Deconstructed Holiday Turkey with Sage Gravy

To Brine or Not To Brine….
Growing up, my mother did not brine our turkey for Thanksgiving. She did it the old fashioned way: slather on the butter, stick it in the oven, and torture the family for hours with the scent of roasting bird.

Our turkey always tasted good, but then again we ate Thanksgiving dinner which means we didn’t eat until 6:30 or 7:00, so we were all about to chew our arms off. I don’t recall the turkey ever being super dry, but I was a kid. All I cared about was how many mashed potatoes I could stuff in my mouth at one time. And then there’s gravy, the other food group.

Nowadays there is a national dry turkey emergency. There are so many versions of Thanksgiving Turkey Brine that it can be hard to choose—especially when you consider “trying” a brine means you have to cook a small turkey or a turkey breast. Not everyone wants to take time to do that unless you’re psycho, like me.

We go through a lot of turkey in my house. My sons will only eat turkey sandwiches for school lunch. Roasting a turkey or turkey breast can be better overall than buying a pound of the sliced turkey from the meat counter: not only can it be more economical, it just tastes better.

I have roasted turkey both ways; I have brined, and I have gone rogue and just thrown it in the oven. I must say I prefer the brine, especially for sandwiches. And let’s face it, the meal is good, but it’s all about the leftovers. I am particular about which brine I use. Some are too sweet, or too citrusy, or just plain weird. I like a brine that will enhance the flavor it and keep it moist, not change the taste of the turkey too much.

I have two favorite brines. The first one is a mix that we sell here, at the store (which makes life that much easier). It is made by a local company, KL Keller Food Ways, and the 1 lb. pack is enough to brine a 14-18 pound turkey. The blend contains sage, coriander, bay, black pepper and a little bit of chili flakes. But, don’t worry, it’s not spicy. It is very good and is available in the meat department.

My other favorite is a sage brine recipe I found in Bon Appetite for a Deconstructed Holiday Turkey with Sage Gravy. I don’t usually do the whole recipe but I do use the brine. I think it is the most “traditionally turkey” tasting brine if that even makes sense. Try it out on a turkey breast if you don’t want any surprises on the 27th. Read more…

Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Something Wicked This Way Comes…For Now

Halloween has me a little concerned this year. In the past, costume planning started in January. This year serious planning didn’t start until September. Well, except for my daughter; she still started planning in January. She will be going as a hamster. Without the human-sized hamster ball though. She’s totally bummed…and, yes they do make human-sized hamster balls.

The boys were seriously less enthusiastic. Getting them to commit was worse than pulling teeth, and the ideas kept changing from day to day. Scooby Doo and Shaggy were their first options. Frankly, I thought it was an awesome idea, but my opinion may be why it was nixed immediately.

One of the boys wanted to be this blow up ostrich thing—just too weird. (Really? Who comes up with these?) The other one was first thinking about being a caveman, and then the lime green unitard guy…ummmm, no!

The good news? No blood and guts for 2014. Instead we have a Spartan (that in no way resembles Tommy Trojan. I made sure of that. Go Ducks!), a nerd, and of course a hamster named Peanut—complete with a bag of peanuts. (This is an essential part of the costume as is the sign that says: Hi, my name is Peanut. My daughter is nothing, if not thorough.)

All of this semi-drama leads me to believe that it might be the last year for Halloween fun, at least for the boys. This goes way beyond the usual complaining when I take pictures of them in their costumes before school. Next year they hit Middle School and the innocence of the Buzz Lightyear costume morphs into I’m too cool for school. What-evs! And bring on the T.P. mischief.

I’m not ready for it to be over. Next thing you know we will loose Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Total childhood anarchy. I refuse to accept it. So I have been self-medicating with cake.

I made this one over the weekend. It seemed to help… Read more…

Endive & Fuyu Persimmon Salad with Pecans

You Say Persimmon, I say…Well…Persimmon

We are fortunate to have a Fuyu Persimmon tree in our backyard. For those who are unfamiliar, the Fuyu is the flat persimmon that you eat while it’s still firm. Not the ones that are teardrop shaped and make you pucker unless they are über soft.

I have never really been a huge fan of The Persimmon. My grandmother would make a persimmon salad for Thanksgiving every year, and every year I would scrape the persimmon off and eat the rest of the salad. She would also make persimmon pudding. Again, not one of my favorites. Of course, that’s when I was a kid. As I’ve gotten older my tastes have changed.

While persimmons are not exactly what I reach for when I am in need of a snack, I do enjoy them from time to time. My daughter, however, will go and grab them off the tree anytime the mood strikes. I wholeheartedly encourage this behavior, though she did teach the chickens to do the same thing. Nothin’ like playing in the yard and grabbing a snack.

The crop this year has been crazy-big and earlier than normal. I blame it on the cool summer and lack of water. We were eating persimmons in mid-September, way before you would see them in the market. Yesterday, we picked a bunch of persimmons to give to our neighbors for use in their restaurant. This was the third round of harvesting and it looks like we will probably get one more in before the leaves drop, though I may just pick them and use them as decoration. The color is perfect for October…as is this salad.

Endive & Fuyu Persimmon Salad with Pecans
Recipe adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rogers

A rich, slippery, fleshy salad that can just as easily be a dessert. Choose Fuyus that are saturated orange in color and as firm as a slightly underripe peach, or the skin of a just ripe banana. (Don’t use the torpedo-shaped Hachiya persimmons, which need to be jelly-soft before they are edible.) This salad is also nice with a few sprigs of watercress for contrast. You’ll get a very different flavor balance, still delicious and unusual. Read more…

Inside-Out Pumpkin Muffins

Goin’ Out of My Gourd
Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the fact that Fall is officially here. Then again maybe I’m just impatient since it’s not even October yet, but I have done gone pumpkin crazy.

I’ve noticed recently that any time I am in a position to be choosing a flavor for something, like a latte or a cookie, I find myself choosing the pumpkin option without fail or forethought.

This past weekend, I was overcome with the need to make pumpkin bread. Yes, the temperature was in the low 90s but I needed a pumpkin fix and it was worth a hot kitchen to get it.

Fall is my favorite time of the year so some version of my fall food mania is an annual occurrence. Of course, similar mania happens in the Spring with its fresh peas, and Summer with the arrival of stone fruit. I guess it’s fair to say that I’m just a year-round lunatic.

The intensity of my pumpkin craving is turned up a notch this year, and I am laying the blame at the feet of my flock. Thanks to the girls, there are no more squash plants of any kind. I am feeling a bit desperate.

The good news? There are many possibilities out there to satisfy my need for pumpkin. This recipe for Inside-Out Pumpkin Muffins is from my King Arthur Flour newsletter and is a perfect way to soothe any pumpkin addiction as well as a craving of equal intensity… Read more…