Thanksgiving Feast

Ok sorry about this kids, but I have to whine considerably for several minutes tonight. I just spent like 4 hours in the kitchen, not to mention about 100 bucks at the grocery store. Why? Thanksgiving. I am hostess-with-the-mostessing on Wednesday night and I work on Wednesday. Below... some trials and tribulations SO FAR

Knowing I would not have time to babysit a bird, I thought maybe I could just go ahead and crock pot it. Got the smallest lil bird I could find at the grocery store, bout 8.5 lbs.

Guess what... they don't do crockpots in most stores for a 8lb bird. You can get teeny tiny ones up to about 6qts and then WHAMMO they smack you with a big fatty 18qt one that I'll never use again. so the conventional oven method was going to have to work. Save $20 by purchasing roasting pan instead of crock pot and onward we go.

Good Eats' Alton Brown introduced me to "brining" which he strongly recommends... this was confirmed by the Food Dude on Channel 933. Food Dude even gave several brining recipes and posted them. Martha Stewart also has a tempting brine recipe. I signed on... I went for the "Earthy" style one... though must admit was quite tempted to try the "Apple/Spicy" one... perhaps next year or maybe I'll do a game hen in that since I hear brining is good for all birds and I could use something new to do with game hens. Besides, the earthy one had a lot less ingredients and went along with the "how to cook it" recipe I wanted to try. So let's talk brine, cuz really that's where I'm at right now... I'll give you the recipe

Brine (for a bigger bird, per the recipe):
2qts vegetable stock
2qts cool water
1 tbls Dried Rosemary
1 tbls Dried Sage
1 tbls Dried Thyme
3/4 cup Kosher/Coarse salt

some notes...
I wasn't paying attention to the word "dried" and assumed I needed fresh... was shopping fresh for the cooking recipe.
Couldn't find fresh sage anyway... only dried.
I realized when i got home with yet another gargantuan box of Kosher salt that I had one already.
Wish I had made my mind up before I also bought the stuff for the Apple/Spicy one cuz I got a whole butt load of apple juice and OJ now... (1 gallon cold water, 2 quarts apple juice, 2 quarts orange juice, 3 cups Kosher or coarse salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 10 whole cloves, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg) although it will be nice to have some cloves around and I can use the juice anywho.

I only made about 1/2 of the brine because it was a small bird. was very conservative with the herbs cuz I wasn't sure if dried or fresh were more potent. Put the bird in the stock pot and then opened up another veggie broth (which I now have to figure out how to use within 10 days before it goes bad... turkey soup anyone?) to top off the pot with that and cool water and a little more salt and herbs. Ooh and since Martha had a reisling in her brine (but lots of other stuff I didn't feel like hunting for), I thought I might throw in a little dry white wine just for kicks. It was a bottle I was scared to open anywho... just gave the turkey a couple splashes of it.

By the way, turkey doesn't quite fit in the pot so I'm having to rotate his briney butt a few times here and there to make sure all gets a good soak.

Tomorrow, hoping to leave work a little early and finish up work from home... will slip the turkey into the oven at about 4/4:30 so it will be ready by 6:30/7... in theory. Tomorrow is the easy part, right? Pull the turkey out of the brine, give him a quick rinse and a pat down. Now for the other recipe...
in the cavity, stick a half a lemon, a medium onion, quartered and peeled, 4 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, and sage, all fresh (well in my case all but one). Tie the birds legs and set him in the pan. Squeeze the other 1/2 lemon out into a bowl. brush the bird with the lemon juice and olive oil; salt and pepper to taste. initial blast of higher heat (425) for first 15 minutes, then 325 for the rest of the time.

A word on turkeys... ew.
THANK GOD this was a pre-gutted turkey... giblets and neck were in lovely little packages in the cavity along with a turkey gravy in a packet (um no thanks?) and some strings that are supposed to be turkey lifters (whatever). that whole giblet and neck thing... gross. thank god it was in a packet and I could get rid of it instantly. grody. Also, mine spilled turkey juice all over the place. When I thought the last of the turkey juice was gone and drained... alas there was more. And looking inside the cavity? ugh... I barely tolerate this kind of thing for game hens. eesh.

Also on the menu, lil sis will be in charge of mashed taters and some kind of veggie, but I have back up veggies and taters in case she doesn't get a chance.

Ah, but what for dessert you ask? Well I'm so glad you did. About a year and a half ago, I bought a book for a donation to a local charity. it's called 'California Sol Food' and most of the stuff in there is a wee bit foo foo for me... but there was this pie that I have always wanted to try so now was my chance... Pecan Bourbon Pie...

Although I do want to whine some more, it's late and I actually do not know the final outcome of said attempt at home-made pie. But let me just say that making pie crust sucks and I'd rather not do it again. Lucky for me, I've got friends in high places... a certain someone I know has some tricks up her sleeve she is willing to pass on to me... IF ONLY WE COULD DO THIS LIKE TOMORROW??? I wanted to make one for my Wednesday night Thanksgiving thing and also one for the Thanksgiving shin-digs I'll be attending on Thursday.

More to follow on the rest of the bird saga and pie saga tomorrow...

-S

Tryin' it tomorrow: Hoisin Pork Medallions

Courtesy of Anne at work, who Katie and I have taken up many-a-conversations about cooking...

Cooking spray
1-tablespoon dark sesame oil
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into ½ inch thick slices
6 tablespoons water
1/3 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 cups hot cooked long-grain rice, cooked without salt or fat
¼ cup sliced green onions
Cilantro springs (optional)

1. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add pepper and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add pork, cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove pork from skillet. Wipe drippings from skillet with a paper towel.

2. Combine water and next 3 ingredients in skillet; cook over medium heat 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return pork to skillet, turning to coat. Place rice on a platter; spoon pork mixture over rice, and sprinkle with green onions. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired. Yield; 4 servings (serving size; 3 ounces pork and ½ cup rice).

Per serving: CAL 303 (23% from fat); PRO 27.1 g; FAT 7.9g (sat 1.9g); CARB 29.1g; FIB 1g; CHOL 79mg; IRON 2.6mg; SOD 195mg; CALC 34mg

The cutest little chili recipe ever...

By the grace of Polly... here is cutest little chili recipe ever... in an email from Polly to Katie (sisters)...

Ok Sister, so in about the same amount of time as cooking the cornbread you can have homemade chili, and not gut bomb canned chili... it looks like a lot of work, but its not!

Homemade Chili
1 Lg Can of DICED tomatoes
1 Sm can of tomato paste (might not need whole can)
1 14oz can of Kidney beans
1 Reg can of black beans
1 Reg can of white beans
1 Med can of corn
1/2-1 Beer (darker is better)
1 Thing of ground beef or ground turkey (your choice)
1 pkg of chili seasoning-or cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper (all items enough until your happy with flavor-beware with cumin because it gets hot fast!)

While browning your meat of choice, in a large saucepan add:
-Kidney Beans w/juice
-Black, White beans & Corn DRAINED
-1/2 can of tomato paste (may add more later)
-Entire can of diced tomato
-After adding all cans of ingredients stir well, over medium heat, start adding beer (Sm amts at a time.)
After meat is browned drain & add to chili.
Add spices keep on med heat bring to slow boil- keep stirring intimidatingly. Keep top on sauce pan, after slow boiling for 10-15 min w/all ingredients bring to low and let cook until chili is thick and ready. serve with sour cream, cheese and onions. its delish!

How "Martha" is she??? Be sure to see her blog in "More blogs to check out" at the bottom of this page called "Martha is my hero"

I'll be sure to try this out sometime and let ya know how it go...

Come back...You won't want to miss this: Pork Chop Flambe

OK it wasn't really Pork Chop Flambe, but I must recant the story of my first solo adventure with pork chops... to be continued...

PS add to my list of things to get for the kitchen... a new meat thermometer and a fire extinguisher...

So Behind... Let's Catch up: I CREATED!!!

Oh the details shall follow soon, but let me just tell you that I came up with the idea all by myself... a rendition of a theme I had tried previously.

Marinade:
EVOO
Lime Juice
Mexican seasoning
Cilantro
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic
Apple Cider Vinegar
I can't remember what else... but that should be about it

Marinated Chicken breast tenders, lavishly coating them.
Laid them out on a baking rack over a baking pan and baked them for maybe 15 minutes (don't remember how long) at I dunno 350-ish degrees
Turned em over and basted and laid thin-slide roma tomatoes on them and then topped them with a layer of shredded monterey jack... mmmmm
Baked em just a little bit longer so the cheese got nice and melty

Served with...
Steamed brocolli; ooh and I added pre-grated carrot (the thick-ish kind?) to the brocolli along with some seasoning and topped that with a little shredded jack too (never thought it possible, but a little carrot makes brocolli taste even better!)
Black beans topped with yet a teeny bit more monterey jack

I had a little much lime in there but it was pretty tasty. Roma tomatoes I think really kicked it up? It was better the second day actually which was cool.

A little help from Sonnet...

So since we've embarked upon this culinary journey, Sonnet has found great joy in helping. She always asks me to "save a part for her", which is pretty cool! This started when we tried a recipe I got out of the Costco Connection Magazine (of all places! I think it was in the June/July edition across from an article about buying a grill). It was a greek style lemon-herb chicken skewer thing with tzaziki sauce. The tzaziki sauce was the real draw, although I will say their recipe for tzaziki sucked... still searching for a truly good recipe. I'll keep you posted if I find one.

However, a couple posts ago, I mentioned the thing I "created" was a rendition on an earlier theme. This recipe is where I got the idea for the marinade in the one I posted earlier today.

Marinade:
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
Red Pepper flakes
Parsley
Mint I think?
Cilantro
Garlic
Apple Cider vinegar
Other stuff? can't remember

Sonnet helped by adding the stuff that I chopped up to the mix and then mixing the chicken around...


Marinated and Cubed the chicken breast tenders and stuck em on skewers


Grilled em up nice and easy... (PS I need a new grill next summer... squatting before a grill for more than about 10 seconds is for the birds... and I don't mean chicken)


It was tasty, but Sonnet said it was too spicy... maybe I will make it a little milder next time... less red pepper and cilantro or something.

Since then, she always wants to have a hand in making dinner... the other night we made "Saturday Special" aka "Not-Taco-Salad-but-Not-Nachos" (Chips, chili, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc) and she got to layer up the ingredients... fun stuff! :-)

And by the way, More on Mirepoix

A call from Lori learned me a couple new words...

Sofrito: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofrito
Sofrito is the spanish version of Mirepoix... not so much carrot, celery, onion, but garlic, onion, and tomato cooked in olive oil (now we're talkin!), used as a base, as is mirepoix in french cuisine. There are tons of renditions of it in various other spanish influenced areas (Latin america and what not). Apparently comes from
Soffritto...

Soffritto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soffritto
Soffritto is italian for "sauteed". Basic Italian soffritto starts with onion and garlic in olive oil and then you add veggies or whatever.

Chiffonade: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffonade
Slightly less related, Chiffonade is a method of cutting herbs/greens so that they make thin little strips like ribbons. Comes from french word meaning "rags". Ain't that cool??? I gotta try that sometime just so I can throw the word around!