Turkey Cooking Tips: How Good Is Your Holiday Roast Turkey?

President Obama, daughters, pardoning Popcorn from becoming
White House Thanksgiving dinner.  Caramel pardoned too.
He's a nice man. Two 40-pound turkeys get retirement.

Update follows post.
Update: 2013 White House
Gingerbread House video.
From Denny:  Roasted my Thanksgiving turkey a day early.  Sure beats stressing on the Big Day.  Also, my husband, affectionately known as "Satan" misses out on trying to micro-manage the cooking, driving me absolutely crazy.

"Satan" never did learn to cook but thinks he knows how to tell you all about how to do it anyway.  Getting the Big Bird done a day early is a win-win for everyone as he was less stressed just as much as me!

Though he did try only twice this season to be ever so irritating:  once, when taste testing the fabulous gravy he made The Yuck! Face but could not keep his composure for long, laughed, and then raved about it as one of the best yet.  Later he decided he just had to tell me how to cut the French bread for sandwiches his way rather than the normal slices I was doing for hot garlic bread, his favorite.  Since I'm basically The Spatial Engineer in this house (just ask me to pack a car for travel and I am The Expert on finding every nook and cranny to fill) I explained to him how his way made no sense but cut a few slices for him anyway.  He was so disappointed to realize I was right after all.  "Satan" lost that round.  Never a dull moment at our house, that's for sure!

Hey, we should all be challenging the White House chef to a Roast Turkey Cook Off.  Bet mine is one of  The Best!  We love spices at our house and every year I create something different.  This year's wet rub spices were swimming in clarified butter:  sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smokey paprika, cumin, curry powder, marjoram leaves, lite sodium soy sauce, Moscato wine and Remy Martin cognac...

Santa Jingle Kid's All Over Print T-Shirt

Make some merry this holiday season! Jingle Jingle!

Unusual 2 Tasty: Valentines Day: Warm Upside-Down Pear Cake With Tangerine Custard Sauce

Unusual 2 Tasty: Valentines Day: Warm Upside-Down Pear Cake With Tangerine Custard Sauce: From Denny: For pear lovers - and lovers - this is an outstanding dessert good enough for any holiday!

Like any upside down cake this one is practically beginner cook and foolproof. The custard requires a more experienced cook and a little time but is well worth the effort.

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Awesome Layered Venison with Bacon, Foie Gras, Apple Fries in Cognac Cream, Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction

From Denny: Louisiana is known as the Sportsman's Paradise. No wonder the food here is so good! Both hunters and fishermen are known as wonderful cooks here; just the average guy cooks well.

This week was a cause for food celebration and those who love to dine well. There was a cooking competition at the American Culinary Federation of Greater Baton Rouge’s 25th annual Culinary Classic and these folks pulled out all the stops on the fancy tasty food.

Today's recipe took the Best in Show top honors for the happy cash prize of $3,000. Scott McCue was the winner; he is the executive sous chef at Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton, Louisiana. He is a native of Arizona and has been working at the casino for thirteen years now. McCue says he "researches trends, tries different sauces and thinks about ingredient combinations in creating new dishes year-round. Competition focuses the effort, and it’s fun as well as challenging.”

Whether you have a hunter in your family or just want to try your hand at cooking low-fat high mineral dense venison this fall this is a gorgeous recipe to try. All of these layer recipes are simple and quick to make. This would make a beautiful Sunday dinner for guests or family.

You could also try this with a good cut of pork chop too. And, if you and your family is like mine and don't care for liver dishes, skip the liver (foie gras) as it would be awesome without it too, reducing the expense of the meal. After all, this was created for a showy competition. Enjoy!

***

Bacon Larded Venison Tenderloin Layered With:

* Seared Foie Gras
* Granny Smith Apple Fries in a Cognac Cream Sauce
* Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction


From: Scott McCue, Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton

Serves: 10

Venison

Ingredients:

10 (6-oz.) venison filets
5 each strips of bacon, frozen and cut into ø–inch strips, 2 inches long
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Use a thin wire to make incisions into the venison large enough to push the frozen bacon strips through, push 6 to 8 pieces of bacon into each filet.

2. Season thee filets with the salt and pepper. Heat oil and sear venison on all sides. Cook in a 350-degree oven until desired doneness.

Foie Gras

Ingredients:

10 (1-1/2–oz.) slices cleaned foie gras
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Directions:

Heat a skillet over high heat; season both sides of the foie gras with salt and pepper and flash sear on both sides.

Granny Smith Apple Fries

Ingredients:

2 whole eggs
2 tbls. cold water
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
Fine-ground Japanese bread crumbs

Directions:

Blend eggs and water, set aside. Coat apples with flour then toss in egg wash and coat with bread crumbs. Fry in 350-degree fryer until golden.

Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pomegranate syrup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced by half

Directions:

Simply combine both ingredients and mix well.

Cognac Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups cognac
3 cups demi-glace
3 cups heavy cream
2 tbls. cracked peppercorns
Salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat the cognac in a medium saucepot and burn off the alcohol, add the demi-glace and heavy cream, let reduce by half, add the peppercorns and season with salt. Reserve warm.

Recipe: Coffee Orleans

Getting your morning beignets at New Orleans Cafe du Monde, a cherished tradition - Image by wallyg via Flickr

From Denny: When I think about the many trips to New Orleans and ordering this show-stopper coffee at one wonderful restaurant or another. Great fun to do for your family and friends on a holiday like the Fourth of July! Yeah, we're a bunch of show-offs here in Louisiana! :)

From: About.com

"A flaming coffee drink that will impress at a party. Maybe a little too showy for your typical morning coffee, but a wonderful spiced recipe when serving coffee cocktails for a crowd."

Ingredients:

•1 cup coffee

•1 orange

•5 Tablespoons cognac

•5 Tablespoons benedictine

•1 teaspoon brown sugar

•3 cloves, whole

Preparation:

Strip off a large piece of orange zest, and poke the cloves into it. Place in the bottom of a mug, with the brown sugar. In a saucepan, mix the cognac and benedictine and heat through. Light the alcohol and pour (flaming) into the mug. Fill mug with coffee and serve.