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USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

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Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I keep wanting to buck tradition and do something different, but my family won't go for it. I always thought it was a corporate-invented part of the holiday, though I have since read that it has been part of the traditional New England Thanksgiving feast since the mid-1800s, then was later institutionalized by Butterball when the holiday finally gained national acceptance. Still, turkey is such bland, boring meat, even when brined AB-style.
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Pavochon.

And make sure you poke holes into the bird to stuff the spices. Rubbing the outside is good, but the real flavor is stuffing that into the bird in little holes. Don't worry that it will dry out, or fluid will come out of the holes in the skin. it wont.

We like to stuff that with a meat stuffing, another Puerto Rican twist on the bird.

Enough garlic, olive oil, and oregano will make anything taste good.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

ShirtlessBob said:
If that's the case, I'll just cook and eat an entire slab of bacon.
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When I was growing up our church had a Thanksgiving breakfast cooked by the men after a service and there was always massive amounts of bacon so I'd get a spoonful of eggs, couple spoonfuls of grits and then probably eat a package worth of bacon. That was my Thanksgiving meal as I hate pretty much every traditional Thanksgiving dish.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I keep wanting to buck tradition and do something different, but my family won't go for it. I always thought it was a corporate-invented part of the holiday, though I have since read that it has been part of the traditional New England Thanksgiving feast since the mid-1800s, then was later institutionalized by Butterball when the holiday finally gained national acceptance. Still, turkey is such bland, boring meat, even when brined AB-style.

Eventually, when I have a house and get a shot at hosting the holiday, the bird won't be served. I always thought a platter of grilled vension backstraps (preferably killed just days earlier) would be appropriate, though sadly not everyone in my family would eat them. Maybe some filet mignons for the ladies, and my dorky cousin can eat whatever unhealthy, processed franken-food she's hooked on this month.

Cue "Why do you hate America?" post here. ;)
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Honestly, I've never had a turkey I would call bland or boring. Not sure what my dad does for Thanksgiving but it's amazing. It has only been topped once and that was when we grilled a turkey (but not on Thanksgiving). It may have been the single best plate of meat I have ever had in my life.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

ShirtlessBob said:
If that's the case, I'll just cook and eat an entire slab of bacon.
Click to expand...
Speakin' o' bacon, I visited a candy shop in Temecula CA that sold chocolate covered bacon (both milk and dark chocolate). Honestly, not bad! Nice combination of salty, smokey and sweet.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

ShirtlessBob said:
Seeing as it's just my dad and I, I don't want to buy a large turkey and go through all the trouble this year. I'm looking to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure what to do. Braised oxtail? Turkey meatloaf? Croque Monsieur/Madame sandwiches? Or have a big breakfast and skip the dinner entirely?
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PorkRoast.jpg

You could do a pork roast. The photo is a roast from when we were overseas; it was just my wife and I and two small children, so a whole turkey was ridiculous. (Plus they cost a frickin fortune.) We still wanted something festive, so we did a simple pork roast, covered in olive oil, salt, chopped garlic and chopped rosemary. Pretty tasty alternative!
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Just my wife and I for Thanksgiving this year, but I'm still planning on cooking the traditional bird and at least some of the other fixings. Mashed potatoes and stuffing are a must. Probably a sweet potato pie, and maybe an apple pie too. Frozen turkeys were on sale at the store this weekend; I tried to pick up the smallest I could find, and ended up with an 11 pounder. We'll be eating leftovers for a week. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Full Thanksgiving menu:

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Pumpkin risotto
Mashed potatoes
Roasted root vegetable medley

Dessert is still up in the air...
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

ShirtlessBob said:
Full Thanksgiving menu:

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Pumpkin risotto
Mashed potatoes
Roasted root vegetable medley

Dessert is still up in the air...
Click to expand...
It went off without a hitch. Ended up not having dessert, which is fine... I had three plates instead.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Everything went well until 3 family members showed up 45 minutes late with 3 ice cold dishes that needed to be heated when the rest of dinner was ready except for the 2 things that needed to be reheated in the microwave. THey do this every yr. Pizz me off. the turkey was not happy. It had already been out, setting when we found out they were not going to arrive on time. GRRRRRRR!!

On the other hand- my apple pie that I just threw together got raves :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

It is very quiet at work today, so I am researching Christmas cookies. So far I have <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/White-Chocolate-Raspberry-Thumbprints">White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints</a> and brandy snaps, both repeats from last year. Still looking for one more cookie recipe (no cut-outs - I do not enjoy making them). I might try biscotti - never made it before.

Also making fairy food, dulce de leche brownies, soup (still need to find a good vegetarian soup), and butter pecan kringle.

I need a good drop or slice-and-bake recipe for high volume - no chocolate, no icing. I made eggnog snickerdoodles to donate last year and they were uninspired.

Unrelated, has anyone used an electric potato peeler (like Rotato or Peel a Meal)? Reviews are all over the board, and I'm not sure if it's worth it to get one.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

My Dad saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen on turkey roasting in which they roasted the turkey upside down @ 300 convect until 130 deg in the breast, then turned the heat up to 400 convect, flipped it right side up and cooked it til 160, rested it for half an hour. I did some research and decided to give it a try (my turkeys are usually decently moist, but I'm a method tinkerer, always trying to improve them). It was insanely and amazingly juicey. It was juicier than my fried turkey, and those are always very moist. The great thing is I didn't have to brine it or put salt under the skin 1 day in advance to increase the moisture, so no extra work required. Just remember to truss the legs, I forgot and it came somewhat close to losing a thigh/leg on the flip. I'm going to do a smaller one in a few weeks again, (I had minimal leftovers off 40# of turkeys) no guests this time. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

For the cookie exchange at work this year, we have to pick a recipe from a certain cookbook. Does that seem odd to anyone else? I want free reign over my cookies (I wasn't going to do it anyway).

I made Alton Brown's <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-peppermint-pinwheel-cookies-recipe2/index.html">chocolate peppermint pinwheels</a> for the first round of Christmas cookies. They turned out great (and are very pretty). Next time I am going to use parchment, though - once the smashed candy canes melted and cooled to the pan, they were really hard to get off without breaking the cookies.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

<iframe frameborder="no" width="480" height="270" scrolling="no" src="http://www.theonion.com/video_embed/?id=26571"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.theonion.com/video/celebrity-chef-ted-allen-cooks-his-favorite-preten,26571/" target="_blank" title="Celebrity Chef Ted Allen Cooks His Favorite Pretentious Foodie Bull**** Meal">Celebrity Chef Ted Allen Cooks His Favorite Pretentious Foodie Bull**** Meal</a>
 
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