Posted on 11/17/2016 4:35:04 PM PST by Jamestown1630
Especially at this time of year, I’m a fan of ‘finger food’ that can be made ahead, frozen, and ready in just minutes in the event of impromptu visitors. Nothing fits this bill better than the Gougere, a light savory ‘puff’ of cheesy pastry that goes wonderfully with cocktails and freezes very well. There are many variations on the Gougere, but this one is basic and classic:
http://chezbonnefemme.com/recipes/gougeres/
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Last Thanksgiving, I took the advice of Freeper ‘boatbums’, and we dry-brined our turkey for the first time; it really was the best turkey we’ve had, even though we made the mistake of letting it go at 450 degrees for nearly the entire cooking time! So I thought I’d post again the link to the instructions we used. I’ve never eaten turkey breast meat that turned out as moist and succulent as last year’s turkey did, so we’re going to do it again this year:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/18/food/fo-calcook18"
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Lastly, a recipe I found today and haven’t tried, but which looks like another very interesting ‘finger food’ for parties, and perfect for Thanksgiving: ROSEMARY PECAN GOAT CHEESE TRUFFLES, from thecafesucrefarine.com, a really nice husband-wife cooking blog:
thecafesucrefarine.com/2016/03/rosemary-pecan-goat-cheese-truffles/
I hope that everyone enjoys a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be grateful for this year.
-JT
All arguments are now invalid! :)
Mr. T is going shopping for Thanksgiving tomorrow. He’s probably getting a turkey, a can or two of pumpkin, pie shells, cranberries, oranges, Bell’s stuffing mix, sweet potatoes, squash, baking potatoes, onions, chicken stock, almonds and green beans. Anything goes once he gets to the store.
He makes the cranberry sauce and gravy. Homemade cranberry sauce is delicious. Fresh cranberries, orange zest, Cointreau (orange-flavoured liqueur), and sugar or splenda.
This recipe from Food Network looks like it would work:
INGREDIENTS Nutrition
SERVINGS 6-8 UNITS US
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur
DIRECTIONS
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil; add cranberries, return to a boil.
Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Add orange zest and Cointreau (or Grand Marnier) and stir.
Let cool at room temperature.
Refrigerate until cold, or serve at room temperature.
I always buy a kosher bird which is always brined through the, well, koshering process. In recent years, they have figured out a way to wash off most of the salt which added such richness and an almost candy-like texture and taste to the meat but it is still delicious.
I just pre-made my pumpkin pie crust. One trouble: I made a pretty leaf border to the crust and I always have a little drooping in the baking process spoiling the effect. Any way to prevent it?
That’s how I make it but I just put some Triple Sec in place of the Cointreau.
It’s delicious!
I thought he killed his ruminants with a rock. Is he MIA, as in probation violation maybe?
If I’m understanding the problem, keeping the dough really chilled throughout the process, maybe?
Even chilling the leaves a little after you make them and before you apply may help.
I love those leaf decorations on the edges, but I’ve never made them.
I love those lacy things that you can do with melted parmesan. Just by themselves they’re a nice addition to salads. If you sprinkle the grated cheese on a Silpat in the oven, you can get some nice ‘cheese chips’.
I think the Koshering does basically to a turkey what the dry-brine does. When we used to do wet brining, we had to be careful not to buy a Kosher turkey, or any turkey that had been “injected”.
Another thought: maybe a pie plate with a wider edge?
I’ve never made Sausage Balls; are they like this:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21649/sausage-balls/
I’ve always used the chub of Gwaltney sausage - the ‘spicy’ version - for things like this, especially the Sausage-Spinach-Bean Soup that we make in the winter:
Sausage, Spinach and Bean Soup
8 oz. Hot Italian Sausage, casing removed (or your favorite sausage - I usually use one of the little ‘chubs’ of hot sausage)
1 tsp. Olive Oil
5 cloves Garlic, minced (Yes, 5; you may want to tone this down, too)
1/2 tsp. dried Red Pepper flakes
2 10-oz packages of fresh Spinach, torn (Baby Spinach is good here)
2 15-oz cans of Great Northern Beans, undrained
1/4 cup unsalted Butter
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 plum Tomatoes, diced (can use canned)
2 T. chopped Parsley
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
3 cups Chicken Broth
Brown sausage in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat for 10 minutes, breaking it up and stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink.
Add garlic and crushed red pepper, and saute 2 minutes.
Add spinach and saute 2 minutes, or until wilted.
Stir in the beans and cook 1 minute. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Add butter, cheese, tomato and 1 T. parsley.
Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in salt and pepper.
Sprinkle each serving evenly with 1 T. parsley.
Leave it to you, Jamestown! Next year, if all goes well. Tonight it’s sitting in the freezer in a regular pie tin but that is absolutely brilliant - at least to this first year culinary student.
Be sure to grease the edge well. Bring the shell up over the edge, and give the leaves good contact with the shell. Might want to moisten the shell edge, when attaching leaves.
I did moisten the edge of the crust so that the leaves would adhere and tried hard to make sure the leaves didn’t dip below the edge. But they probably will melt.
I wish I had thought of a wide edge.
I wonder if professional bakers use baking powder in the crust so that the pie edge rises slightly during the baking? And so doesn’t adhere so closely and can be cut more easily? Who knows!
You know, the more I look at that, the more it looks like ‘Audrey II’ :-)
Well, you can always just make the edge a little thicker.
Stuff like this is ‘trial and error’ - I guess people who do it for a living and require consistent results get the hang after many trials and analyses. Maybe they make the leaves from a stiffer dough, with less fat.
But I would never want to see a home-made pie that was ‘perfect’, and looking like it was spit out of a 3-D printer.
So: You Go, Girl!
Oh! Here's an interesting proposition: I was thinking of substituting the 2 evaporated milks in the recipe with one can of Nestlé’s La Lechera condensed milk and one regular condensed to add a carmelized quality. What do you think?
Naw, he was last sighted in Tx with a gun
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