Stuff from the Holidays

I have been very lazy after Thanksgiving and not done much of interest, but here are a few pictures from the holidays.

I didn't take many pictures of food but managed to get a plate of leftovers photographed.

The leaves I picked up on a walk a while back made for good holiday decoration

The roasted turkey!

Spirits

My work space. I like having cabinets with no doors...makes things easier!

Where I prepare food every day

The brine I made. This solution was diluted with a gallon of cold water and the turkey sat in it for 12 hours.

Fresh green beans ready for the cooking pot

Fresh cranberries ready for the cooking pot

The beginnings of the dressing

The Bird is in the Oven

It's been cooking now for about an hour and smells really good!

The Brining is Done!

So the bird sat in a brine solution for about 12 hours. I'm so nervous! I hope it turns out well because I have no spare turkeys on hand. All I have to do now is add the aromatics to the cavity(citrus, apples, fresh herbs) and rub some butter up under the skin and oil the top of the skin. Then in the oven it goes for about 2 and half hours.

Almost Done

I spent the whole day cooking. Tomorrow I will finish up with the bird. All I'll have to do is the final heat up of dishes and getting the turkey done. Should be a snap. I'm happy to have the bulk of the cooking behind me. On a different note I'm glad it got cold outside. It feels more like a holiday that way.

I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. To all of my friends and loved ones I won't get to spend time with, you are in my thoughts.

Trying Something New This Year

I've never brined a bird before but I am going to give it a try this year. Apparently it's the way to go when roasting a bird. My turkey is sitting in it's briny mixture now and will marinate for about 10 hours. I bought a fresh organic turkey and bet it will be fine eating. It was expensive so it better be!

My green bean casserole is done. I made a mushroom cream sauce using pancetta, butter, garlic, cream, flour, a little sherry, chicken stock, and various spices. In this I folded fresh cooked green beans and the crispy fried onions that I made to go with it. The last step is to top it off with more of the stringy fried onions and bake it. This isn't your ordinary green bean casserole.

Next on the menu is the sweet potato casserole. The sweet potatoes are cooking now as I write this. I'm going to offer them two ways this year. One way will be sweet and gooey. It will be made with fresh squeezed oj, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, pecans, marshmallows, cream, and butter. It's not light on calories or fat but worth it for special occasions. The other way will be more savory and roasted...lightly glazed but not too sweet.

I plan to make the stuffing tonight as well. I bought two kinds of fresh bread this year, cubed it all up, and dried it out in the oven. The bread has different kinds of whole grains, nuts, and seeds in it. The dressing should be pretty special as well. Of course I'll add home made stock to it, fresh herbs, chestnuts, celery, onions, garlic, etc... and possibley a little home made cornbread too.

The cranberry sauce is finished. I used fresh whole cranberries, lemon and orange zest, fresh squeezed lemon and orange juice, granny smith apples(finely diced) and a cup of sugar. I can't wait to eat it with my turkey tomorrow!

I'll mash potatoes tomorrow for those who don't like sweet potatoes and start the bird around noon. Most of the work will be done tonight! I'm so glad I planned ahead so there is no stress. I can't wait to take pictures of everything when it's all finished. If anyone wants a recipe and specifics let me know.

Cookin a Bird

For the past several Thanksgivings we've always flown to San Francisco to gather with family at Russell's grandmother's house. Although going to California is always a fun thing, I'm happy to be staying home this year so I can cook up a righteous feast. I hate to say it, but I'm terribly picky when it comes to Thanksgiving food. I always expect it to be amazing and no one in the family does it like I do. So I'm excited that I get to pull out the culinary big guns and go for it. We are having a few of our closest friends over this year too to help us celebrate...it's gonna be great.

What's for Dinner?

I feel like whipping something up a little more gourmet tonight since I'm feeling creative and food has been a focus lately with all the flurry of learning the ropes of freezer bag cooking. I'm making roasted quail with a cherry sauce, and creamy mashed new potatoes with fresh garlic and fresh garden herbs. I also have some crusty Italian bread that would be nice lathered with olive oil and herbs. I may or may not toast it lightly. I could make a salad but considering I had little sleep last night I'm going to skip it.

Some ingredients for the cherry sauce. I've never made it before and didn't have a recipe, but this seemed like a good starting point.

First I seasoned the quail and seared it on high heat for about five minutes in grape seed oil.

Next I removed the quail and deglazed the pan with cooking sherry, then added shallots, salt, pepper, bing cherries, butter, and a splash of cranberry juice. I threw the quail back in and tossed the whole thing in the oven to brown the birds up a bit and finish cooking them.

The finished dish. The cherry sauce was divine and Russell liked it so much he wanted to know what else I could put it on. I'm thinking pork or duck might be good choices for next time.

Freezer Bag Cooking

The concept is ideal for back packers. We need something light weight, convenient, easy to prepare, and easy to cleanup, not to mention tasty and substantial. I did some internet research on the subject after Thomas introduced the concept to me a few months back. Freezer bag cooking is a brilliant idea that uses simple dehydrated and freeze dried ingredients, a zip lock bag, and some boiling water to cook up good hot food that has plenty of calories for hard hiking.

Considering I'm an experienced cook, I want to use what knowledge I have of cooking methods and food prep to come up with easy recipes that will work well for our needs. I found several sites on the internet that explain how to dehydrate foods and can use my own oven for many different things. I can also use the sun, or a semi cool dry room. I can even build my own dehydrator and found plans for several different types.

Cooking can be an art form and I wonder if there is any artistry to freezer bag cooking. Just how gourmet can one get on the trail? I found several different recipes that sound interesting. One of them contains an odd ingredient....orange flavored Crystal Light, or Tang. It's for making sesame chicken! Use lemon flavored drink mix for lemon chicken. I'm a little skeptical until I test it out in my own kitchen. I'm already brainstorming and trying to come up with an alternative that might be better...such as the zest of a lemon rind, lemon pepper seasoning, and maybe a pinch of brown sugar, but who knows. Maybe the recipes I've come across online are the best of what can be expected, but I will find out.

The important thing is kitchen testing. I've already tried one recipe that I gussied up a bit which worked great in my kitchen and the field test. It was chicken and stuffing. I have ideas for pasta primavera and spagetti with meat sauce too. I can't wait to gather up all the stuff I need and start making up a few things. Stay tuned for updates on this project.

What's for Dinner?

Potato and leek Soup
French bread
mixed green salad

I haven't made soup in ages and today feels like a good day for it. I look forward to using some of the herbs from my garden. The fun thing about making soup is that it doesn't have to be the same every time. Simply adjusting the amounts of herbs will vary the flavor a great deal. I never measure anything, I just throw it in...taste...and adjust. If you don't have the confidence to try it that way, take a small amount of your base and season it to experiment. That way if you don't like it, you didn't ruin the whole dish.

Herb Garden

Herbs, Leeks, Potatoes, onion, celery

Chopped garlic, onions, celery, herbs

Quick Saute

Cooking with potatoes

What's for Dinner

Tonight I made beef stroganoff , which I always hated the name of, but it's a fun dish to make that tastes awesome.

What's for Dinner?

Pork Tenderloin with an apricot, mango, and wasabi glaze. Serving with wild rice and a tossed salad on the side.

What's for Dinner?

Homemade crab cakes with a mixed green salad on the side. I make the dressing from scratch using lemons, olive oil, spices, balsamic vinegar, garlic, a little brown mustard, and some honey. For the crab cakes I'll make a lemon dill sauce.Crab being mixed in the bowl with other ingredients
Pre-frying
Making Salad

Dinner is served!

What's for Dinner?

Chunky Chicken and Chorizo Chili &
Polenta Corn Cakes

What's for Dinner?

Soft shredded beef tacos with cilantro and green chilis mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

What's for Dinner?

I'm going to start posting some of the things I make for dinner. If at any time someone wants a recipe feel free to ask.

Tonight's Menu:
Roasted Whole Chicken with mushroom gravy
Greenbeans
Glazed Carrots with lemon and dill