Something to Gobble Down! Turkey Three Ways.

First order of business, I want to give a thank you to my ultra modest friend Jeremy who made this NEW LOGO (see above) for me. I am really quite touched that he found my website worthy of his special attentions in digital designery. He can expect some special noms in the future. You may also notice the new layout, hopefully you all think it works.ah,

Now, it is time to talk turkey.

This past Veterans Day weekend was an ambitious one. Not only did I bake two pumpkin pies, I decided to tackle a turkey in a way I’ve been meaning to try out for a while now, at the insistence of two good friends yet scary good roller derby gals, Maully Millions of the Ithaca League of Women Rollers and Karlee! As they wanted to see several methods of preparing turkey, I took their idea of taking one turkey, and breaking it down so I could try a few different seasoning methods.

One caveat to note. I noticed after purchase that the turkey was frozen in some sort of brine already (8% solution according to packaging) so I adjusted the salt to less of a concentration to compensate. Results were good (clarified below) but I think the turkey probably could have withstood the full forced brine or marinade without a problem.

First, the turkey had to be defrosted. This was done over a few hours with changes of cold water every thirty minutes to ensure even defrosting.

Sorry, there just isn’t much of a way to make a raw turkey look terribly appealing.

Real Estate Lady Pumpkin Pie: Part 2 of the Pumpkin Pie Matchup!

Here’s the second part of Pumpkin Pie Matchup, where the second contender to compete against the Alton Brown pumpkin pie appears! Both go in… to your stomachs!

I guess matchup isn’t really fair the right descriptor here. It’s not like I combed through thousands of recipes to decide which two I’d compare. But “ill informed comparison of pumpkin pies” doesn’t quite have the right ring to it, so there you go. Now the confessions are done, on to the main event.

But, why “Real Estate Lady” pumpkin pie? This recipe turned up on the doorstep quite literally, attached to a sugar pumpkin by one of our friendly neighborhood real estate agents informing us of what the values of our homes were. Such a bold marketing plan with foresight surely belonged to a person whose tongue was able to discern the best pumpkin pie recipe within my zip code!  Upon doing some further research on the web, it turns out that the recipe is really just a modified Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe, substituting Libby’s canned pumpkin with freshly pureed pumpkin (handily supplied by the friendly local real estate agent, in case you forgot.)

Whatever the reason, the arbitrariness with which this recipe came to me warrants it a spot in this two part challenge.

First off, preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Not having pumpkin pie spice on hand, I fashioned my own according to this recipe. 

 

The Alton Brown Pumpkin Pie: Part 1 of the Pumpkin Pie Matchup!

This is both a follow up to the Alton Brown recipe series and quite related to autumnal eats; the pumpkin pie, thanksgiving essential (up to debate). And this is the first of two posts comparing with another recipe to boot! More on that later.

Hopefully you’ll be using homemade pumpkin puree, but if not, I’m sure the canned stuff will work. Whatever the case, assembling the crust comes first.

For the AB Pumpkin Pie, the application takes a cue from graham cracker crusts but replaces the cookies with more assertive and distinctive gingersnap. Add some ground ginger, brown sugar and some melted butter and you’ll be set! More detailed instructions at the end.

First preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while assembling the ingredients.

 

Pureeing Pumpkins for Pie

Thanksgiving is just over the horizon, so if you have some time, it is the perfect time to prepare for pumpkin pies. Ideally, with actual pumpkin you prepare yourself!

First off, don’t use those huge Jack-o’-Lantern pumpkins. Small baking pumpkins are what we’re after. Then preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Split in half carefully with a cleaver. And perhaps on the floor to avoid damaging your nice countertops.

After removing seeds, sprinkle the pumpkin halves with kosher salt.

Lay the pieces cut side down on parchment paper and roast for thirty to forty-five minutes.

They’re ready when you can stab them easily with a knife!

They will also look like this.

Scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

And put into a food processor and puree it, which takes about three minutes or so.

Interestingly one of the pairs of skin really kept its shape, while the other one, not so much.

And voila, some lovely pulp to make pumpkin pie fillings. Refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to you.

Stay tuned for two upcoming recipes, a real head to head match up between very different recipes.

Cà Tím Nướng - Vietnamese Style Roasted Eggplant– Turning Vietnamese #6

In its versatility in cooking methods and the ease with which it takes on the flavors of various seasoning, the eggplant is truly a great vegetable to have on hand, especially when they are featured proudly at the farmers market.

This treatment highlights a distinctly Vietnamese treatment of the long skinny purple ones that my family has enjoyed as a side dish quite often. Straight and narrow recipe posted at the bottom.

First preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

After washing and halving the eggplant, the next step is to sprinkle lightly and evenly with kosher salt, which adds flavor and removes some of the moisture.

Stuffed Summer Squash–Autumnal Eats

With the Halloween come and past, now is a good a time as any to focus upon some comfort dishes that folks associate with these generally cooling months, or really cold depending on your location (or maybe hotter if you’re on the other side of the equator.)

So it is either very appropriate or weird that the featured ingredient of the first post focusing on this theme is summer squash. By the way, the word summer in summer squash however is more of a reference towards the short shelf life compared to the more durable winter squash.

These are the lovely squash I picked up at the farmers market last week, and they’ve been waiting patiently in the crisper for me to get to them. Two green pattypans and five sunburst squashes to be precise.

Though a little bit small, I thought these would be great to make stuffed squash.

For Breakfast, Trying my Best! My First Try at Omuraisu AKA Japanese Rice Omelette & First Try with French Omelette Technique

After enjoying myself a week ago making miso soup for the first time I wanted to explore more Japanese dishes, which inspired this morning’s breakfast, a nice plate of Omuraisu (or omurice, omu rice.) For all things Japanese, I turn to the JustHungry blog for my recipe needs.

Now, for a brief lesson, Omuraisu is a yohshoku, or Japanese version of originally Western dish that has gone native.

It being the morning, I wasn’t altogether there in taking rigorous pictures, but I think you’ll get the idea. The ingredient list really reminds me of making fried rice the way I do at home, just replacing the Chinese sausage with ham, organizing the egg a bit differently, and adding ketchup. And replacing the fish sauce with salt.

In addition to a ten inch nonstick or cast iron skillet suitable for making omelets you will also need:

• One cup of rice
• Two eggs
• Half a cup of cooked ham, diced (or chicken breast)
• Half of a small onion, chopped
• A few knobs of butter
• Salt and pepper
• Ketchup

First I prep my ingredients, scrambling the eggs with some salt and pepper, chopping the ham, and the onion. As this gets ready quickly, it’s handy to have everything ready to go. My rice cooker with leftover rice from last night is located right behind where I stand to use the range, so that was handy as well.