Planning for Thanksgiving...the MEAT!

Is it too soon? Thanksgiving IS more than a month away - and the turkeys won't go on sale for at least another 3 or 4 weeks.

Turkey sales - I love finding turkeys for less than 30 cents a pound to fill the freezer. OK - I'd love even more to find turkeys that weren't raised via injections of whatever-the-hell it is they put into them to make them so big at a price I can afford. That will come! Two years ago, Harry hunted and gathered, picking up a turkey plus whatever else he needed to buy to get the minimum required purchase and filled our freezer with 6 turkeys. Last year, money was tight but we managed to get 4 turkeys in the freezer. I think there's still one in there...hmmm...

I used to do the long-touted rub-butter-all-over-the-turkey-inside-and-out method. After learning to play with homemade rubs and marinades, I realized I could do much better justice to the largest part of the Thanksgiving meal. The first time I tried a turkey rub, it was to season our first deep-fried turkey. I couldn't reconcile adding butter to a turkey that was going to be fried in peanut oil and you know what? It's a REALLY good turkey rub!

You've already decided what main dish you're going to fix for Thanksgiving - turkey, pork, chicken (more on that soon!), prime rib, seafood. What not change things up again with an appropriate rub for your turkey or pork! I have a few recipes below.

Oh - and while you're planning your Thanksgiving dinner? I can't find a video of Daddy Wags singing "Two Bags of Guts in Every Turkey" so I'll leave you with my OTHER favorite Thanksgiving song...

Meat rubs are increasing in popularity as a way to season meats without continual basting or using cooking bags. Rubs for Thanksgiving meals can be both dry or soft-butter based. My preference is a dry rub, but I have also had success with herbed butter as a rub for roasted Thanksgiving turkeys.

Dry rubs all employ the same process. Combine the dry ingredients, then pat an even coating over the skin of the thawed meat. Allow the meat to rest in the refrigerator, for at least 30-60 minutes prior to cooking in order for the rub to become a crust. When deep-frying a turkey, generally a heavier crust is desired.

You may notice that the sea salt may seem disproportionate to the rest of the ingredients. Sea salt usually has a much more "salty" taste that standard table salt. It is much better to have your guests add a little salt to suit their tastes at serving than to attempt to serve a too-salty main dish.

Dry Rub for Roasted Turkey

1 tablespoon ground sage

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Rub approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture inside turkey cavity. Sprinkle remainder evenly over completely thawed turkey, pressing into flesh. Roast turkey as you desire.

Dry Rub for Deep Fried Turkey

3 tablespoons ground sage

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Rub approximately 1 tablespoon inside turkey cavity. Sprinkle the rest of rub evenly over completely thawed turkey, pressing into flesh. Allow turkey to rest in refrigerator while preparing fryer. Deep fry turkey, in a safe place (away from your house), according to manufacturer's instructions.

Mustard Turkey Rub

I love leftover turkey sandwiches with yellow mustard. This rub doesn't have a taste quite that strong, but it is a pleasant seasoning.

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Rub approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture inside turkey cavity. Sprinkle over the outside of turkey, covering all flesh surfaces evenly and lightly. Roast as you desire.

Moist Mayonnaise Turkey Breast - coats 3-4 pound turkey breast

If you've ever been a victim of dry turkey, this recipe may help you serve your first moist turkey ever.

1 ½ to 2 cups good mayonnaise (not low fat or fat-free)

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon ground sage

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Cover completely thawed turkey breast with mayonnaise, evenly. Sprinkle dry mixture over mayonnaise evenly, forming a dry "crust" over mayonnaise. Allow to rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes so that crust can set. Roast according to manufacturer's instructions.

Herbed Roast Turkey

A traditional herbed rub, the butter will assist the skin in browning.

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried thyme

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 sprigs fresh sage

Combine all ingredients well, except sage sprigs, in a small bowl. Rub a small amount of mixture inside cavity of completely thawed turkey. Rub 1 tablespoon mixture under the skin of each breast, and place one sprig of sage under the skin, pressing the skin back into place. Rub remainder of mixture over all of the outside surface of turkey. Roast according to manufacturer's instructions, covered until final 30-45 minutes of roasting. Uncover and continue to roast until skin is crisped and browned.

Pork Rub

Not everyone serves turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. I have a friend who is allergic to poultry, and their Thanksgiving main course is generally a pork loin or roast. This is our favorite rub for pork, whether we are roasting, smoking or grilling a pork roast.

4 tablespoons sweet paprika

4 tablespoons ground sage

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle lightly and evenly over all sides of pork roast, pressing into the flesh. Roast, smoke or grill as you desire.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls...Harry's Way!

Without too many details, let me just say that Harry knows Vietnamese food! Last winter, we finally decided to really test our kitchen chops several times with Asian cuisine and the results were great. As usual, when we get into our "experimental research" phase, we will spend hours making dinner.

The difference is visible on the nights when we are making Vietnamese food - I chop a few veggies and sit back with a glass of wine while Harry takes control! This recipe for Vietnamese Egg Rolls doesn't really take long, we take a long time. We always make a full batch so we can have some in the freezer - even with great effort, we can't come anywhere near eating 30 large Vietnamese Egg Rolls in one night.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls differ a bit from the more common Chinese Egg Roll is the meat - our version contains salad-size shrimp and pork with some veggies and noodles thrown in for depth.

Still didn't have my new kitchen light - in the back are our two dipping sauces. I made a sweet lemongrass sauce and Harry's Nuac Cham is the light-colored sauce.

I chopped all the veggies - some shallot, garlic, sweet pepper, Napa Cabbage and Bean Sprouts.

Ready for the freezer. We freeze them on a pan to keep the Vietnamese Egg Rolls from sticking together. Then, we can just pull out a few at a time to fry when we get a craving.

The expert! Harry puts about two tablespoon of the egg roll filling on the diagonal wrapper...

Then, fold the bottom up, close in the sides and finish rolling. He dips in fingers in the little bowl of water to seal the edges of the finished egg roll.

 You can find the complete recipe for our Vietnamese Egg Rolls right here!

Texas Straw Hat...Centerburg Schools Style!

My friend Arlene mentioned Texas Straw Hat that was sold at the Oldtime Farming Festival in Centerburg a few weeks ago. So many people immediately had flashbacks to our school days. Personally, I loved it until I walked into the cafeteria kitchen one morning to say "Hi" to Gramma and saw her grinding the kidney beans.

That might explain my to-this-day aversion to beans. I'm going to try to not gross anyone out with the image I still carry in my mind of those beans coming out of the grinder.

Oops. Sorry.

Texas Straw Hat is so simple - and I've seen it on restaurant menus as Frito Pie. Take a handful or so of Frito's, cover it with chili and shredded cheese. I would cheat a bit when my kids were teens and use Chili-O with Onions seasoning mix - it wasn't bad and if I did it right, we had enough left over for chili-dogs the next night.

Gramma loved sharing her recipes. The Centerburg United Methodist Church used to do what Gramma called her "circle cookbooks" and as I thumb through the pages of these books, Gramma always submitted a lot of recipes. How I cherish this collection. It's not only Gramma in those pages - Mrs. Debolt is there, Bertha Wright, Jacque Cordle and Justine Reynolds - although Justine never gave up her recipe for her amazing Butterscotch Pie that I've been able to find.

If you're really looking for a school-days Texas Straw Hat flashback, here's the recipe - according to Gramma, who cooked at the school when they really used to cook. It's cut down to a normal quantity, maybe 6 or 7 servings.

1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons fat (yes, the word is FAT - I have no idea what they used in the 70s!)
2 pounds ground beef
2-3 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
2 cups water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 large can kidney beans, drained and ground up (hmmm...large? probably not a #10 can!)
2 (6 ounce) package corn chips (maybe they weren't Fritos in the 70s?)
2 cups American or sharp cheese, ground up (I'm almost positive it would have been the surplus government American cheese back then)

In large skillet cook onion, celery and green pepper in hot fat until tender, but not brown. Add ground beef and brown lightly. Add remaining ingredients, except corn chips and cheese. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over corn chips and top with a generous serving of the cheese.

There it is - when I make it, I always add diced raw onion on top of the chili and under the cheese.

Enjoy the memories!

The Weatherman Says It's Soup Season!

I love autumn - fall - whatever you want to call it! The colors, the cool nights and the beckoning of my soup pot.

Harry does most of the cooking in the summer and we don't put away the grill in the winter. When the weather turns cool, it's my time to take over again.

We eat some form of "bowl food" at least three nights a week from October through June! Some soups are more hearty - I love a great bowl of fish chowder and someday when I'm all grown up, I'll be able to make it as good as my cousin Freddie in New Brunswick. Of course, he does have the advantage of living much closer to the ocean and being able to buy better fish.

Through the winter, we make our own stock - vegetable, chicken, turkey and beef. When we find a great price on whole chickens or I can find some meaty beef bones, it's time to fill the freezer! Having our own stock in the freezer makes it easier to whip up a pot of soup for dinner.

Chowder, for me, almost always includes corn and potatoes and some sort of creaminess. Sometimes I thicken it with a little slurry.

For the beginning of soup season, I have two very simple recipes adapted with store-ingredients. Most of these items should be in your pantry; if not: stock up when the prices are good and you'll be able to quickly make a pot of soup no matter how busy you might be. Both are made with ground Italian hot sausage - one of our favorites - but you can use mild sausage.

Sausage & Corn Chowder and Tortellini Soup

It's not the prettiest picture but this sausage and corn chowder is REALLY yummy!

Another pumpkin shortage? Not really!

A lot of people might remember last year's shortage of canned pumpkin in the stores - the entire 2009 Libby's harvest was processed, delivered, stocked and sold by Thanksgiving. Heavy rains in Illinois prevented the tractors from getting in and out of the fields and the pumpkin disappeared from store shelves faster than you can bake a pumpkin pie.

We always process real pumpkin - you know, those big orange things you cut funny shapes into every Halloween and stick a candle inside? My frozen supply ran out early during this year's farmer's market season and I was a little worried. No fears - I've been buying #10 cans of pure pumpkin puree at GFS Marketplace since July. In fact, I've never seen the shelves empty until my friend and fellow vendor Denise mentioned the store we both buy supplies at was out last week.

Part of this is because of memories of last year's shortage. People are panicking and buying more than what they normally would "just in case". Libby's has assured everyone the pumpkin harvest is fine this year, but it takes a little time to process those orange beauties and get them into the stores. E-bay sellers are scoring should-be-illegal prices. I'll admit to feeling more than a little bit of glee at seeing the price on a listing I was watching for research drop by over $20 since Libby's made their announcement - especially because the seller stated "They are already predicting a pumpkin shortage" in the listing.

So...I did rant a little bit:

The Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2010?

On to how to...

It really doesn't take any special skill to process your own pumpkins at home to use to baking anything pumpkin - pumpkin bread, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pies. Canned pumpkin IS one of the few products out there that really is nothing but - no fillers, preservatives, additives, just pure pumpkin. But, with some time you can save a lot of money by buying pumpkins at the farmers market and making your own frozen pumpkin puree.

How to Make & Freeze Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Plenty of pumpkin in 2010 - Photo courtesy www.sxc.hu/dbgeorge

Wining...

We just got home from our annual Canada trip. We did everything possible to get kidnapped, turned back at the US border or just plain trapped forever in Parry Sound to no avail. Back in the States, trying to get back into the farmers market groove and impatiently waiting to open one of the bottles of wine we brought home.

We stopped at 5 or 6 wineries this year, all except one in the Niagara Escarpment area. We tend to avoid Niagara on the Lake because it's just too darn close to the Falls and the tourists. Sometimes that area can get too congested and of course, the hotels are very expensive. We picked up a portion of the Ontario Wine Route north of St. Catherine's near Beamsville & Grimsby in an area called the Twenty Valley.

I don't know if my wine tastes are growing up or if the wine was just "that good". The woman running the LCBO in Alban, Ontario told us that this year's Ontario wines are expected to be the best ever - I'm looking forward to following up in the next few years.

We've been to so many wineries throughout the Midwest and I don't ever remember the word "mineral" being included in the tasting notes. But I DID taste it - it was an eye-opening taste, mouthwatering (literally!) and put a whole new spin on our tasting. When I was looking over the lists, I found myself looking for the word "mineral" in the notes. Of course we also sampled the icewines and found a meadery that made me very happy.

Our first stop was Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery in Beamsville. Traveling up the drive, I could hear the constant "poof" of the air cannons used to keep the birds away (another new experience for me!). The view from the patio of the tasting room at the top of the hill looks over the vineyard with a not-too-distant sight of Lake Ontario. Wine...and incredible artisan cheese! A very simple choice for our dinner that night - we had cheese, sausage, some bread and other pastries we picked up at a bakery and a glass of wine. Perfect!

A few more details about our visit to Peninsula Ridge...

Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery