641.568 -- Turkey a la brine

When I think "brine" my mind skips to sea water and murkiness. So, no, brining a turkey did not initially seem like a tasty option. But even I can't argue with the bevy of 5-star reviews brining often seems to elicit. So brine we did.

My biggest fear was that it would be too salty, but it wasn't. It didn't taste salty at all! And it did turn out to be the moistest turkey I have ever had.

Here is both the recipe and my tips. Give it a go this Christmas. Amaze your family. Thrill your friends. A lot of this will be obvious to you more seasoned turkey roasters. For me, this being my first experience, much direction was needed, so I included it below.

Ingredients
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons black pepper corns
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
1 tablespoon coriander seeds

Directions

1. Dissolve brine in 2 quarts of boiling water. Ours did not dissolve completely, and it ended up looking a lot like sea water. It smelled great, though, so we stayed the course.
   
2. Once it is dissolved, add in 1-2 quarts more water (depending on the size of your bird).
   
3. While the brine is cooling, place your turkey in a large bag. We used two roasting bags doubled up, but that didn't work as well as we'd hoped, because the brine would not completely cover the bird. We ended up using one of our big blue coolers -- the kind that you see dispensing Gatorade on countless sports sidelines.
   
4. When the brine is completely cool, pour over bird. Add more water if necessary to cover the whole thing. We had to add another quart for our 20-pounder.
5. Let bird sit in brine for 12-24 hours. Use whatever means necessary to keep the brine and turkey under 40 degrees Fahrenheit. We stuck several cold packs around the turkey and left the cooler in the garage overnight.
   
6. When you're ready to start preparing, remove the turkey from the brine, rinse, pat dry, and roast. Discard the brine, obviously.
   

TIP: After the first hour in the oven, we basted it every 30 minutes. If there aren't enough juices to baste the first couple of times, don't fret. Use either melted sage butter or olive oil to supplement.

TIP: For the last hour to two hours, we used tented foil to keep the skin from over-crisping.

TIP: Before roasting, I mixed up some sage butter and rubbed it under the skin of the turkey. This, along with the brining, was designed to keep the breast meat from drying out.

383-4973 -- Neither rain nor sleet ... nor newbies?

I have sent many packages overseas. Enough so that I know which customs form (there are two sizes) to use for which packages, and can fill out said forms with my eyes closed. Enough so that I can guestimate within a dollar or two how much postage will be, and if it would be more economical to use a flat rate box. (That only applies to APO addresses, obviously. You can't send true international mail with flat rate boxes or priority mail markings. Duh, right?)

So when the (probably new?) postal employee started stuttering half way through her spiel, it was no surprise to me that I could finish it for her. I tried to be gracious and deliver it with a smile, but really... I was in a hurry, and she was clearly flustered.

H: "Does this package contain anything fragile, liquid, uh... perish... perishable, or uh... Fragile, liquid, p..."

M: "Perishable or potentially hazardous? No, it doesn't." *smile* "And it's just cookies, so no insurance needed. And I'm set on stamps and other mailing supplies, so I won't need any this time. Thank you."

Though I said "thank you" at least three times during this exchange, I'm sure she rolled her eyes at me after I left.

641.568 -- Family tradition

The day after Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For me, it is safe to decorate for Christmas and annoy everyone with holiday music. For my aunts, it is the biggest shopping day of the year. For my husband, it is the day that turkey leftovers are transformed into a delicious family recipe.

This creamy, flavorful concoction is most commonly referred to as creamed turkey. My husband's family has given it a considerably more colorful name...

Sh*t on a Shingle
Ingredients
1/2 cup flour
1/2 stick margarine or butter
milk
turkey (shredded)
bread (toasted)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine flour and butter in a large skillet. Shred turkey leftovers. Add turkey and milk to skillet until you've reached a cream-of-mushroom/chicken consistency. Should be thick enough to put on plate (not a bowl, like soup). Add salt and pepper to taste. While that is warming, toast bread. When bread is toasted, spoon warm mixture over toast. Enjoy!

394.2663 -- Home sweet home

As long as I can remember, I've wanted a house with a huge front picture window in which to display our Christmas tree. Now this is what I get to come home to every night! Notice the dusting of snow we got that day!

I don't know if you can really see it in this picture, but our tree is that jumble of lights in the front window. Don't bother trying to click on it for a better look... it'll get a little larger and a lot fuzzier! Also, I have no idea why the sky looks so spooky :)

784.83 -- Old band members never die...

... they just wait for their second time around. Needless to say, this marching band was my favorite entry in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. These former marching band and flag corps members, from either high school or college, missed marching way too much to stop. All ages, all abilities. Don't they look like they're having the greatest time?! Here is their official site.

394.2663 -- Christmastime in the city

The day after Thanksgiving -- the start of the Christmas season. I could barely contain my joy at the prospect of setting up our Christmas tree and lights. Because I had to work that day, my patient husband stayed up late with me listening to holiday tunes and putting ornaments on our tree. After a trip to the store for some garland and a tree skirt, here is the finished product. I have no idea why it looks like the middle of the day outside the window. It was dark when I took the picture!

¡Feliz Navidad!

011.73 -- Book Lust

One evening last week, after an early dinner, Matt and I ventured out to start our Christmas shopping. We went to six stores in about 3 hours. An disproportionate amount of that time we spent at a bookstore.

Among the things that I love about my husband is the fact that he can walk away from a bookstore about as easily as he can walk away from a football game. (That is to say, not easily at all.)

So anyway, I spend most of my waking hours around thousands of books. What is it about bookstores that is so captivating? Here is my theory: Library books, by sheer fact that they are being looked after by people who love them, have found their home. Yes, they may get more abused, but the world is a scary place. At least they have a home. Meanwhile, their cousins over at the bookstore are being bought and sold by evil capitalists, only intent on making their next buck. Those books need a home and someone to appreciate them.

And last week, I was only to happy to give three lucky books a good home. Merry Christmas to me :)

641.568 -- Oven-less Ham

So for Thanksgiving, our oven was constantly busy, and constantly changing temperatures. After the turkey came out (see that recipe in a coming post), the green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and dinner rolls went in. Our spiral-sliced ham was homeless. Gigantic crock pot to the rescue! I scouted out some tasty-sounding crock pot "baked" ham recipes, and here's the one we used. It ended up so moist and tender. And it's so easy. I can't wait to make it again!

First, find a crock pot big enough for your ham. Ours was huge, but only because we had to fit 7 pounds of spiral-sliced goodness into it :) Put the ham in the crock pot with whatever juices it's been packed in. In a bowl, mix two cups brown sugar with one cup water. Pour into the crock pot. Add a can of diced pineapple, with all the juice. (Adjust the amount to the size of your ham. The next time we do this, I'll use a much smaller cut. I'll probably halve the recipe.)

If you want to fancy-up the presentation, stud the outside of the ham with pineapple rings instead of just pouring them in. Use toothpicks or cloves to "pin" the rings in place. I did not have time or inclination for this after wrestling a 20-pound turkey into -- and out of -- a basting bag.

We cooked the thing all night on the "warm" setting. Put it on low if you're aiming for it to be done when you get home from work. Put it on high if you've only got 4 hours or so. Since the ham is usually already cooked, you really just have to get it hot all the way through.

394.2649 -- Giving Thanks

Every year at Thanksgiving, my mom's side of the family gathers for a weekend of food, games and general togetherness. This year, I volunteered my house as the venue for the big feast.

Though it included making my and Matt's first turkey and ham, nothing -- not one thing -- could have made that day better. We cooked (stay tuned for the recipes that got the ravingest reviews), ate, talked, and played games. My mom called from England just after dinner, and my brother called from Korea later in the evening. The girls combed through Black Friday ads, while the guys snuck down to the basement to get their battle-board games going.

The last guests didn't leave until almost 12:30 in the morning, and everyone had a good time. It was my favorite Thanksgiving to date.

Sixteen people wanting to eat together meant going to the basement
and moving the pool table out of the way. But we all fit!

After dinner (and dessert) we played some trivia games.
What we discovered: we are no good at English trivia.
Pictured above is team "Better than awesome."
They named themselves obviously.

641.814 -- Did you know?

The "57" that still graces the bottles of miscellaneous Heinz products is actually a misnomer of sorts. At the time the number was introduced to the logo (and as a slogan), the company boasted over 60 different products. Henry Heinz was being completely random when he "cast about" for a suitable number. He liked how 57 looked and sounded, and so the slogan and icon were born. Since then, Heinz has had a long history of 57s -- including their 2001 purchase of the Pittsburgh Steeler's field... for $57 million dollars.

Read here or here for more information.

If you didn't catch on to my extreme subtlety, I'm going to start play "catchup" here on the blog. Don't be surprised when you're inundated with posts :) hehehe

641.5 -- Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Recommended recipes are, in my opinion, the best kind of recipes. In that spirit, I present to you another recipe pilfered from a dear friend. This one is from Jackie. About a year ago, when she was living close enough for me to visit her, I did just that. We scouted the greater Ft. Knox metropolitan area (hah!) for flea markets and other craft opportunities. We looked at furniture, watched movies, and she made this delicious (and too freakin' easy) dinner for us. So good and so impressive, that you'll want to keep the ingredients handy for spur-of-the-moment dinner guests.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless thin sliced chicken breasts
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tsp Italian season bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Line 9x13 baking dish with foil. Place chicken in pan. Combine the mayo and the Parmesan cheese. Spread over the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

791.4375 -- Picture show

As a kid, I can remember sitting in our living room watching old James Bond movies during TBS Bond marathons. With only one TV in the house -- and my dad a decided Bond fan -- it was either 007 or nothing. Two years ago, I gave Matt the complete set of Bond movies on DVD as his "deployment extension present." So now there's really no escaping it. And truth be told, I actually really liked Casino Royale and Daniel Craig in the title role. So I was happier than I expected to find out that Matt already bought us tickets to Quantum of Solace for Friday night. I can't wait!

394.264 -- Happy Veterans Day

I'm so proud of my husband Matt for so many reasons, not the least of which is his service in the Army. Today I get to thank him as the rest of America thanks him and all veterans for their service. I wish I had time to post something more thought-provoking or pensive, but my lunch break is waning. Happy Veterans' Day!

Posing outisde a school house in Kamdesh, Afghanistan. Matt is on the left. He's standing nex to our friend Ben Keating, who died 20 days after this picture was taken. On the far right is the Afghan National Army Executive Officer (XO) who was working with our Battalion.

613.79 -- Relaxation

This past Saturday was a rarity around our house: neither Matt nor I had anything planned outside of the home. In fact, we didn't have anything planned to do at all. It was a glorious day, and I'm thankful we got to spend it together. Neither one of us so much as lifted a finger to do laundry, clean dishes, or pay bills. We didn't even get the mail in or check our email. After making pancakes mid-morning, we didn't cook either. It was the first day since we moved into our house 7 months ago that we didn't do a single thing that resembled work. A thoroughly great day.

641.568 -- Thanksgiving recipes

What's not to like about Thanksgiving?! Cold weather, warm family gatherings, and license to eat all of the comfort foods I love the best. This year, my family's Thanksgiving celebration is at my house. Entertaining is one of my favorite things about (finally) having a house that's big enough and close enough to friends and relatives. I couldn't be more excited to host aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandparents for the holiday (though technically, we'll be celebrating the weekend after the big day).

Excited as I am, however, I'm also a little bit terrified. I've never cooked a whole turkey before, and instead of starting with 2 or 4 people as I normally would, I'm jumping strait to a group of 16. I have no doubt that my trusted sources at allrecipes will do right by me.

Below is the recipe I plan to cook. (I've left the alternate temperature suggestions in for my mom and anyone else who might find themselves cooking in other than the most familiar circumstances.) Do you have any tips or tricks to help this first-time bird baker? Note that any suggestions to use a deep fryer will go unheeded. I'm going traditional this year :)

Ingredients:
1 12-pound whole turkey
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp dried minced onion
4 cups warm water
3 tbsp chicken bouillon
2 tbsp seasoning salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse and wash turkey. Discard the giblets, or add them tot he pan if they are anyone's favorites.

2. Place the turkey in a Dutch oven or roasting pan. (I'll be using the roasting pan.) Separate the skin over the breast to make little pockets. Put 3 tbsp of the butter on both sides between the skin andt he breast meat. This makes for very juicy breast meat.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the water with the bouillon. Sprinkle in the parsley and minced onion. Pour over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle seasoning salt over the turkey.

4. Cover with foil, and bake in the preheated oven 3-1/2 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). For the last 45 minutes or so, remove the foil so the turkey will brown nicely.

641.5 -- Chicken Florentine

This recipe comes to you courtesy Giada de Lorentiis, by way of my good friend Briana. The final results will wow your guests, but the recipe is a tad involved. Although the steps are easy to follow, this recipe does require that you be in the kitchen nearly the entire time. For me, this was about an hour. If you're serving four good-size portions, I'd recommend increasing it by half.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
6 tbsp shallots, sliced
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 10-oz packages frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed and drained

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Shake of any excess flour. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a place and tent with foil to keep it warm.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet (about 1 minute). Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high, and boil until the liquid is reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Add the cream, and boil until the sauce reduced by half, stirring often (about 3 minutes). Stir in the parsley. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce. Turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and saute until heated through. Season the spinach to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken atop the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve. (Try serving it atop bow tie pasta!)

641.8654 -- Peanut Butter Blossoms

This recipe has been a staple on "cookie day" for as long as I can remember having a cookie day with my family. We'd all bring designated ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips, etc.) and convene at someone's house for a day of baking and camaraderie. Sometime during my college years, cookie day went by the wayside, but I still love baking these fun, delicious cookies and reminiscing about 26 people gathered around my grandma's kitchen table (inevitable covered in flour and peanut butter!)

Ingredients
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups Bisquick
1 tsp vanilla
sugar
Hershey's chocolate kisses

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Mix sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in large bowl. Add Bisquick and vanilla. Stir until well mixed. Roll dough into 1.25 inch balls (approximate obviously). Roll cookie balls in granulated sugar. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 8 - 10 minutes. Unwrap kisses while baking. When the cookies come out of the oven, while the cookies are still hot, press one kiss onto each cookie. The dough will crack and gush up over the kiss a little.

641.815 -- Pumpkin-Banana Bread

Owing to my lack of recipe-posting yesterday, I was more delighted than usual to be gifted with the following recipe from a coworker this morning. This marks the first recipe posted that I have not personally tried, so if someone tries this, please let me know the result. That said, pumpkin bread and banana-nut bread are two of my favorites, so how can this not be delicious?!

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2/3 cup water
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 large)
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions
1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl, beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Alternately add flour mixture and the water to sugar mixture, beating after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing, if you like.

641.5 -- BLT Bites

An easy appetizer that makes a great presentation Bonus: it's pretty much good for you, too!

Ingredients
16 cherry tomatoes
1 pound bacon (cooked and crumbled) *
1/2 cup mayonnaise (the low fat stuff is fine)
1/3 cup chopped green onions
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley
(notice: there actually is no lettuce in this recipe :)

Directions
Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; mix well. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours.

*Hint: use the precooked, precrumbled bacon available near the condiments and/or salad dressings. It saves time and tastes just as good.

*Another hint: The tomatoes will roll around, being round on the bottom as tomatoes usually are. Next time I make these, I'm going to try cutting a sliver off the bottom to give it a flatter surface. If you try this, let me know how it works.

641.5 -- Pumpkin pie dip

This recipe was a hit at our last house party. Serve in a hollowed out pumpkin for a neat fall presentation. The original recipe called for gingersnaps for dipping, but I used apples. Yum!

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
15 oz can solid pack pumpkin
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp frozen orange juice concentrate

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners sugar. In another medium bowl, mix solid pack pumpkin, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and frozen orange juice concentrate. Thoroughly mix in the cream cheese blend. Chill in the refrigerator until serving. Makes about 4 cups.