A really high-quality, aged balsamic vinegar is something that no chef should pass up, as it is basically the standard to which all other vinegars aspire. Other vinegars have their uses, of course, but few will be coveting the taste of white vinegar to top off a nearly perfect dish. Aged balsamics can be expensive, though, and as a finishing touch to a dish or to enhance the flavor in a dressing or marinade, flavored vinegars can be great options.

Flavored vinegars are infused with everything from sweet berries to fiery chilies and they seem to be everywhere right now. Trader Joe's, for example, is carrying at least four kinds right now, including the ones pictured above: California Grapefruit, Mango Chili, Strawberry Balsamic and Pomegranate. The flavors tone down the astringency of vinegar, while retaining its brightening properties. Of the ones pictured above, Grapefruit and Pomegranate are delicious in salads, while Strawberry is good on desserts and Mango works well as a marinade.

If you can't find a flavor that matches your own tastes, you can make your own fairly easily, with fresh herbs, fruits and spices.

I know that in some places Thanksgiving stuffing is called "dressing" when it is not cooked inside the turkey, but where I grew up everyone called it stuffing no matter how it was cooked; it was what went into it was much more important. My stuffing is much like a hot, crispy bread salad and uses bread, onions, celery, sage, apples and dried fruit for a mix that is half savory and half sweet. Because it is not stuffed into a bird, but baked in a casserole dish, it seemed prudent to go all-out and make the dish vegetarian. It will still be enjoyed by the meat-eaters, especially if they are they type that puts gravy on their stuffing anyway, and will provide an option other than straight veggies for vegetarians.

Need some ideas for stuffing recipes for an upcoming holiday dinner, Thanksgiving or otherwise? 50 Best Stuffings and Dressings has, as the name suggests, fifty different recipes to spice up your stuffing, whether you like to bake it in a bird or on the side. Not all stuffings are meant to be used in turkey, however, despite the fact that is what most home cooks are focused on right about now, nor are they all geared towards fall and winter menus. This book includes recipes for stuffing beef, pork and vegetables, such as acorn squash, and many of them are hearty enough to serve as a main course if you bake them in a casserole dish on their own. The recipes include Chile, Hominy, and Rice Stuffing, Gingered Cranberry and Almond Cornbread Stuffing and a Classic Bread Stuffing, which includes a number of additional variations.

As one-subject cookbooks go, the scope of this one is quite limited, but since stuffing and dressing recipes aren't covered too frequently in other books (and rarely are more than a handful presented) this could easily turn into a great resource at home.

This is the first post in what will be a short series of great Thanksgiving dinner ideas from around the food blogs. Here's we're looking at what is possibly the most important part, or is at least the central part, of Thanksgiving dinner: the turkey and the stuffing/dressing. All of these recipes are from previous holiday celebrations because, as we all know, Thanksgiving comes but once a year and as much as we love the food and our families, the extra calories and the time-consuming preparation are something we can't do with all that often.

• Mom's Roast Turkey, complete with turkey stuffing from Simply Recipes. How could you go wrong with something that Mom made?
• Here's a plan for Thanksgiving for One, which involves a tiny guinea hen instead of an actual turkey, from the Amateur Gourmet.
• Beer Can Smoked Turkey, from Cooking for Engineers, sounds like a good option if you're looking for something a touch less traditional.
• 101 Cookbook's Sage, Walnut and Dried Fig Stuffing is inventive and is baked alongside the bird, not in it.
• If you're a cornbread fan, try the Mushroom, Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing from Something in Season.
• Gluten Free Girl has a recipe for gluten free stuffing, which is perfect for wheat-sensitive dinner guests.
• Four Directions Dressing from Tigers & Strawberries has a bit of just about every stuffing recipe you can think of.
• If you want to learn how to make deep fried turkey, check out the guide from the National Turkey Federation. They offer suggestions for adding additional flavorings, too.

As a bonus, here are some vegetarian "turkey" or turkey-substitute ideas to try out, all of which are nice options to keep non-turkey eaters from feeling limited to side dishes when dinner is being served. Speaking of side dishes, that's what's coming up next in this series.

F

From the creator of the Ultimate Bacon Sandwich comes the latest in bacon-saturated dining: bacon cereal. This isn't bacon flavored cereal bits or bacon-shaped rice puffs. It is a bowl of chopped up bacon (one full pound) with blue cheese dressing acting as "milk" and bacon bits on top - like a wedge salad, in a bowl, without the formality of lettuce. The chef had this to say about eating it: "I'm not sure how to describe the feeling of eating this. It was far worse than the Ultimate Bacon Sandwich. It probably compares to being electrocuted while having your wisdom teeth removed by a back alley dentist. My tongue burned with each bite from the sodium content. I was certain that I couldn't finish the entire bowl, at least not without severe intestinal repercussions. But, I knew that under no circumstance was I ever going to do this again so it's a one shot deal. The last bite went down about as smoothly as a pile of broken glass, but I made it. "

I'm sensing a new challenge for competitive eaters everywhere, not to mention the reason that iceberg lettuce is so vital to the wedge

[via Supersized Meals]

Last year, a product called Flavor Spray was picked as one of the top five food innovations of the year by Time magazine. At the time, I didn't realize it was going to catch on in such a big way, but now other companies are introducing flavored spray-on products in an astounding variety of flavors. Besides the  root beer or french fry sprays (yes, they're working on a french fry flavor at the moment) from Flavor Spray, there are butter sprays, salad dressing sprays, candy sprays and even pet food sprays. The company that makes the TooTarts Sour Blast candy spray is designing a candy spray, to be released next year, to help "trick" kids into eating their vegetables.

Some spray-able products seem useful, like the butter and salad sprays that would allow for even distribution of flavor over corn on the cob or a big plate of salad. But french fry flavor? Mochaccino flavor?

I can't see the trend for the more exotic and less practical flavors lasting for an extended period of time, unlike the dressings and sprays of olive or canola oil that can be used for cooking. But what do I know - I still uses spices to flavor my foods.

We all know that Sarah loves the wedge, but she's not the only one. The cool, refreshing 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce slathered in creamy dressing is a favorite of many, but Lisa, of Restaurant Widow, was not a fan of the salad at all. Until recently, that is. She had this simply divine looking one while dining at the Brio Tuscan Grille in Columbus, OH. While the standard will often include nothing more than the lettuce and bleu cheese dressing, you can see that this one is dressed up with a bit of tomato, extra cheese and a generous serving of crispy, diced bacon. I don't think you'll need a recipe to try your hand at making this one at home, but you'll probably be able to track one down at a local steakhouse if you can't be bothered to put it together yourself.