How will you use technology or the Internet to help you plan and prepare this year’s Thanksgiving feast?
Sponsored by LifeScoop: Bringing You Tips for a Connected Lifestyle.Ooh, good question, Vox. I have been thinking much about the feast this year, because it's the first time that I'll host my family. I'm quite excited to cook for them, and to not have to travel on Thanksgiving weekend. Yay!
I'm keeping the menu traditional. I mean, it's hard to improve upon things you know everyone likes. And we don't eat cranberry sauce and turkey much year-round, so I don't think it's a bad thing having the same menu every year.
As far as technology, there's not a ton I do to pull it in for Thanksgiving. I don't even have a digital thermometer. ;-) However, I do use Cook's Illustrated online quite a bit (thanks to Aquanetta). The team at Cook's Illustrated doesn't necessarily use a lot of technology, but they are very scientific.
If you want a guaranteed-to-please recipe, Cook's Illustrated is the place to go. The idea behind it is that they take a recipe, try it 100 or so different ways with slight variations, each time testing with a tasting panel, and they tell you the exact best way to cook it. And to top it off, the editor is a chemist, so he explains why these methods work best. It is, by far, the most reliable source of recipes -- and I've read a lot of cookbooks and cooking magazines.
Here's my Thanksgiving menu. All the recipes are from Cook's Illustrated except where noted otherwise.
Roast turkey (brined, stuffed with an herb paste)
Gravey
Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Roasted brussels sprouts with bartlett pears (Body+Soul magazine)
Green beans with toasted walnuts and roquefort cheese (Body+Soul magazine)
Creamed spinach
Pumpkin pie (Libby's recipe)
Pecan pie (from a Thanksgiving cookbook I have, forgot the name, but it's great. My pecan pie secret is to include chopped pecans in the filling, as well as a layer of halved pecans on the top for looks)The fam is bringing rolls, candied yams, stuffing and butternut squash soup. Yum!
Btw, Cook's Illustrated also tests cooking equipment - someone put together their list on Amazon as a shared list if you want to find any equipment. Geez, I sound like a commercial!
Not a whole lot to remark upon lately, but last night I made a new dinner. I "fanned" Sunset magazine on Facebook, and now and again they'll cull useful ideas from their readers. A few days ago, they asked "what do you do with leftover rotisserie chicken?" I got a couple good ideas. Rotisserie chickens are great for when you don't have the time or energy to cook but want a homecooked, healthy meal. Idea #1 was to shred the chicken, pour barbecue sauce on it, and put it in a sandwich. Oh so simple but sounds tasty, no?
Idea #2 was last night's dinner -- chicken and biscuits. Cut the chicken (I wouldn't shred it with forks, but using spoons gets just the right size pieces). If you have time to sautee an onion, put that on top of the chicken. Pour a can of cream of mushroom soup (Amy's Organic is the best) on top, followed by a package of frozen peas and carrots. Then top with biscuit dough, and bake according to the directions for the biscuit dough. I used Bisquick, so the whole thing was super easy. It turned out great, and I think was reasonably healthy, too.
This morning, I actually hauled my butt out of bed early and went to the gym! For me, this is a major accomplishment. I haven't been active for the last few months. My workout felt great. Woo hoo!
Saturday - Productive, mainly got all my errands done. Stopped at the Carlsbad outlet malls -- thought I'd tackle a little early Christmas shopping -- but apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea. The place was packed. Scary packed. I thought I might die under a heap of customers clawing at the 50% off bags at Coach. Narrowly escaped.
Sunday - Went for breakfast and took Bucky. When another jumpy/sniffy/nosy dog got near Bucky, we again found out that Bucky's still not dog-friendly. :-( His next training is Saturday.
Went bowling with some friends, and now my legs are sore. Geez, gotta get back in the gym.
I also tackled my first cheesecake, and it turned out pretty good. I stuck to a simple recipe -- just cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon rind. A lot easier than I thought it'd be.
Had some friends over for dinner last night; that's one of my favorite things to do. Sigh, I already miss the weekend....
If you read my blog, I must insist you turn your speakers all the way up to 11 and rock one of these in your living room. I don't care who's watching.
But you know what, when all is said and done - Cheap Trick will ALWAYS win out as my favorite band.
I was worried yesterday because both the honey and I had to go to work, leaving our diarrhea dog in the house alone. I got home around 5:45, and miracle of miracles, no messes! YAY! Boy, now I know a little bit of how new parents feel. Except babies have diapers.
Bucky seems to be quickly improving, maybe because of the antibiotic he's on.
Do you like stories about twins? About Scotland? Then you might like THE SCOTCH TWINS (1919) by Lucy Fitch Perkins. It made me clap my hands with excited anticipation many times. I can't explain why very well... I knew what twists were coming but it was told so well I felt like I was a fly on the wall the whole time. You know what's coming, but you aren't quite sure that's exactly what IS going to happen....
There are other books in the TWINS series, but this great little easy read was an immense delight.
Here's a sample from the Gutenberg E-text:
"At the very moment when Jock and Tam came flying over the fence and down the hill like a cyclone after the rabbit, Angus was kneeling beside the brook to get a drink. His lips were pursed up and he was bending over almost to the surface of the water, when something dashed past him, and an instant later something else struck him like a thunderbolt from behind, and drove him headforemost into the brook! It wasn't Tam that did it. It was Jock! Of course, it was an accident, but Angus thought he had done it on purpose, and he was probably the most surprised as well as the angriest man in Scotland at that moment. He lifted his head out of the brook and glared at Jock as fiercely as he could with little rills of water pouring from his hair and nose, and trickling in streams down his neck.
"I'll make you smart for this, you young blatherskite," he roared at Jock, who stood before him frozen with horror. "I'll teach you where you belong! You were running after that rabbit, and your dog is yelping down a hole after her this minute!" He was such a funny sight as he knelt there, dripping and scolding, that, scared as he was, Jock could not help laughing. More than ever enraged, Angus made a sudden lunge forward and seized Jock by the ear."
This month's Bon Appetit magazine included an article called "The 7 Rules of the Italian Kitchen." Good stuff such as pay attention to what foods grow near you and what's in season, use leftovers creatively in new dishes, keep it simple, etc. But my favorite was this:
I posted about Flea Treats awhile back, let me update you on my experience.
The best thing I can tell you about the FLEA TREAT method of flea control is that:
1. You have to be PATIENT and CONSISTENT.
2. It took 4-6 weeks for it to have the desired effect on my cats. However, they were infested with fleas. I thought it wasn't working and even called the company to inquire WTF? I spoke to the owner and he encouraged me to be patient and consistent. I stuck with it and found it really does work IF you are patient and consistent. I've had success with 2 indoor/outdoor cats for more than one year on this program of 2 treats a day.
2-1/2. You MUST give it to your pet EVERY DAY and at the same time of day if you expect it to be effective.
3. I only have 2 problems with Flea Treats, and they're really only in my head.
3A. My biggest problem with them is the size. I feel like I have to cut them in half to make them more bite sized. It's not like they're so big the cat'd choke on it or anything, but they are hard treats not soft treats and my cats seem to prefer the bite-size it so I do it. I had a pill cutter from forever ago, but they are only like a buck at the drugstore.
Let me preface number 3B with: You do not have to put it in their food. You can give it to them as a plain treat, but like I said above they're hard treats not soft. My cats have only ever eaten soft treats so they are not at all interested, but they eat crunchy food so in the dish it goes and they eat it like any other food morsel.
3B. My other problem is I have two cats that eat together and I now have to watch them eat and make sure they ate the treats - because if they don't eat their treats and walk away the other cat'll come over and eat out of the other's dish thereby getting the other cat's dose. If you only have one cat, no problem.
4. It's more than cost-effective.
5. Funny thing... my cats KNEW what the Advantage/Frontline package looked like, and when they'd see it they'd [expletive deleted] RUN from me. I kid you not.
My one cat had his fur burnt off and skin made raw from one of those insecticides. That's how I discovered FLEA TREATS. It broke my heart to know I was putting something that evil on my cats, so I searched the internet with terms like natural and chemical-free and found Flea Treats.
Anyway, I literally had to chase them down, hold them down and force it onto them. I felt like I was honestly physically abusing them. I am not exaggerating for effect - I felt like I was actually harming them. And I had physical proof with his fur gone and skin broken open, red and raw. How could I conscientiously not at least TRY this thing called FLEA TREATS? I had nothing to lose but the cost of return postage to send the bottle back for a refund.
What would you rather? A poisonous toxic chemical solution poured on your skin OR a tasty * liver flavored B vitamin treat to eat?
*Ok, I don't really know if it's tasty, but they eat it so
I guess it is. It's gotta taste better than [company redacted] 's Napalm in the Morning.
Sigh, Bucky is a sick little guy right now. I'll spare you the details, but I'll say this... diarrhea. In the house. We're getting the carpet cleaned but may have to get it replaced; it's in bad shape right now.
We took him to the vet this morning and she's concerned that it's actually a chronic condition (but obviously worse in the last two days). I always thought he was just still adjusting to his new food and getting better... but apparently he should have been fine by now. So, now Bucky is on an anti-biotic, de-wormer (just in case), and a low-residue prescription dog food. I hope he gets better soon, because this dog food sounds like crap... lots of grain, and it includes a chicken "by-product meal". Eesh... I only bought it because the vet assured me that this was best for Bucky since he has some kind of GI issue.
Work, work, work. We had a massive proposal to send -- which is good news for my company. It was a lotta work and all hands on deck, so my weekend was spent in the office, and running some errands. Now I'm feeling gratified that it's all done, off my desk, and well, it looked pretty damn good. Hopefully this means we'll get rich. Well, at least a step in that direction.
I did get a chance to go grocery shopping, and I did menu planning for the week -- something I always mean to do, but almost never actually do. I will successfully avoid eating out and eating cereal for dinner this week! On Sunday, I made a roasted wild Alaskan sockeye salmon with some mushroom risotto and a salad. Last night, I made a big rum roast with onions and had a few friends over for dinner. Served it with some sauteed kale and squash, and sweet potato fries. Tonight's menu is a leek, potato and feta tart; tomorrow - shrimp and corn in cream sauce over rice; Thursday, pasta with broccoli and chicken apple sausage.
It's not the cooking that's difficult or time-consuming -- it's the grocery shopping. If someone did that for me, I'd be able to get home-cooked meals on the table pretty easily. Maybe someday I can get a personal assistant. :)
