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Below is a recipe from chef Jim Hoban that I got from the Chicago Tribune years ago.

I made it for my family and my family demanded that I make it again every year since. The one thing I noticed about the original recipe is that the resulting turkey gravy turned out awful every time. I fixed that by adding a heaping handful of whole peppercorns to the brine.

Chef Jim Hoban suggests brining the turkey in a large plastic tub outdoors, as long as the temperature stays below 40°. Otherwise, you'll have to make room for it in the refrigerator. Hoban starts with a high temperature of 450°, but because of the sugar content of the brine, we found it too-quickly browned the turkey. We reduced the temperature to 375°.

6 cups water
1 gallon apple cider
1 cup coarse salt
big handful of whole peppercorns
1 cup light brown sugar
4 apples, cored, sliced
1 turkey, about 12 pounds
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh oregano
2 sprigs fresh sage
1 medium onion, halved
5 cloves garlic
½ stick (¼ cup) butter, melted
Freshly ground black pepper

  1. Combine water, cider, salt, peppercorn, brown sugar and apples in a large pot. Heat to boil over high heat. Remove from heat; cool 1 hour. Transfer to a smaller container if you wish; refrigerate until cold.
  2. Remove giblets from turkey cavity; refrigerate. Place turkey in large tub or cooler; pour brine over to cover. Refrigerate at least 12 hours, turning occasionally.
  3. Heat oven to 375°. Remove turkey from the brine to a rack in a large roasting pan; pat dry. Stuff cavity with fresh herbs, onion halves and garlic. Brush turkey with melted butter; season with pepper. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°; tent with foil. Roast until thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 175°, about 2½ to 3 hours. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.
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Note: sometimes I add the peppercorns after everything else has been boiled.

I was considering making gajar halwa as a carrot side dish for Thanksgiving, but now I'm starting to think I'll stick with my scotch 'n butter carrots again this year.

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If you've never brined a turkey, I highly recommend trying it. The brine makes the meat tender and juicy and well-seasoned.
 
Thomas II said:
What is the best way to cook beef stew? Any good recipe for that?
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I don't make soups much, especially since the heart failure (lots of fluid and salt).

I've never made beef stew, but generally soups can be made by purchasing broth or stock at the store, then combining it in a pot with whatever meat and veggies you want and slow cook (simmer) it for a long time. I would suggest mirepoix (2 parts onion to one part carrot and one part celery) and potatoes. Don't use Idaho potatoes because those are soft and fluffy (good for baked potatoes, not so good for soup).

Suggestion for cutting technique:

 
A good beef stew needs a cheap cut of meat (I use chuck or gravy beef), coated in flour (and I add gravox to the flour), seared in a hot pan of melted butter or oil till brown, then covered with tinned tomatoes and a glass of good red wine, add your vegetables (I use onion, celery, potato and carrot) and cook long and low until the meat almost falls apart. Season to taste.
 
chili verde

1.5lb ground pork
1lb tomatillos
ginger root
lime juice
bunch of cilantro
4 jalapeno peppers
2 yellow onions
garlic

i like to make a slurry of ginger, garlic and lime juice and marinate the pork first. cut the tomatillos in half and broil them until black spots appear, then put them in the blender with the cilantro and deseeded peppers. brown pork with onions, combine with a cup of stock and cook down. add just a dash of sugar.....or tequila
 
grits - turning corn powder into something tasty takes skills

1/2cup quick cook 5 minute grits
3/4water
slice of butter
teaspoon of sorghum syrup (not 'sorghum molasses')
3 tablespoons milk

combine grits, water, butter and sorghum in a bowl. microwave for four minutes. stir, add milk microwave 2 minutes. sprinkle salt on top

(NB - low power microwave)
 
Lamb Meat Sauce

1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 lb of ground lamb
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 can of crushed tomatoes (or one 8 ounce can of tomato paste)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both for a couple of minutes on medium heat in pan with the the olive oil. After a couple of minutes, add the ground lamb into the pan, stir and cook until lightly browned. The add the crushed tomatoes and then stir in the cinnamon and cayenne. If you use tomato paste, stir in the tomato paste, then add 1.5 cups of water, then stir in the cinnamon and cayenne. Let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes or so.

When I saw this recipe, I thought the cinnamon would ruin it, but it doesn't - the cayenne cuts the sweetness. This sauce goes well with most pasta.
 
Chicken and mushroom pasta - Serves 2

1 Chicken breast - cubed into about 2cm cubes (ours was about 200g)
220g mushrooms - quartered
1 small green capsicum - roughly chopped
1 chicken oxo cube
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 serves of pasta (I had 50g dry, Bilby 100g dry)

Brown the chicken and add the roughly chopped capsicum and mushrooms.
Put pasta on to cook.
Mix the oxo cube and basil in about 3/4 cup of water and add to mix.
Let simmer until tender.
Mix cornflour in about 1/4 cup water - no more - in fact a little less,
Add to mix and stir well. Sauce should thicken nicely.
season to taste.

Serve with cooked pasta.

The pasta accounted for more than half the kilojoule count with this meal, and it was quite tasty. :D
 
Thanksgiving will be different this year.

This year we decided to have Thanksgiving on a different day so that my brothers don't have to shuttle between two households on that day. Makes things a little easier for me as I can put off the cooking. This year I won't forget where the togarashi is.
 
This year I did a slow - maybe slower - roast turkey. It was a 23 pound bird that I stuffed with cored apples, put in a roasting bag and let cook overnight at 250 degrees for 10 hours. Came out like a dream. Let it sit for two more hours in the oven before taking out and carving, and really didn't need a knife as everything fell off the bone. Also cooked it breast down which made it even juicier.

Needless to say my days of getting up early and roasting the sucker at 325 degrees, including basting, are over.
 
Since I went solo for Thanksgiving this year, I made a simple turkey crockpot recipe:

1 turkey breast or 2 chicken breasts
1 bag/box of cornbread dressing
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen peas (or green beans)
1 cup water

Spray non-stick cooking oil inside crockpot
Put meat at the bottom
Empty cornbread dressing - dry - on top of raw meat
Mix together soup and sour cream, then pour on top of dressing
Top with frozen peas.
Pour 1 cup of water on top.

Turn crockpot on high and cook for 4 hours or low for 7.5 hours. Fluff up dressing halfway through cooking and add more water as needed.
 
I still have homemade cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving and was looking for ways to get rid of it.

Typically, what I do is get some plain yogurt and mix that with it.

I recently discovered that leftover homemade cranberry sauce tastes good with whiskey. Hopefully, someone with better bartending skills can come up with something better than just cranberry sauce + whiskey, but I've been pretty happy with just that.
 
Underseer said:
I still have homemade cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving and was looking for ways to get rid of it.

Typically, what I do is get some plain yogurt and mix that with it.

I recently discovered that leftover homemade cranberry sauce tastes good with whiskey. Hopefully, someone with better bartending skills can come up with something better than just cranberry sauce + whiskey, but I've been pretty happy with just that.
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http://www.saq.com/page/en/saqcom/cocktail/whisky-canneberges-ec


To get the above I typed in: cocktail recipe using cranberry and whisky and found a few for you. :D
 
gmbteach said:
Underseer said:
I still have homemade cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving and was looking for ways to get rid of it.

Typically, what I do is get some plain yogurt and mix that with it.

I recently discovered that leftover homemade cranberry sauce tastes good with whiskey. Hopefully, someone with better bartending skills can come up with something better than just cranberry sauce + whiskey, but I've been pretty happy with just that.
Click to expand...

http://www.saq.com/page/en/saqcom/cocktail/whisky-canneberges-ec


To get the above I typed in: cocktail recipe using cranberry and whisky and found a few for you. :D
Click to expand...

I'm sure I could substitute juice for sauce, no problem.
 
bunch of cilantro (coriander)
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 white onion
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chili
one clove garlic
garlic salt
2 jalapenos

1 lbs chopped pork
after the pork is browned add some flour, maybe 1/2 a handful
1 bag green chili
1 squash chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 potato chopped
more than you would think dry hamburger seasoning
 
none said:
bunch of cilantro (coriander)
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 white onion
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chili
one clove garlic
garlic salt
2 jalapenos

1 lbs chopped pork
after the pork is browned add some flour, maybe 1/2 a handful
1 bag green chili
1 squash chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 potato chopped
more than you would think dry hamburger seasoning
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after hamburger seasoning add some water
 
A hot quick meal is as follows.

Cut up carrots, squash, onions, cabbage, celery, and peppers. Put in a Pyrex cup , fill with water, microwave for 5 minutes.

Drain leaving a little water. Stir in tomato paste to desired thickness. Season with garlic salt, table salt, and chili powder.

Takes about 6 minutes.

For a 'cup of noodles' put flat egg noodles in a pyrex cup and microwave for about 6 minutes. Let stand until done. Drain and add a little salad dressing or tomato paste as above.

Pizza sandwich. On some good bread place tour favorite cheese, Add onions and peppers, and a few slices of pepperoni or sausage. On the other slice smear tomato paste and season as above, or use canned seasoned pasta sauce. Microwae for 30 seconds.
 
Angry Floof's Cocoa-Banana Cookies

1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c flour
1 egg or 2 tbsp aquafaba
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream butter and sugar
Mix in banana and aquafaba
Sift dry ingredients together
Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture and mix until smooth
Spoon by tbsp onto parchment covered baking sheet
Bake 10 - 13 mins (less time = chewy cookies)

cocoa-banana-cookies.jpg
 
Angry Floof said:
Angry Floof's Cocoa-Banana Cookies

1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c flour
1 egg or 2 tbsp aquafaba
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream butter and sugar
Mix in banana and aquafaba
Sift dry ingredients together
Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture and mix until smooth
Spoon by tbsp onto parchment covered baking sheet
Bake 10 - 13 mins (less time = chewy cookies)

View attachment 14864
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I'll try one ty
 
Enchilada variation: instead of tomato sauce, use canned cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup mixed with fresh garlic and minced fresh chile peppers. I like to add fresh onions and mushrooms as well.
 
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