Santee, I confess I was a wee bit afraid I'd offended you somehow. Very sorry that you've been sick, but also relieved...

I've been researching steel pails for baking. These were the best I could do, but you'd have to make a lot of gingerbread to fill even the smallest one!

I like warm gingerbread with lemon curd. I also enjoy it with (sorry, Dave'sWife who can't have blue-veined cheese) smeared thinly with a blend of Roquefort and cream cheese, which gives the gingerbread a delightful complexity.

Also, when I make "fruitcake," I do it by adding heaps of dried (NOT candied!!!) fruits -- figs, prunes, apricots, raisins, and cherries mostly -- plus soft, crystalized stem ginger, my home-candied (or, if I'm in a hurry, fresh grated) orange or lemon peel, and optional pecans to my buttermilk gingerbread recipe. Even fruitcake haters often like it. Mmmm...

Cheers,
Claire