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."
