"turducken" news and stories

• Alas, when giving the gift of wine, appearances -- read: price -- are often as important as quality. Get tips and recommendations in the Times' article, "The pleasure principle in wine giving."
• Little Tokyo's Lazy Ox Canteen offers a "brilliant melting pot of flavors" with an eclectic menu borrowing from an exciting range of international culinary influences.
• Writer David Karp praises the Australian finger lime as the "caviar of citruses."
• The L.A. Times test kitchen opens the vault to share the best recipes of their last 25 years, from Fairy Pie to Chianti Pesto.
• Despite its "unapologetic 900 calories per slice," the Times sings the praises of turducken gracing the holiday table.
• Recipes: Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Jalapeno-Cilantro Sauce, Ponche Villa cocktail.

Turducken is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which is stuffed with a de-boned chicken that is usually stuffed with a sausage, cornbread stuffing. But you already knew this. This distinctly Southern holy trinity of protein has gone from culinary curiosity to mainstream obsession over the course of its short life (its origins are disputed, but it seemed to magically appear sometime in the early to mid-1980s.)

The Turducken's place in the mighty pantheon of American cuisine is a forgone conclusion. This Frankenstein of Fowl Meat is here to stay. But that doesn't mean you know everything about this truly savory gift to the carnivore. In fact, here are five things you didn't know about the happy marriage between gobblers, quackers, and cluck-cluckers.

For those of you who want to try to conjure this delicacy, check out noted health food pioneer Paula Deen's recipe here.

Okay, I realize that Thanksgiving is over, but I just have to give some love to the turducken -- besides, there's always Christmas to aim for! Being an out-of-country American, I always feel a bit of a twinge when it comes to Thanksgiving. On the one hand, I get to celebrate it early (October). On the other, when all my States-side friends are Twittering about their roasts and blogging about their get-togethers, I succumb to the Thanksgiving angst. (It is one of my favorite times of the year, after all.)

Anyway, this year I headed for the local Cajun joint and had turducken. I figured: Why not? It's not something that pops up on the menu everyday. Holy boy -- it may get its share of jabs, but done right -- turducken is darned tasty. When mixed with oyster, corn, and sausage stuffing, topped with liquor-laced gravy, and teamed with gruyère Brussels sprout gratinee that tastes like galumpkis? Heaven.

So don't let the name fool you -- turducken can be quite good. Try it. I dare you!

You could get kissed under the mistletoe, or just ignore the lip-to-lip contact and have yourself a Mistletoe cocktail instead! There's less drool, less chance of garlic breath, and you only need you to make it happen.

Turduckens are all the rage, but why not get creative and try a Gocamellamben, a peaducken, or maybe even an oxveallambturgucken?

You guys are right: The problem with The Next Food Network Star is that it challenges the contestants with tasks that I can't imagine them having to face if they actually win. I watched last night with a friend who had never seen before, and he was pretty much laughing out loud. That said, I still kind of really like it. Agree? Disagree? Read on.