If turkeys were more useful they wouldn't be Thanksgiving dinner

If turkeys were more useful they wouldn't be Thanksgiving dinner. According to the story of Thanksgiving, when the Mayflower showed up at Plymouth Rock the Pilgrims had a harvest feast with the local Native Americans, which supposedly included a big juicy turkey.

But why Turkey? The answer to that question is not based in Thanksgiving folklore, but in economics. Turkeys have no purpose. I know, that's pretty harsh, they have a purpose, being DELICIOUS. Back in the day before 24 hour supermarkets (I know, hard to believe people survived) people had to hunt for their own food so choice of holiday main course depended on what was practical. Cows and chickens are more valuable alive, as they supply milk and eggs, geese were expensive to keep and pork was not considered special. Then there was turkey - cheap to own, easy to maintain and great for feeding large groups of people... the rest is history.

Thanksgiving isn't all about the gobble gobble. Oh no, you can't forget the sides and desserts. Let me share with you two of my favorites, so good that you'll have your relatives asking for more, in advance...



Now, these are not my personal recipes, but I always add my own little touches to make them special. Let's start with the stuffing...

Apricot Grand Marnier Stuffing Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1-1/2 cups Grand Marnier® or other orange liqueur, divided use
* 1 cup dried apricots, diced
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 3 large ribs of celery, diced
* 1 yellow onion, diced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
* 1 pound turkey or pork bulk sausage
* 1 cup coarsely-chopped apple
* 16 ounces coarse bread crumbs (may use stuffing mix)
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Heat 1 cup of Grand Marnier® until small bubbles form around the edge. Pour over the apricots and let steep to plump. Set aside.

Bring chicken broth to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add celery, onions, thyme, and sage. Simmer for 5 minutes until vegetables soften a bit but not to the mushy point. Set aside.

Saute sausage in a skillet until cooked through, stirring often to break it up into chunks. Drain off any excess oil.

Place bread crumbs or stuffing mix in a large bowl. Add apricots with Grand Marnier®, onion and celery in chicken broth, sausage, apples, and remaining Grand Marnier®. Toss gently to combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To bake stuffing separately, pour into a casserole dish and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes to brown the top.

If you use the stuffing inside poultry, be sure the stuffing has come to room temperature before stuffing the bird cavities and roast immediately.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Since this stuffing is in high demand, I usually double or triple the recipe. I also add dried cranberries in with the apricots. Since there are a number of vegetarians in my family, I mix in the sausage last, that way I can keep some meat-free stuffing to the side.

And now, dessert...

Top Secret Drunken Rum Cake
Submitted by Queen of Quips

1 1/2 cup pecans

1 yellow cake mix with no pudding in the mix
(important!)

1 (3 1/2 oz) package instant vanilla pudding
mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup dark rum (Bacardi's Select Rum works
best)

Glaze:
1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbls water
1/2 cup rum

Butter and lightly flour a bundt cake pan. Chop 3/4 cup of pecans and sprinkle on bottom of pan. Mix together all cake ingredients. Bake at 325F for 1 hour or until golden and cake pulls away slightly from pan sides. Cool on wire rack about 10 minutes, then remove from pan (inverted) and place on cake plate.

To make the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir well. Add just enough water to liquefy the sugar. Continue to cook until glaze
is bubbly and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Brush over cake, going around 4 or 5 times, until cake is darkened with glaze. Now, the best part! Mix remaining pecans into glaze while still warm. Let soak 1/2 hour. Pour pecans and extra glaze into center of cake.

I strongly recommend using a cake plate or platter with a rim because the glaze can be runny. Also, definitely make this the night before serving to let cake absorb as much
of the glaze as possible.

To be completely honest, I never use the same recipe (mostly because I forget to bookmark the page I got it from, which I believe had something to do with the Ya-Ya sisterhood book) but its always delicious - its soaked in rum. To make it special, I dye the cake a reddish color and bake it in a rose shaped pan. This recipe also makes great cupcakes and leaves everyone with a smile on their face.




Enjoy!!

Men have been sporting moustaches since 300 BC

Men have been sporting moustaches since 300 BC - the first documentation of a moustache was found in an ancient Iranian artifact which depicted a man on a horse with a handlebar moustache.



Thousands of years later, moustaches are more than a fashion statement and symbol of manliness...with the launch of Movember, a campaign to raise awareness for men's cancers, the moustache is now a symbol of unity amongst men. During Movember, men all around the world are challenged growing crazy moustaches for this very important cause.

FROM THE MOVEMBER WEBSITE

Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues - specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

Watch a short intro to Movember by clicking on the video image below:



The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research… never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject – their health.

A Mo Bro starts Movember – the month formerly known as November – clean shaven, and grows a moustache all month long, garnering support from friends and family in the form of donations. What’s more, a Mo Bro is a walking billboard for the cause as his new look opens the door for him to talk about cancers affecting men – making the moustache a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer. Each Movember culminates in a Gala Partè in major cities around the globe where Mo Bros dress up to match their Mo, channeling the likes of Tom Selleck, Gandhi and Ron Burgandy, vying for the ultimate accolade: Man of Movember.

While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sistas (women who support their guys) form an important part of Movember by recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Partés.

A bunch of guys from my office are participating.




Don't have a moustache but want to help out? Here's how...

To make a donation, you can either:

Click this link http://us.movember.com/mospace/302082/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account , or

Write a check payable to Movember Foundation™, referencing my Registration Number 302082 and mailing it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726.

All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund:
The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance program which has the goal of improving survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40.
Research initiatives to further understand the biology of adolescent and young adult cancers.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used go to: http://us.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs/

Celtics made their New Years resolutions on Halloween (and they also had free stuff)

Celtics made their New Years resolutions on Halloween (and they also had free stuff). Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago with a Celtic festival called Samhain, which was also their new year. They believed that on the night before the new year, the worlds of the living and dead would combine, and dead people would come back to life. To celebrate, they would make a BIG fire, make plant and animal sacrifices and dance around in costumes of animal skin.

Two thousand years later, this once sacred day has become a day of scandalous costumes and overindulgence in first candy, then as you grow older alcohol and then even older your children's candy.



I love it.

Which is why I have decided to give away... FREE STUFF!

Yes. Here it is, the first annual ENCYCLOPEDIA BRANIGAN Halloween costume contest! Here is how to enter, in the comments section below, post a link of you in your best Halloween costume (if you don't have a linkable photo, email it to lrbranigan AT gmail DOT com). You must post by October 28 at 11:45 PM. Top three costumes will be posted and voted on. Winners will be announced on Halloween. The grand prize winner will receive...



A PUMPKIN FULL OF KUDOS!!!

I know. It's an awesome prize. I might have outdone myself this time. Ready, set, POST!

UPDATE: you can post up to 2 links, but only one can be included in the top 3.

The Queen of Sheba loved nuts

The Queen of Sheba loved nuts, but not just any nuts, Pistachios. She loved them so much that she decreed all pistachios in Assyria be kept for her and her court, and could not be grown for private use.



I don't blame her. I can't stop eating them. I didn't even know I liked pistachios, and then I saw a certain commercial....



...so I bought them (they got me! it must be subliminal messaging) - except I bought CVS Gold Emblem, HaHA! But now I'm hooked.



My first thought about nuts is fat and calories. However, many nuts, including pistachios have great nutritional value. Check it out...

* Pistachios have more antioxidants than green tea
* They contain a appetite suppressing compound called oleoylethanolamide
* Lower phytosterol (bad cholesterol) more than any other nut
* Have more potassium than half a banana
* Trans-fat free
* The green part contains lutein, a compound which helps prevent blindness
* Higher in fiber than any other snack nut

Not bad! I have also decided that you burn calories when opening them, bonus!

For more info on the healthy benefits of pistachios, visit Pistachio Health.

The first modern infomercial promoted local real estate

The first modern infomercial series promoted local real estate and was broadcast on XETV San Diego in the 1970s. The program ran for one hour on Sunday.

Nowadays infomercials run for hours at a time, and promote products from pimple creams, to juicers to hardware. These hour-long commercials usually feature colorful hosts and studio audiences in awe of the miracle product in front of them.

I have to admit, I am one of those people who gets sucked into infomercials. I own magic knives, oxiclean, the Pulse mix CD (I was young with my first credit card, don't make fun) orange glo, the magic bullet, some mop/dog hair remover and countless other amazing products. While I do love my job, I think it would be awesome to be an infomercial host.



One of the greatest infomercial hosts of all time, Billy Mays, passed away today - very sad. He promoted countless products, and had thousands of fans around the globe.

Here's a great video of Billy outside the studio, having fun ordering McDonalds as only Billy Mays could...

Graduates originally wore caps and gowns to keep warm

Graduates originally wore caps and gowns to keep warm. The first university was established back in 12th century England. Back then, higher education was run by the church, which was run by monks and clergy. These clergymen lived in churches - very cold, drafty, castle like churches. To keep warm, they wore... you guessed it... gowns (thick robes) and thus the clothing worn at graduation was created to be like that of the clergy who ran it.

In 1894 a group of scholars met at Columbia College to decide on academic dress, and in 1895 created the Depository for the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume, making the cap and gown official grad wear.

The cap that grads wear is also derived from clothing worn by religious figures, and is also referred to as a mortarboard, because it looks like the tool masons use to lay bricks.

Tonight I attended a very special graduation ceremony - my darling brother, Max Randall Branigan, was the 10th member of my family to graduate from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ. He will continue his education at Rutgers University, where he has been accepted into the prestigious Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Congratulations Max!

The Chinese were the first to wear their sunglasses at night

The Chinese were the first to wear their sunglasses at night... (haha) no, I mean to wear the first things that resembled sunglasses.

Back back in the 12th century day, Chinese judges would wear "glasses" made of thin lenses of smokey quartz to shield their expressions when they questioned witnesses. Note, Eskimo tribes wore "sunglasses" during prehistoric times, way before the Chinese judges, but they were not made of translucent material; they were thin slices of ivory with slits cut into them, (kinda like Kanye glasses).

The first eyeglass that resembled modern sunglasses appeared during the 18th century when James Ayscough began playing around with green and blue tinted lenses in an attempt to cure vision problems.

Glamorized by Hollywood (see fig. 1), sunglasses became popular in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1929 American entrepreneur Sam Foster began to mass produce sunglasses and sell them at the Jersey Shore, (how fitting) where they were extremely popular.

Fig.1

Now we have sunglasses that come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. How do you know what is in for this season? Maybe consult the experts...



The shades featured in the segment can be found at your local Solstice Sunglass Boutique.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the Mexican defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is celebrated mostly in the region of Puebla and is not a federal holiday in Mexico.

In the U.S., however, Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated (or has been since I turned 21) by Mexican-Americans, college students and twenty-somethings. So this Cinco de Mayo, get out there, have some fun and commemorate those who fought in Pueblo so many years ago...

For more information on Cinco de Mayo, click here, or visit your local liquor store.

Enjoy!