Time to shop...

...for some new stamps and accessories!

Stampin' Up! is having a Holiday Extravaganza sale starting today and running for 5 days, and the prices on these bundles cannot be beat! So, what is for sale? Well, just pop on over to my official SU website at http://www.stampinkiminaustin.stampinup.net to find out. Once you are there, just click on the shop now button at the top right, then go to specials and "holiday extravaganza". I will be home all day if anyone needs help placing an order, so feel free to give me a ring!

And now, for the official Stamp-a-Rama Thanksgiving menu, complete with a recipie for the best turkey you have ever had in your mouth. Really. It will make you want to cry. It will make men want to give you jewelry. Trust me, I know of what I speak.

This year, we are having roasted brined turkey, cornbread dressing (yummy, sagey dressing!), sweet potato casserole with candied pecan topping, green beans, giblet gravy, and rolls. Dessert will probably be apple and pumpkin pies, both with insane amounts of whipped cream on them. Then I will have water and salad for the next two weeks to cleanse my system of all the rich, buttery goodness of tomorrow. But not today! Nope, today is preparation and tasting day, so that come tomorrow morning I can plop on the couch and watch the Macy's parade and only make minimal trips into the kitchen during commercial breaks only.

So, onto the turkey!

Do you ever get frustrated with trying to roast the perfect turkey? Did your mom used to set the oven to some insanely low temp and cook the turkey all day long, until it ended up like the one on "Christmas Vacation"? Well, no more, I say! Just follow along with me and I will lead you to the promised land of moist, wonderful, delicious turkey. Here is your cast of characters:

Brine ingredients:

2 cups Kosher salt (No, that is not a misprint. I meant cups, not spoons. And I meant TWO. Just get your mind over the fact that you think I am sitting here laughing at you, trying to get you to ruin Thanksgiving. It will all be ok in the end.)

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (I use dark brown, but light is ok, too.)

1 good handful of whole peppercorns

1 handful of crystallized ginger

several sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

any other spices or herbs that make your skirt fly up

4 boxes of Veggie or chicken stock (I buy those big boxes instead of the cans, not sure what the volume on one of those is off the top of my head.)

OK, let's get to cooking, shall we?

You want to bring your stock to a boil in a large pot, then add in all of the rest of the ingredients. Stir until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved, then let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Keep the pot covered while you are simmering. Take the pot off of the heat and let this cool completely on the stove top. I will be starting my brine as soon as I finish this post so that it can get done and let it cool. This part is very important: do not taste the brine! Just trust me, ok? Don't do it. Your mouth will get all askew and you will feel your tongue start to fold in on itself. It is saltier than you can imagine. We are talking Dead Sea here. Trust that your spices and herbs are working their magic and leave it alone.

Now, onto your bird. You can use any kind of turkey you want. I buy the absolute cheapest turkey in the store. There is no brand name. I'm surprised it doesn't come in the old black and white generic labeling, that is how cheap it is, but trust me, it will be tasting amazing tomorrow! Make sure your turkey is completely thawed out and you have removed the neck and giblets. (I feel compelled to put that disclaimer in here because we all know someone, or have been the someone, who cooked a turkey with the bag o' giblets still up inside of it.)

You will need a container large enough to hold your turkey completely covered in brine and a bunch of ice, so plan accordingly. I use a garbage can that has been deemed "the turkey can". It is only used for turkey, so don't think that I take my trash out and put my bird in. I do have some standards...lol! Plan on letting your bird soak in the brine for at least 12 hours, so you will need to do the next steps the night before you cook.

I put two layers of trash bags into my can to help me with clean up later. Put the turkey, neck side down, into your can. (If you are using a cooler or some other container where the bird is actually laying down in just put the breast side down.) Pour the cooled brine over the bird. If the turkey is not completely covered you can add enough water and ice just to cover the bird. At this point I roll the bags down over the top of the turkey and pack the top of the can with ice to keep it cool, then I put a towel on top of the ice as an extra insulation layer.

Typically by this time of year it is cool enough that I take my entire can outside and leave it on my deck for the night. The ice will keep the bird below 40 degrees, which is the safe limit. I will say that if you do this and you live in an area where the occassional coyote comes by you might want to put this in your garage so that he doesn't try to make off with a tasty midnight snack.

I know what a lot of you are thinking right now: "Kim, all of that salt is going to pull the moisture right out of the turkey! You have lost your mind!" You are indeed correct. The first few hours the bird is in the brine the salinity of the brine is going to pull most of the moisture out of the bird. You would not want to soak it for say, 5 hours and then try to roast it. That would be a disaster. However, after that first few hours a wonderful thing happens. Nature wants everything to be balanced, to be in a state of "stasis", so to achieve this balance the briny solution is going to start going back into the bird. And guess what! It is going to take the flavor of the broth, pepper, sugar, and herbs with it. It will be a flavor party like no other. Of course salt is like that one party guest that has a bit too much to drink and breaks something, you know the one. In this case, he is going to break down the tough fibers of the turkey. He is going to make them tender and wonderful and make them sing in your mouth. Yea for salt! (Kosher only for this recipe, though!)

So now you have let your bird swim around in his Dead Sea bath for at least 12 hours. Pull your bird out (you should still be seeing some ice in there folks!) and rinse him off, inside and out. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. I know, another leap of faith here, but there is a method to my madness. Fire it up, girls! I want it to feel like star about to go supernova.

Place your turkey on a rack and into a roasting pan. If you don't have one, get out your broiler pan, I have used mine for years and it works. Now it is time for a little turkey massage. Get out some veggie or canola oil and rub your bird down. Make sure to get his little legs and thighs, too! They are tired from all that swimming he did last night! I will also put a cut up onion and apple (just cut into big wedges--no seeds please!) as well as some fresh rosemary stalks and sage into the cavity of the bird. These aren't for eating later, they are for flavor while cooking.

Since our bird is about to go into battle with a smoking hot oven, he needs a little suit of armor for later. Take a large rectangle of aluminum foil and fold it into a square. Take one of the points of the square and place it down where the turkey's little noggin used to reside, then press the foil over the breast so that you completely cover the breast meat and wings, but tuck it so that the legs and thighs stay fully exposed. Get it molded to the shape of your bird, the take it off and set it aside. Remember that this has raw turkey juices on it when you set it down. I usually put my little foil breast plate away from all of my other food to avoid cross-contamination, because nothing says "I love you" like giving your entire family salmonella on Thanksgiving day. The reason you want to make your foil cover now is because when you need it this bird is going to be super, super hot and you won't want to be trying to mold anything to it.

Now, put your greased up, nekkid bird into the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. There will be some smoking as the oil heats up. Just leave the oven door closed, and keep any older female relatives away from the kitchen because they will try to turn the oven temp down on you, and this will be the death of your bird. After 30 minutes of not allowing anyone near the oven carefully take your turkey out and drop the oven temp to 350 degrees. Place a probe style meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set the temperature for the thermometer to 161 degrees. Cover the breast meat with the foil and put everything back into the oven.

Now sit back and have a tasty beverage while your bird finishes its roasting. Do not baste. Do not open the oven door. Just let it be. Believe me, it is working right now! When your thermometer alarm sounds that the turkey has reached an internal breast temp of 161 pull the bird out, but leave the probe in place in the meat. Cover the entire bird with foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving. This will let the juices get all settled into the meat and not come running out to lay on your cutting board instead of in your pie hole.

Cut, eat, and enjoy! One downfall, the only one in my humble opinion, about cooking your turkey this way is that you cannot use the pan drippings to make your gravy. They will be far too salty, so don't try it. The great news is there are other ways to make tasty gravy and the way this bird comes out is worth the small sacrifice.

Thanks for sticking with me during this long post, and I hope everyone has a great turkey day. I am going to try to get the hubby to shoot some step by step pictures as I make my turkey so y'all can see it later.

Have a great day y'all, and until next time, Happy Eating!

Kim

Today on Cooking with Kim...

...meatloaf! The ultimate in comfort food, nothing satisfies quite like a wonderful meatloaf with a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy next to it. I have a lot of friends who are looking for easy recipes, and even more friends who claim to not be able to cook. I wanted to show all of these folks that you can reach a state of culinary nirvana with just 6 simple ingredients and a little bit of time.

Now, let me preface this by saying that this recipe is the result of years of failed meatloafs. My husband hated meatloaf until I finally started using this recipe, and now when he comes home and smells this in the oven a smile the likes of which one normally does not witness from a husband unless 50-yard line seats to a ball game are involved erupts across his face.

I asked him one day why he hated meatloaf so much. He lovingly explained that his mom used meatloaf as a sort of evil conduit to hold all manner of vegetables that he has never, nor will ever like in the slightest. She used to pack her meatloaf with "chunks" (this is important later on) of tomato and green bell peppers to the point that he would literally gag when trying to eat it. Now, I have to have full disclosure here: the DH can be a bit of a picky eater, but when it comes to the entire meat family he is pretty laid back. A typical conversation at our house:

Me: "What would you like for dinner, honey?"

Him: "Meat, no bones. No nuts, no coconut."

Me: "OK."

Pretty much gives a girl a bit of leeway, don't you think?

So, here is the cast of characters for this production. First of all, ground chuck. Now, now, don't get all, "But Kim, that has 20% fat content! It is evil in a tube!" Normally, I would agree, but trust me, we will deal with the fat and you need a "non-lean" meat to make this all come together properly. Also, I do not normally use 5 pounds, I use about 2 1/2, but today I was making 3 big meatloafs to put in the FIL's freezer, so you are seeing a 5 pound portion of meat.

Next up, the mix-ins. There is no need to get fancy with this dish. Simple really is best here and will yield the best flavor and consistency. I use (per meatloaf) 2 eggs, a pack and a half of the onion soup, and a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce and Italian Seasoned bread crumbs. YUMMY!!!










So, put your meat, eggs, soup mix, worcestershire sauce, and bread crumbs into a very large bowl. You want to have room to work, so don't put it into a "just big enough" bowl. Trust me, your pets will love you as bits of meat go flying, but you'll be crying in your chopped cow.
























Now, here is the part that is important. Do not use a spoon, dough hook, food processor, or any other implement of destruction to mix these elements together. Use your hands. Both of them. Relive your childhood and all the times you played with Play-Doh, clay, mud, or whatever floated your boat and get in there. This does two things for your meatloaf. First, you are able to really get things incorporated in a nice, homogenous manner. This means no bite will have a big honkin' taste of onion soup or bread crumbs or anything else in it. Each bite will be as delectable as the one before it. Secondly, the heat from your hands is going to start melting the fat in the meat which is going to lead to a more cohesive loaf.

If only I could squish and squeeze all those crazy world leaders together...

OK, back to cooking, I'll have to work on world peace tomorrow sometime.

After about 8-10 minutes of squishing meat between your fingers you will see it all really starting to stick together. Now, I do not measure ingredients when I cook something like this. I do that when I bake, because you have to. Cooking like this is more about sight and feel, so all I can tell you is when you are mixing this together if it feels too mushy and looks too juicy you need to add another couple of sprinkles of bread crumbs to help even it out. If it gets too dry or stiff, you can add a little evaporated milk, not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk, lest your relatives start looking up the names of places like "Restful Manor" or "The Retirement Center" for you to live in.

Trust me, at the slightest sign that you are off your cooking kilter they will.

Now, take your big ball of meat in your skillful hands and start forming it into a loaf. Pack it tightly as you work with it, and remember that because this meat has 20% fat content there will be shrinkage.

Ha-Ha....snort...oh, "shrinkage". Can anyone name that Seinfeld episode?

Now, important thing number 528 to remember: your meat loaf should never, ever, under any circumstances and penalty of being whipped with wet noodles, ever see a "loaf" pan. We aren't baking bread, we are cooking meat. And if you put this into a loaf pan it is not going to get the heat it needs and it is going to sit in its own rendered fat. Not tasty at all. Get thee a rack and placeth it on a baking sheet, one with at least a little side to it.

Unless you are particularly fond of firemen, do not place this on a cookie sheet. You need a pan with a slight side (like a jelly roll pan) to keep the grease away from the bottom of your stove where the heating elements live. Trust me on this one, the fire department will come and save your burning oven, but they will laugh at you later on. Not that I've ever had that happen to me. I just read a lot of stories like that.

See how my loaf is perched nicely on a rack? That is a happy hunk o' meat.

At this point, if you want to go for the full on, tastes like my mom made it only better effect, start squirting on the ketchup. Cover that entire top, do not be shy about that. I usually spread mine out a bit with a spoon so that I have a good coverage. Now, pop that bad boy into a 350 degree oven, set a timer for an hour and walk away. Let the irresistable aroma of baking bovine goodness fill your house and soul.



YUMMY!!















I check my creation after about an hour to see if I think it needs more time. This one took about an hour and twenty minutes to cook all the way through. You should be able to push on the side with your finger and have it spring right back. Also, any juices that are coming out of it should be completely clear.

After you remove it from the oven, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. I know, it smells good! I know, you want some right now, but trust me, if you cut into it all those great juices are going to run out of it and be gone, and your tasty leftover meatloaf sandwich tomorrow will be a dried out mess. Leave it alone! Let it take a little nap so all those juices will settle down.

The best part? You can't really tell from the picture above, but there is a lot of fat in the bottom of that pan. This is why you want it on a rack, to give that fat somewhere to go. Now, if you have dogs with stomachs of steel, like Baxter, then the kindly thing to do after your remove the loaf from this pan and cut it would be to take a few pieces of bread, let them soak up the greasiness in the pan, and give those to the dog.

If you have a pup that throws up when she looks at table food, like Buffy, don't do that. I know that they are looking at you all pitiful with those big brown eyes, but the aftermath of that indulgence is too ugly to write about here.

I hope you enjoyed this, my final post from West Virginia. I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing you all, and getting this blog back to cards and card making. I wish everyone a happy weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim