.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

Thank you for the post and link to the glasses. Just what I have been searching for. I read the comments. Hilarious. Thank you to the commenters.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

My Thanksgiving is never the same without you recipes- and you can use the sugar syrup from the cranberries to make an excellent cocktail with seltzer and whiskey! But you forgot, we always include, the potato-fennel au gratin with a side of defibrillator! Classic! https://benandbirdy.blogspot.com/search?q=fennel

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Catherine Newman

The potato fennel au gratin is the best - but we make it at Christmas. Too much uproar about classic mashed for Thanksgiving.

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author

same here

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Making the gratin on Sunday, per my son’s birthday request. It’s a good thing, because my husband made it several years ago for his company pot luck. His colleagues never asked him what he’ll bring after that. They expect gratin. Problem is, it makes the house smell amazing and we don’t get any.

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Make two! :) Keep one for yourselves.

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author

ha ha ha ha!

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all food is comprised of same atoms/molecules, no magic. avoid salt and fat, exercise more than you eat . . .

Where I live the only option is a market that stocks western family plain wrap staples. not much of a foodie.

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"complainingly peel potatoes in their cashmere sweaters" with photos of said sweaters hahahaha

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I laughed out loud at the mention of your 4000 yo parents... I may have even snorted.

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That was like watching a movie. Thank you. Ps. Your mom's hair is very pretty. Pss. you really do sound a lot like me.

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Ahhh - Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and we'll be enjoying your cranberry sauce again. I made other recipes before, but it was *your* recipe that finally clicked with my kids...who are big now. But still, it's the SAME cranberry sauce on our table. It's so good on toast, too...or pancakes/waffles if one can be bothered to make them.

I'm so glad that you are writing here.

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I feel like your mom's shoe game -- or lack of shoe game - while peeling the potatoes gives an accurate temperature reading of the endeavor. Love everything about this post!

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Just made my day to find you here. Though I'm not hosting Thanksgiving for the first time in eight years and am now tempted to make our own turkey on Friday just to set up the boys with peelers and newspapers (and for the leftovers). ♥♥♥

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I HAVE to know about the magical beard whisker plucking mirror!

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Nov 18, 2023·edited Nov 18, 2023

I love all of these comments, but no one is talking about the BEST EVER GREEN DIP! I make this often—not just on Thanksgiving—and everyone raves about it and there is never enough! I highly recommend adding it to your holiday menu!

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