sheiladeedee's Profile
Gravy for a Brined Turkey?
Many of the people I cook for are avoiding salt in general, so I prefer a relatively salt free gravy that the rest of us can season to taste. I love salt, and agree that a properly brined turkey's drippings are fine for gravy, but if you are dealing with those who won't eat what I consider a properly seasoned gravy, this is a way to do it.
Gravy for a Brined Turkey?
I always brine my turkey, and avoid overly salty gravy by making a separate batch of stock ahead of time for the gravy. I use turkey wings - I don't season them, but rub them in a little oil and roast them until dark brown with some onion and carrot. I then add water to the roasting pan, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom, and cook gently for a couple of hours - in the oven is fine. Strain the stock and de-fat it. Use this for your gravy, adding some of your pan drippings and checking carefully for saltiness as you add them.
What's For Dinner? Part XLI
fried chicken thighs, garlic smashed red potatoes with scallions, green salad, with sliced tomatoes on the side for me.
sauerbraten dinner
Sorry, I saw this too late to answer in a timely way, but since the meal is kind of heavy and sweet, I like a tart dessert. At the big sauerbraten dinner party Aunt Tillie threw for about 200 every year, she served raspberry whip - literally heavy cream whipped stiff with sweetened raspberry pulp folded in! The meal must have been 5000 calories. I like a lemon pudding cake or a lemon tart, maybe lemon trifle.
Adding a little more green to a Christmas Lunch
I like to saute a little red bell pepper and garlic slivers in olive oil, add some black olives, then add the flat Italian frozen green beans and some cracked black pepper and steam until tender. Nice hearty bean flavor, colorful, tastes great and isn't heavy. Looks nice on the table next to the butternut squash and roasted red beets.
best potatoes for potato soup?
I've always used reds or Yukon Gold, but was so impressed by the results when I used russets for scalloped potatoes for the first time that I wondered if they would work better in soup too.
ichigo ichie, rhode island
Anybody been? I've been watching it be built for the last few months but haven't had the chance to go there. It's on Route 6 in East Providence...
All of a sudden a bad Reputation!
I love the thighs too, and they are my exclusive cut for frying. And I do love chicken thighs roasted on the bone with olive oil and herbs for a quick dinner.
All of a sudden a bad Reputation!
Although I agree that they lack a certain strength and depth of flavor on their own, boneless chicken breasts are certainly a wonderful thing for those home-at-seven dinner-at-7:30 nights. They are a great source of low-fat protein, and take so readily to flavorful add-ons that I wouldn't be without them.
My supermarket carries packages of six individually wrapped organic chicken boneless skinless breast halves, each about 4 ounces, inside a larger package. I always have at least one package in my freezer.
In the morning, I take out four pieces of chicken and put them in the refrigerator. By the time I get home from work they are pliable enough to cook with. I use them dozens of ways, but my favorite may be to pound them flat, dredge in bread crumbs, and saute in butter or olive oil in a non-stick pan. Then add sauces - marinara, oriental sauce of some kind with sauteed veg, sauteed mushrooms, or just butter and lemon and some herbs. I make extra for lunch next day. Stir fries. Cutlets. Whatever. Lovely things.
Argh, I hate you potatoes au gratin
I use russet potatoes sliced thin on a mandoline. I layer them in a buttered casserole (leaving at least an inch at the top so the whole thing doesn't boil over) with finely chopped scallions or grated onion, salt and pepper, and a little shredded cheese - asiago is my current fave. Drizzle layers with melted butter, and add enough half and half to not quite cover the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake until golden brown and potatoes are tender. You can add bacon or ham. Sometimes I leave out the onion and cheese. I think russet potatoes are the secret.
Easter Appetizers
Thanks for the ideas. Bread is out because someone else is going to bring that (otherwise the orange brioche braid sounds right up my alley). I was thinking about shrimp, actually, even thinking about sushi or nime chow. Or going all egg and going ahead with artichokes and hollandaise despite the mess - or taking the artichokes apart and using the hearts with an eggy dip. Eggs and Easter - I do tend to go all out with the eggs.
Easter Appetizers
I have been charged with the appetizers at a ham-and-lamb Easter dinner for 12 people I love with whom we have Easter every year.
I want to bring three dishes. Deviled eggs is a must and my mother's recipe is the perfect egg so that's covered. I was thinking little quiche of some sort - probably really simple, a little bacon, pinch of parm and chopped scallion or chive. Any thoughts on a third? I want spring flavors, so maybe a cold fresh pea soup with mint? I'm kind of crostini'd out, and for the setup at my host's the artichokes with hollandaise which is my first choice would be kind of messy. (I'll probably pig out on artichokes Saturday night).
Thoughts? Anyone have a good fresh pea soup recipe?
HUGE Brisket Problem!
I use beer when braising beef all the time, for stews as well as pot roasts. It tastes wonderful, especially with lots of browned onions. I don't use carrots or any spices other than pepper when doing this because the flavors compete with the nice bitterness of the beer.
Roasting a Turkey - need gravy help!
You can cook onions in the drippings or in some reserved chicken fat until golden but not burnt, and puree them through a sieve - the pulp is full of flavor and is a great addition and mild thickener for gravy
Results - Eye of Round Roast from Cook's Illustrated Recipe
I love eye of the round because it is so lean; I cook for two, but cook a whole eye round because the leftovers are so great - no fatty hunks to deal with. I use it in sandwiches, on salads, in a stir fry (just warmed through) all week long, so when I cook one I've go the protein part of the meals covered.
I do pretty much the same thing with pork loin roast and roasted turkey breast, that is, cook one over the weekend and use up the meat in various ways ... fortunately we don't mind having the same protein over and over. What the cuts have in common is little fat to deal with and great flavor if carefully prepared.
Stuffed cabbage without rice or bread?
You could use barley, or whole grain rolled oats. Or just go with some grated cheese; that and the egg should hold it together. Wrapped in the cabbage, it should stay moist.
New Years eve Menu
I do a dinner for friends on New Year's and the menu is always
a salad to begin - this year it will be apples, endive, blue cheese, dried cranberries and walnuts
roast beef - either a prime rib or a whole filet of beef
mashed potatoes
green beans with almonds
other sides - roast beets, broiled fruit, etc.
a lemon or chocolate dessert
I know this is simple to the point of boring, but it has the advantage of being easy to do, suits all the guests, and has become Our Sacred Tradition.
This year, I won't be able to do anything until just before the dinner because we are travelling (new grandson, opposite coast) during the holidays. But I would not miss this dinner with these friends, and the meal kind of falls into place because of its familiarity.
Fun Things to do with Bacon?
My office is doing a holiday breakfast party, and I would like to bring something unusual. I was thinking of cooking thick cut bacon, then dressing it up with... what? brushed with honey and black pepper? sprinkled with coarse sugar and broiled? Has anyone done something like this? Methods? Ideally I would like something a little sweet and spicy, that you can pick up and eat without it being too messy.
What was the best tip you got for T'giving cooking?
I always cook my bird breast down, and use a clean pair of potholders to do the flipping. You have to be careful, but it does work so very well...
Anyone starting to cook Thanksgiving Dinner as late as we are? (Wed. night)
Well, I don't have your limitations as to cooking space, but I almost never actually cook anything but dessert before Thanksgiving morning. I put the turkey in to brine on Wednesday evening, prep the stuffing and peel the potatoes in the morning, and cook the veg and sides that morning as well. Oh, but I do the gravy well in advance, from extra turkey parts which are roasted and turned into stock well the week before.
What's your menu? I can see the turney cooked in the roaster, mashed potatoes made on the stove top, roasted sweet potatoes or other vegetables on the grill. A nice salad or sauteed spinach. Cranberry relish (cheat and add a little grated orange zest, minced white onion and finely chopped jalapeno to the canned whole berry sauce) is easy. Glazed carrots or sweet and sour red beets? Seriously I think you'll be fine.
Fresh versus Frozen Turkey
The quality of frozen birds has improved dramatically in the last twenty years or so. Not just in the freezing technology, but the storage and transport are better, too. I always brine my birds and roast them breast side down to start, and haven't had a dry one in years. I avoid the ones injected with basting liquid; it has a harsh chemical taste to me. Just allow enough time for thawing. For an eighteen pounder I put in the refrigerator on Sunday morning so it is thawed by Wednesday evening so I can brine it overnight.
Thanksgiving for two?
I have had this dilemma often in the last few years. I like to roast a half turkey breast and two turkey thighs - brined and roasted on a bed of stuffing. I make gravy from a couple of wings or drumsticks - roasted, cooked down in the crockpot for stock, and stirred into a roux. Sides are simple - green beans with almonds, squash, mashed potatoes... and a cranberry relish. Something nice for dessert - little pumpkin pies, or a lemon tart or something.
This year, we will be going to a friend's house for the day itself, and I'll bring scalloped potatoes and butternut squash, baked with maple syrup and butter. But I will cook a small turkey that evening as well, so we will have all the lovely leftovers over the long weekend. I bake cookies and make fudge for holiday presents that weekend (we call it the Time of the Cookie Madness) so having meals covered with leftovers is a good thing.
Is fresh organic turkey worth the price?
The quality of frozen turkeys has really improved over the past 20 years or so. So has the handling along the line, so you are less likely to get one which hasn't been frozen rock solid ever since processing. A properly frozen, thawed and brined supermarket bird can be very good eating.
Is fresh organic turkey worth the price?
A frozen bird is fine - just remember that it takes longer than you might think to thaw it. I like to take my bigger birds out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator on Sunday night before thanksgiving so it is thawed in time to brine it.
If this is the first time you are doing the Big Meal, keep it simple. Nothing wrong with olives, nuts, cheese and so on for starters, a purchased dessert, and then you can focus on whatever sides which are important to you and your guests. If someone offers to bring something say yes. And have fun - this is my favorite holiday and I've never had a bad one...
Frozen Cooked Shrimp?
I use them a lot but agree with previous posters that the texture is not great for dishes like scampi. I add them to a risotto or stir fry or something like that just before it's done so they heat through (I semi-thaw them and pat them dry first); this is enough to firm them up without making them rubbery..
Can you stuff a rotisserie chicken?
I'm not sure how fast a chicken cooks on the spit. Cooks Illustrated recommends that if you stuff a turkey you microwave the stuffing so it is very hot when it goes in the bird, but I don't know if the different timing would make it safe.
Springerle Recipes?
This appears to be almost identical to the recipe at houseonthehill.net
This site is really great for getting cookie molds of all kinds and also recipes for some old fashioned cookies.
This recipe bakes up beautifully and the cookies taste better than the ones I grew up on - my great aunt who taught me how to cook used too much flour because, I think, she was trying to make them pretty rather than tasty.
The people there are really nice, too - I put in a big order once and got a call saying that if I ordered one more thing I'd get a substantial discount on the whole order - wouldn't have known this otherwise. I don't like the rolling pins much, I prefer the plaques.
One thing I did when I first got the molds was to establish an ideal thickness, then weigh the dough for subsequent batches; I pat the weighed ball of dough roughly to the shape of the plaque and make sure it is evenly distributed, rolling it on the back to even it out. This works better than trying to press the plaque into the dough.
How soon can you roast the turkey?
A half sheet pan should be OK for cooking a 25 pounder, but I'd get one of those big foil roasting pans and put it on the half sheet pan to keep the spattering down.
Cooks Illustrated calls for roasting an 18-22 pound bird breast side down at 425 for an hour, then breast side up at 325 for another two hours or so. I'd add half an hour for the extra weight; the thigh temp should be 175. Let it rest 30-45 minutes.
If you have to put the stuffing in the cavity, I would stuff the neck cavity before it goes in the oven, so it looks pretty. Don't truss the bird, so you can get the stuffing into the body. And microwave the stuffing so it is really hot when it goes in. You should be fine.
