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zilla369

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Posts posted by zilla369

    Turkey Troubles

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Maybe you could spare me your extra turkey !

    Clearly we are in dire straits, I think I will have to send my husband on a turkey hunt tomorrow!!!

    I'll trade you. I'm feeding either two or perhaps three people with a 22 lb. monster that was given to each employee where I work. *sigh*. It's taken me 5 days to thaw it in the fridge, and it's going to be taking up ALL the available real estate in the oven. :angry:

    Food Story of the Year

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    "Most important" is hard to nail down, isn't it?

    When I think "most important" I think of the story that will have the widest historical ramifications.  Something time-capsule worthy.  Something that will be written about for years to come.

    Katrina, bird flu, the banning of foie gras... I think we'll have to see what happens with bird flu over the next few weeks before we can decide for sure.

    Some 60,000 ducks have already been culled in the Fraser Valley, adjacent to Vancouver. Was it political overkill? Although the farm where the flu-infected duck was discovered wasn't licensed for export, the U.S. shut down, at least temprarily, Canadian imports.

    This thread has links to a couple of CBS stories about the situation.

    Food Story of the Year

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    "Most important" is hard to nail down, isn't it?

    When I think "most important" I think of the story that will have the widest historical ramifications. Something time-capsule worthy. Something that will be written about for years to come.

    Katrina, bird flu, the banning of foie gras... I think we'll have to see what happens with bird flu over the next few weeks before we can decide for sure.

    Roasting Turkey

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Right, thanks for that. *cough*

    Okay, let me be a little more specific. I know the basics - and there are tons of turkey threads on the various eG fora about cooking turkey. However, I couldn't find a lot of information about what to consider when roasting such a large specimen.

    budrichard, thanks for that tip about frozen birds coming pre-basted. I checked the packaging (brilliant! :laugh: ) and indeed it has been basted and/or injected. So brining may not be a good idea - which is fine, because of space considerations.

    I understand that one of the challenges is to get the breast and legs done at relatively the same time without overcooking the breast or undercooking the legs. I read this this morning, wherein McGee advocates applying ice packs to the breast of the turkey while the rest comes up to room temp before cooking. I may try this.

    I'm not planning on stuffing the bird (except with aromatic herbs and onions). Stuffing will be made separately.

    I'm interested in a comparison of slow and low v. high temp roasting, as pertains to such a big bird.

    Roasting Turkey

    in Cooking

    Posted

    At work, the boss decided to buy every employee a turkey for a Thanksgiving bonus.

    He talked to the supplier privately about it, so, although I do the ordering at the restaurant, I wasn't involved in the details.

    Friday morning the turkeys arrived. I wasn't expecting them, and they sure took up a LOT of room in the walk-in. I figure that boss wanted to be generous (he's a consistently generous type), so he asked the supplier to send the biggest turkeys available.

    I know there are bigger turkeys out there, but I've never cooked a 22# "tom" turkey before. Surely there are special considerations particular to largish birds.

    I'd like to brine, but then I'm worried that - since it's possibly not the tenderest of turkeys - it might not work as well as with more reasonable turkeys. Also, the turkey has been frozen. It's thawing out in the fridge, now.

    I'm concerned about optimum oven temperature. I'd like some sense of how-many-hours if you suggest a temp or series of temps, but don't worry about being too specific - I have a thermometer. I'll know when it's done. :wink:

    Lamb lovers survey

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Last night I was at a charity event ($250 a couple) where 25 local restaurants were offering "small bites" for the patrons (it was a March of Dimes fundraiser).

    We were serving our signature baby lamb chops on couscous with carmelized onions and raisins; all three elements of the dish were in separate chafing dishes.

    One lady walked up to us tentatively, but with a brave smile on her face.

    "So," she said. "Is this...squirrel?"

    Thanksgiving soups

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Succotash Soup with leeks, corn and lima beans. I've made this several times - it's a great fall soup and an elegant way to present a sort of classic southern dish as a light soup.

    Of course, it's a little less light by the time I finish it with a little heavy cream (not in the published recipe!)

    Appetizer/Hors D'Oeuvre/Starter Ideas

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I have to admit to using the hell out of that book, too. I don't own any of Martha's other books, but the photographs spoke to me as someone who is heavy into presentation. One of the only "cookbooks" I own that looks well-worn. It has a vibrant photo section separate from the printed recipe section, but - they thought of everything here - my edition has two attached ribbon bookmarks so you can keep your place when flipping back and forth from the recipe to the photo of the finished project.

    Even without the recipes, this book would be worth the price simply for the way the photographs inspired me to push my presentation skills to new levels.

    Olive Oil from Provence

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    In the absence of any honest clarification, right now the insult on French olive oil growers is still standing unexcused, and I wish the thread wouldn't stop here.

    Noone's asked for the thread to stop. Rather, I'm asking - nicely - that all the accusations of "dishonesty" and the blow-by-blow "you said, then I said, then you said" nonsense be set aside in order to get back to the original topic.

    Olive Oil from Provence

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    *ahem*

    Your friendly moderator here. I think this thread's gone far enough afield of its topic.

    I know that it's tempting sometimes to descend into the minutae of "but that's not what you said before"-type posts, but it adds very little to the discussion. Let's get back to discussing the topic at hand, rather than discussing the finer, minor points of the dicussion itself, okay?

    Thanks.

    Cheese in Eastern/Southeast Asian Cuisines

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Okay....I'm finally starting this topic after years of wondering exactly why there aren't more Eastern/Southeast Asian dishes that feature cheese (and dairy products, to a lesser extent).

    I asked this question of my basic skills instructor in culinary school, and he said "well, probably because a lot of people of Asian descent are somewhat lactose intolerant." I didn't really buy that answer then, and I certainly don't buy it now, after a couple years of perusing eGullet.

    So, what gives? No cheese-n-pasta/noodles? No cream-based miso soups? No sushi rolls with goat cheese?

    Eastern and Southeast Asian cultures raise cows, and eat beef.

    I'm very afraid the answers to this topic might be obvious and make me seem clueless for asking, but....let them rip! I've been curious about this for so long!

    Lamb lovers survey

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    My paternal grandfather refused to eat lamb or permit it in his house because of the western Range Wars.  The prolonged conflict over land use between cattlemen and sheep herders led to a strong prejudice against lamb in a lot of the western United States, and that still holds true in parts of the country.

    That's fascinating. Thank you for educating us on that point! I googled this:

    an excerpt from The Book of the American West by Jay Monaghan

    Lamb lovers survey

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    The chef/owner where I work is Moroccan. We serve baby lamb chops (marinated with garlic and rosemary, served over Moroccan cous cous) as one of our most popular appetizers.

    Last spring, we participated in a "Taste of the Derby" event (I'm in Louisville, KY, natch), and we brought chafers to be filled and re-filled with pans and pans of the expensive little meat-pops. People passing our booth would step up enthusiastically and say "mmmm...smells good. What is it?"

    Unbelievably (to me, anyway), when we answered "Moroccan-style lamb chops", nine out of ten people made a face and said "no thanks, I don't eat lamb."

    Kumquats - Any ideas?

    in Cooking

    Posted

    We used to get them in fruit gift baskets at Christmas and thought they were so exotic.

    If I had some on hand, I'd probably make some savory dish with orange zest in the sauce, and garnish it with razor-thin cross-section slices of whole kumquat (including peel border).

    edited for clarity

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