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Cooking for 2
I think the preferred protocol is to find another way to let us know you have a blog, rather than starting a talk topic for that purpose. Imagine if we all did this. You'll have the opportunity to bring it up in comments when appropriate to the topic at hand. And it would be a good idea to fill out your profile and list your blog under "website," and then everybody can locate it any time they're intrigued by a comment you make. Also, you'll see a link to the comments policy, below.
That said, good luck with your blog, and stick around and join the conversation here.
Do you use heavy cream in your risotto?
I'm pretty sure that Harold McGee says that stirring butter into a little water reverts the butter to cream, which is why a butter sauce seems creamy instead of oily. So it's probably irrelevant whether you add a little butter or a little cream.
Cranberry sauce can be good? Really? Show me how, please!
dbcurrie - do you make this with frozen berries?
cybercita - thanks for mama stamberg's recipe. I've never actually tried it, but it's a Thanksgiving tradition to listen to Susan talk about it :0)
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Recent Posts
Reporting back: very worthy veggie burger recipe
Posted by lemonfair, November 10, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Do you know where your hamburg is coming from?
Posted by lemonfair, October 4, 2009 at 6:20 PM
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Pumpkin Pie Alternatives for Thanksgiving
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Serious Chocolate: Easy Chocolate Pie Crust
Posted by Melody Kramer, November 11, 2009 at 11:15 AM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Appetizer Needed
Phyllo wrapped asparagus. Only needs 3 ingredients: the asparagus, a package of phyllo, and melted butter (can add a little parmesan, salt and pepper if you like). It's light, it's not cheese, it's not crudite. It's best made the day you serve it.
I've just written it up for you, with pictures. Below that recipe is the appetizer I'll be making tomorrow, a cream cheese/parmesan pine cone with pecans, but that may not qualify as light, and you said you weren't to bring cheese. It's a crowd pleaser though, and looks like you put more time into it than you did..
http://verfoodie.blogspot.com/
Cooking for 2
I think the preferred protocol is to find another way to let us know you have a blog, rather than starting a talk topic for that purpose. Imagine if we all did this. You'll have the opportunity to bring it up in comments when appropriate to the topic at hand. And it would be a good idea to fill out your profile and list your blog under "website," and then everybody can locate it any time they're intrigued by a comment you make. Also, you'll see a link to the comments policy, below.
That said, good luck with your blog, and stick around and join the conversation here.
Do you use heavy cream in your risotto?
I'm pretty sure that Harold McGee says that stirring butter into a little water reverts the butter to cream, which is why a butter sauce seems creamy instead of oily. So it's probably irrelevant whether you add a little butter or a little cream.
Cranberry sauce can be good? Really? Show me how, please!
dbcurrie - do you make this with frozen berries?
cybercita - thanks for mama stamberg's recipe. I've never actually tried it, but it's a Thanksgiving tradition to listen to Susan talk about it :0)
Weekend Cook and Tell: Thanksgiving Pregame
Tomorrow morning first thing I'll make this pine cone appetizer, a requested staple of our pot-luck Thanksgiving feast for probably 30 years. Also a great make at the last minute elegant take anywhere appetizer. http://verfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/11/pine-cone-appetizer.html
Managing Recipes
Thanks for the laugh, sorry for the frustration. I wonder what happened. try just finishing the thought without the first part?
Cranberry sauce can be good? Really? Show me how, please!
Unlike dbcurrie I actually like the combination of sweet with my meat. And my preference is for whole berry cranberry sauce from the bag directions. a cup of water, a cup of sugar, a bag of cranberries. The sauce cooked like this is a delightful combination of sweet and tart. I've used it in place of a duck sauce with potstickers. You're in control of the sweetness when you make it yourself, so maybe start with 3/4 cup sugar. I'm pretty sure my mother's sauce was a lot more tart than the bag recipe, but then i didn't like it until I made it myself and followed the directions.
And today I hadn't made my sauce yet but had turkey and stuffing for lunch (I cooked my turkey Sunday, am going elsewhere for Thursday) and so I had some homemade blackberry jam with the turkey instead. Almost as good as the cranberry sauce, and also a little tart.
It made me wonder what it would be like to combine the two, and although I haven't tried it, I bet it would be dynamite. I'd use quite a bit less sugar when making the cranberry sauce, but you'd still need some. You'd be letting the jam substitute for some of the sugar.
Can I freeze brownies? Any special instructions?
You bet. and it takes a little more time to eat them frozen, so that's an advantage. oh - you want to defrost them? Yeah, I guess you could do that too. (actually, I usually defrost them) sprinkle them with a little salt when you eat them and they're even better.
Did you guys catch these nuggets of goodness from Big Daddy?
I like Aaron McCargo a lot. I'd say his food isn't necessarily as consistent as some of the other FN hosts, but some of it is really outstanding. Stuff that a lot of us on SE take to. I often think "Holy Moses I'm going to try this." and also "I'm going to be running a lot to work this off." :oD
And did you see, btw, that running it off isn't all that effective? We have to eat less some other time, I'm afraid.
Cook the Book: Mashers
I prefer my mashed potatoes with skins on and chunky.
Cooks Illustrated just reran their program with the solution to gluey/gummy potatoes. The potatoes cubes are rinsed in cold water, steamed for 10 minutes, then rinsed in cold water again until cooled down, and then steamed for another 10-15 minutes. This cooling down in the middle of the cooking crystallizes some of the amylase (if I remember correctly) so that it can't leak out of the cells, keeping you from getting gluey potatoes. That method could be combined with Alton's recipe.
So glad this book is being published with all the recipes. In 2003-2004 I was a Neilsen family, with a gadget in my teevee (and my vcr) that recorded everything I watched, which included just about every episode of Good Eats, including those in the middle of the night.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Our Thanksgiving has always been pot luck, and for 35 years or so that was with 20-30 people. We did not have assigned foods, people just brought what they wanted, and one year all the desserts were pumpkin pie - 6 of them.
Meatless 'Turkey' Taste Test
Glad you did the tasting but unhappy that none taste worthy.
This post was worthy for the discovery of Grist. So many sites, so little time.
Managing Recipes
good question. I'll be curious what people do, since I'm not as organized as I'd like to be. I actually print anything that looks like I'm likely to make it and wouldn't find it again with a quick search. 3-hole punch it and keep it in a ring binder. leaf through it occasionally. Once I actually make something and like it I do a 3-5 card for my recipe box.
I also download into a "recipes" file in my documents, and then just search my documents for a key word when I want something. I separately download Cook's Illustrated recipes into its own file in documents.
@Elise. If you have them sorted by main ingredient you've done more than I'm ever likely to do. Couldn't you search those documents for the secondary ingredient?
For bareneed--Ginger Ale and Vegetables
This sounds very good. I'm cooking for Thanksgiving for a couple of diabetics who don't want any added sweetness. I wonder if club soda and some splenda would work. Is the effervescence bringing anything, ultimately, to the dish or is it the flavor of ginger ale?
Chocolate, fondant covered cherries
betteirene: My mother used to make fondant your way, and then when we made little 1 inch fondant wafers she melted the fondant a little and added flavoring and coloring, then let a small puddle drip off the spoon. It always surprised me that melting and rehardening didn't affect the texture, but they were wonderfully smooth. perfect little wafers.
But it was so much work I've never made them on my own. So yes, it's a labor of love for you to make fondant for your family this way.
Chocolate, fondant covered cherries
Well yes, this is an easier recipe. From a cousin who's a chef and who makes these by the "thousands." betteirene's fondant is the authentic thing and will taste better, although the "ripening" in these improves this fondant. I'd pay attention to betteirene's directions for tempering the chocolate, which my cousin didn't bother to include.
60 maraschino cherries with stems
2 T butter
3T corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted 10xx sugar
1 1/2 pounds pure milk chocolate
Drain cherries WELL. let stand on paper toweling.
Combine butter, corn syrup and salt
stir in 10xx sugar. Knead until smooth.
Chill if too soft.
Shape a marble-sized piece of this fondant around each cherry
Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. chill
In small heavy saucepan over a pan of hot water, melt chocolate, stirring constanty. Be patient and do not add any liquid. Holding onto stems, dip each cherry into melted chocolate. Spoon chocolate over cherries to coat well. Place on waxed-paper lined baking sheet. Place in refrigerator just to harden.
put each cherry in a paper frill. Store them in a covered container in cool place. Let riped at least two weeks before serving.
Hint: Don't have chocolate too hot when coating cherries, or else the chocolate will not adhere properly to the bottoms of cherries, making ripening difficult and messy.
Chocolate, fondant covered cherries
betteirene's recipe is the goods, and such great directions. So you don't need a second version.
New Seasonings! I need good ideas for them!
I like the Penzey's spice catalog, which always has a bunch of recipes. Their recipes are online, but unfortunately it doesn't look like there's an easy way to search for specific spices. But it might be worth a browse
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysrecipes3.html
Chocolate, fondant covered cherries
I do have a recipe, but will have to get to it a few hours from now. Will post later.
Jalapeno burn
Wash your hands with sour cream (one of the reasons it's served as a side with hot food), and then my guess is you're better off wiping off the sour cream rather than washing it off. Water definitely makes it worse. Get some cold on it, but keep your hands from being wet.
First time making turkey - to brine or not to brine?
Have thought of another reason not to brine - in another thread on gravy the briners said you needed to be really careful when you use the pan juices for gravy because they're so salty. Gravy from the pan juices is a great tradition, and apparently you'll have to make other provisions for the gravy if you brine.
I have a cousin who's an executive chef at a large resort hotel. For our large pot-luck thanksgivings he used to Fed Ex the bird from Florida (where he lived at the time), came a day early and did all sorts of good things to it, and it was indeed very good. One year when another cousin cooked a local bird the chef said it was one of the best turkeys he'd ever had, and how had she cooked it - starting it hot and reducing the temperature? Brining it? She said no, she'd just put the bird in the oven and basted it. I sometimes wonder if there's a placebo effect with turkeys. The more we pay for the bird, the more effort we put into cooking it, the better it surely tastes. Think about cooking the turkey simply and spending more time on the sides, if you're also contributing them.
Hey :-) can i write recipes here?
Oh - and the Weekend Cook and Tell topic each week is usually a place you can share something from your blog in response to the topic.
Welcome to serious eats. I like the idea of a picnic blog. It looks like yours is just getting rolling, and this is a great place to get a sense of blog writing. I love to browse through the photos on photograzing and click on the links to the blogs that have posted the recipes. This is another possibility of a way to get your recipes a wider audience, so chek out "photograzing" on the top banner.
Hey :-) can i write recipes here?
If people like what you have to say in comments they know how to find a link to your blog by going to your profile. Otherwise, links to your blog in comments need to be because there's a connection to the topic. Creating a talk topic just so you can link to your blog is not the done thing.
Mrs. Pauls has left the building: HELP!!!
my sister & i have been looking for ms paul's for weeks. could not find anywhere. our sister found this recipe years ago and said she wishes she found this many years ago she would have saved alot of money (no offence mrs paul's) patty pooh swears this is the receipe
6 med sweet pot ( cooked ,peeled,cut into 1/2 cubes)
heat stirring constantley
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp milk or water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
until smooth & bubbley add potatoes heat thru
we so hope this helps you & if you use this recipe hope your dad does so enjoy. happy holidays
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Every year I grab whomever is in my unit at Dland to treat them to a Thanksgiving dinner. The reason being that for about 4 years I had to work on Thanksgiving and Xmas and know what its like trying to find somewhere to eat on that day. So it has become a tradition to invite all the guys who had to work that day and couldn't go home.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My story is; I was born on Thanksgiving. No one had dinner that fateful day!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Sad we cant get bramleys cooking apples here :( oh well. I got mystery apples in my CSA and used those, lets hope they work!
Appetizer Needed
Stuffed mushrooms are easy, but they tend to be better warm than at room temp, in my opinion. Here are two versions I make that are super easy, but I would heat them up before serving... They do include some cheese on top that you can certainly omit.
But I was also thinking the hummus route... you can do it straight or add some roasted/grilled eggplant too to make it really special.
Or you can do antipasto with tuna... I make it with soy tuna to make it vegetarian, but the recipe works with the real thing, as that's how I actually learned how to make it. Serve it over crackers or toasted bagguettes...
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Story, story, story, story. I wish I had a good one for you. All I know is that the best food always was done by my Grandmother. Southern cooking and all. She learned from the best. Her dumplings are legendary.
Appetizer Needed
Found it. It's really pretty too..
CRANBERRY SALSA
12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
4 green onions
1/2 cup cilantro
3 jalapenos
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. lemon juice
ground ginger to taste (start w/1/2 t.)
1 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips
Chop everything in a food processor. Start with cranberries and then add
the rest. Some people like to serve it over the block of cream cheese but I like to just
throw it into the food processor too.
Appetizer Needed
Cranberry jalapeno salsa...(its on the Girls Night In thread) I have made it three times and people freak out about how tasty it is. If you can't find it I will help you.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My mom made really good gravy. I think I was in second grade. I was so excited about it, I got up in front of my class and told them about it. Not much of a story unless you know my mom and her cooking repertoire.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I can't say I have any particularly interesting stories. My parents never did the thanksgiving thing until I was at least in jr high and even now i'm not sure we really have a handle on it. this year i'm doing it, we'll see how it goes.
Cranberry sauce can be good? Really? Show me how, please!
I make the back of the bag recipe, like lemonfair, but instead of adding Grand Marnier, I add a bit of chopped candied ginger. Like cranberry sauce with my turkey on Thanksgiving, but it's even better the next day on a turkey sandwich with cream cheese on whole wheat bread.
The Food Lab: Turkey Brining Basics
I don't know if this has already been addressed, but...Can one brine in salt substitute, such as Nu-Salt, and have the same impact? I'm on a reduced salt diet as well as being diabetic. Any thoughts?
Do you use heavy cream in your risotto?
We do the butter/parm finish, but have never put cream into it.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was transporting a cooked turkey with the fixings to a friend's house. When I got there the gravy had spilled all over the trunk of my car. I had to clean the trunk and run home to see what kind of gravy I had in my freezer, couldn't serve turkey and fixin's without gravy. sharonaquilino(at)hotmail(dot)com
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was newly married and it was my first attempt at cooking a turkey. I was completely repulsed by the gizzards and neck. So much so that I really couldn't even eat any turkey. I'm over that now.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
A couple of years ago, we decided to forgo the turkey and have a roast and Yorkshire pudding, with all the trimmings. My mom popped the pud in the oven and unexpectedly had to leave for a few minutes, putting my sister and me in charge of watching said pudding. Well, it was ready and my sister grabbed it out of the oven and the pudding took flight out of the pan and flew across the kitchen, landing broken on a (thankfully) clean floor mat. I just remember that time stopped and the look of utter shock on both of our faces. We pieced the pudding back into the pan before mom got back.....we were going to keep it secret until she finally commented that she didn't do a good job because of all the cracks. We fessed up and had a good laugh
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
Update on the AB smoked turkey that I have been worshipping and coddling for 5 days. We put it in the smoker and after about an hour the new, fancy smoke box thingie malfunctioned, the wood and the turkey caught fire and I thought all was lost. We wiped the smoke off the bird and realized its bottom really didnt need to see the light of day so we just kept cooking and it is out now and resting. Havent tried it yet but I am hopeful.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
A couple thanksgivings ago some friends of mine decided to make a turducken. I think they liked the idea of it more than they really wanted to eat one, and none of them were (or are) particularly avid or experienced cooks. Anyway, they approached it sortof casually in terms of avoiding cross contamination and deciding when it was finished cooking. Turns out, that much meat takes longer to cook than you might assume. End result: awful food poisoning.
I am making thanksgiving dinner for the first time for my family this year, and that story helps me to calm down about the whole thing. As long as I don't sicken everyone, I am doing better than my friends did. Hooray for the instant-read thermometer! And non-amalgamated poultry.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
My favorite thing about Thanksgiving, or any holiday really, is when the extended family leaves and my parents, siblings, and I all come back to the table again to REALLY eat.
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
I was living in France last thanksgiving and it was probably the best thanksgiving I have ever had the pleasure of organizing and attending. We had all the fixings and we made pilgrim hats and indian headdresses and all of our European friends wore them and stuffed their faces!
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
For the first time ever we are going to have an "Alton Brown turkey". Yum yum.
Pumpkin: *Way* or *No Way*
@Monelle ~ Supermarket pumpkin pie? No comparison. It's like comparing apples and gym socks!
@bareneed ~ I've missed SE and YOU as well. Been a rough year, and I'm glad to be back.
@cybercita ~ Please post your bundt cake recipe?
I'd say the majority do like pumpkin, sweet and savory. I have made sweet potato pie and nobody knew the difference, so I'd substitute that in a New York minute if I couldn't find canned pumpkin. Anyone care to share more savory recipes, like cream of pumpkin soup?
Cook the Book: 'Good Eats: The Early Years'
One year, the turkey was so inedibly dry; we had to order pizza. As a kid, I was far happier with the pizza.
10lbs of onions in a two person house! What to do?
@GatorPam--I have heard of the bread trick. Normally, when it comes to one or two onions, I just breath through my mouth and hope for the best--when it comes to 5lbs of onions, as I did for the Les Halles Fr. Onion Soup...well I got my Canadian on:
Ski goggles...worked like a charm.
@jesuisjuba--I did French onion soup with a tonne of left over carmelized onions. Those have gone into sandwiches, pinto beans, and into pastas and on pizzas. I havne't tried any of the more involved recipes yet, but I still ahve several pounds of onions left over!
Appetizer Needed
Make a Waldorf salad mix and scoop onto romaine hearts.
Pretty simple. There are other variations but this is what I do:
Apples, Red Onions, curry powder, mayo (or yogurt), walnuts, celery, lemon juice, and parsley for garnish. . .
Recent Posts
Reporting back: very worthy veggie burger recipe
Posted by lemonfair, November 10, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Do you know where your hamburg is coming from?
Posted by lemonfair, October 4, 2009 at 6:20 PM
New Vermont food and restaurant newspaper section
Posted by lemonfair, August 14, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Do you ever make ground beef with the food processor?
Posted by lemonfair, August 6, 2009 at 4:13 PM
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About lemonfair
Website: http://verbento.blogspot.com/ and http://verfoodie.blogspot.com/
Location: Vermont
About: I'm a gardening woman who loves comfort food and new food. I love to cook and eat seasonally. As a young woman I used to make all my own bread, put food by, cooked from scratch. Am returning to that more and more.
Favorite foods: Tomatoes, potatoes, rice and beans, sour cream, chocolate, apple pie, roast chicken, pizza, burgers, shepherd's pie, avocados, root beer floats, Keilbasa, moxie, pickles, buttered toast with cinnamon sugar, bacon, BLT's, caramelized mushrooms...
Last bite on earth: potato chips with onion dip
Phyllo wrapped asparagus. Only needs 3 ingredients: the asparagus, a package of phyllo, and melted butter (can add a little parmesan, salt and pepper if you like). It's light, it's not cheese, it's not crudite. It's best made the day you serve it.
I've just written it up for you, with pictures. Below that recipe is the appetizer I'll be making tomorrow, a cream cheese/parmesan pine cone with pecans, but that may not qualify as light, and you said you weren't to bring cheese. It's a crowd pleaser though, and looks like you put more time into it than you did..
http://verfoodie.blogspot.com/