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Thanksgiving 2007 - Middle And Ends
2007-11-27 23:29:00
...So, here's the rest of my Thanksgiving meal wrap-up...The turkey was fine. But I went against my ironclad rule of No Turkey Over 20 Pounds, because my young man picked it up for me at Whole Foods. I told him as close to 20 pounds as possible and when he found a 20.98 pound turkey, I didn't argue. I was just glad that he didn't come home with a ham or chicken fingers. I don't care what anyone says that extra bit of weight DOES make a difference. It makes the turkey heavier and hotter and more difficult to maneuver. It also took a bit longer to cook than I wanted, so before it was done, I scooped out all the drippings and veggies from the bottom of the pan (not that easy) and strained them to start on the gravy. The good thing about THAT was that, when it was done, H could turn over the turkey in the roasting pan and let it sit THERE, covered, instead of having to moving it onto a board.I wasn't loving my gravy at first, but after massive whisking and tons of boiling and the a...
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"Emeril Live" No Longer
2007-11-27 18:48:00
After more than 10 years on the air, Emeril Live has been cancelled. The Essence of Emeril will stay on, but it doesn't look like there are any new Emeril series at the moment. Apparently, his audience is skewing older and is not as attractive to advertisers.Frankly, I think the Food Network needs Emeril more than he needs them. He has a vast empire of, firstly, 10 restaurants - let's not forget that HE, unlike many newer FN hosts, is a CHEF. Secondly, he has written a dozen cookbooks, many of them fabulously successful. Thirdly, he's licensed his name on products from cookware, knives and tableware to teeshirts and clogs. AND there's his foundation, which is doing wonderful work with various children's charities. So an hour less on the FN is just going to give him more time to conquer more universes.My favorite Emeril Lagasse TV moment was the special he did where a school won a lunchtime makeover. He went into an elementary(?) school and served lunch to the kids after working...

Thanksgiving 2007 - The Beginning And The Middle
2007-11-26 05:55:00
I really enjoyed reading about how other blogging friends' Thanksgiving s went, but I didn't have the time to write about mine until now. No real glitches, except one...and I actually considered it a bit of good luck. My carefully planned-for house guests, A and HER H(usband), arrived 2 days earlier than expected. They were concerned that if they had kept to their original schedule, the transport strikes in Paris might have prevented them from arriving at all. Now, you might think that premature arrivals would be a problem. A did, she felt terrible. But imagine a combination of your best friend, dearest sister, wisest mother and a cleaning crew of 5, and that's A! I kinda wish she had been here even earlier, but I guess there were a few things that I had to do on my own. Let's get to the good part...the food. The good, the bad and the ugly. Actually, truth to tell, it was more like the good, the dry and the really messy, which started with my first course.For almost the last two ...
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A Little Thanksgiving Comic Relief...
2007-11-21 21:44:00
Click hereThanks A...
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Apple Pie...Done!
2007-11-21 19:06:00
Uncooked: Cooked: It's the Sour Cream Apple Pie from The Silver Palate Cookbook.

Pecan Pies...Done!
2007-11-21 17:43:00
Pecan Pie4 eggs 1 cup sugar1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup2 tbls. plus 1 tsp. melted butter1 tsp vanilla1 cup pecan halves1 9"-10" unbaked pie shellPreheat oven to 350°F.Beat eggs just until blended, but not frothy. Add sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Add cooled melted butter and vanilla, mixing just enough to blend.Spread nuts in bottom in bottom of pie shell. Pour in filling. Place pie in oven. Reduce heat to 325°F at once. Bake 50-60 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.Pastry:11/2 cups flour6 tbls. unsalted butter2 tbls. shortening (I use Crisco, a hundred years ago we used lard)4 to 6 tbls. ICE waterPlace flour in the food processor. Add butter and shortening and pulse until evenly incorporated. Add 3 tbls. ice water and process until mixed. Add another tablespoon of water and process just until mixture comes together. You may need a spoonful or more of water. Knead into a ball and roll out between sheet of plastic wrap. Line pie dish and crimp edge decoratively. Pie crust may be frozen afte...
More About: Pies

A Big Shoutout To Huge Red
2007-11-21 05:59:00
I think that's what he said his name was in the store today. I don't often go trolling the supermarkets for people to talk to...oh, who I am kidding? I'll talk to anyone...supermarket or not. I was asking the supermarket manager where I could find butcher's twine and he took me over to the butcher to sell me a roll from there. When he looked at the price ($9.00), he handed me a wad and said, "Just put this in your pocket". As I was thanking him, this other gentleman caught my attention and we got to talking. I noticed, most of all, a kind glimmer in his eye. There was something so sweet and dear about him. I asked him about his Thanksgiving and he said his wife was ill and that he was going to be doing all the cooking under her direction. I don't know why that touched me, but it made me profoundly grateful for all the friends and family that I'll be cooking for, some with lifelong health challenges, others with recent ones and most, thankfully, just fine. I told Huge Red I had...

THANKSGIVING TIPS - Roasting A Turkey, Plus Gravy for 50 - I Do It My Way
2007-11-20 06:38:00
I don't claim there is only one way to cook a turkey. In fact, there are probably as many ways to cook one as there are mothers or mothers-in-law to tell you how to do it. One could write a book about this. There's so much to say.Timing is always tricky. I don't worry too much about the turkey coming out early. That's what piping hot gravy is for. But the opposite IS a bit of a bore... when it's not ready and you are.An instant read thermometer is your best friend. Having said that, the first year I got one, I put it in and I had something else to do. So I closed the oven door just for a minute or two. Guess what? It melted, thankfully not on the turkey. See? I don't pretend to know everything.Parts of this recipe depend on the knowledge and experience of those that went before me: my mother, Julia, the authors of EVERY version of The Joy of Cooking...and some of it is just me.Roast Turk ey and Gravy - Narratively told...The day before, when you’re cutting up all your vegetab...
More About: Thanksgiving , Tips

Roasting A Turkey According To Giada And Ina
2007-11-19 06:04:00
Instead of going through Giada 's and Ina's entire Thanksgiving shows, I thought I'd get to the meat of the matter and look at how they they each cook their turkeys. They are somewhat different. (I don't know why the FN couldn't produce NEW Thanksgiving episodes with Giada and Ina, or did they and I missed them?)This is Giada’s Turk ey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus. Go to the recipe for the exact cooking times and amounts. Giada cuts lemons, oranges and an onion in wedges to cook inside the turkey. She says they will keep the turkey meat flavorful and tender. She also chops rosemary, oregano and sage. Next Giada melts 2 tablespoons of butter for the rub for the outside of the turkey. She adds herbes de provence, pepper and olive oil. She uses dried herbs for the rub, because fresh will burn during the long oven time. She takes her orange and lemon wedges and places them in the turkey. She squishes in the cut onion last with the fresh herbs and ties the legs. (These herbs w...
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Gracie Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef
2007-11-18 23:47:00
Gracie Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef 1 large Roast of beef 1 small Roast of beef Take the two roasts and put them in the oven. When the little one burns, the big one is done. Thanks, Cuz, for sending this to me...
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Ingrid - Simply The Wrong Menu
2007-11-18 19:30:00
Simply Delicioso with Ingrid HoffmannComfort FoodPlantain SoupMini Cuban Burgers (Fritas)Potato Chips with Chica Comfort SaucePeachy Mint ShakeTo get the recipes:Click hereOoh boy, Ingrid's at the gym on a treadmill making up for overdoing it in the kitchen. Snap. Dances around. She's back in the kitchen with a show about comfort food. We're all about to go into the kitchen and not emerge for 6 days after having cooked and eaten and wrapped up and reheated and eaten again enough high calorie high fat food to last us until next Thanksgiving or Christmas at least. But let's have a show about comfort food, because that's what we're craving. NOT!!!Ingrid starts with mini-burgers. She grabs an onion that's been in the freezer for 15 minutes - her little trick for not crying. She grates the whole thing. Did she even peel it? She puts it in a bowl with 3 cloves of chopped garlic. She soaks 1 1/2 cups store-bought bread crumbs in 1/4 cup milk. Ewww... She adds an egg, pepper, paprika...
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Sad News From Martha
2007-11-17 21:03:00
Her mother passed away yesterday...That's tough, especially right before this most family-oriented holiday. I always enjoyed watching her on Martha 's shows...
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Let's Concentrate On What's Important
2007-11-16 20:51:00
Listen, folks, we all have a lot of Thanksgiving cooking to do. Let's not engage in idle gossip and rumor-mongering about Rachael Ray's marriage. You know that I'm not an RR fan, but even I feel badly that because this nonsense has gone on for sooooo long, she felt she had to address it on her show. Let's concentrate on what's important and talk about HOW BAD HER RECIPES ARE!!!I have nothing against her personally. I think she's a great talk show host, a hard worker, a good daughter...blah blah blah, but her food is awful. So the next time you're tempted to blab about her marriage, change it to a belly ache (literally) about her meatballs and then we'll have something to talk about.
More About: Concentrate

THANKSGIVING TIPS - Conquer The Crust
2007-11-16 19:23:00
I'm talking about that bit of graham cracker crust that always stays behind in the pie dish as you're cutting the pie. This is a brilliant Maida Heatter tip for dealing with that. It is, admittedly, a bit tricky, but it works beautifully. And you can, in fact you MUST, do it in advance. Here's what to do and then I've outlined it again below with pictures.Line your pie dish with foil. The easiest way to do this is to turn your pie dish upside down and cover the outside with foil. Then remove it and fit the into the inside of the pie dish. Pat your graham cracker crust into the foil lined dish, making sure that the top edge isn't too thin.After I've patted all the crumbs down, the inside bottom edge of the pie is sometimes a bit thicker than it needs to be. I scrape away at it with a teaspoon and use THOSE crumbs to build up the top edge. (Turn your sound on, it sounds as if I'm chipping away at a frozen sidewalk and this is BEFORE I've frozen the crust.) The crust for ...
More About: Thanksgiving , Tips , Crust , Conquer

Serendipity - I Don't Really Like Rodents
2007-11-15 21:46:00
With My Frrrozen Haute Chocolate The New York City health department apparently agreed, when they shut down Serendipity 3 last night for a whole range of quite gross health violations. I guess the lesson here is that you can get just as sick from a TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR dessert as you can from a three dollar hot dog off the street (except THOSE vendors are really closely regulated).
More About: Rodents

THANKSGIVING TIPS - Miscellaneous
2007-11-15 18:39:00
Think About Who's ComingBefore all your various family and friends descend upon you, put their kids' pictures BACK on the fridge, and the flamingo pitcher back on the side board. No one else will notice, but THEY will.I PROMISE I don't do this!!!!!!!!!!!! (REALLY, A, I don’t. THOSE pictures are on my fridge all year long.)Keep Last Minute Panicking Down To A MinimumPut out the hors d'oeuvres 30 minutes before the first guest arrives. It makes you APPEAR more ready than you actually are.Have a bar area set up AWAY from where you’re cooking. Place cans, bottles and pitchers on one tray, glasses on another. It keeps the area tidy (I hate that word.) Clean the guest bathroom at least 2 or 3 hours before the guests are supposed to arrive. If possible, ban family members, especially males, from that room (until the guests arrive). Other StuffTape the recipes that you'll be using to the inside of your kitchen cupboards. They'll be handy, but off the counter. (Actually, I keep my ...
More About: Thanksgiving , Tips

Giada Underwhelms Oprah
2007-11-15 01:16:00
Well, that was my impression anyway about Giada 's appearance on Oprah yesterday. And I thought Giada did fine with the great Pooh-Bah herself. But Oprah definitely didn't have the same chemistry with Giada as with RR. After all, she gave Rachael her very own show.Oprah WAS ever-gracious, though, complimenting Giada on her first dish - an "easy" appetizer to show Nate that even HE could cook. I don't think fiddling with coating food and frying it in lots of oil is necessarily the easiest thing she could have done, but Ms. Winfrey was impressed with the results, which was the important thing.Giada moved on to a quick little appetizer with blue cheese - crostini with honey drizzled over. Oprah seemed a bit forlorn that the blue cheese didn't get melted over the bread. She was sure it looked like it had been cooked. Giada had to explain that O's hot lights made it look like that. Luckily, Oprah's a grownup and got over it. But, oh my, this next thing WAS kinda bad. Giada made (WHY...
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Ingrid Hoffman - She Actually Made Two Good Points
2007-11-13 21:17:00
But May I Be Frank? The Rest Was CrapSimply Delicioso with Ingrid Hoffman Sunday DinnerCoffee and Cola Pork LoinString Beans in VinaigretteSpicy, Smoky Cauliflower MashCheesecake Flan To get the recipes:Click here Oh my! Dare I admit it? I kind of missed Ingrid while they were showing repeats...not enough to watch a show that I had already suffered through, but my snark meter was getting rusty. Not to worry. Today's show had enough to complain about to take me through an entire season of reruns. She's making dinner for her family. At least her adorable mother is there, but alas, she remains frozen (how dumb is that?) while Ingrid cooks the meal by herself.Ingrid starts with a pork loin. She makes a brine to soak it in. She mixes one cup of warm water with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons salt. She eyeballs it. That's probably not a good idea. She stirs it to dissolve the salt and sugar, then adds COLD water to bring down the temperature of the brine. She doesn't want the pork loin...
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THANKSGIVING TIPS - Good Things Come In Small Packages
2007-11-12 01:10:00
This is an idea I got from the cover of a Gourmet Magazine from November, 2000.I'm sure the last thing on your mind is garnishing your turkey platter. Yet this is so easy and so gorgeous that there's no reason NOT TO DO IT!!!One hour before the turkey comes out of the oven, place 12 Lady Apples (or one per person) around it in the roasting pan. Remove them when you take out the turkey and set them aside. Garnish the serving platter with them. They are just so darned CUTE!!! Don't confuse them with Pink Lady Apples. Lady Apples are miniature apples. These are how small they are next to Granny Smith and Macintosh Apples.
More About: Thanksgiving , Tips , Small , Things , Good

Happy Election Day!
2007-11-06 23:39:00
I hope you all had a chance to vote today. In honor of Election Day, I thought I'd give you a chance to vote for your favorite Croque Madame.Hint: I'm campaigning for Number One, which was made by me, on authentic Poilâne bread flown in (not by me) from France. AND you can vote for more than one...Shouldn't all elections be like this? The polls won't close until I say they will. Let them eat Croques!CROQUE NUMBER ONECROQUE NUMBER TWOCROQUE NUMBER THREE CROQUE NUMBER FOUR
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Giada's Kid's Menu Hits Close To Home
2007-11-05 21:08:00
Everyday Italian with Giada De LaurentiisKid Friendly DinnersVeggie Stuffed PancakesStrawberry and Mascarpone Filled CupcakesPizza Pot Pies To get the recipes: Click hereWell, well, well. What an appropriate show for Giada. Saturday's Everyday Italian was Kid Friendly Dinners. Little did we know that she was expecting her own little one as we watched. I assume SHE knew, because this was a new show and she's 18 weeks pregnant. But whatev...Let's see what she came up with.The show starts with her amazingly telegenic family of kids and grown-ups playing on a beautiful lawn. Then I think there was a new opening. Giada looks just beautiful.She starts with the tomato sauce for individual pizza pot pies. She heats olive oil in a pan and adds 2 oz of cubed pancetta, reminding us that it's not smoked and so it's a little sweeter for the kids. She adds garlic and freshly chopped rosemary with salt and pepper. She stirs in San Marzano tomatoes and simmers the mixture for 15 minutes. For t...
More About: Home , Close , Hits , Menu

Nigella Tells Regis To Fork It!
2007-11-05 16:13:00
Using his best Cary Grant accent, Regis tried to make a Caramel Croissant Pudding with Nigel la this morning. Nigella, looking prosperously zoftig and always captivating, deals with Regis's inability to even crack an egg with aplomb and good humor. The recipe is gorgeous and definitely worth trying.
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News Flash - Giada's Pregnant!
2007-11-05 15:30:00
She announced it on the Today Show this morning. She's having a little girl. Giada said wherever she goes, whatever she does, the first question people always ask her is when she's having a baby. She's 18 weeks pregnant, so she's over morning sickness, and she looks glowing. Congratulations!
More About: News , Flash , Pregnant

THANKSGIVING TIPS - The Tip That Will Save Your Thanksgiving
2007-11-04 15:57:00
After the turkey comes out of the oven, turn it upside down and cover it well with foil. I don’t care how heavy it, how hot it is or how stuffed it is. Do it! The juices will flow back into the breast, giving you a moist gorgeous turkey. It’s worth ruining 2 potholders a year to do this.
More About: Thanksgiving , Tips , Save , Hank

Foodbuzz
2007-11-03 16:25:00
Check out this wonderful new food website, Foodbuzz. It has all things food-related: blogs, restaurant reviews, great pictures and videos, and lots of interaction amongst foodies. AND they have really good taste too. I'm a Featured Publisher on their site, which just means that they like me! They really like me! You can find my blog there, but also photos and comments and, in the coming weeks, restaurant and other food reviews.

THANKSGIVING TIPS - How Many Ways Can You Stuff A Turkey?
2007-11-02 23:00:00
More than you think…I know a lot of folks don’t stuff their turkeys anymore. I am not in that group, because there’s nothing that gives the stuffing more flavor than being cooked inside the bird. And I just won’t give that up. Of course, I always have more than fits in the turkey, so I do cook the rest separately in a foil packet for 40 minutes. (BTW, if you brine your turkey, you can't stuff it.)You non-stuffers can go make your pie crusts now, my like-minded friends and I have some stuff (get it?) to talk about. Stuff ing and the turkey really have a symbiotic relationship. Each benefits from the other. So let’s figure out how many places you can stuff a turkey. No, I don’t mean the kitchen, the dining room or the back porch. I mean IN a turkey…how many places can you stuff? I’ll let you think about that for a minute.Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalall alalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal alalalalalalala OK?Number One - Th...
More About: Turkey , Thanksgiving , Tips , Hank

Christmas Cookie Extravaganza
2007-11-01 21:24:00
I KNOW it's not even Thanksgiving, but I had to pass this along to you. Thanks to my friend S, for sending it to me. I can't attest to how good these recipes are, but it really looks neat: Just click on the name of the cookie and bam the recipe is there. Potato Chip Cookie s(?!!) are new to me.1-2-3 Cookies 7 Layer Cookies Allie Nelson's Famous Snickerdoodle Cookies Almond Crescent Shortbread Amish Sugar Cookies Andies Candies Cookies Angel Crisps Angenets Applesauce Cookies Apricot Fold-Overs Aunt Edy's Molasses Crinkles Auntie Linda's Ginger Gems Bakeless Dream Cookies Banana Drop Cookies Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World Biscotti Biscotti Blueberry Cookies Boiled Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies Bronwnies Brown Sugar Shortbread Brownie Cookies Brownie Delight Brownies Buccaneer Snowballs Buried Cherry Cookies Butter Cookies Butter Nut Balls Butterballs Butterscotch Haystacks C.O.P. Cookies Candy Cane Cookies Candy Cookies Caramel Shortbread Cheesecake Brownies Cherry...
More About: Christmas

THANKSGIVING TIPS - Party Liquids
2007-10-31 17:52:00
Ewww! Who thought of that title? I guess I did. And I want you to spend the same amount of time, i.e. seconds, thinking about the drinks you're going to serve. You're going to be wrestling a turkey, for heaven's sake, you don't need to worry about complicated potables.The easiest aperitif is a little pomegranate juice in the bottom of a champagne flute. Fill with domestic champagne or prosecco or ginger ale for non-imbibers. Garnish each glass with a frozen raspberry. (It’s a garnish that you don’t have to play with.)Here is a wonderfully EASY punch. 1 part orange juice, 1 part cranberry juice, 1 part something fizzy - seltzer, sprite, ginger ale or the diet equivalent. THEN scoop in a pint of American Orange Sherbet. Not sorbet, not granita - SHERBET. It makes it foamy and really good. (Thanks, L, for that idea.) I like frozen raspberries in that too.Put any individual juices you’re serving in pitchers, and garnish them with frozen raspberries and, if you have the energy,...
More About: Party , Thanksgiving , Tips , Liquids , Hank

Giada's Gone Wacky And Don't You Just Love People Who Can Admit When They'r
2007-10-31 05:14:00
Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis Fun with FoodRoasted Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola PizzaTilapia with Purple Potato Crust and Chive Rosemary OilMango Cheesecake with Basil Lemon SyrupTo get the recipes:Click hereGiada begins the episode with the statement, "Sometimes I like to play with my food." That explains some of Giada's recent, AHEM, "interesting" recipes.She calls pizza the ultimate "fun food". I guess that's true because you can top it with really anything. Today, she's using acorn squash. She likes it when "sweet and spicy flavors play off each other".Giada prepares the squash for roasting. She cuts off both ends and cuts it in half. She scoops out the seeds and cuts the acorn squash into thinnish slices. Oh, I really hate that. It makes for the maximum amount of peeling. You have to attack each thin slice separately and it's all hot and it's a big pain. I'm not liking this at all. She adds a couple of tablespoonfuls of maple syrup to the squash. (Great, now it...
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THANKSGIVING TIPS - Focus On The Cooking
2007-10-31 03:19:00
Cooking Versus CleaningH’s grandmother used to have a wonderful attitude about cleaning before big family parties. She always said there was no point in doing a heavy duty cleaning BEFORE company came, since she knew she’d have to do it AFTER anyway. I've taken her advice to mean that getting the house ready for company means cleaning the obvious stuff first and tackling anything additional, if there's time. In other words, focus on first impressions. Plus, I would much rather make an extra pie than clean out the back closet.My tactic about both cleaning AND cooking is to accomplish the tasks in advance that you absolutely cannot do after your company arrives. For example, washing your hair is not a good idea as the hors d'oeuvres are being served, but draining the potatoes is perfectly ok. Cleaning the toilet is probably frowned upon when people are having salad, but getting the coffee set up as everyone takes his or her seat is entirely acceptable. Get it? Just say to yours...
More About: Cooking , Thanksgiving , Tips , Focus , Hank