So...whats for dinner?
Comments
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Susan, rye bread is my absolute favorite and your appetizer sounds marvelous. Not surprised "people have come to love" it!
Our thanksgiving is not until Saturday, which gives me some extra time to prepare. Like Susan, I will be making stock this week with spare parts.
The new cuisinart mixer arrived yesterday so today it will be tested with two different bread recipes and something with whipped cream. It looks quite small compared to the KA Pro 600, but has quite a bit more wattage, so we'll see.
Thursday we will go to dh's sister's house to gather with the clan. I only have to bring a dessert so I'm going to bring something that sounds ghastly but is really excellent. It's called Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake. If I had known the name of it, I would never have tried it the first time. I love peanut butter, but not baked and peanut butter pie -- ugh! Not for me. Anyway, this has just a hint of peanuts and has a bittersweet chocolate ganache. But I've not made it myself so I hope I can do it justice.
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Nance, I'm sure justice will be done by you and your new culinary appliance! Have fun!
Susan, thanks for checking that out. Lamprais they were! I have no idea where one even finds banana leaves, and most of the various filling ingredients in the rice packets required preparation before being assembled and baked in these three layered packets. Yes, it seemed like a huge undertaking for that kind of event (about 30 people), along with the other interesting foods she made.... Liked the "hopeful" a lot, actually.........can't imagine facing the process he is embarking on, however. I'm obviously old and tired. Will PM you the link to his platform.
So today, I'm thinking that I'd better sew up some of the many unfinished taggies that adorn my dining room table along with the sewing machine. I could use a little injection of executive functioning!
Bon Voyage Laurie! Hope you got off with ease and that you and SpecialK get together for some fun!0 -
Banana leaves can be found in any Market Basket freezer! Or at an H-Mart, also in the freezer. Banana leaves really impart an interesting flavor to any food. I agree, the shear number of items that must be made before you even get to the Lamprais part is astonishing. I suspect that they began as a way to wrap leftovers for people going off to work in the fields/mines/factories, and became a "thing"; a version of hand pies, cornish pasties, etc.
Nancy, A cuisinart mixer? I thought you had all the KA attachments. Can you use them with this new machine?
Mushrooming project no 1. Need to arrange the second fridge so that it can hold a turkey. Which means canning the Inner Beauty sauce for a wedding gift. If it isn't one thing; it is another. At least I have no taggies on my table. Just a stack of magazines that none of us seem to find the time to read!
*susan*0 -
Susan, the only extra ka attachment I have is the scraper blade (anybody need any extra attachments?) Carole has all the pasta attachments. I coveted the extruder but never broke down and actually bought it. The attachments fur this new machine are much cheaper, but the reviews haven't been great on them.
Thankfully, I cleaned out our second fridge last week so it could hold more t day "stuff". It's going to be quite cold here this weekend (January cold, ugh!) so the unheated garage can take up the overflow if necessary.
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susan - I will accept my Laurie/margarita mission!0 -
P.s., this new machine is on probation. If it doesn't cut the mustard, back it goes and I'll replace it with a new ka. It did a great job on the two bread doughs this morning. We'll see . . .
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Lacey - Perhaps the prospective candidate has a great caterer.
I am still craving a bread machine but just cannot justify the price. I use my mixer so rarely I can't justify that either. You will laugh but my hand mixer Sunbeam is avocado green. I have worn out 1 that was a wedding gift, identical except it was white. Tells you how much I don't use a mixer. I do have a very old stand mixer that I don't think has been out of the storage closet since we moved here. It does have a bread hook. Never used it once I bought the now defunct bread machine.
Hamburgers/french fries tasted very good at 12:30 this morning. DH did not get dinner - he works retail. Tonight will be the eggplants, sausage, penne pasta something I don't have a recipe for.
Nancy - what recipe are you using? I found the Taste of Home and several others. Sounds yummy. I for sure would eat it.
Sounds like Laurie and family got out of NE just in time to miss the storm. Hopefully they won't get it in FL. I am catching up on extraneous laundry and dishes anticipating poss. power loss tomorrow evening. We do have fireplace, but house is all electric. Water is co-op so will continue until the overhead tanks run out.0 -
Nancy I will be very interested in how your new machine does bread. I make several very stiff doughs which might have to have the KA Pro power. Bagels especially, and I love my homemade bagels.
Turkey roasting is done and the meat was so delicious, I cut some off to have for dinner. The rest of the turkey was placed into a large dutch oven, covered with water, and will now turn into stock in the oven. [LOVE the oven method!]
Luv, my hand mixer is also avocado green. It was my grandmother's. She never cooked a thing, fundamentally. She taught me two "recipes"-- how to slice cucumbers and pour over Italian dressing, and how to core a strawberry. The kid scoffs at my hand mixer, so I bought her a nice Cuisinart model. None of the switches are broken and it has five speeds. While she is living here, my avocado green mixer is in storage.
*susan*0 -
Luv, the peanut butter cheesecake? I don't know where it came from orginally, it was given to me by a friend. I'm going to have to call it something else. It sounds gross, like "pork ice cream".0 -
Susan, the two doughs I did this morning were on the soft side -- a cinnamon bread and a buttery dinner roll. I also will be making a white/wheat combination that includes nuts and dried fruit and tends to be pretty stiff. I'll let you know.
My hand mixer is white, but I bought it in 1998 at Dollar General for 8 dollars. It still works!
Crap! Just discovered I don't have arborio rice(how is that possible), looks like the osso buco will have to be paired with orzo.0 -
Susan - love the mixer story. My kid I doubt has ever even touched a mixer much less has an opinion about one. She owns to my knowledge a small Mr. Coffee and a rice cooker. You can see she cooks bunches - not. She actually mentioned getting a small crockpot and "cooking". Not that she doesn't have a full kitchen in her apt. but it might as well not be there oh except for maybe the microwave. She does eat lunch in the company cafeteria so at least 5 days a week is eating something near healthful. Last time I went to visit I brought my own food as we usually eat out - now granted it was when she was sick and wanted me to go to doc with her.
Umm - love orzo. I bought a mix of Israeli couscous, orzo, peas & lentils at World Market. Need to cook some of it.0 -
Susan, would you please elaborate more about how you make the turkey stock?0 -
Yum, Nance....orzo with osso buco sounds just great to me!
Love the old hand mixer stories. I have my 40+ year old sunbeam one at the lakehouse and thought it "died" while I was making a cake this summer. I was actually excited to start shopping for a new one, but when I picked it up to toss it, noticed that the electrical cord had just loosened from its connection.
Maybe next time!
Luv, all the food last night was actually made by the hostess. She is Sri Lankan and an amazing cook, among other things. Obviously high energy with her talent!
Susan, thanks for the jolt! I promised myself to clean out the fridge today before DH heads to the dump...oops, the recycling center! Better get to it....he is almost finished raking the leaves that will also go there.0 -
I don't have too many small appliances that are "vintage" but I do have some very old mixing bowls. I have a red pyrex one that was my mom's - she had the yellow one. It broke in the Northridge earthquake in '94, but I was in an antique store not long ago and saw the whole set - they were individually priced so I bought the ones to make a complete set with my red one. I have probably told my Kitchenaid story before - I asked for one for my birthday more than 20 years ago. DH and I got a babysitter and went out to dinner and he gave me a pair of earrings while we were at dinner. I was disappointed but didn't want him to know that. He had run back in the house after we had gotten in the car on the way to dinner saying he had forgotten something, but was only gone about 30 seconds. What he was doing was putting the big mixer box on the kitchen table so I would see it right when we came home from dinner! He is a keeper!0 -
Joysley, I do a basic riff on this: http://ruhlman.com/2013/11/make-your-turkey-stock-now/ If you follow Michael's suggestions you will have the most delicious stock for turkey gravy. I generally make my gravy early, and then add any turkey juices that accumulate during carving.
And just so you can tell stories, I have attached an example of my Thanksgiving diagram. Separate pages are kept for where I buy each ingredient with quantities, and the actual recipes that we use. All of this is kept in a year coded folder entitled "Thanksgiving." Seems anal, but it sure made a difference during those first few years that I took over this holiday. This is an older timeline, but they all look similar.
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Thank you Susan. We are having our turkey deep fried and I need stock for gravy. Will definitely be trying this.
Joy0 -
I'm also interested in the oven method for making stock.
Eric0 -
Love the diagram, Susan! I think you should consult to people and make their diagrams....for a fee, of course! Also love the idea of making the stock like that and early gravy production with juices later.
Oy! Never got to the fridge clean out...Tuesday the dump is open
It turned into a total clothes management day. But I did just take a great brisk walk and now don't even have a plan for dinner....poor DH cleared our whole property of the enormous amount of leaves we had....over eight hours worth (third day!). Then he got the snow blower ready and positioned in the garage, so I'm hoping that means we will have no snow.
I'm thinking I better come up with a dinner plan lest he pass out from overexertion and hunger pains. Maybe our favorite Greek take out place.0 -
Lacey, you arouse "favorite take-out place" envy in me!
One good thing about Thanksgiving season is the availability of turkey thighs and turkey drumsticks in the supermarkets. I have a recipe for turkey thighs that I really like. It's an oven recipe and has apples and some apple cider. I like the roasted turkey when it's "fresh" but do not like left-over turkey meat much. The dressing is my favorite Thanksgiving food. I enjoy left-over dressing sandwiches spread with a little cooked cranberries!
I bought huge bags of fresh cranberries at Sam's. They're re-closable bags. DH likes cooked cranberries with cottage cheese. To cook the cranberries, I just wash them in a colander, put them in a pot with some water and some bulk splenda. Cook them until they pop and let them cool and gel. They're delicious.
DH just served me an old-fashioned with Wild Turkey rye whiskey. He's a keeper!
I bought a quart of shucked oysters today to take north to IL. Our Thanksgiving hostess, DH's sister, makes a traditional bread dressing and an oyster dressing, which is traditional here in south Louisiana. She started doing this some years ago. I don't think she so much as tastes the oyster dressing because she doesn't eat oysters.
At last count, there were 31 people for Thanksgiving. DH is excited because all his nieces and nephews and spouses and offspring will be there along with his brother. Plus Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday. I don't have a favorite holiday any more. I've done holidays and enjoy everyday life without a lot of fuss and required behaviors. Given the choice, I prefer to be a guest/helper rather than the hostess.
With that said, if Susan runs a raffle with the winner attending her Thanksgiving dinner, I will buy all the tickets I can afford! Even if she doesn't serve brussel sprouts, which I like. Susan, I think it's remarkable that you even make the bread for your dressing!
Tonight's dinner is leftovers, either lima beans and brown rice or home-made ravioli in tomato sauce. And a really good garden salad with blue cheese and kalamata olives.0 -
I didn't see that the thread had gone to the next page when I asked about the oven method for turkey gravy...life moves fast..and this thread...even faster. :-) Thank you.
Oh, the cake turned out well. Only a tiny piece came home from her chemistry class; just enough to get an idea as to how it tasted. I baked the cake in a 9 by 13 inch pan and DD decorated it with a football field and the text "Supermole DCII X XXI", where the XXI in superscript. It's Avogadro's number in Roman numbers....and she insists she's *NOT* a "geek". :-)
Eric0 -
Eric she has to learn her geekiest is ok. Takes a while. I was probably the only girl to read Lord of the rings at my junior high waaaaaaay back in the 60's..... LOL I was such a geek before we were called geeks. Glad they enjoyed the cake though. Just saw the 2nd Hunger game movie. It was really good. So treated myself to Chinese. Hot and sour soup and twice cooked pork.0 -
Sk, I have those Pyrex colored bowls too. I got them from my mom as well. They are old and a little color scratched and missing the red bowl, but they remind me of my childhood.
I have ordered the extruder for my new mixer. It has gotten very mixed reviews, but I decided to try it anyway. It too, will be on probation.
I don't know what's for dinner, but I have 6 pounds of ground beef waiting to be packaged up so I'm thinking stuffed peppers with a side of who knows what.
For you non Brussels sprouts lovers, try shredding and sauteeing them with some bacon. You might change your mind ;-)
Here's one to try
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Nancy, I wonder... do you have a rye bread formula that you think would be particularly good as cocktail bread? Here is the one I was planning to try: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/cocktail-rye-bread-recipe.html . I have just about every kind of rye flour, plus rye improver and a rye blend in the pantry. I own the two King Arthur cookbooks [though don't find their bread recipes to be great,] and Bread Baker's Apprentice.
As to this brussel sprout thing, you know, if you need to eat two slices of bacon in order to eat a vegetable, it just isn't in the cards. I have actually tried roasted sprouts with bacon, but still find its bitterness too overwhelming. Just like kale, I only taste the yuck and not the good. Reminds me of when I lived in Texas and everyone tried to tell me I just needed to try okra fried! Why I would ask, would I add anything fried to my life? I do eat fried food these days [and have a bigger pants size to show for it] but okra fried is NOT a Boston thing at all.
The turkey stock is amazing! Only got 1 3/4 quarts so it must be very concentrated. Today I will roast some aromatics and let them simmer in the stock before throwing it all into the freezer.
I was supposed to meet my mother for brunch in Concord, NH today and do the lamb hand-off but she is in the middle of a blizzard and will stay safely home. So, I have a found day and need to figure out how that lamb will makes its way to my house.
*susan*0 -
Susan, I've never made cocktail rye and I've used the same rye bread recipe for years. I really don't even remember where it came from (maybe KAF), but it's been my favorite rye recipe. I may have altered a little here and there to suit myself and my mixer. Here it is:
Deli Rye
For Starter: 1 cup warm potato water, 1 cup rye flour, 1 tbs. yeast
Stir to blend well, cover and let sit for 1-3 days at room temperature
For Dough:
1 1/3 cups warm water (120 degrees F)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/3 cups rye flour
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
3-4 cups high gluten flour
1 tablespoon deli rye flavor
3 tablespoons rye bread improver
(I know you know how to make bread, but I'll add the instructions for anyone else who's interested)
1. Combine warm water with sugar and yeast, mix and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add all of the starter and the remaining ingredients except 1 cup flour.
3. Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes with a dough hook, then increase to medium speed and mix 6 minutes longer. Ad remainng flour 1/4 cup at a time, making sure all the flour is absorbed into the dough.
4. Remove from mixer and place in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
Dough will be firm but sticky. Let raise until doubled in size, approximately 2 hours.
5. Shape into 2 oblong loaves. Place on baking pan. Cover with a damp but not wet cloth and let rise for 40 minutes in a warm place. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Carefully remove the damp cloth, then slash the dough 3 times across the top. Immediately place in oven. Place a pan of boiling water on the oven's bottom to help crust development.
7. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Makes 2 large loaves.
For what it's worth, I've almost never been disappointed in a Serious Eats recipe.0 -
If you want a softer crumb, I think Bob's Red Mill has a buttermilk rye recipe that might make a good cocktail loaf. Haven't tried it though.0 -
Everyone here sure is in Thanksgiving mode. For me it is hard to believe it here already. Just put the boat away last week and made a pilgrimage to NC to close on our house. The neighbors were having an estate sale so we bought a bed and spent 2 nights in the new house with a camp chair as our only furniture.... oh and a bottle of wine to celebrate!
Back home and we are in the middle of a snow storm and frigid temps....attempted to go out with friends last night but had to turn around and come home, roads were bad and visibility 0. Staying in and putting a pot of sauce on...I also need to clean out the fridge!
Who mentioned pearl onions? In a sherry, butter and spice sauce? My kids favorite for Thanksgiving.0 -
DD is *NOT* ashamed of who she is. It's more of a joke among us.
I have three hopes for her and so far, so good on accomplishing them.....
1) That she not be "I'm a helpless girl and I like it that way".
2) That she be confident with herself.
3) That she is "versatile"...meaning she can do many things, maybe not perfectly, but well enough to get them done...instead of just one thing perfectly.
Nancy..is bread flour high gluten enough?
In my "it's hard to believe" department. 30 years ago, today, Mickey died. That, getting married and the day DD was born are all events that will (and probably should) stick with me forever.
We've been out stove shopping. The electric ranges are now pretty much *all* smooth cook tops, which apparently don't work well with our large collection of cast iron cookware (which neither of us want to give up). We don't have gas service, but I suppose we could get the propane set up. Or we could go with a cheaper coil type stove....decisions..decisions...decisions... :-)0 -
Nancy,
I have converted your recipe with some weights, and uploaded to my pepper plate account. Thought you might like the link so you NEVER have to type all that again!
http://www.pepperplate.com/sharedrecipe.aspx?id=d06e8cf1-696a-4083-bc65-964b6627cc05
*susan*0 -
i wonder if using sourdough starter, instead of yeast, would allow one to skip the "let sit for 1-3 days" step for making the starter.....Will have to experiment. :-)
Eric
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Eric, bread flour will suit fine and I think you should try the sourdough rye and report back :-)
Why, thank you Susan! But before you did all that work, maybe you should have tried it first lol! I'll feel terrible if it turns out horrible.
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