#87: Cook a meal I have not made once a week – round 12 / OUR THANKSGIVING
Jeff and I hosted a thanksgiving potluck for a group of our friends the sunday before thanksgiving, and everyone made delicious delicious food. I made turkey with stuffing and tofurkey [we had 3 vegetarians], Jeff made nomalicious Mashed Potatoes and Corn Bread, Katie and Mike made mouthwatering Apple and Pumpkin Pie [from scratch!], Mike also brought some tasty cheese and crackers and home-made hummus, Lewis brought superb Maple-glazed carrots, Caramelized Brussel Sprouts [they were delicious, shut yo' face] and Corn Bread Stuffing, Becky made fingerlicking good rolls and broccoli casserole, J-Mack made wonderful squash with special things that I don't remember the specifics of, Autumn made awesome sweet potatoes, and Brandon made a sweet chocolate chip banana-bread cake. It was a really wonderful day, all of the food was super delicious, and it was great fun to have everyone gathered together. What a great spirit and mood... I can't wait to do it next year. I love you guys.
So, as for how I made my food.
Turkey
This was my first time ever making a turkey, so I decided to keep it really really simple. As it takes a long time to cook, I couldn't really risk it going wrong, so I found a recipe that was really easy and down to earth, pretty standard. Next year I'll try the one I wanted to try.
Ingredients:
1 (10 to 14-pound [ours was 13.44]) turkey, with giblets removed [or if you're me, you can think you've removed them, and have failed.]
1 quart chicken broth
2 ounces dried mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for rubbing on turkey
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning turkey
3 cups Challah bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (from approximately 4 to 5 slices)
4 ounces unsweetened dried cherries, approximately 1 cup
2 ounces chopped pecans, approximately 1/2 cup
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the turkey into a deep, high-sided bowl on its end with the stuffing end up. Set aside.
Heat the chicken broth in the microwave in a large microwave-proof container. Place mushrooms in a glass bowl and pour heated broth over them. Cover and allow to sit for 35 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl toss the onion, celery, and green pepper with the oil and salt. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan and roast for 35 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, spread the cubed bread over the vegetables, return to the oven, and continue cooking.
Drain mushrooms, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Chop the mushrooms and place in a large microwave-proof bowl with the vegetables and bread, reserved chicken stock, cherries, pecans, eggs, sage, parsley and black pepper. Stir well in order to break up pieces of bread. Use your hands to combine, if necessary. Heat the stuffing in a microwave on high power for 6 minutes.
While the stuffing is heating, rub the bird with a mixture of butter and rosemary. Lift up the skin and rub all up inside that bird, gettin' it nice and covered. Working quickly, place the stuffing into the cavity of the turkey to avoid losing heat. Place the turkey into a roasting pan, on a rack, and season with salt and pepper. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for another 60 to 75 minutes or until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 170-180 degrees F
Results: It was super tasty, although a little bit drier than I would have hoped. Next year no stuffing in the bird [sorry, kids] but instead aromatics. But I was really happy with how it turned out, especially given it was my first ever bird. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Recipe from The Food Network [Alton Brown]
Tofurkey
There were three vegetarians present, so I made a tofurkey. It surprised me, in a good way. I mostly followed the instructions on the box, but adjusted them a little:
Ingredients:
One Tofurkey
2 Potatoes
2 Carrots
1 Big-ass onion
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 or so tablespoons Orange Juice
1/2-3/4 teaspoon ground chopped sage aka however much you feel like]
3/4-1 teaspoon fresh rosemary [aka however much you feel like]
Directions
Oven at 350 [this works well with the turkey above because by the time it's time to put the tofurkey in, the oven is at 350
Quarter the Carrots, Potatoes, and Onion
Put enough tin foil to wrap over everything inside of a dish.
Unwrap the tofurkey and put in the middle of the tin foil, surrounded by the vegetables
Mix up the olive oil, soy sauce, orange juice, sage, and rosemary in a dish
Pour the mixture over the tofurkey, and then wrap the tin foil tightly around the tofurkey and it's vegetable friends
Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes [if cooking at the same time as a turkey, just add a few minutes to this]
Open foil and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
Serve that bitch
Results: Guys, I have to be honest here. I thought it would be exactly as terrible as a carnivore would imagine a fake turkey to be. I was incredibly surprised. It tasted really delicious! Next year I may even have a whole piece. A few carnivores actually admitted to liking it better than turkey. Don't knock the mock bird, I guess is the lesson.
Recipe from the box, with some help from me.
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Uploaded on Dec 2, 2009
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Not that I needed a haircut or anything.
Hi!
How are you?
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Uploaded on Nov 30, 2009
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12 comments
#87: Cook a meal I have not made once a week – round 11
[Don't understand the title? Click here to see the full 101 goal list]
Guiser1's Crack N Cheese
Ingredients:
1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp, crumbled
1 med onion, chopped
10 cloves garlic, chopped
1 med sweet pepper, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pound of macaroni
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
4 T flour
4 C warm milk
16 oz pckg of American Cheese slices (preferably Kraft)
8 oz pckg cream cheese
20 saltines
2 T butter
Directions:
[Direct from the chef's words]
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Boil a pot of water to cook the pasta in. Add lots of salt to the water.
Cook the bacon til crisp. Remove from the oil and turn it into small crumbly bits.
Cook the pasta for about 8 minutes. I don’t like firm pasta.
Sauté the onion, garlic and pepper in the bacon grease til translucent.
While the veggies are cooking, heat the milk in the microwave.
Drain the veggies (to remove all the extra grease).
In a sauce pan, melt the stick of butter and add the flour. Cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.
Add the warm milk to the flour/butter mixture, whisking constantly till it gets thick.
Add the cheeses, melting each one a little before more is added. I do this on medium heat so as not to burn the cheese
Drain the pasta.
Throw the pasta, the bacon crumblies, the sautéed veggies and the cheese sauce into a big pot (preferably one you’ve buttered).
Crumble the saltines in a microwave safe bowl and add the butter. Microwave for 20 seconds and mix. Scatter the crumbs over the top of the mac & cheese.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Orgasm.
Results: So, Joffrey posted this a while ago, and I read it and thought "That looks tasty. And it has bacon. And I've always wanted to try mac 'n' cheese. Well, I finally did. And good lord in heaven. I mean, it's amazing. Please make this. It is wholly fitting of the title crack and cheese. I look forward to the uber-supply of left-overs I have hanging around now. Oh man. It's gonna be fantastic. I'm literally salivating at my desk in anticipation. Not even exaggerating.
Recipe from Jeffrey Keenan. [guiser1]
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Uploaded on Nov 20, 2009
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Whole Wheat Pasta with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pound Whole Wheat Pasta prepared as packet says to prepare
8 oz pumpkin puree (about half a can)
1 Cup milk
1 Cup water or stock
2 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 onion, minced
1 tsp nutmeg
2 generous handfuls grated Gruyere cheese
salt
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent (bordering on golden)
Add the nutmeg. Saute for another minute
Add pumpkin, milk, and stock; stir gently until incorporated.
Add the sage.
Reduce heat and cook the sauce VERY GENTLY until it’s reduced by about 1/3.Add the cheese, whisking vigorously to make sure it’s properly incorporated.
Toss the sauce with the pasta, distributing evenly. Serve with more cheese.
Results: It was pretty tasty! The pumpkin wasn't as prevalent as I would have wished, but I love pumpkin, so that's no surprise, really. I made this [doubled] as a meal for myself and a bunch of friends for our Up! viewing party. Jeff and I love Up! alot, so we had one the day it came out on DVD. That's not about the food though. They all seemed to like it! They claimed to, and got seconds. I recommend it.
Recipe from Pithy And Cleaver
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Uploaded on Nov 17, 2009
3 comments
Left And Leaving
Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me:
A blanket, some matches, this pain in my chest,
The best parts of Lonely.
Duct-tape and soldered wires, new words for old desires,
And every birthday card I threw away.
I wait in 4/4 time - Count yellow highway lines
That you're relying on to lead you home.
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Uploaded on Nov 16, 2009
11 comments
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