Low-cost holiday recipes from Milk chef Bret Thompson

Although it is one of the most successful marketing catch phrases of all time, "Got Milk?" is also one of the most annoying. Its ability to spawn singularly unfunny spin-offs (Got beans?, Got wood?, Got beer?) at an unprecedented rate only adds to the psychic chaffing it has inflicted on me during its 11-year existence.

Still, like the really bad neo hair-metal band that practices in my neighbor's living room, the Got Milk campaign just won't go away. Its latest manifestation came to me in the form of a cheerful holiday e-mail from the PR group that represents the California Milk Processor Board.

"Got Milk?" It asked me before informing me that Bret Thompson, chef-owner of L.A.'s Milk restaurant on Beverly, has joined forces with the milk board to offer low-cost, milk-based holiday recipes online. The recipes, which include sweet potato gratin with sage; corn soup with pico de gallo; creamy green beans with caramelized onions and toasted almonds; and apple cranberry bread pudding, are all tailored to cost you 50 cents to 80 cents per person. Or in the popular parlance of today's cash-strapped reality: "less than that of a McDonald's value meal."

You can check out these milky creations at http://www.gotmilk.com/pdf/THANKSGIVING.pdf. (The recipes haven't been tested by The Times' test kitchen.)

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo of Bret Thompson provided by Milk