Posts filed under 'Holidays'
I love St. Patrick’s Day — one of the few holidays when there are no obligations for expensive gift-giving, or party obligations. The only requirement is to wear something green, so you can avoid getting pinched, which I find not to be a hardship at all. St. Patrick’s Day is simply fun! And it also involves cooking foods we don’t normally have, so for me, that makes it extra fun.
For more information about St. Patrick and this day, check out the History Channel’s website here.
For our St. Patrick’s Day dinner, I will be making:
Corned Beef
Boiled Potatoes
Fried Cabbage
Irish Soda Bread
I also saw a recipe for Lemon Curd Cake (suggested to go with your St. Patrick’s Day meal) in a magazine, but I’m not going to be making it since I really don’t need any more calories in my life or in this meal. 
If this interests you, do a quick web search, I’m sure something will pop up. I’m not offering any advice about lemon curd cake since I have never even eaten it, much less made one.
Corned Beef –> This time of year, it is easy to find a package of corned beef, all ready to be cooked, with a little spice packet included. I have found that these are very, very good. At my warehouse club, I can buy this all year round for about $2.39 per pound. Last week, my corner grocery had them for $1.79 per pound. I bought two and will cook both on St. Patrick’s Day, the leftovers make great sandwiches. To prepare, simply place the raw corned beef, with spice packet sprinkled on top, in the crock pot and cook on low all day.
Boiled Potatoes –> Simply cut potatoes into quarters, and boil gently for about 20 minutes or until soft all the way through. Then drain, add some butter, salt and dill and you’re done.
Fried Cabbage –> Also easy to prepare. Chop a head of cabbage into chunks, add some chopped onion or green pepper. Melt a generous amount of butter into a large skillet and fry for about 20 minutes until the cabbage is soft and caramelized. Yum. Cajun seasoning is yummy on this, too, if your family likes spicy food.
Irish Soda Bread –> Refer to this earlier St. Patrick’s Day post to see a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of my readers!!
March 16th, 2009
Turkey is so hard to perfect because we generally only cook one or maybe two each year. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around again, we don’t remember how we prepared the darn thing or if it was good or not. Everyone seems to have a different memory, too, which doesn’t help, and we end up saying things like… “It was really juicy the year Sam was learning to talk… How did we make it that year?”
The first year I was responsible for the turkey, (it was just my hubby and kids) living in the south was a novelty so we decided to grill the turkey. That was a mistake because I had no idea how to cut up the darn thing and it took so long to cook that the outside was black before the meat was done. Never again.
For the next couple of years, I made your run-of-the-mill roasted turkey. It’s good but I always, even as a kid, thought that turkey breast was too dry but the dark meat was too greasy.
Two years ago, I became more determined and started researching methods for juicy turkeys. I specifically remember roasting it upside down (breast down) and then turning it over for the last hour so the breast would still get nice and brown. This turned out VERY juicy and tender, because the juice from the dark meat drips through the breast while it roasts. However, flipping a 15+ pound turkey while it is hot is no easy task.
Last year, I bought an injector. I made a very savory, buttery, seasoned broth and injected it into our bird multiple times. I was briefly able to imagine what a nurse’s life must be like. Surely, I thought, this would be the best turkey yet. NOT. The injected turkey seemed just as dry to me as any other roasted turkey from my past.
Maybe I am too finicky, but I believe this is how good, even great, cooks are made.
Tonight I am brining my turkey. I frequently brine pork tenderloin and am always amazed at the difference. The meat always comes out tender and flavorful, even when I grill it a little too long.
After a minimum of research, I have decided to brine this bird (a 17 pounder this year - we love leftovers) in a solution of 1 c. salt, 5 quarts water, and 1 c. brown sugar. More of the same solution if I need more liquid to cover the bird. Everything I have read and heard tells me that this is the way to the perfect bird. Fortunately, I have a very large stockpot that I use when canning and when cooking corn on the cob. This is where I will brine the turkey, and since it has already occupied a large portion of my fridge for the last several days, it shouldn’t be a problem to find a place to put it.
I’ll take photos when it’s done and post them. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, no matter how you cook your turkey!
November 26th, 2008
On a whim, I decided it would be fun to make applesauce with my eight-year-old son. He loves machines and seeing how things work and I have a hand-cranked food strainer for making things like applesauce, tomato sauce, and pumpkin puree.
As I said, applesauce-making seemed like a fun afternoon project for us. I bought several pounds of Gala apples while at the grocery and yesterday afternoon we got out the strainer, cooked up the apples, and cranked away. I did not endeavor to make 5 gallons and can it all, I just wanted to make a good portion for us to eat this week.
First of all, I have to say that Jake did LOVE making the applesauce. He was thrilled that I let him get all of the pieces out of the box and try to put it together himself. In the end, I had to do most of this, but he watched eagerly and learned how the machine went together and how it worked.
The process is extremely simple:
First, buy a bunch of apples. I bought 6 pounds of apples - oops, I think we ate a couple before making the applesauce, so let’s say I started with 5 pounds. I bought Gala apples, after making sure that they are good for baking. Some apples don’t cook up very well — Red Delicious, for instance, do NOT make good applesauce or pies at all. Gala, Jonathan, Yellow Delicious, and Fuji all work nicely.
Next, I quartered the apples and threw them in a large stock pot, stems, seeds, peels and all. The strainer removes all of that stuff. If you don’t have a strainer and still want to make applesauce, go ahead and remove the peels, cores, and stems. I added about 1/2 c. of water to the pot and brought it to a simmer, then lowered the heat and put a lid on it.
It took about 45 minutes of bubbling to get the apples nice and soft. By that time, my kitchen sure smelled great. Mmm… Mmm… Jake and his sister were positively jumping around the room, anxious to begin cranking the strainer.
I turned off the apples and let them cool a bit, then fed them through my strainer. If you don’t have a strainer, at this point you could put them in a blender or food processor. After tasting, we decided that a little sugar and cinnamon would make it just perfect, so we added 1/2 c. sugar and about 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Our 5 pounds of apples were now about 2 quarts of applesauce.
We served it for a snack, then with supper, and we still have some in the fridge, although I’m not expecting it to last much longer.
October 28th, 2008
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