Monthly Archives: November 2014

Turkey Talk

Holidays, informational 2 Comments

“The measure of success is not how high you fly but how high you bounce.”

Apparently I owe folks an apology. I blithely wrote a post about chocolate cupcakes for Thanksgiving, absolutely unaware that people were expecting some advice about turkey! Many thanks to the people who kindly made me aware! *grin*

First, my most important piece of advice: Let the worry go! I have never understood why people stress so much about cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. The truth is that, yes, something may go wrong. Just accept that fact now, plan for it, and move forward. It’s really rather freeing to know that things are not going to be perfect, so you can just enjoy being with family and friends. If the turkey is too dry, so be it; that’s what gravy and cranberry sauce is for anyway!

Now, for the turkey: (Will try to address the questions asked):

1. Frozen versus fresh: This is really just about time and money. Frozen turkeys tend to be cheaper, but you have to thaw them a couple of days ahead of time. Fresh is a little bit more money, but you can pick it up the day before.

A tip: If you don’t have a lot of space in your fridge for the turkey, put a cooler on your porch filled with ice and keep your turkey in there. As long as you’re replacing any ice that melts, your turkey will stay cold.

2. To brine or not: Funny how folks worry about this. This, too, is about time. Yes, brining does make for a moist turkey. Why? Because the turkey absorbs the liquid which then means less is lost during the cooking process. Brining, however, means doing some work ahead of time, and if you have any sodium issues, you don’t really want to add salt to your turkey.

If you choose to brine, it’s really just a matter of mixing some kosher salt with water, and if you want, herbs and/or aromatics like celery, garlic or onions. People will vary as to how much salt versus water they say to use. I usually use 2 tbsp of kosher salt for 4 quarts of water, and brine my turkey for two days. Others use more salt per water and brine the turkey for just 8 hours. What’s important to note is that the stronger the salt-water, the shorter amount of time you’ll want to use, because you don’t want your turkey to become too salty, even if you don’t have salt issues.

If you don’t want to brine, then the tip is to cook your turkey at a lower temperature. A long, slow roast makes for a moister turkey than cooking at a high heat which dries the meat out. This, of course, means starting your turkey a lot earlier in the day or having your meal much later in the day.

Tips: If you do brine, you can put the turkey into a large stockpot or tupperware with the brine and put it into your cooler on the porch. Also, if you purchased a frozen turkey, you can put the turkey into the brine frozen and allow it to slowly defrost in the brine.

3. Flavoring: If you really want a flavorful turkey, make a rub of herbs and rub it over the turkey flesh. This means gently pulling the skin away from the turkey and rubbing the dry rub underneath the skin. For the skin, if you actually like to heat the skin, you can make a moist rub by adding a bit of olive oil to the herbs and rubbing it over the skin. There’s no need to use salt or butter which helps folks who have issues with either.

A tip: Instead of stuffing your bird with stuffing, put herb sprigs and garlic and onions and carrots inside the bird. Makes for a lovely taste. Also, stuffing the bird is not the best, because you get all the bacteria from the inside of the bird onto your stuffing, and to get your stuffing to the right temperature usually means overcooking your turkey.

4. Cooking: If you are someone who really is worried about cooking a whole turkey just right, go ahead and purchase one of those turkey bags. They really do work. If you are like me and would rather not spend the whole day cooking a whole turkey, you can chop your turkey into pieces-parts and cook the white and dark meat in separate containers at the same time.

As I mentioned above, you can cook your turkey at a high heat for quicker cooking but as this will make for a drier turkey, you really should put water or chicken broth at the bottom of the pan and baste during the cooking process. Otherwise, cook the turkey at a low heat, and then just before it’s finished turn up the heat to crisp up the outer skin.

A turkey between 12 and 16 lbs usually  takes around 3 to 3 1/2 hours at 350 degrees if it’s not stuffed. Add an hour if it’s stuffed. Always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. You want the bird to be at 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you remove it from the oven.

Tips: It’s always good to use a rack when cooking your turkey. To make your life easy, though, go ahead and purchase a disposable pan with a built in rack (basically a patterned raised bottom). I found these at our local dollar store for a buck. Best deal ever!

Also, let your turkey rest before carving. If you give the turkey time to sit, some of the liquids will be reabsorbed into the turkey as it cools. Use the resting time to finish off any side dishes in the oven.

Finally, you know what: You can always make the turkey the day before, slice it up, arrange it prettily on an oven proof platter, and then reheat it the next day just until it’s warm. No Thanksgiving day stress!

5. The gravy: If you’re looking to be healthy, just go ahead and use low sodium, fat free chicken broth in your favorite gravy recipe. If you make your own using the bones and neck and such of the turkey, you can also be healthier by straining your homemade broth over ice cubes which will skim the fat away for you.

A tip: Use your crock pot: Put anything you are not using from the turkey (bones, neck wings) into the crock pot with water and herbs (fresh is best like sage, oregano, thyme) and aromatics (I throw in carrots, onions, garlic cloves) and just let it cook on high for the whole day (12 hours). You’ll have some wonderful broth for your gravy and for soup without any work your part! When you go to make gravy, use 2 tablespoons of olive oil to 1/4 cup flour of your choice for every 2 cups of broth. For extra flavor, puree the herbs and aromatics from the crockpot and add it to the gravy. If using the pureed aromatics, you can reduce the flour by half because the pureed aromatics will also thicken the gravy.

6. Turkey sides: Make life easy on yourself. Use your crock pot to make veggies so you don’t have to stress about no oven space. Or make dishes which can stand at room temperature. Also, do as much as you can the day before so you can actually enjoy time with your family and friends. Finally, cut yourself some slack. Cheese and crackers are a wonderful appetizer! If you can’t have dairy, veggies and hummus work just as well. Don’t feel pressured to create something fancy. Remember, it’s all about time together, not how fancy the food is!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Creative Cooking: Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, informational, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“Can we make something chocolate?”

My few weeks have been beyond crazy.  On top of our usual busyness of school, work, and activities, we’ve continued to deal with my oldest’s recovery from being hit by a car, we’ve grieved the death of a friend’s daughter, we’ve agonized over a loved one being in the hospital in an induced coma, and we added rehearsals for my son to be in “It’s A Wonderful Life” and auditions for a play I’m directing.

So, it’s now just a few days before Thanksgiving, and I’m finally turning my attention to the menu for that day and returning to this blog which I have ignored for these past three weeks. When I asked my children what we should have my middle child responded with the question:  “Can we make something chocolate?”

Now, two of my three children are well-rounded dessert lovers. When presented with choices, they may choose a slice of apple pie or a piece of zucchini cake or a ginger cookie or a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. My middle child, however, when given options to choose from, will opt for the chocolate cream pie or the chocolate fudge cake or the double chocolate cookie or the chocolate cheesecake.

So, I wasn’t surprised when she asked if we could make something chocolatey. She always does, and I always suggest that we stick to the traditional pies for Thanksgiving and make something chocolate for another time. I surprised myself yesterday, though, by actually contemplating the idea of making chocolate cupcakes.

Why? Three reasons: One, I just had a really, really long week and the thought of something comforting like chocolate cupcakes was enticing; two, with the death of my friend’s daughter at such a young age (20’s) and my own daughter being alive after being hit by a car, I’m realizing that life’s too short to NOT have chocolate, no matter the season; and three, we just watched my son’s performance in “It’s A Wonderful Life” where I was reminded that it’s all really about family and friends and time together and not the menu.

So, if you need assistance in revamping your holiday menu to fit allergy or health needs, please read my posts from last year (Nov and Dec 2013) where you’ll learn all sorts of lessons for how to do so; but for this Thanksgiving, I’m offering a creative addition to the Thanksgiving menu:  Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes which are gluten, dairy, nut, soy, peanut, and egg free. Enjoy and have a most Happy Thanksgiving!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used Authentic Foods Multi-Blend)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup Enjoy Life allergen free mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup Hershey’s dark unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup oil (I used safflower)

1 cup Agave

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups water

2 tbsp vinegar (I used raspberry but apple cider or white will do)

Polaner’s Raspberry All-Fruit

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add the chocolate chips and set aside.

3. Whisk together the oil, agave, vanilla, and water.

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, adding the vinegar.

5. Divide half of the batter evenly among the muffin cups. I usually put about 1 1/2 tbsp of batter into each.

6. Carefully put one teaspoon of raspberry all fruit into the center of the batter.

7. Evenly distribute the remaining batter among the muffin tins, carefully putting the batter over the raspberry all fruit.  Again, this is usually about another 1 1/2 tbsp.

8. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes.

9. Cool in the muffin tins on a wire rack for about five minutes before removing them from the tins and completely cooling them on a wire rack.

10. For a festive touch, put the cupcake into a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or nondairy frozen dessert next to it with a raspberry and mint leaf on top.

 

Creative Cooking: Using Baby Food

dairy free, gluten free, lesson, nut/peanut free, soy free Leave a comment

“If you could choose one superpower, Mommy, what would it be?”

My son is always asking me questions which cause me to think. When he asked me about which superpower I’d like to have, I had to take few minutes to consider my answer. I finally said, it would be difficult for me to choose between supersonic hearing so I could catch what my children were whispering about and the ability to fly, just because, well, that would be cool.

In response, my son said that he would choose the ability to change into different animals because then he’d have lots of powers. If he wanted to fly, he’d become a bird; if he wanted to be invisible, he’d become a chameleon; if he wanted to be fast, he’d become a cheetah; if he wanted to be strong, he’d become an elephant. (These are the examples he gave me.)

I have to say that I was quite impressed. My limited linear thinking brought a quandry, forcing me to have to choose between superpowers I wanted.  My son, however, had thought outside the box and found an answer which would give him the opportunity to have all the possible powers he could want.

When it comes to cooking, I think we can sometimes get caught in the same trap. We think about how to cook and what to cook in only one way, whether it’s only cooking the way we were taught or sticking to only traditional methods and ingredients or  being afraid to ever experiment. We don’t consider that maybe there’s an “outside of the box” approach we can take to both ingredients and process.

Recently I received a question from a mother which made me think about an “outside the box” cooking option which I use. Baby food. A mom wanted to use bananas in muffins but her daughter didn’t like the chunkiness of the banana, which is the consistency she got when she mashed them, or the little black specks, which showed up if she pureed them in her food processor. (It occurred to me that this mother must have children on the spectrum like I do!)

My response to her was to use baby food. Nowadays, at least at my grocery store, you can get all natural (only fruit or vegetables and water), jarred baby food, and there are many benefits to using the baby food: 1) They keep well in your pantry so they’ll be on hand when you need them; 2) when on sale, you can get them at a really low price which is more affordable than fresh fruit and vegetables; 3) they provide a concentrated flavor without the work; and 4) the jars are wonderful to have on hand for those craft projects your kids are required to do for school or for those cute little holiday gifts you always see in the “make your own” magazines but which you never do because you don’t have those little jars!

Some uses for baby food:

1. To make muffins, breads, pancakes, waffles, cakes, etc…: Use the baby food version in your recipes instead of having to cook and puree or mash the fresh equivalent.

2. As a thickener: Vegetable baby food is great for thickening your gravies, soups, pasta sauce, casseroles, stews, etc…. They add flavor and thickness without adding anything else.

3.  To add nutrients to your recipes: Add vegetable baby foods to your meatloaf instead of that sugary condensed tomato soup. Make a glaze for your chicken with a fruit baby food. Use baby food as a binder for your bread crumb coated baked fish or for your meatballs. Create your own fruit or vegetable butter for spreading onto toast.

4.  As a mix-in: Mix in baby food to store bought yogurt or cream cheese or cottage cheese to create a flavorful treat. Add baby food to the smoothie you make for breakfast. Mix in baby food to your favorite dipping sauce to create a new flavor.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

(makes 24)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Four 6 0z jar containers of banana baby food

3/4 cup liquid egg whites

1/2 cup Agave

1/2 cup safflower oil

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

2. Mix the flour, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

3. Mix the baby food, egg whites, agave, and oil together.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and very quickly mix the batter up just until the dry ingredients are moist.

5. Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cups. The cups will be filled to the top.

6. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin tins for five minutes. Remove the muffins to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.