Notes For Thanksgiving 2005...

• Make a batch of cookie dough, complete with a recipe for control journal, every week or so.
• The house need to be company ready by November 14th. You’ll be baking too much to clean the week George and Karla come.
• On Monday, November 14th, wash all the bed linens. Stay on top of laundry that week, too.
• Try to have Holiday Control Journal completely functional by September 1st, including recipes you’ll be using for Thanksgiving. Move pages to Working Control Journal by October 1st, so you can think about and make changes to things at work.
• Try not to decorate until September. Especially with the flooring being replaced, you don’t need all the “stuff” everywhere, stressing you out!
• You should probably leave the Fall decorations up until December 1st, giving George and Karla plenty of time to leave. You don’t want to tear down all that Fall stuff and get depressed while they’re here! And you don’t want to put out Christmas stuff with them here, either. Less stress this year!
• Keep an eye out for fall-looking dishes this year. If you can’t find any, just use disposable! Less washing! Less stress!
• Don’t forget to post menus on the fridge so you don’t forget anything!
• When control journal is finalized, work up a schedule to keep yourself on track.
• On the Mondays you’re off, try to make a big pot of soup to freeze for later. If you make a dinner that would freeze well, make extra and put it up for later! Less stress!
• Use paper and plasticware for desserts on Thanksgiving! So simple…
• Put up the mixer, drape a tablecloth over the “long” kitchen counter, and use it as a buffet! Use that wicker silverware holder!

Nanny's Pound Cake...

1 3/4 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour until batter is complete. Add vanilla last. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours or until a toothpick inseted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.

Dear Well-Meaning Friends...

Please stay out of my kitchen
From my dishwashing, cooking and such.
You are kind to have offered to help me,
And I do want to thank you so much.
I hope you won't think me ungracious
When I ask that you leave me alone,
For my kitchen is not very spacious,
And my system is strictly my own.
So please stay out of my kitchen,
It may well prevent a few wars.
And when I'm invited to your house,
I promise to stay out of yours!

Pumpkin-Pineapple Loaf...

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 8 1/4oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
4 large eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two 8 1/2X4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. In mixer bowl, beat together sugar and butter until blended. Add pumpkin, pineapple, and eggs; beat well. Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt; add to pumpkin mixture, mixing until dry ingredients are just moistened. Add nuts, if using. Divide batter into prepared pans; spread evenly.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over tops, if desired.

Classic Mashed Potatoes...

4 large russet potatoes (about 2 pounds total)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper

Peel the potatoes and rinse under cold water. Cut each into quarters and place in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Cover with cold water, partially cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil. Uncover, add the 1 tsp. of salt, and reduce the heat so that the water boils gently. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter together until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the warm pan over low heat for one minute to evaporate any excess water. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Stir the milk and butter mixture into the potatoes, a little at a time, until the potatoes are as soft and moist as you like. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or keep warm in the top of a double boiler, or cover and rewarm in a microwave oven.

Bosc Pear Salad...

8 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves, stemmed, rinsed, and dried
2 Bosc pears (do not peel), quartered lengthwise, cored and cut into long, thin slices
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Place the spinach and pears in a large serving bowl. Scatter the cheese on top.

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. whole-grain mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and shake vigorously to blend the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

When ready to serve, give the dressing a last-minute shake and pour over the salad. Toss gently to keep the pear slices intact, and serve immediately.

Cranberry Chutney...

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over, and stemmed
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, each about 3 inches long
1 tsp. salt
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 firm Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts, toasted, skins removed, and halved

In a deep 6-quart saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, 1 1/4 cups water, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop open, about 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers. Stir in the apples, pears, onion, raisins, and ginger. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thick, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from the heat, stir in the hazelnuts, and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Discard the cinnamon sticks and cloves if you can find them. Refrigerate in tightly sealed jars for up to 3 months.

Grilled Turkey...

1 brined turkey
Olive oil for brushing (about 1/2 cup)
8 cups hickory chips

One hour before you are ready to grill, place the hickory chips in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and soak. In the meantime, secure the legs of the turkey with a 1-foot length of kitchen twine by bringing the legs together, wrapping the string around the ends (knobs) of the legs, and then tying the string with a knot. Trim any extra length of string. Rub or lightly brush the turkey with olive oil. Place the bird, breast-side down, on a V-shaped roasting rack, and set it inside a heavy-gauge disposable roasting pan.

Drain the soaking hickory chips. Make three aluminum foil pouches containing the chips. To make the pouches, cut three 16-inch-long pieces of heavy-duty foil. Fold each in half to make a pouch about 8 inches long, and fill with one-third of the chips.

Twenty minutes prior to grilling, preheat the grill with all burners on high. Turn off the burner directly below where the turkey will rest, and adjust the other burner(s) to medium-high. Place one pouch of wood chips directly on the heat source. Place the roasting pan on the cooking grate on the side of the gas grill that has been turned off. Close the grill lid.

Grill-roast the turkey for one hour. Open the grill lid. Add more wood chips. With a wad of paper towels in each hand, or a set of turkey-turners, turn the turkey, breast-side up, and arrange it so the leg and wing that were facing the dire are now facing away from it. Continue cooking, with the lid closed, for another 45 minutes.

Add more wood chips. Turn the turkey once more again so that the leg and wing that were facing the fire are now facing away from it. Continue cooking, with the lid closed, for another 45 minutes. Using an instant-read thermometer, check the internal temperature of the turkey by placing the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Check both thighs. When the thermometer registers 165 degrees, the turkey is done.

Transfer the turkey to a carving board or platter, and cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. Allow the turkey to rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving to let the juices set.

Brined Turkey...

1 fresh or thawed turkey (10 to 25 pounds)
2 oranges, quartered
2/3 cup kosher salt
2/3 sugar
6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1 tsp. black peppercorns, crushed
2 tsp. whole allspice berries, crushed
8 cups unsweetened apple cider or juice

Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey. Place a plastic oven bag inside a second one to create a double thickness; then place these bags, open wide, in the roasting pan. Remove the turkey from its wrapping. Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the main and neck cavities of the bird. Store separately in the refrigerator for making gravy. Stuff the main cavity of the turkey with the orange quarters.

In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, put the salt, sugar, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and allspice. Add 8 cups of apple cider or juice and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add 4 cups of ice-cold water, stir, and set aside to cool.

Fold back the top third of the bags, making a collar (this helps to keep the top of the bag open). Place the turkey inside the double-thick bags, stand it upright, unfold the top of the bag, and pour the apple cider brine over the bird. Add an additional two cups of water. Draw up the top of the inner bag, squeezing out as much of the air as possible; then secure it closed with a twist tie. Do the same for the outer bag. Place the turkey, breast-side down, in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Turn the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.

Just prior to roasting, remove the turkey from the brine. Discard the bags, brine, and any cured herbs or spices remaining on the bird. Discard the oranges and ginger. Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. The turkey is now ready to be roasted.