lovebenton0

Well, I just skipped right over Sunday half-asleep this morning, didn't I? Maybe I should have slept in after my DH got that emergency call from work at 4:00AM. And I've been looking forward to your prime rib dinner with Dave's molten mashers.

Started off Christmas dinner with an asparagus bisque. And thin finger cuts, toasted with butter, from this loaf of Gallon Sourdough Potato Bread. (This is a very moist large loaf I like to bake in my 4 qt cast iron Dutch oven, hence the name.) More of that was served with the meal, plain thick slices buttered at the table. Roasted leg of lamb, semi-boneless, about 6 lbs. (Yes, we have leftover lamb. ) I cut deep and wide into the leg in a few places and inserted Kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, minced garlic, then a chopped mix of fresh picked lemon thyme, silver thyme, rosemary, and mint. Rubbed the roast with the s&p and drizzled all over with rosemary pinoli oil. Simple baked butternut squash, buttered then brown sugar/kosher salt sprinkled on and run under the broiler for a minute to carmelize. Bakers with butter, onion confit, just a bit of sour cream and bleu d'auvergne Miramont. (Oops, took this before the bleu was added.) Later in the evening we had this light gingerbread filled with apricots/pears/laila figs/candied ginger and orange peel for dessert. With vanilla lattes. I'm not sure what to call it, I wanted the not too sweet newton-like cake-cookie thing going with the fruit, and it worked. Glad I made notes.

For some reason, bloviatrix, I was thinking she was referring to her stone. Marlene, did you get another pizza stone? Maybe then you can get a peel instead.

The dressing was baked in a skillet or casserole, as onions, celery, parsley were inserted in the cavity of the turkey. Marlene, I think it's more a matter of not knowing how the dressing should look and feel before it goes into the oven. Cornbread should be broken up fairly well while drying to absorb the liquid and flavors fully. As not all cornbread absorbs the same at any given time due to differences in cornmeal, humidity, etc., some adjustments might be necessary a la minute. And for us, personally, those little crispy bits around the edges combined with the moist dressing are to die for.

Um, all of the above? ← Well, if you used all of the components and nobody liked it then I guess some folks just aren't made to like cornbread dressing. Some people just prefer the bread dressing -- which I also like very much. We always ate bread dressing the few years I lived up north, 'cause no one else wanted the cornbread dressing, they wouldn't even try it. C'est la vie . . . ← Maybe, but I don't think that was it. I think I missed something somewhere. Oh well, the rest was perfect thanks to you, Dave and Brooks! ← Compliments to you, Marlene -- the "cookbooks" can only do so much, it is the cook that makes the meal. Tomorrow, gumbo! But first those lovely Belgian waffles . . .

Um, all of the above? ← Well, if you used all of the components and nobody liked it then I guess some folks just aren't made to like cornbread dressing. Some people just prefer the bread dressing -- which I also like very much. We always ate bread dressing the few years I lived up north, 'cause no one else wanted the cornbread dressing, they wouldn't even try it. C'est la vie . . .

When I was a kid growing up around the Dallas area we took a school field trip to the DP bottling plant. Free DP for everyone! I've always loved the stuff. People that didn't like it said it tasted like it had prunes in it . . . not so, cherry was the fruit base flavor we were told. I can see the cherry vanilla thing working very nicely as a pre-mix. Didn't know this was on the market. It's probably been at my store and I haven't noticed it -- not shopping much these days. Used to be a common thing to get this mixed at the fountain when we were kids.

I can't get grits here, what makes you think I can get okra? (god is sometime merciful ) ← Since I already knew you weren't going to put OKRA in the gumbo . . . Turkey looked fasntastic! So glad you loved it. I agree with you, it's my new favorite way to do the big bird. Told you nothing better than that bacon staight off the bird -- cook's treat. You could also just bake the butternut squash in long halves for about 15-20 minutes, then cut up and add to the casserole, do the rest as usual. That should take care of the time differential. And Dave just about took the words right out of my mouth for the gumbo, so you're set there. Somewhere I must have missed how you made the cornbread dressing??? Sage? thyme? sausage? onions? parsley? stock? pepper? Doused with gravy after serving? All in all a beautiful Southern-style turkey Christmas dinner.

Nice Christmas, Marlene. What a haul! I'll be back later with some gumbo suggestions, but I need to get back to our dinner preps too. File powder is definitely called for if at all possible. I imagine Brooks will have something to say about gumbo too. One point first, plan on about an hour or so to make a good dark roux to start. Just about any gumbo you can do without okra, we just know better than to leave it out. Looking forward to your turkey dinner pics.

Mery Christmas, Marlene, to all of you! And to all eGers blog lurking and celebrating today, may your meals be merry and bright. What's for breakfast/brunch on Christmas morning, Marlene?

We had a Christmas Eve tamalada. Pork (with raisins and pecans) tamales. Served these with heart of Romaine leaves topped with corn and roasted green chilis/tomatillo. (After all the pics for the tamalada didn't even think of this one. . . ) Later, dried fruits (apricots, red flame grapes with slivers of candied ginger and green laila figs) and lakhoum for dessert. This was, of course, followed by more tamale snacking late in the evening. Happy Hollydays, everyone! Must be time to get coffee and start the kitchen warming up for Christmas dinner, before my DH wakes up.

Christmas Eve tamalada. Just the DH and myself (he helped to mix the masa, and was very helpful with the eating!), put together a small batch of three dozen pork tamales. This was just a first go. My dear friend Holly and I with the help of her son Raven will have another tamalada after she returns from Christmas family visits. So today we started with the pork I braised in the crockpot two days ago, now shredded and chilled. Two anchos, and a few each dried red MX hot chilies and roasted dried red Anaheims (both from our garden), and cumin simmering in the pork stock reduction. Meanwhile the onions and garlic were roasting in my cast iron dutch oven. Since I don't have a mixer, I used the food processor to cut the pork lard into the masa. Then I took about a third of the dry masa mix and added the total amount of the stock, some of my hot salsa canned during the summer and a bit of the ancho/chili/cumin liquid to make a thin batter-like mixture. Next I incorporated the rest of the masa with a wooden spoon and mixed for several minutes then handed it over to my DH to finish mixing for another several minutes. He didn't mind, he could do that and watch football at the same time. After adding the pan roasted onions and garlic to simmer with the ancho mixture, I toasted some pecans in the dutch oven. Meanwhile the red flame grape raisins (a wonderful artisanal holiday gift from a friend) were soaking in lime and mango juice. These along with Kosher salt, the allspice and ginger were combined together with the shredded pork. I finished the masa. I added the lime/mango juice to the ancho/onion mixture. After pureeing that in the food processor it was added to the pork. We now have the pork filling. The assembly line today was me. So I started by laying about a dozen husks on a tray with the masa to one side. I'd pat out the masa on the husks a dozen at a time. Then added the pork filling, rolled 'em up and set on a tray to wait to be added to the steamer. (I used my big pasta steamer - worked perfectly -- the three dozen tamales just fit standing upright with a layer of husks on top.) An hour and a half later -- pork tamales, ready to eat!

Turkey lurkey, lookin' good! Pretty Southern looking pecan pie there -- I'd eat that. Hey, if Bride's pastry works, that's all that counts. Pie dough is something you have to get a feel for, Marlene. Yours looks fine in the pan and the pie. Merry Christmas Eve! And thanks for the snow pic -- I love looking at it from somewheere else.

The tamales are still happening! Just had to be on an extended time schedule. Which is not a bad thing because today I have my DH home for Christmas Eve to help with the masa. As I have no mixer at this point the masa will be done old-style (read: by four hands!). The pork has been cooked and pulled, is now awaiting addition of stock pureed with anchos, hot chilies, onions, cumin and garlic, and the raisins, pecans, allspice, ginger. The corn husks have been soaking for about an hour. Yes, I will post pics after we're done. Tamales for Christmas Eve dinner.

Just grab a double handful, Marlene, that'll do for the crackers.

Thai salad for when you really want to eat meat, tana. Hot!/salty/sour/rarest of meat barely heated to cook in stock and herbs, served with lots of lettuce, we always serve with some kind of rice (DH is a rice addict anyway! ). Limey with kaffir leaves and lime juice, galangal good, fish sauce, garlic and shallots. Thai chilis (dried and fresh), more than you thought you could pssibly eat all in one dish! Sweet bite of fresh basil, or cilantro, or mint to top it off. What's not to love, my dear.

I am deprived! I haven't even seen the Altoids Ginger! Love the Altoids Cinnamon. I like the galangal/lemongrass/kaffir lime/mint idea, Jason. Munching on fennel seeds and mint leaves too, great breath cleanser. Why aren't we marketing this stuff?

I'm not really surprised by this. I've never been big on leftover deep-fried chicken, both for the reasons Marlene cited, and because I greatly prefer the pan-fried crust, both right out of the pan, and the next day. In fact, I'll come completely clean and admit that I'm not a fan of deep-fried chicken in general, unless you're cooking for a crowd. Pan-fried is my method of choice. ← Marlene? Can you say "Now you tell me!!!" Cornbread looks just right. You can probably start breaking it up anytime now if you haven't already. These meatballs sound taaaaasty.

These will keep you warm. Fireballs! several finely minced jalapenos (your discretion, but three or four at least) 1 finely minced medium onion 1/2 pound each ground beef and pork 1 pound baked potatoes, grated 1 egg salt to taste mix together and form as for meatballs (about an inch in diameter) deep fry in hot oil until nicely browned or you can pan fry as for meatballs, but deep fry is so quick and easy! serve with dijon mustard as dip have plenty of beer on hand

Marlene, your turtle cheesecake looks divine! What time are you serving? Chicky looks good too. (Both of them, guys. Down, down! ) Some French toast this morning, Marlene? With plenty of that good maple syrup . . .

Once you've mixed the dough just enough to stick together, you should turn it out on a floured board and then only knead it 3 or 4 times. You don't want it too dry or overworked. How thick did you pat it out? And it's good to let the baking soda activate for a few minutes before you pop them in the oven. They should double in size. Half inch dough = one inch to one and quarter inch high biscuits. Wrong time of the year for corn on the cob, Marlene, but greens are always good with fried chicken too. Sop up that juice with the biscuits. That is the ones you're not putting the cream gravy on.

How about: Crisp coating Non-greasy Cooked thoroughly Flavor Juicy bird flesh

# 1 tip on pan frying chicken: Do not allow the oil to cool down far off the optimum temp. Chicken will be greasy if the temp is not high enough. # 2 No crowding! # 3 If the crispies in the pan from the breading start to darken scoop them out of there! BTW the pizza looked great. I think you'll be even happier if the crust is rolled thinner and the oven is cranked up to 500 F or higher. Don't be concerned about a few overly dark spots on the edge of the crust. In a former lifetime my ex and I threw big pizza parties all the time. He learned as a kid working a small pizza shop in Chicago area -- very thin crust pizza. We'd crank that old Chambers range as high as it would go!

Then what do any of you suggest as a good mixer? My friend has an older KA model, about 12 yrs old. She uses it weekly for various tasks, sometimes bread dough and has never had any problem with it. But this certainly gives me pause now in attempting to purchase a new one for myself. Any recommendations?

Last night was an early and impromptu ("Dad, we want to come see you and Judith before we fly to Tucson for Christmas Wednesday. Can we come for Christmas dinner tomorrow night?" = phone call at 11:00PM from college daughters) Christmas dinner. Gotta love 'em! So it was a what's on-hand dinner. I braised thick pork butt steaks rubbed in the morning with Five Spice/Kosher salt/brown sugar in beer and molasses (adapted from Molly Stevens) with Spanish onions, then a honey/fish sauce glaze and run under the broiler to carmelize. Served the onions on the side tossed with some pan juices/minced garlic from the brussel sprouts. Brussel sprouts, steamed a few minutes then pan cooked in butter/EVOO/lemon juice/garlic, tossed with Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. A slight variation of the jalapeno glazed baby carrots/granny apple slices last week (by my DH's request -- and they were wonderful with the pork). I cooked the apples down to sauce this time and blended the glaze in that with butter and a drizzle of honey to coat the carrots. Biscuits with butter. Rice pudding with golden raisins, dried figs, candied ginger and coconut milk for dessert with cinnamon coffee. And no time for pics.