Looking at the calendar of upcoming events and decided to get my shit together and figure out the upcoming 'Holi-Daze'. Normally, which is no longer part of my dialogue, you just assume you are going here or there and seeing them and them and then go home. But now, with a house divided, I am having to schedule Thanksgiving Day around who is cooking when, and all that. But its ok, once again, just an adjustment not a problem.
I started digging out recipes and looking for something different and then I thought, hell, all of you are 'different' in so many ways, send me the following:
-any recipes other than turkey & dressing and sweet potatoes, unless all three end up in a blender together, and if so, you are on your own anyway
-something that you always have, or want to try or a really different twist on a classic.
-traditions you follow other that food; mine is that m2 and I get up and cook together in our pajamas while we watch the Macy's Day Parade and she has hot chocolate and I have Baileys & Coffee....
-I actually had to cook the turkey last year and never had done that part so I was nervous and then Tyler Florence (yumm) was on the Today show and said when your turkey is close to being done, lay bacon across the top and finish cooking it that way and I did and it was heaven.
-any disasters, I love those stories. This is true; my grandmother would always set the most beautiful table, all the china, crystal, etc, she pulled out all the punches on TG and Christmas. I think her table sat about 8 or 10 people and it was all ready to go. Well, we show up with our new dog, a dachaund named Schnitzel, and he decides he is going to chase the cat through the house and the cat shoots up on the table that is completely set and runs down the middle and that damn dog went right behind the cat down the middle of the table. Shit was flying off the table, my grandmother, Mama B, freaked, got the broom and chased them through the house and I believe Schnitzel was tied outside the rest of the visit.
Share your turkey love right here....
28 comments:
Bj, where in the hell do you find all of your pictures?! You're killing me!
I will definitely get back to you on the recipes for TG. I've got some good ones!
Mmm... bacon on the turkey? Yes please!
google image and you can put any words into the search and you get some crazy stuff......
the bacon was a great trick because it keep the top from drying out while the rest browned up. Overall, I would prefer NOT to be the turkey cooker, too much pressure...
OK, I personally think the turkey is the EASIEST part of TG -- it's one damn bird in one oven. What's hard is making everything else & having it ready because you cannot fit anything else into your oven with said turkey.
That being said, I LOVE dressing. And could seriously be happy with just dressing, gravy, oven-roasted brussel sprouts & pecan pie for dessert. Oh, and lots of wine.
Hmm, I'll try to come up with some sort of recipe that isn't standard TG fare. BUt give me a few days...it's Monday & I'm totally ramped up for thinking yet.
that last sentence should read "not totally ramped up for thinking yet".
See???
We cooked our turkey upside once by accident. And it was SO moist. The next year we read about it in a fancy-schmancy cookbook.
that makes sense, all the grease from the dark meat falls into the middle or behind the white meat...you know what I mean...the hole where that bag of goodies is hiding. I could do without that slimy sack as long as the gravy just appears...
s- how do you roast the brussel sprouts? I was going to try a new recipe that you use cream and tarragon in, I think mushrooms are involved too- oh and wine for me while I cook...
I am going to dig out a great cranberry sauce recipe that has horseradish in it and everyone usually loves it-
coming soon
and I know the turkey is one bird, one oven (sounds like a campaign speech) but its the BIG deal of the day!! If you screw up the turkey, hey....NO ONE WILL EVER ASK YOU TO COOK IT AGAIN!! THATS BRILLIANT!!!
BJ-
I love the hair cuts and the names and all in the picture. So funny. I hope you are well.
DK
for those sprouts, I just cut them in half, drizzle with EVOO & them sprinkle with salt, pepper, fresh garlic & sometimes some fresh thyme or tarragon. Pop into the oven for about 10 minutes at like 400, them toss & throw back in for another 10. But you have to watch them because the timing all depends on size. Bigger might take a bit longer, smaller a bit less.
My fascination with sprouts is odd. I used to HATE them (who didn't really). Now I CRAVE them.
*I* for one am campaigning for going OUT to T-day. That's likely because I HATE to cook. And TG falls dead smack in the middle of the fall hunting seasons, so by the time the hunters stumbled home last year everything was dry and inedible.
GREEN BEANS in HORSERADISH SAUCE
Empty 2 cans Blue Lake green beans into a saucepan (or whatever kind that is on sale. Just NOT French cut ones. They're too flimsy and you can't count on them not to have surrendered to some other country on TG and therefore be unavailable).
Add store-bought creamed Horseradish sauce- enough to thoroughly coat the beans
Mix in sliced hard boiled egg whites.
Warm in a saucepan. They are even better if you mix up the day before and refrigerate.
REMEMBER TONIGHT TOMORROW TG cocktail:
2 oz bourb0n
crushed ice
splash Marlin, TX mineral water
Once you taste this with the mineral water you will know how it go its name.
Lastly, always:
SEASON TO TASTE
COOK UNTIL DONE
Hi Racie!
Two things: Can you use fresh green beans or do they have to be canned? And where do you buy Marlin, Texas mineral water? And since I'm not a bourbon drinker would some other booze work? (I guess that's 3 things)
THis is a belgian recipe from my family:
In a glass bowl, layer:
one layer of crushed cornflakes
fresh cooked cranberries
fresh whipped cream
repeat the layers several times. Serve chilled.
You'll never go back to straight cranberry again once you've had it the Belgian way.
(Of course, in the old days it was flaxseed and not cornflakes)
Sheila, you can't buy Marlin mineral water anywhere that I know of. You have to take 35 south for about 100 miles, then exit at Highway 6 and go east for about 27 miles (if you go west you will run into Crawford and I hear Dubya's in a real bad mood these days. He's looking for a new job and the market is just SO tight right now). Then head to the town square with your quart-size mason jar and filler up at the outdoor fountain that has been continuously spewing sulphur-laced mineral water for over 100 years now. Once you taste it you will understand why it is free.
Yes, other liquors can be substituted but bourbon works best as it is the most effective at killing the sulphur taste. Enjoy!
couldn't you just drop some wooden matches into Perier?
love the recipes chicks, I'm going to try them ALL and blame you guys for any duds....and then I'll mix a remember drink.....and not care!!!
so basically it's crappy water? I guess i can get it on my next trip to the lake house, bt i can't figure out if this is truly good (and worth it), or if you're just pulling my leg. i'm so confused...
oh, and what about the green beans?
and lastly, Lorrie's cornflakes & cranberries sound good. i (heart) cornflakes. I crush them & bread chicken tenders with them and bake. Yummy.
Sheila, the green beans can be fresh and I'm sure the recipe would be much better made with fresh anyway.
I got the drink recipe out of my copy of "Bounty on the Brazos" which was compiled by the Wednesday Afternoon Musical Society co-founded by my maternal grandmother around 1910-ish. Posh Oltorf created the bourbon and mineral water drink as a joke. But it made its way into the cookbook so I figured it was worth adding to BJ's holiday menu. Marlin mineral water is the real deal, tastes awful but is supposed to be great for arthritis and God-knows what else. Personally, I leave out the water and just drink the bourbon.
10-4 good buddy. thanks for clarifying. good idea, stick with the bourbon!
Racie sent me over to give you this recipe. To be fair, I haven't made it yet, but I swear I will this weekend!I think I'll bring this to my sis-in-laws.
Eggnog Cheesecake Bars
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 24
Ingredients
14 Crackers Keebler® Grahams Original rectangular cracker sheets*
- or -
1 3/4 cups Crackers Keebler® Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg, divided
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned or refrigerated eggnog
Nutmeg (optional)
Directions
1. Finely crush crackers (should have about 1 3/4 cup crumbs). In small bowl stir together crackers, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the nutmeg. Add butter. Toss until combined. Press onto bottom of 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 8 minutes.
2. In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla and remaining 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Stir in eggnog.
3. Bake at 350°F about 22 minutes or until almost set. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Lightly sprinkle with additional nutmeg, if desired. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into bars.
*NOTE: Each cracker sheet measures about 5 x 2-inches and is scored into 4 pieces.
And just because - I'm cooking a turkey right now.
KWR- those sound DIVINE...
I seem to think we can count on you for our sweet tooth connection in recipes or new fabulous candy bars just out on the market...everyone needs a chocolate 'mole'...can't wait for the outome
I have a tradition that I always try to follow: find a near or distant family member that is hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Eat there. Offer to do the dishes after the meal in restitution for lack of participation in preparation. Refuse to take any leftovers home.
Boomer Sooner.
B.J.
Here is a turkey recipe that will warm your heart and mind. (See below)
Do you recall the Thanksgiving dinners the Redhead and I prepared for the homeless waiters and waitale cocktress's that had no family in T-town back in the day. I recall some herbs and powders that were not in the food process, but consummed in mass quantities all the same.
The World's Best Turkey
INGREDIENTS
* 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
* 1/2 cup butter, cubed
* 2 apples, cored and halved
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.
There you go girl....
Happy Thanksgiving to all, I wish we could spend it together this year, I miss the days of old.
(Wiping tears)
I always thought the older we got, the easier life would be. What a dumb-ass I was.
Love you from the banks of Davis Creek.
Daddio
By the way, dear heart.
Every day is Thanksgiving Day.
If you wake up and nothing falls off; give thanks.
When the Redhead and I lived in San Antonio, we procastinated on our T day shopping thinking the stores would be open. Not!
We ended up with Ragu and pasta from a gas station that was open.
Probably the best T day we had.
Daddio
this is so interesting ... like another world .... who has a recipe for red velvet cake - I'd like one please ....I imagine this is not a TG menu item but I hope there is no harm in asking my USA connections to cough up - cheers le
LE
I'll find one for you...there are several dif versions in some cookbooks I have
ALEX!!!!!
You're back! Thanksgiving totally reminds me of you and Lindy because we shared a few in Tulsa, and also KC- you proposed to my mom at Fedora's, right???
And your oven broke in Tulsa one time and Lindy called me and said I had to cook the turkey and I thought oh shit, and it had one of those little buttons that pop out so you brought it across town to my apt and then I hauled it back to your house when the button popped- pretty sure John Harvey was there that occasion.
I need to see you guys...
RED VELVET CAKE FOR LE, FROM THE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES COOKBOOK:
1/2 C. BUTTER
4 T. COCOA
1/2 C. SHORTENING
1 C. BUTTERMILK
2 C. SUGAR
1 TSP. VANILLA
4 EGGS
4 T. RED FOOD COLORING
2 1/2 C. ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
1 TSP. BAKING SODA
1/4 TSP. SALT
OVEN 350. GREASE AND FLOUR THREE
9" CAKE PANS. CREAM BUTTER, SHORTENING, AND SUGAR. ADD EGGS, ONE AT A TIME,, AND BUTTERMILK. COMBINE FLOUR, SODA, SALT AND COCOA, GRADUALLY ADD FOOD COLORING BLEND WELL. POUR INTO PANS AND BAKE 25 MINS. COOL AND FROST.
FROSTING
16 OZ. POWDERED SUGAR
4 T. WHIPPING CREAM
1 C. MARGARINE
1 TSP VANILLA
1 TSP. RED FOOD COLORING
1/2 CUP SHREDDED COCONUT (OPTIONAL)
BLLEND SUGAR, MARGARINE, VANILLA AND CREAM UNTIL SMOOTH. FROST LAYERS AND ASSEMBLE, TINT COCONUT WITH FOOD COLORING AND SPRINKLE OVER THE TOP. PUT ON THE COUNTER SO EVERYONE CAN SEE IT AND OOHH AND AHHH AND SAY WHAT A GREAT COOKER YOU ARE. SEND ME A PIECE.
ohhh thanks BJ - double yumo !! I will make it and report back - many hugs !! le
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