[cwcdesign]

My turkey breast is in the oven now. I took it out of the freezer on Friday morning and this morning took it out of the fridge around 8. At noon, I unwrapped it and while the turkey felt thawed there was still a huge chunk of ice in the cavity. I was able to pull it out easily, but I still needed to run some cool water through the bird. I followed Ina's recipe and she said 1 ½ to 1 3/4 hours at 325º. I always reduce my oven by 14º. So, it's been about the longer time, but it still has a ways to go. I set my chef alarm to 160º and when it went off, I double checked with my instant one - glad I did since I still had more that 20º to go. I repositioned the chef alarm and upped the oven temp to 325º. It's quite possible that the bird was still too cold.

Since we are just having sandwiches with it tonight, there is no deadline for the turkey to be cooked through. I will make stuffing and gravy to go with. Will has made sourdough bread so the sandwiches will be delicious.

Last night I made BakerAunt's crispy fish and chips. I reduced the amount of panko I pre-baked and only baked it for 3 minutes. I tried making the potatoes like the recipe originally recommended, but I needed to use two half sheet pans so they didn't steam. I agree with BA that cutting the potatoes in wedges is the way to go, so will do that next time. I took the fish out at 10 minutes and it was perfect. Definitely a recipe that is now in our rotation. Still need to try the baked panko on oven-fried chicken tenders.

[cwcdesign]

I forgot to post last week, but I did make the cranberry pumpkin rolls from KABC.

I made the dough in my Zo, did not add the optional cloves and added 2 teaspoons of the SAF Gold instant yeast - the recipe had called for 1 tablespoon regular instant yeast. I made 24 rolls and put them in a 9x13 pan per PJ's blog post. I let them rise longer than the recommendation, unusual for me down here, but it was fairly cool, They looked puffy but not too the top of the pan like the photo. I was afraid of overproofing so I went ahead and put them in the oven. They rose nicely, were really good and are nice for breakfast. I think another time I could let them rise to the top of the pan. But nobody else noted and they loved them.

[cwcdesign]

Now an article on baking supply shortages (from a commercial point of view) but it trickles down

https://wapo.st/3nNWUBn

[cwcdesign]

Southern Living has an interesting version of "The Grease." They call it "Cake Goop" and it adds vegetable oil too.

https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cakes/cake-goop-release?did=701074-20211122&utm_campaign=sl-whats-cooking_newsletter&utm_source=southernliving.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=112221&cid=701074&mid=72599892689&lctg=71497359

[cwcdesign]

I made lentil and tomato stew from Barefoot Contessa, grilled Portuguese linguica to go with it and roasted some cauliflower with olive oil an Penzey’s lemon pepper. A really nice dinner.

[cwcdesign]

Since many of us are cooking turkey this week, I thought I'd share this piece from The Washington Post. I am allowed to "gift" several articles a month, so this link should work.
https://wapo.st/3FyyfXw

I will be making whipped honey feta with roasted olives to take as an appetizer to our friends for Thanksgiving. We've decided that I will cook our turkey breast next Sunday. I haven't decided if I am going to bone it or cut it as is. I'll take it out of the freezer on Thursday.

[cwcdesign]

We are going to friends for Thanksgiving. im going to try my hand (bread machine) at making the cranberry-pumpkin rolls from KABC that were in last week's newsletter. Will is making pumpkin pie.

[cwcdesign]

I went to Harris Teeter on Sunday to be sure I could get a turkey breast. The freezer was pretty empty. I asked the butcher the million dollar question - were they going to get in more of the Empire brand and he said no. I went with Shady Brook - it had less stuff in it than the Butterball. They also had Plainville organic but the breast (frozen also) was $46!

The Shady Brook package said to thaw in the fridge for 3-4 days. Since we are going to some friends’ house on Thanksgiving, we’ve decided to cook the turkey Sunday after. Ina;so gave a crazy week at work next week so it will be nice not to have to worry about it.

And, I bought 4 cans of pumpkin purée on sale - there wasn’t very much left. I’ll be interested if they get more in

[cwcdesign]

On Monday, I made a pasta dish with a triple lemon sauce - zest of two lemons, 1 cut in quarters, seared in the pan and then the juice squeezed. It was a nice light sauce with cream and pasta water. I added spinach. The pasta was from the market where I work - it was pricey and really delicious The shape/flavor is called Nastri - long ribbons in different colors - pretty on the plate too.

[cwcdesign]

I only have one clock that needs adjusting - the rest are on all my devices and are automatic - I did that one last night before I went to bed.

We will be having leftovers tonight and for another day or two. Last night I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus. It has been a couple of years since I made meatloaf and seemed to have forgotten ingredients and timing. I usually just throw everything into a bowl and mix it up, but this time I seem to have shortchanged us on the liquids and breading - the flavor was OK, but the meatloaf was dry (I also went a few degrees over on the baking). I usually cook it in a loaf pan but this time, I patted into shape and put it in a casserole. I know that mine always has taken longer than recipes say, but I second-guessed myself. I have found that 375º is a better temperature for me and takes about an hour. I saw two recipes from people I normally trust and they both said from 40-60 minutes at 350º. Mine was nowhere near done at that time or temp. But, then when it was 30º below target temp, I went 15 more minutes and it was overdone. I have to trust myself more.

[cwcdesign]

I grilled chicken tenders in a marinade I made from Penzey’s fajita seasoning, garlic powder, s&p, lime juice and olive oil. I also made a farro salad with, apple, dried cranberries, pecans and crispy shallots. I used a honey apple cider vinegar dressing from Southern Living, but used half the oil the recipe called for - it was perfect. We also had sliced tomato.

[cwcdesign]

The Vidalia onions we get in the store, I always assume to be equal to 2-4 onions depending on whether the recipe calls for medium or large.

Regarding cooking time on the stovetop - this is in real time - when a recipe says to bring something to a boil and lower the heat to simmer, they often say to lower the temp to low - if I do that on my stove, it will just be warm water. I’m simmering some farro right now and it’s between medium and medium low. If I have to simmer a large quantity, I use medium.

But, the other day I made my favorite vegetable barley soup and you put the lid on for an hour - it was bubbling hard on low - can’t wait to get a new stove.

[cwcdesign]

I made BakerAunt’s oven fried fish and chips. I found frozen sustainable cod at Publix - a 10 ounce bag had 2 perfect servings. I reduced the amount of panko I baked and would have been fine at 4 minutes instead of 5. I made sweet potato fries as that is what we had and sautéed some yellow summer squash. We laughed at our plates because it was Halloween colors. And, I did make the tarter sauce with some of Will’s homemade relish.

This meal is a winner! Thank you BA.

We liked the crispy panko so much that we’re going to try it on our oven fried chicken tenders - they usually call for plain panko, but I think we might get similar results to the fish.

[cwcdesign]

Yes, KathyD, it is Claire’s - my son gave me Dessert Person for Christmas because he watched her on Bon Appetit when she worked there. We’ve made some delicious things from her book. And, I love watching her in her apartment kitchen.

[cwcdesign]

Chilling the dough makes it less sticky so it’s easier to roll into balls for rolling in sugar and baking. Claire is a baker I trust and there is plenty of sugar, molasses, butter and egg in her recipe - mine did not look like hers when they came out of the oven - that’s how I know it was user error(s)

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