OT Big Bird emergencies

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:16:18 GMT, Sandy Ellison
wrote:

I'm not willing to use a brown paper shopping bag because I know how
they are stored. I don't see any need for a plastic bag either. My
turkey is so good that DH converted from only eating turkey eating
turkey breast, and he wants it served more often than just on holidays
too. I haven't cooked anything other than just the breast for 10
years because he didn't get around to eating the legs the first two
years we were married, so it's just a waste of money and time to buy
and cook a whole big bird.

I wash the turkey, apply some herbs and seasonings under the skin and
all over the outside, dump a can of crushed pineapple into the cavity,
fold the tin foil up all around it and over it so all the juice stays
near the turkey and the turkey stays moist, shove it in the oven and
bake a 325 for 2.5 to3 hours depending on the weight. I don't even
use a roasting pan--just a food service grade, half size cookie pan
and tin foil. When it comes out the oven I do let it sit about 5
minutes before I slice into it. I can't make myself wait longer than
that because it smells so good.

And just in case y'all are wondering, discard the pineapple, and no
the bird doesn't taste sweet or fruity--just yummy and moist as all
get out.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:33:24 -0600, "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:

Hey, Ragmop! The turkey cooking with the breast side down makes a lot of
sense, but most turkey breasts are kinda 'pointy' in the middle. How do you
prop that bird so it doesn't lay on one side or the other? Or do you flip
it right side/left side during the cooking time?

I always start my turkey at 425 degrees for the first hour. I want it to
heat up quickly, kill any 'germs' that accumulated on the outside from
thawing in the sink and then I turn it down to 325 for the remainder of the
cooking time. That works well for me. Maybe the 'germ' theory is flawed,
but.... ;-)

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

The standard cooking process will kill all the germs if you use proper
handling precautions.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

Lessee here, this year we had an Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pineapple
glazed sweetpotatos, baked squash, fried corn, dressing, a yorkshire
pudding over assorted veggies, garlic mashed potatos, onion gravy,
fresh baked bread, green salad, cranberry sauce (the kind that slides
out of a can all in a piece), cranberry ice, punkin pie, banana
pudding, real whipped cream, and homemade ice cream (turtle, raspberry
truffle, or vanilla). We also had two daughters, one son, a boyfriend,
the old gentleman from up the street whose kids never called, plus the
three of us.
Nope, no turkey.
Supper today is the leftovers that didn't get packed off (G)

NghtMist
who needs a turkey in the midst of such yummyness?

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:16:18 GMT, Sandy Ellison
wrote:

Howdy!

Both the brown paper bags & the plastic oven bags are made
w/ chemicals I don't want in my food, chemicals that can & do
leach into the food during the cooking process.
I've cooked turkeys for 35 yrs. and have never had a bad/dry bird;
just rinse them, pull off some of the fat around the cavities,
cut off the tail, put bird in the big cake pan & into a 325* oven.
IF I'm not concerned about "presentation" (no one else will see the
cooked bird) I put the bird breast-side-down, letting all those
lovely fat juices dribble into the white meat; best damn' turkey ever!
This in not a brag; this is just fact; I think all the hype about
The Proper Way to Cook a Turkey is silly, much of it made up by the
twits on the t.v. talk programs & the Marthy types --$$-$$$.
Learn how to do it the first time and leave the bird alone. G
I buy the cheap turkeys, w/ as little basting chemicals added as possible.
mmmmm: that's good eats!

While the turkey is cooking I can do about 4 hrs. of quilting; this is
a Good Thing. VBG

http://kinderprintables.com/thanksgi...iltsquarec.pdf

http://www.needlework.com/gallery3/gallery3-4a.html

http://www.quilt.com/ColoringBook/Tu...ntheStraw.html

http://craftandfabriclinks.com/thank..._applique.html

R/Sandy --turkey in the straw g


On 11/23/07 7:04 AM, in article , "Tia
Mary" wrote:

Ginger in CA wrote:
.........snipprd.........
My favorite way to cook a turkey was in an oven roasting bag - the
dang thing was so tender it fell apart!

Ginger in CA

But you don't have to buy the special oven roasting bag. My family
has used plain ordinary brown grocery bags forever. It truly is
unbelievable how moist and tender the turkey turns out! And NO, NO, NO
the paper bag does not catch fire :-))! Best part is, it's free -- just
ask next time you go to the grocery store. VBS -- unfortunately brown
paper grocery bags are becoming an endangered species -- I'm gonna have
to start using those wonderful bags with the handles you get from
Cracker Barrel!! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary


--

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the
majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with
the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
- AA Milne

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:11:03 GMT, Taria
wrote:
Like I told
dad though, you put enough butter in anything and it will taste good.

There is a point of no return on butter. SIL puts 2 pounds of real
butter into every turkey she cooks. She actually makes holes in the
meat to just put wads of butter in. DB loves it and raves about it. I
had it once, and that was enough. That bird tasted like butter
flavored Crisco to me, and I still believe I heard my arteries
clogging after each bite of it, but with all the wonderful side dishes
to sample it was only a small part of the meal.

Everyone eventually finds a turkey recipe that works for them. I like
spreading mine around just in case someone is out there searching for
a tried and true method that they might like.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

sounds delicious too.
gobble gobble,
jeanne

"Debra" wrote...
I'm not willing to use a brown paper shopping bag because
I know how
they are stored. I don't see any need for a plastic bag
either. My
turkey is so good that DH converted from only eating
turkey eating
turkey breast, and he wants it served more often than just
on holidays
too. I haven't cooked anything other than just the breast
for 10
years because he didn't get around to eating the legs the
first two
years we were married, so it's just a waste of money and
time to buy
and cook a whole big bird.

I wash the turkey, apply some herbs and seasonings under
the skin and
all over the outside, dump a can of crushed pineapple into
the cavity,
fold the tin foil up all around it and over it so all the
juice stays
near the turkey and the turkey stays moist, shove it in
the oven and
bake a 325 for 2.5 to3 hours depending on the weight. I
don't even
use a roasting pan--just a food service grade, half size
cookie pan
and tin foil. When it comes out the oven I do let it sit
about 5
minutes before I slice into it. I can't make myself wait
longer than
that because it smells so good.

And just in case y'all are wondering, discard the
pineapple, and no
the bird doesn't taste sweet or fruity--just yummy and
moist as all
get out.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

All I know is I don't have any leftover turkey here and boy
do I feel the need for a turkey sandwich with all the turkey
talk. I wish you guys were close enough so I could raid
a fridge!
Taria

Sandy Ellison wrote:

Howdy!

I check the "ingredients" list when I buy birds. Often the cheaper
ones have fewer chemicals (self-basting fluids) injected. One year an
uncle brought over a "fresh" turkey, we cooked it breast-side-down, and it
was fabulous, no chemicals injected. Turned down his offer of a duck;
just not going to that level. g Btw, I thaw the frozen bird in a
huge Tupperware bowl filled w/ cold water, changing the water often;
everything near the sink (faucets, sinks, counters, floors, fridge)
get scrubbed to de-contaminate after handling the bird (I used to work
in that deli...).
We don't have stuffing as that sucks up all kinds of fat from the bird;
we have "dressing" cooked separately, w/ chopped veggies thrown in; I can
control the amount & type of fat in that (olive or other veggie oil); the
2nd batch of dressing also contains chopped turkey (started doing that so
the kids would actually eat turkey g).

"beef the weight" of a turkey: LOL! Taria: mixed meats!

Leslie, the wings of the bird are folded in as they taught us at the deli
where I worked 100 yrs. ago. Those wings fit perfectly into the 13"x9"
cake pan, holding the bird steady; that & the size of the bird (15-20 lbs)
makes that sucker sit still in the pan. g

Admittedly, I take the easy way out; I have lazy-turkey cook syndrome.
Love to cook, love to feed crowds, enjoy getting everything ready at the
same time. Love to quilt, too. ;-P

http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/quilts/fullturkey.html

http://quickquilts.com/motifs/designs/index8.html

http://www.northaz.com/TurkeyPurseSet.htm

Hooray for the many different ways we can cook (or not) and enjoy the
annual Thanksgiving Feast!

R/Sandy--just finished pin-basting a small, very scrappy quilt while
listening to Lincoln Child's "Deep Storm"
p.s. we had light snow flurries yesterday; Cool! g

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:29:18 GMT, (NightMist)
wrote:


Lessee here, this year we had an Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pineapple
glazed sweetpotatos, baked squash, fried corn, dressing, a yorkshire
pudding over assorted veggies, garlic mashed potatos, onion gravy,
fresh baked bread, green salad, cranberry sauce (the kind that slides
out of a can all in a piece), cranberry ice, punkin pie, banana
pudding, real whipped cream, and homemade ice cream (turtle, raspberry
truffle, or vanilla). We also had two daughters, one son, a boyfriend,
the old gentleman from up the street whose kids never called, plus the
three of us.
Nope, no turkey.
Supper today is the leftovers that didn't get packed off (G)

NghtMist
who needs a turkey in the midst of such yummyness?

More importantly, where would you find room in your tummy for the
turkey?

Never heard of fried corn before. How do you make it? Oh, and I
wouldn't mind having the recipe for Enchanted Broccoli Forest and
pineapple glazed sweet potatoes if you don't mind sharing them.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

My roasts go into a large covered roasting pan. Just barely fits into the
oven, big enough to hold The Goose. No spatters to wipe up afterwards,
everything stays juicy, no trouble to wash, nothing to throw away, has
handles on the sides to make it easy to remove from the oven without
disaster. There's a rack that fits inside, if necessary.
Roberta in D

"Sandy Ellison" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Howdy!

Both the brown paper bags & the plastic oven bags are made
w/ chemicals I don't want in my food, chemicals that can & do
leach into the food during the cooking process.
I've cooked turkeys for 35 yrs. and have never had a bad/dry bird;
just rinse them, pull off some of the fat around the cavities,
cut off the tail, put bird in the big cake pan & into a 325* oven.
IF I'm not concerned about "presentation" (no one else will see the
cooked bird) I put the bird breast-side-down, letting all those
lovely fat juices dribble into the white meat; best damn' turkey ever!
This in not a brag; this is just fact; I think all the hype about
The Proper Way to Cook a Turkey is silly, much of it made up by the
twits on the t.v. talk programs & the Marthy types --$$-$$$.
Learn how to do it the first time and leave the bird alone. G
I buy the cheap turkeys, w/ as little basting chemicals added as possible.
mmmmm: that's good eats!

While the turkey is cooking I can do about 4 hrs. of quilting; this is
a Good Thing. VBG

http://kinderprintables.com/thanksgi...iltsquarec.pdf

http://www.needlework.com/gallery3/gallery3-4a.html

http://www.quilt.com/ColoringBook/Tu...ntheStraw.html

http://craftandfabriclinks.com/thank..._applique.html

R/Sandy --turkey in the straw g


On 11/23/07 7:04 AM, in article , "Tia
Mary" wrote:

Ginger in CA wrote:
.........snipprd.........
My favorite way to cook a turkey was in an oven roasting bag - the
dang thing was so tender it fell apart!

Ginger in CA

But you don't have to buy the special oven roasting bag. My family
has used plain ordinary brown grocery bags forever. It truly is
unbelievable how moist and tender the turkey turns out! And NO, NO, NO
the paper bag does not catch fire :-))! Best part is, it's free -- just
ask next time you go to the grocery store. VBS -- unfortunately brown
paper grocery bags are becoming an endangered species -- I'm gonna have
to start using those wonderful bags with the handles you get from
Cracker Barrel!! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

One time, and only one time when we had to make a long trip on Thanksgiving
Day did I fail to bake at least a turkey and a couple of pies. The
children, especially the one I married, were so pitiful and deprived that
I'll never do that again. Come by anytime. The refrigerator is loaded and
we share. Polly

"Taria" wrote All I know is I don't have any leftover turkey here and boy
do I feel the need for a turkey sandwich with all the turkey
talk. I wish you guys were close enough so I could raid
a fridge!

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:09:00 -0500, Debra
wrote:
On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:29:18 GMT, (NightMist)
wrote:

Lessee here, this year we had an Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pineapple
glazed sweetpotatos, baked squash, fried corn, dressing, a yorkshire
pudding over assorted veggies, garlic mashed potatos, onion gravy,
fresh baked bread, green salad, cranberry sauce (the kind that slides
out of a can all in a piece), cranberry ice, punkin pie, banana
pudding, real whipped cream, and homemade ice cream (turtle, raspberry
truffle, or vanilla). We also had two daughters, one son, a boyfriend,
the old gentleman from up the street whose kids never called, plus the
three of us.
Nope, no turkey.
Supper today is the leftovers that didn't get packed off (G)

who needs a turkey in the midst of such yummyness?

More importantly, where would you find room in your tummy for the
turkey?

Not doing turkey, we have opted for variety. Something that is
someones favorite is sure to turn up on the table. Grant you guests
are often boggled. (G) However, The Boyfriend discovered that he likes
dressing made outside of a bird better than that made inside. The
Elder Neighbor had yorkshire pudding for the first time and decided it
is a fine thing indeed! He carried off a recipe for The Woman Who Does
For Him, and had already reinvented toad in the hole in his head by
the time he went home.

Never heard of fried corn before. How do you make it? Oh, and I
wouldn't mind having the recipe for Enchanted Broccoli Forest and
pineapple glazed sweet potatoes if you don't mind sharing them.

Like baked corn, fried corn is just one of those things that either
your family does or it doesn't do. I grew up with fried, DH grew up
with baked, we split the difference and have it alternately on
holidays (G)
Fried corn is pretty simple, (Taria should close her eyes and scroll
down now!) You fry about a pound of corn kernals in a stick or so of
butter, many people say it's not right unless you use bacon grease,
and gradually sprinkle over a half cup or a cup of sugar depending on
how sweet you like it and what kind of sugar you are using. When it
is hot through and there are no sugar granules it is done. I seem to
recall once or twice gramma using a couple of glops of mollasses
instead of sugar.

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest comes from the cookbook of the same
name. We are a little more generous with the cheese and brocoli than
the recipe calls for. Here is the recipe at the publisher's site:

http://www.tenspeed.com/page.php3?ftr=127

Pineapple glazed sweet potatos are also fairly simple, had to think a
minute about how much of what goes in for I usually just look at the
pan and put in enough. I use either vacumn packed or fresh sweet
potatos, so I am not sure how you would adjust for the kind in syrup.
With fresh I usually bake them until they are about half cooked, then
take them out, let them cool, then skin them and cut them up. That is
more important with big old yams than with sweet potatos, but it is a
habit.

Take a regular can of juice packed crushed pinapple and drain the
juice, reserving the juice. Put the sweet potatos and the juice in a
covered baking dish (mine is marked 1.6 liter). Toss the potatos
around a bit to make sure they are covered in the juice. Mix half the
pineapple with about two tablespoons of brown sugar, let it sit for 5
minutes or so, then stir it up and stir it into the sweet potatos.
Save the other half of the pineapple for something else.
Make sure everything is well distributed in the pan, dab on a couple
of tablespoons of butter, then cover and bake at 350 for around half
an hour, a little more for fresh potatos.

Oh, saying how much sweet potato would be a goodness I suppose!
Around two regular cans of the vacum packed kind, half a dozen or
thereabouts of fresh, and it works just fine with two or three yams.
You might need a bit more liquid with yams though.

NightMist
--

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the
majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with
the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
- AA Milne