Archive for the ‘Processes and Procedures’ Category

Funny how things change…

Saturday, November 28th, 2009
funny-how-things-change

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was great for two things: mashed potatoes and stuffing.  Turkey?  Eh.  This was back in the days when brining was unheard of, and invariably, I found turkey to be dry and pretty awful, and useful for not much more than a delivery system for more gravy.

Oh what a difference a new cooking technique can make.  I really adore roasted turkey now – thank you brining!!  I don’t really make it outside the holidays, and I really should.  It’s not terribly expensive, it’s pretty healthy, and oh yes, I like it.

Leftovers aren’t an issue either.  I don’t have any recipes that take turkey, because I don’t need them.  My brother makes sandwiches, and I just eat it straight out of the fridge.  I may go nuts later this evening and fry up a couple pieces of bacon and make myself a club sandwich.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever it was out there that informed me of this wonderful thing called brining.

Two good ideas I had yesterday!

Friday, November 27th, 2009
two-good-ideas-i-had-yesterday

We do a turkey breast and carve it in the kitchen and bring the goodies out on a platter to the table.  And it always makes a mess, even though I let the turkey rest, there’s still turkey juice going everywhere as I cut it up.

I had a flash yesterday.  (Doesn’t happen often!)  I have baking sheets that have a lip on them that is about 3/4″ high.  I have a cutting board big enough for the turkey breast that still fits within the baking sheet.  Result: The turkey juice that runs off the cutting board is caught by the baking sheet instead of running all over the kitchen counters!

After carving about 1/2 of it (that was more than enough for dinner and a couple midnight sandwiches) I took the remainder and just put the entire thing in one of those GIANT Ziploc bags to put in the fridge.  That way, I can carve the rest of it today when it is cold (and easier to cut up – I don’t know about anyone else, but I have trouble with the meat shredding when I cut it when it’s just out of the oven) and it was one less thing to need to do last night when I was in a turkey food coma.

Quick Soak Method for Dried Beans

Saturday, January 17th, 2009
quick-soak-method-for-dried-beans

While it does still take a couple hours, it is definitely quicker than an overnight soak for dried beans.  I’ve used this method and it does work just fine.

Put the beans in a large pan, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Let boil for a couple of minutes, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 1-2 hours.

Canning

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

Notes from the Bunker has a great post with pics on canning.  It’s something I’ve always shied away from, but his post shows that it can be simple and not as complicated as you might think.