Hi everybody! My last post was before Thanksgiving, with a promised post-mortem on the meal. I’m afraid I’ve let events get the better of me on that, so here are some thoughts on TG and also some projections into the future:
1. Dry brining is the way to go with any type of meat. I would refer you to a massive Serious Eats manifesto on this subject: “Dry brining Is the Best Way to Brine Meat, Poultry and More.” I did something along their lines for my turkey breast at Thanksgiving and it came out quite moist and delicious. I also dry-brined some steaks recently and they were, like, totally awesome–flavorful with a great crust.
Just a thought. As I sit here late Tuesday afternoon my mother-in-law and I have done some menu simplification. We’ve ended up having only 11 people (and we’re happy to see all of them, of course), and so in the end Jan was the voice of reason and said, no, we didn’t really need a turkey plus a turkey breast, plus three kinds of gravy, plus two kinds of stuffing. We have one vegan guest and I want to have items she can eat, so that’s a nice challenge. Here’s what we’re having, with links to recipes that are linkable:
Great breakfasts around here this week! Remember the principle that you frontload your day, eating a hearty breakfast and then a lighter lunch and an even lighter dinner, with no evening snacking. This morning I threw together a rather complicated crustless quiche that used up most of a container of spinach that I had foolishly bought last week and the rest of an opened log of goat cheese. I will point out that soft goat cheese is richer and tangier than regular cream cheese—as well as being more expensive, of course. But I buy mine at Costco, and although it comes in a two-pack I think the unopened log will stay good for a while. So I found a recipe this morning for “
There’s been a friendly rivalry of sorts going on at our church between another woman and myself over who gets to do what food events. Neither one of us is actually running a business per se, but we both enjoy(?) putting on big meals. I had done our church Christmas party dinner (60-75 people) for about three years, then I said it was just too much. So my friendly rival (henceforth designated FR) took it over and did a spectacular job. I stayed out of the fray except for making desserts and my famous pink eggnog for several years, but then I sort of missed it. Last year I asked the woman in charge if I could do it. “Oh, I’m so sorry, but FR already asked if she could do it again this year, and I said yes.” So I stuck with my usual role. FR had also done the food for our annual women’s retreat for a couple of years, with the 2018 one being especially good. She made her grandmother’s green chile (chili? I can never remember when to use which spelling), and it was awesome. Plus she made this cold strawberry soup for dessert. Man! Plus, she made some little chocolate tarts that were . . . vegan. And in spite of that drawback they were honestly one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. So rich!
I’ve decided that I will be making two pies a year from now on, the