Where Is My Time Going?

McGee who is lucky to be alive...

Who knows where all my time is going?  I thought I would have time to do some sewing but I have not had a single second to sit and sew.  Maybe today.

You have no idea how much time it takes to keep that turkey McGee from killing himself by running after DiNozzo at top speed and throwing a pulmonary embolism because of his heartworm treatment.  Poor boy just wants to have fun!  Soon, my boy, soon.  Every morning and every night we go outside and wait for Frank and Chloe and DiNozzo to come home from their mile walks around the block.  It is a highlight of his day!

And I have a ton of friends coming for Thanksgiving this year.  I defrosted a turkey breast and then decided to get out a big turkey too.  The more the merrier, I say.

Apple filling

Homemade salsa in oregano

I am working on a new dessert.  I made some testers and baked up two of them last night.  Yes, I think I got it!  It involves mason jars and fillings.....I won't tell you any more, you have to come tomorrow and see what I am doing.

I will do a post on the wonderful-ness of my new find tomorrow..........I need to go to the grocery today.

Yesterday I cooked the Louisiana Sweet Potatoes from the LSU Farm that Ann brought me and they are ready to be made into casserole.  I have the makings for the green bean casserole, just add more cans of green beans for more people!  And the lovely desserts.  And gravy, I need more gravy.  Cranberry sauce will be cooked today.

Brining the breast

I found a recipe for Cranberry Gravy I will try today.  I really don't care for turkey gravy, too many unsavory parts go into it for my tastes.  I am not that kinda girl.  But cranberries are clean and healthy.  It is made with port wine and cranberries and sour cherries.  Much better than gravy from body parts that clean the body of toxins......just saying.

And rolls.  If I were anybody, I would bake me some rolls.  But I bought the Hawaiian Rolls which are soooo good.  The desserts will make up for not having homemade rolls.

Who wants to come to my dinner?

What's Cooking, Good Looking?

(I wrote this on Saturday since we are doing Santa CAAWS today!  Come bring your babies to get photos with Santa at Harley Davidson on Coursey from 9 to 4 in Baton Rouge, LA.)

I am on a cooking rampage.  For four days I have been preparing this turkey breast.  Day One and Two for defrosting.  Why does it take so long to defrost a turkey breast?  This is one I purchased on a tip from Amber.  They were $.50 a pound and you could buy two max.  So I went in to get two along with groceries for the week.  When I got home, I glanced at the receipt and realize they were charging FIFTY CENTS for the whole breast!  LOL.  Either way, it was a cheap deal!

Day Three for brining.  This time I did a sweet brine.  Interesting.  I had thought about using something interesting in my salt brine and did some research.  I found that you could cut the amount of salt and insert other things like molasses or brown sugar.  So I experimented with some Thanksgiving tastes like cinnamon and allspices as well.  I tasted the brine and it was really nasty and I figured I had only ruined FIFTY CENTS worth of bird anyway.  So I plunged in.

So after brining I roasted in my convection oven to a beautiful golden brown with crispy skin and juicy juices flowing.  The house smelled wonderful, evidenced by DiNozzo drooling in the kitchen for three solid hours.  I took the breast and popped it into the fridge.  But not before tasting.  Well, there is always turkey gumbo and turkey soup.

Day Four - today - I sliced cold turkey breast.  What a marvelous thing that was to do.  I have always taken the bird from the oven on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day and sliced it up.  But this was the way to go, I decided.  The day before. 

For the carcass, I popped it into a freezer bag, rescuing it from the Jaws of Demolition.  Future Gumbo.  Then the nice large and even slices lined up in the pan so beautifully.  The hunks and chunks combined to make a beautiful Turkey Barley Soup.  I used black salt from Cyprus and olive oil from Greece, both recent additions from the Europe trip.

The spices were amazing.  I am in total favor of the Sweet Brine.  Thinking of sweet I wanted Sweet Potatoes and Apples so I combined some pumpkin pie spices with brown sugar and butter and cut up some apples and added cooked sweet potatoes to it.  They cooked for about 15 minutes giving me time to set up the barley for the soup.  Isn't that amazing?  And my house smells like the potpourri counter at the fussy stuff store.

As the Turkey Barley Soup was cooking I remembered a bit of the Stone Cellars I scored from the last time I saw the Great Chef Enzo at Fresinas.

Anything is better with a bit of wine in it, so I splashed it in.

I know there are really nice quilter cooker people who send you to the posted recipes.......and darlings, I know I didn't do it. 

But I was sort of making it up as I went!  LOL.

Doesn't it make you just ravenous for Sweet Brined Turkey and Turkey Barley AND Merlot Soup?

glen:  oh.....Mamma Mia!

If it ain't Italian, it ain't Chef Enzo!

And this was definitely not Italian.  This was Chef Wanda Calkins brining a Thanksgiving turkey and the associated dressings that go along with a South Louisiana Holiday Meal.  There she is hiding behind all that steam from the pre-brining pot.

The rice dressing was superb and yet oh so easy to do.  I could just make a meal of this rice dressing alone.  Now that I have the super fast rice cooker from Ann's Pampered Chef party this will be on my menu often.

Not to be outdone was the cornbread dressing.  I like Wanda's way of cooking and teaching.  She drops a lot of tidbits that help with cooking and cleaning and thinking about a meal.  Like she cooked the cornbread in a sheet pan.  How is that for crispy corn pone?

But the coup de grace was the turkey.  The magnificent perfection of that bird as it emerged from the oven was enough to make me overwhelmed with passion.  Brining is something I have wanted to try for a long time.  The  brine solution permeates the meat of the turkey so that each moist bite is infused with deep flavor.

Are you hungry yet? 



cooling the brine





I love her classes because she has such a great sense of humor.  Sh knows all her people and we shoot good natured ribs back and forth.  She was ready to put Ann and I on the ship herself at one point!  Like when she chopped her finger up with the herb shears.  Got to admit they were sharp little booger! 

She might be missing a finger, but you cannot fault her cooking!

Have some pictures for you, don't cha know.  Check them out. 



Wanda expertly cut that turkey up and we ate so much.  The meat was so juicy, I will do this technique again and again. 



                                           Here she is, talking about something good. 



brining solution herbs

The turkey she cooked for us was brined the night before.  She demonstrated the technique then cooked the second turkey without being brined.


Finally!  Food!



 

   









The store in the background is a fun place to check out all the newest gadgets and cookware.  And the prices are not half bad either!  I am checking out the dressings and Ann is off shopping for something.  We have our priorities straight!

glen:  gotta go, I am starving again.