Quick Links
Categories
My iTunes
My Flickr
My Blogroll
Archives and Links
Browse archives by date
My Old Blog
My Homepage
100 Things About Me
My Book List
My Husband
My Church
MoreLight Presbyterians
The Presbyterian Church USA
The Monkey Sphere
Mark Morford, SF Gate
Miss Manners
My Old Blog
My Homepage
100 Things About Me
My Book List
My Husband
My Church
MoreLight Presbyterians
The Presbyterian Church USA
The Monkey Sphere
Mark Morford, SF Gate
Miss Manners
XML/RSS Feed
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Apr 07, 2009 10:28 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Apr 07, 2009 10:28 AM
Le Menu...
A holiday nearly completely centered around food?
Sign me up.
We're looking forward to hosting most of my family on Thursday, though we haven't quite figured out how we're going to fit all of them, and the massive bird in the house at the same time. That should only be a problem until we begin to devour said bird. Basically, we'll just eat our way back into the house.
On the menu:
1. Turkey. This is the Alton Brown Good Eats recipe. The two keys to this method: 1) brining the bird prior to cooking, and 2) high heat to brown the skin followed by low and slow cooking to get it done inside. Many start low and slow, then finish on high, but all that does is evaporate off all the juices that have come to the surface during cooking. Brian made one of these last year and it was seriously the best turkey I've ever had. In addition, our turkey is a grass-fed, free range bird, that has been given comfy chairs to sit on, and travel Scrabble to keep itself entertained.
2. Dressing. This is not stuffing because stuffing gets stuffed in the bird and this will be cooked outside the bird, so it is dressing, not stuffing. Got that? Years and years ago, Brian made stuffing for a family Thanksgiving at my middle brother's house, and, having never made stuffing before, minimized the amount of broth he used because it seemed like an unreasonable amount. Years later, I'm still dehydrated from that stuffing, and years later he still hears about it every Thanksgiving from my family. Not to worry though, he has perfected the recipe and the smell of sautéed sage, onions, and celery may be the best part of Thanksgiving food.
3. Mashed potatoes. There will be mashed potatoes the likes of which even God has never seen. My sister-in-law has a reputation for loving mashed potatoes, so we always make extra with lots of butter and cream. BTW, russets make better mashed potatoes than waxy potatoes like yukon golds or redskins.
4. Gravy. Everything goes better with gravy. Occasionally I get to be responsible for the gravy because I think making a roux is pretty dang cool.
5. Squash. With butter and maple syrup, roasted until GBD.
6. Asparagus. With butter, lemon and parmesan, roasted in the oven.
7. Carrots. With butter and a little ginger and nutmeg.
8. Cranberries. OK, for years and years, like most people, I never got the cranberry thing. That's because the only cranberry "sauce" I ever had was that nasty stuff in a can, which tastes like bitter tin. Real cranberry sauce is the Original Great American Sweet and Sour sauce. Again, I use an Alton Brown recipe, substituting Vernor's for whatever lame, pathetic, weak ginger ale the rest of the country would use. The cranberries and doing dishes are typically my two contributions to dinner.
9. Rolls, crudité, and desserts provided by the rest of the family.
What's on your menu?
We're looking forward to hosting most of my family on Thursday, though we haven't quite figured out how we're going to fit all of them, and the massive bird in the house at the same time. That should only be a problem until we begin to devour said bird. Basically, we'll just eat our way back into the house.
On the menu:
1. Turkey. This is the Alton Brown Good Eats recipe. The two keys to this method: 1) brining the bird prior to cooking, and 2) high heat to brown the skin followed by low and slow cooking to get it done inside. Many start low and slow, then finish on high, but all that does is evaporate off all the juices that have come to the surface during cooking. Brian made one of these last year and it was seriously the best turkey I've ever had. In addition, our turkey is a grass-fed, free range bird, that has been given comfy chairs to sit on, and travel Scrabble to keep itself entertained.
2. Dressing. This is not stuffing because stuffing gets stuffed in the bird and this will be cooked outside the bird, so it is dressing, not stuffing. Got that? Years and years ago, Brian made stuffing for a family Thanksgiving at my middle brother's house, and, having never made stuffing before, minimized the amount of broth he used because it seemed like an unreasonable amount. Years later, I'm still dehydrated from that stuffing, and years later he still hears about it every Thanksgiving from my family. Not to worry though, he has perfected the recipe and the smell of sautéed sage, onions, and celery may be the best part of Thanksgiving food.
3. Mashed potatoes. There will be mashed potatoes the likes of which even God has never seen. My sister-in-law has a reputation for loving mashed potatoes, so we always make extra with lots of butter and cream. BTW, russets make better mashed potatoes than waxy potatoes like yukon golds or redskins.
4. Gravy. Everything goes better with gravy. Occasionally I get to be responsible for the gravy because I think making a roux is pretty dang cool.
5. Squash. With butter and maple syrup, roasted until GBD.
6. Asparagus. With butter, lemon and parmesan, roasted in the oven.
7. Carrots. With butter and a little ginger and nutmeg.
8. Cranberries. OK, for years and years, like most people, I never got the cranberry thing. That's because the only cranberry "sauce" I ever had was that nasty stuff in a can, which tastes like bitter tin. Real cranberry sauce is the Original Great American Sweet and Sour sauce. Again, I use an Alton Brown recipe, substituting Vernor's for whatever lame, pathetic, weak ginger ale the rest of the country would use. The cranberries and doing dishes are typically my two contributions to dinner.
9. Rolls, crudité, and desserts provided by the rest of the family.
What's on your menu?
Posted: Tue - November 25, 2008 at 09:58 AM