Heather Solos's Blog, page 73
November 21, 2011
Food Safety: When in Doubt, Throw it Out
Dear Home-Ec 101,
My husband and I had a roast thawing in our fridge. It thawed alright – and raw liquid leaked all over into our fridge drawers – where we have a drawer full of fresh apples.
I know if I peel and cook the apples, I will be ok, but is there a way I can clean the apples and feel safe eating them raw? Or is it best to call it a loss and make a giant pan of apple crisp instead?
Signed,
Appalled in Appleton
Heather says:
What a pain in the butt.
The mantra of food safety is "When in doubt, throw it out."
The difference between the produce you currently have in your crisper drawer and produce you purchase from the grocery stand, famers market, or pick yourself is that you know your produce has been contaminated while all other produce is potentially contaminated.
We wash produce to remove pathogens they may have picked up en route from farm to table. You just happen to have witnessed the point of contamination.
Make sure you use a two step disinfection process to clean up the mess in your refrigerator. First wash with hot soapy water and then use a dilute solution of chlorine bleach.
The best way to clean firm produce with skin, like apples, is to wash them thoroughly under running water while rubbing with a soft bristled brush. This method is recommended for ALL firm produce including melons, apples, and citrus fruits. Do not use dilute bleach or detergent on produce.
If you want to return the apples to the refrigerator for storage, be sure to dry them thoroughly before returning to the crisper drawer.
If you want to be extra careful, soak your apples in white vinegar for 3 – 5 minutes before rinsing and scrubbing under running water. E. coli O157:H7 (one of the more obnoxious food borne pathogens) can be reduced with white vinegar. Now you only want to do this step just before the apples are consumed, as any bacteria that is left behind shouldn't be given the chance to make new friends¹.
Now there is a great, big caveat here: If an apple has damaged skin, throw it out.
Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.
¹How many former girl scouts do we have in the audience? "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold." I'll be singing that the rest of the dang day.
Food Safety: When in Doubt, Throw it Out is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: The Thanksgiving Pantry Check November 21
Heather says:
Thanksgiving is nearly here, all of the work you've done over the past few weeks will help ensure your event runs smoothly. Today it's time for the Thanksgiving Pantry double check. Do you need to catch up on the entire Countdown to Turkey Day Series? Don't worry, we'll be here when you get back.
Really quick, I'd like to announce that "Sharinlilbit" commenter #9 is the winner of the signed copy of Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living. Did you know if you have Amazon Prime and a Kindle you can read Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living for free?
What's on today's agenda?
It's time to pull out your Thanksgiving menu and grocery list again. Today you will use your grocery list to do a pantry double check. Did someone swipe your mini-marshmallows or use all of the evaporated milk when the milk ran out?
It's worth looking again.
Is your frozen turkey thawing safely in the bottom-most section of your refrigerator? It should be. If your turkey is still in the freezer you may want to check out this post on thawing a turkey safely using a water-bath.
Make your list of perishable goods and buy them tomorrow or Wednesday.If you've been keeping up with housework, spend a little extra time today making sure the place is presentable.
Do yourself a huge favor and make sure you aren't down to the last roll of toilet paper. I'm serious, running out of TP with a houseful of guests would be awkward.
Are you serving wine on Thanksgiving?There is a handy, free smartphone app created by The Wine Sisterhood to help calculate how much wine you'll need for your Thanksgiving dinner. It's called Drink-U-Lator and is available for both iPhone and Android (yay!). The app calculates a responsible amount of alcohol to have available for your guests.
That's pretty much it for today, provided you have all of serving dishes clean and ready to go. The rest is optional.
Do you need a centerpiece?
Not really.
However, here are directions to make a simple Thanksgiving centerpiece like the one pictured. If your turkey will serve as the centerpiece, I have some advice on how to help your turkey serve as an eye-catching centerpiece on the Butterball Blog where I experimented with their Mediterranean Turkey Recipe.
Are you ready for Thanksgiving?
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: The Thanksgiving Pantry Check November 21 is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 17, 2011
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 17 One Week to Go
Heather says:
One week to go, we're in the home stretch here. For those of you who have been playing along, there's not that much left to do except cook. Don't get smug, that draws the attention of the Fates¹.
Unless of course your serving ware has been stored for a year and you actually have good silver to use (do those people exist?). In that case, go ahead and start pulling it out and cleaning it up for the big day.
Well, that is if you've also kept up on your daily chores. If not, no worries there is still time before the invasive parasites extended family arrives. Pick one room a day and give it a little extra love.
If you're lucky enough that family and friends live in town, who won't be spending the night, you can limit your deep cleaning to public areas and close the doors to the rest. There is a caveat to this plan, if your home has more than one bathroom all of them -and the paths to them- should be clean. Make sure there are clean towels, soap, and plenty of toilet paper available. Don't question, just do it. If you don't have kids and there will be kids visiting, plan for their entertainment, unless you want them juggling your breakables, pestering the dog, and digging through your nightstand.
If you're just joining in on the annual Turkey Day Countdown here at Home Ec 101, you may want to read back through the other posts and play catch up.
So far we have:
Located and cleaned off the dining room tableInvited and confirmed our guestsPlanned the Thanksgiving MenuCreated a Thanksgiving Day shopping listPlanned what serving dishes and utensils will be used. Cleaned out the refrigerator to make roomFor some this means finding the cooler, too. Use the cooler full of ice to make room for the turkey which optimally should be thawing at 40F. It's just safer to have it thawing in a controlled environment. Sitting in ice is too cold and without the ice, the cooler may get too warm.Figured out the Thanksgiving Day Cooking Timetable
Frozen turkeys need a full 24 hours per 4lbs to thaw in a 40°F refrigerator. Once thawed the turkey can be held for up to 72 hours.
For example, an 18lb turkey will take 4 days to thaw and should be used by the 7th day. Thanksgiving is 1 week away, so it's time to start thawing those 20 plus pound turkeys. Don't forget to keep that turkey in the very bottom of the refrigerator and in a pot or pan to prevent any cross-contamination through drips and spills.
If you are picking up a fresh turkey, it should be cooked within 3 days of pick-up, so play it safe and pick it up on Tuesday or Wednesday.
For more tips on getting ready for Thanksgiving check out Butterball's Thanksgiving Blog.
What are you looking forward to most this Thanksgiving?
¹Calm down, I don't actually believe that, it's just fun to write. Call it dramatic license or warped sense of humor.
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 17 One Week to Go is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 16, 2011
Cooking With the Troops Veterans Day Update, a Giveaway, and a Brag
Heather says:
This post is off topic and a bit rambling, bear with me. We'll get back to turkeys tomorrow.
Many of you know I attend and speak at conferences on topics related to blogging, writing, and working with new media. Last year I decided to attend Blog World Expo in Las Vegas, only I screwed up and bought the wrong ticket. I couldn't get into any of the sessions the first day and I ended up hanging out in a hallway waiting on Kelby Carr, my hotel roommate. While I can't remember what exactly opened the conversation -I think it had something to do with the outlet I was using to charge- I met Blake Powers. He was excited about his non-profit Cooking With the Troops and began to tell me all about the program. When he got to the part about the Homefront program, in which they planned on teaching cooking and nutrition to wounded warriors and their families, I knew I had to get involved.
You've seen the results of my involvement with CWtT.
I'm placing a donation button, just like this one, in the upper right corner of the site.
Last week I flew to NYC where I had the honor and privilege to participate in the Cooking With the Troops Veterans Day event at NASDAQ in Times Square. Because of serendipitous timing I also had the opportunity to attend two other events.
Bob Woodruff Foundation's Stand Up for Heroes
A lady sitting near me described what's happening as a "silent war" and I've been mulling that over ever since. Yes, we know we're at war; yes, we know that our troops are slowly coming home. What we don't hear enough about is the ridiculously high unemployment rate of vets nor the disproportionately high suicide rate. If you ever have the chance to hear Andrew Kinard tell his story, listen.
Blake tried to tell me about what to expect from the Stand Up for Heroes event, but I had this preconceived notion that it was one of those boring fundraising dinners. My fall calendar was packed with travel and deadlines, so I never paid attention to WHAT I was attending, I was just worried about the getting the details right: what time, where, what am I expected to wear. I never really looked into what it was. I was absolutely blown away from the moment we approached. I had no clue that it was an evening of entertainment with comedians like Jim Gaffigan (who also has four kids and describes it perfectly) and Jon Stewart. I got to see Bruce Springsteen, who I've heard my entire life, but have never seen. We were there because the Bob Woodruff Foundation supports CWtT and I wish there was a way to condense all that I saw and heard and who it was for into a succinct recap, but I can't.
There are amazing people working hard to support our wounded and I wish the work of all of these people received more attention.
One of those people is Chef David Robinson who has created the Vets2Chefs program. He invited Blake and I to attend the graduation dinner of the inaugural class in Chatham, NY. Veterans and active duty men and women who are interested in transitioning to a career as a chef worked a 30 day, intensive culinary bootcamp. I could go on and on about the meal, the wine, and the amazing people involved. The lady on the far right is one of those amazing people, she spent three years in a wheelchair after being wounded.
Friday found me in Times Square at 6:45am in front of the NASDAQ building. You see, we were in on a surprise proposal that was to occur at 7:30. It was incredibly sweet and I wish the couple all the best in the years ahead. The rest of the day was spent with cooking demos and a luncheon for veterans and active military personnel. The afternoon was capped off by our participation in the closing bell ceremony. The bell was rung by the man in the middle of the above picture. He is Phil Perugini one of the surviving members of the Band of Brothers.
On a side note, some of you may recognize J$ from Budgets are Sexy, he's a fellow blogger who took the time to come up for the event and that's Blake Powers on the left.
Now for the brag.
Friday afternoon, just before the closing bell, we were abuzz with excitement. We were excited by how well the day had gone and let's face it, it's just an exciting thing in which to participate. My phone buzzed with an email from my editor.
My book, Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living is listed on Amazon's Best of Home & Garden 2011.
A year ago I was terrified that no one would read it.
I am over the moon and obnoxiously happy.
Since I'm in such a ridiculously good mood, I'm giving away a signed copy of my book. (Is that gauche? If it is, oh well)
There's no purchase necessary. Just leave a comment below to enter. I'll draw a winner at random from the comments on Sunday November 20, 2011 at 9pm Eastern. The winner will be announced on Monday morning. Limit one entry per person and this is open to US residents only, due to the cost of shipping.
I had been struggling with how to write this post as I didn't want it to come across as bragging about all the things I get to do. I've been working on this site for almost five years and it has lead to some wonderful opportunities and experiences such as those in this post. Blogging is a bizarre line of work, you never know what is going to catch on and become an "overnight success" and usually you don't get to see all of the work that lead up to someone else's success. Some of you have been around since the very beginning of this site and have been supportive from the very first time a post was published and some of you have just wandered by more recently. Thank you all for being a part of Home-Ec 101. I like to think that what I'm doing here is not only fun, but helpful, too. You can't know how much I value your questions, comments, and the occasional random email that just says "thank you," those are the things that tell me to keep going.
Cooking With the Troops Veterans Day Update, a Giveaway, and a Brag is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 15, 2011
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 15
Heather says:
There are two items on today's Turkey To-Do List.
It's time to clean out the refrigerator and start making room for the extra produce and the turkey. Get rid of all the science projects, expired food, and condiments that have been open since before Obama took office. Stop feeling guilty, just get rid of them.
Next, it's time to start looking at your Thanksgiving Day schedule.
When will you purchase or thaw your turkey? If you are getting a fresh turkey, have you placed your order?
Fresh turkeys will need to purchased no earlier than the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Fresh turkeys are highly perishable and should be stored in a home fridge for no longer than 2 days before cooking.
To thaw frozen turkeys safely you need to ensure there is plenty of room on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and make sure you put your turkey on a tray or in a pan of some sort to catch any condensation or leakage.Frozen turkeys need 24 hours for every four pounds and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (Have I mentioned I got to go to Butterball University this year?)
If your turkey is 20 – 24lbs the USDA guidelines suggest 5 – 6 days to ensure that bad boy is completely thawed. Additionally a thawed turkey can be stored up to 3 days before cooking.
If you are brining your turkey, you need to make sure you're prepared for this, too. We're lucky enough to have a hand-me-down fridge in our garage which makes thawing easier. If you are really short on space, load up a cooler with ice and use that to store some items while your turkey thaws in the refrigerator (it's important that it thaws at a regulated 40°F.) Excuse the less than perfect phone pic, but it illustrates proper thawing and brining.
Turkey on the left - Thawing, Turkey in the Bucket - Brining
Now for the second half of today's to-dos.
Get out your menu.It's time to figure out which side dishes can be made ahead of time.
Can any be made this week and frozen? What are the directions for reheating?
What time will Thanksgiving Dinner be served?Remember when planning that a cooked turkey should rest for fifteen to thirty minutes before carving.
Don't forget to have some kind of munchies set out to keep the vultures I mean guests from circling the kitchen and adding to the stress in the home stretch. It doesn't have to be fancy, a plate of raw vegetables with ranch dip will do or maybe some fancy crackers and sliced cheese or check out The Motherload for 7 Make Ahead Appetizers.
Don't put a lot of thought into it, it's just to keep people's blood sugar from dropping and tempers from rising¹. If alcohol is served, it's never a good idea to mix relatives, alcohol, and empty stomachs. You may as well have a marquee sign highlighting offenses of years' past.
Go through your entire menu and figure out what time each dish should be started and completed.
If dinner is to be served at 4pm, work backwards from 3:30pm to decide when the turkey should go into the oven. The thirty minutes after the turkey comes out of the oven is a good time to finish off side dishes that just need to be heated, but don't over estimate your oven's capacity. Seriously, take a moment and grab the baking dishes you plan on using at the same time and make sure they all fit. If not, you're going to have to come up with an alternate plan.
Do you have a roaster oven? A toaster oven? Can it be heated on the grill? For the last one, can you be both in the kitchen and outside? I didn't think so. Do you have someone you trust who can keep an eye on the grill? If you have a very shy guest, they may actually enjoy this role as it is an excuse to get away from a crowded kitchen.
Finally, when figuring out your time table, don't forget to include some buffer time for extra prep. Minor setbacks always occur, having the extra time built into the schedule keeps a bump in the flow from become a train wreck of epic culinary proportions.
You want to eat turkey? Today?
If you are new to Home-Ec 101 (hi!) and need to play catch up check out the rest of the Countdown to Turkey Day Series.
¹I mean, my temper never flares when I'm hungry. Nope, not guilty of that one, not one bit.
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 15 is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 14, 2011
Homemade Substitute for Condensed Cream of Something Soup Recipe
Dear Home Ec 101,
Hi! I really enjoy your website and am constantly quoting it to my husband. He loves this, I promise. My question is regarding your previously posted recipe for basic béchamel, and variations, to use instead of "cream of something" soups in recipes. Your recipe suggests it will sub for one can of soup. Many of these recipes call for the soup, undiluted. This is a 10.75oz can (1.3c, approximately?) Using your recipe, I got about 2.5c of a much more liquid product. For today, I just cooked it down until it was goopy and will forge ahead. For tomorrow, is there a modification I can make to your basic recipe, to yield a sauce that equates to the UNDILUTED canned product? Less milk? Or just reduce as I attempted last night? If this is already addressed in comments or your site somewhere I apologize, but could not find it.
Thanks,
Cookin' Casseroles in Charlotte
Bobbie says:
I'm with you on loving Home Ec 101 – that's how I ended up writing for the site!
According to the label, a 10.75 ounce can of condensed Cream of Something Soup contains "about 2.5 servings" of one-half cup each. The word "about" used in the number of servings means there's slightly less than the number it states. So, this works out to slightly less than 1 ¼ cups of condensed soup in each can.
Heather's béchamel sauce recipe makes approximately the equivalent of one prepared can of condensed soup, or not quite 2 ½ cups. This will work fine in some recipes, but perhaps not so well in others. Let's talk about why this is, and how to make it work for you.
Sometimes you must be precise in the kitchen, sometimes you can wing it.
A bit.
Within reason.
Precision is required when making baked goods: cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, biscuits, pastries. Oh, and soufflés. Too much or too little of an ingredient, failure to use the proper method, or making a poorly chosen substitution can result in sunken cakes, chewy muffins, hockey puck biscuits, deflated soufflés, and other disasters.While they MAY still be edible, you wouldn't want to bring them out for company, or anyone you actually liked. My baked goods often come out this way, because I compulsively fiddle with recipes. I rejoiced when my daughter* became interested in baking, so I didn't have to do it anymore. Then she moved out. Meh. If I tell myself I'm Doing Science, then I follow a recipe and get all precise and everything's copacetic. Kapiche?
Cooking (by which I mean Not Baking) on the other hand, can be a little more forgiving. Approximations (as opposed to carefully exact measurements) are acceptable in some cases. But if you're making something like a casserole, using too much liquid in the dish may result in a sloppy supper.
So, if you're preparing a recipe that calls for milk or water or broth or some such liquid, in addition to a can of condensed soup, then one recipe of béchamel sauce will substitute for both the soup and approximately 1 ¼ cups of the required liquid in the recipe. If the recipe doesn't have that much milk, stock, tomato sauce, water or other liquid, in addition to the soup, then you have to do it a little differently.
You can reduce the amount of liquid you add to the béchamel – and by reduce, I mean "use less" and not the usual cooking definition of reduce, which is what Cookin' Casseroles in Charlotte was doing when she "cooked down" the béchamel.
If you feel unsure about the substitution, or if you find fractions frightening, you can use the basic recipe below to create a variety of Homemade Substitutes for Condensed Cream of Something Soup. The proportions are slightly different, so they come out thicker and more like the canned product, and what you get will exactly substitute for One Can of Undiluted Soup, but without all those exciting preservatives and flavor enhancers.
I stopped using canned Cream of Something soups long ago, primarily
because of those perennial favorites of food manufacturers: MSG (monosodium glutamate) and Way Too Much Salt. Instead, what I use is basically the same process as béchamel sauce, but it comes out very thick and makes the equivalent of one can of undiluted condensed soup. Last night, I used it to make condensed tomato soup. Yes, tomato. It tasted like Campbell's Tomato Soup, only better. Then I melted some sharp cheddar into it and had it over toast.**
But, before I did that, I put it into a glass measuring cup and chilled it, so I could show you how thick this stuff is when it's not heated. See? It's as thick as the undiluted soup right out of the can, and works just as well in any recipe.
Condensed Cream of Something Soup Substitute
(makes equivalent of one 10.75 oz can)
Have all ingredients measured and handy before beginning.
Put the butter and salt in a small saucepan with a heavy bottom, and melt over low heat. Using a whisk, blend in the flour until mixture is bubbly. Congratulations! You've just made a roux.
Add a couple tablespoons of the liquid to the roux, whisking as you add it. Don't panic after the first addition – the roux may suddenly look all doughy. Just keep whisking and add a bit more liquid, and it will smooth out. After you've added about half the liquid in this manner, you may add the rest all at once, whisking it thoroughly as you do.
Continue cooking and stirring over low heat until smooth and thickened. Makes more than 1 cup, but not quite 1 ¼ cups, of a condensed creamy soup. You may use it as such in a recipe, or add an equivalent amount of liquid to serve as a creamy soup.
Notes: What liquids and seasonings to use?
Tomato soup: use tomato juice. Leave out the salt, unless you use no-salt juice. You may wish to add a dash of onion powder or a teaspoon or so of very finely minced onion (sautée the onion in the melted butter before adding the flour). Some like a tiny pinch of sugar or brown sugar to counteract acidity in the tomato.
Mushroom soup: use a combination of milk and mushroom stock, made by simmering mushrooms in water just to cover. I like to use half of each. Sautee a few tablespoons of the mushrooms, chopped, and half a teaspoon of finely minced onion in the melted butter, before you begin to stir in the flour. (If you prefer, you can forego the mushroom stock and use all milk, but in my opinion, it really does make the Best. Mushroom soup. Ever.)
Cream of Celery soup: Saute ½ cup chopped celery and 1 tablespoon chopped onion in the melted butter, until vegetables are tender. Use all milk for the liquid.
Cream of Chicken soup: use half milk, half good quality chicken stock, homemade if you have it. Add a fat pinch of sage or poultry seasoning and a dash of onion powder, or sautee a teaspoon of onion in the butter before adding flour. A few tablespoons of finely chopped cooked chicken is a nice touch if you have any on hand. If you decide to use broth made from bouillon cubes (I don't want to know) please leave out the salt. You may also want to reduce or omit the herbs.
Can you make this ahead and freeze it? According to Hazel Meyer's Freezer Cookbook - yes, you can freeze homemade creamy sauces and soups. When you take it out of the freezer, it may look a little funky. Let the condensed soup thaw in the refrigerator, or put the frozen soup in the top of a double boiler over very hot (not boiling) water, and whisk it thoroughly, it'll be fine. If milk was used in the preparation, heating it too rapidly can cause coagulation of the milk proteins. For this reason, thawing it with the microwave may give unsatisfactory results. So, when you make up some condensed cream soup substitute, make a double batch. Cool the part you're not using, and transfer to a freezer safe container. I've used a zipper-close freezer bag for this type of item – carefully squeeze out the air, zip closed and label. Lay flat to freeze – this thinner shape thaws more quickly than a traditional freezer container.
*My daughter managed to get a job as the pastry chef at a local upscale bakery, just after turning 18, without any formal schooling in the subject. She did not get this ability from me, obviously.
**That's a recipe called "Red Robin" – it's from my first cookbook, a gift from my mom on my 10th birthday. It calls for condensed tomato soup and American cheese. My kids loved it when they were little, and they made it for themselves when they were bigger. This time I used the homemade condensed tomato soup and sharp cheddar….and it was awesome! (I passed the book down to my daughter on her 11th birthday, because I couldn't find it on her 10th. Another reason to be organized!)
_____________
Bobbie Laughman is an elder caregiver, freelance writer and seller of things. She lives and cooks and Does Not Bake Much in Gettysburg, PA. Have a question you'd like Bobbie to answer? Just want to say howdy? Send it to Bobbie@Home-Ec101.com
Homemade Substitute for Condensed Cream of Something Soup Recipe is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 14 The Great Shopping List
Heather says:
It's time to make your Thanksgiving Day Dinner shopping list. I know that Thanksgiving is almost two weeks away, but this will hopefully give you time to take advantage of some sales and spread the cost over two grocery runs. In many households this makes the expense a little easier to absorb. Unless you're paid monthly and then well, it won't help at all, sorry.
Grab your Thanksgiving Day Menu and all of the recipes, even if you think you know them by heart. This year I have been working with Butterball to help families get ready for Thanksgiving, check out the Must-Have Shopping List for Thanksgiving I created with them.
Do you need help making your shopping list?SayMmm.com is a great tool for creating shopping lists. To make it even easier, many Home-Ec 101 recipes are already in their database.
Alternately, spreadsheets aren't just for accounting, you know.
Open up a spreadsheet in Excel or Open Office -have you ever tried Open Office? It's free and compatible with Microsoft products, so you don't have to shell out mega bucks for their proprietary software. There's nothing for me to disclose, I simply love the tool. If you don't want to install Open Office, Google docs are another free option and you can share the documents with others. Google Docs has improved significantly over the past year, so give it a look if you haven't tried it yet.
Once you have your spreadsheet open, list your recipes across the top, one per column. Under each recipe list the ingredients. If a recipe calls for apples, list the number after the ingredient apple x 3 or chicken stock x 2 qt. This won't take up the whole spread sheet. This creates mini-shopping lists for each recipe.
On the lower half of the spreadsheet start new columns. I like to divide my list up by grocery store departments: butcher, dairy, dry goods, produce, etc. Cut and paste each item into the appropriate column combining when appropriate ie 2 apples for the dressing + 14 for the pies = 16 apples.
Save and print your grocery list and don't forget to shop your pantry before heading to the store. (This just means crossing off the items you have on hand). Don't forget, if you rarely bake to test your baking powder to be sure it is still effective.
Remember, it's still too early to buy your produce.
Just for fun, what recipe are you most looking forward to this year?Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 14 The Great Shopping List is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 11, 2011
Veterans Day Cooking with the Troops Event
Heather asked me to do a quick post to let you know she's at the Cooking with the Troops Veterans Day event today, at the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City, and she sounded very excited about it. She told me about a veteran who was shown on the big screen for all to see, who was told he'd never walk again, but then he walked out to his girlfriend and was able to get down on one knee and make a very public marriage proposal.
So, I'm sure Heather's busy right now, serving lunch. She said that Cooking for the Troops will be doing the closing bell ceremony and that there will be one of the original members of the Band of Brothers from D-Day. Watch it on CNBC starting at 3:45pm, Eastern Time.
Oh, and Heather's tweeting from the event, including pictures. If you don't follow her on twitter, you should. If you don't have twitter, you can still read her tweets and see her pictures by going to @HeatherSolos
~~~Bobbie
Veterans Day Cooking with the Troops Event is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
November 9, 2011
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Heather says:
We love oven-roasted Brussels sprouts in our home. This variation on the classic takes advantage of bacon and all of its wonderful flavor.
Make more of these Brussels sprouts than you think you could possibly consume. Just trust me, this is especially true for holiday dinners. Oh it's a vegetable, who wants vegetables on Thanksgiving? Apparently a LOT of people do.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Enjoy!
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 9 Assign the Serving Dishes
Heather says:
How are you serving your meal?
Will it be family style with everyone seated around the table or are you setting up a buffet where everyone helps themselves?
Now it's time to take a look at your menu and take an inventory of your serving dishes.
Next to each menu item write down a brief description of the dish it will be served in ie glass 9 x 13 or white oval casserole. If these dishes aren't in every day use, place a post-it or 3 x 5 card with the menu item's name in the bottom of each dish. Now if people want to be helpful on Thanksgiving they will need less direction. I know I don't communicate very well when I have a bunch of dishes cooking, each in a different stage of completion.
If you don't have enough dishes, check thrift stores and yard sales this weekend.
Foil pans work well for buffet style, but I wouldn't trust them to be passed around a dinner table. No one wants grandma to get a lap-full of scalding hot macaroni and cheese. If you have family coming to eat, it's ok to ask if you can borrow a serving dish for the big day. Just don't return it dirty.
Here's a point I almost always neglect: serving utensils. Match a serving utensil appropriate to the planned menu item and write that down next to the serving dish description or on the 3×5. Make sure each of these utensils is present and accounted for. I've lost quite a few to the sandbox in the backyard or points unknown.
So here we are, it's November 9th and we have just over two weeks to go.
Are you ready for Thanksgiving?Here's what we've done so far with the Countdown to Turkey Day 2011 Series:
We've found the dining room table, made a guest list (and invited them), we have made a soft menu plan, and newbies, if you've never even roasted a chicken that's on your to-do list, right? And we have created our Thanksgiving Day Menu. How is that dining room table looking? Yep, move that stack of mail, it needs a new home before it attracts all of its cluttery friends.
Countdown to Turkey Day 2011: November 9 Assign the Serving Dishes is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011
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