Most people take their maiden turkey voyage surrounded by friends and family. But no one wants to eat turkey a week early. So it was just me and the bird.

It looked easy enough: pickling red onions makes them absolutely wonderful for sandwiches and salads... But first, they have to be sliced. As an onion-sensitive individual I have tried several tricks.

Here's the problem: Desserts can be a tough sell at social events -- or rather casual social events.

Recently, Bon Appetit asked me to spend 10 hours smoking a beef brisket. Yes. Ten. it takes a village to make this brisket. Or at least an entire family. In this case, the Moloney family.

I am cooking my way through Bon Appetit's Top 100 Dishes. There have been successes. There have been failures. There has been nothing at the level of this pie.