Skip to content

Archive for

Nov 29

1 Comment

After the ball….er…feast

In my first posting on Dec. 17, 2011, I discussed ways to store and use leftovers from holiday dinners and mentioned two of my favorite recipes which are available on this site; one for Hot Chicken Salad and the other for Stuffing Soup. Over the months I’ve offered other poultry recipes, especially for salads, in which leftover turkey can be substituted. In fact I don’t believe there are any in which it can’t. Two weeks ago I discussed stripping and freezing the leftover meat from the cooked turkey and boiling the bones for stock. All of this information can be easily found on this blog site and can be very helpful but would be far too time and space consuming to repeat here. So please look it up. Read more

Nov 19

Happy Thanksgiving

I can’t believe how fast this year, especially the last few weeks have flown. I swear I’m still in Halloween mode. I promised to discuss stuffing and am really pushing the wire here, but perhaps a few of you have decided to follow my example and buy a bird for next month and are planning ahead, or are perplexed as to what to do now, or simply want to make notes for next year. In any case here’s some general advice on stuffing or filling or dressing whichever is your regional term for that favorite side dish we enjoy with our turkey. Read more

Nov 15

Let’s talk turkey

When I think of a turkey in its natural setting, I picture colorful autumn woods, falling leaves, pumpkins and acorns. I don’t visualize tropical foliage, sun-drenched fields, blue water and a cactus. We learn, as children, that the turkey is native to North America, but that covers a huge area. It turns out that the Aztecs in Mexico domesticated the turkey years before they introduced it to the Spaniards in 1591. Their counterparts in Massachusetts were still picking them out of trees when the Pilgrims arrived in 1630. To further disillusion you, the birds we prize today for their plumpness, are bred from a Dutch strain. Oh yes! And I saw as a child, when visiting a farm on a class trip, the birds grown for the markets are white, not brown.  It seems the common, sedate turkey has a bit of mystique that would make it a good topic for True or False quizzes, from its history, through choosing, to preparing, to cooking to carving one. So let’s start from the top, bearing in mind that this discussion is “Roasting a Whole Turkey 101”. To widen it further would allow enough information to fill a book. Read more

Nov 8

When the frost is on the pumpkin…

In my area more than the frost is on the pumpkin. We’ll have to brush the sand off too! But wherever you live the calendar pages are turning and the path to preparing for the holidays is lighting up. I mentioned back in September, that I was drawing up my master food shopping list for the various “feasts” ahead. No matter what your situation, there are bound to be increased provisions to acquire and increased costs to be faced in the coming weeks. Amortizing both over a period of weeks, even months, reduces the stress on you and on your wallet and helps turn panic to pleasure. Pre-planning also allows you to recognize and take advantage of the best “deals” on different products as they appear. Read more

Nov 1

Full of — ‘Legumes’

While I was on a roll with my Facts of Basics posts, a relative phoned me from her office. She and some co-workers were discussing food prices and specifically how to effectively use beans in cutting costs.  Most of these people face a 3 hour daily commute and all have young families. They were attracted by the nutritional values but concerned about the time required to prep dried beans.  Several had learned that buying canned ones in quantity to serve as the main ingredient in a meal of multiple servings is no real saving.  What they really wanted was some “Cliff Notes” on the subject. So here goes—– Read more