We went to one of those upscale lunch buffets at a hotel, complete with jazz combo- simply great!
Good food, good music, and NO CLEANUP!
I had Lox, smoked scallops, boiled crab claws & shrimp, a little lamb, Eggs Benedict, mixed sauteed veggies, and fine cheeses & fruit. MMMMMmmmmmmmmm.
However, that wasn't the whole story. For me, cooking is fun- its the cleanup that sucks. Last evening, I cooked the dinner we ate tonight...a 20 lb turkey & Gumbo! My godmother cooked a batch of chayote squash...and tomorrow, we're doing another (smaller) turkey, a ribroast and some Oyster dressing...
So even though I spent 12 hours in the kitchen (cooking & cleanup), and had to go to the buffet on only 3 1/2 hours sleep, it was a blast!
Oh, and if I may say so, my bird and my gumbo kicked Boo-tay!
For my bird, I melted some butter and mixed in some olive oil. Into that I mixed a pinch of citric acid (a powdered concentrate), a 1/2 cup of dry white wine (a drinkable one- not the stuff you get at the grocery store), some black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and fresh parseley. I spooned it over the entire bird, ensuring an even spread by hand. After that, I added additional onion powder and garlic powder, and a sprinkle of paprika to aid in browning.
He was then stuffed and draped with baby carrots, yellow onions, green onions, red onions, and celery.
Cooking was for 30 minutes at 425deg F, followed by 2 hours at 350deg F.
There was no bagging, no basting, no turning, and the bird turned out perfect- nice and juicy with a crisp brown skin. The veggies came out crisp & sweeeeeet.
No salt was harmed in the cooking of this bird.
Instead of just putting the bird up after dinner, though, we deboned him completely- it takes up less room in the fridge that way- and put the carcass in hot water to make a turkey stock, along with some wilted parsley and dried out carrots (trust me)...which we will use in future gumbos. (That stock-making process added hours to my cooking time, but its well worth it.)
Good food, good music, and NO CLEANUP!
I had Lox, smoked scallops, boiled crab claws & shrimp, a little lamb, Eggs Benedict, mixed sauteed veggies, and fine cheeses & fruit. MMMMMmmmmmmmmm.
However, that wasn't the whole story. For me, cooking is fun- its the cleanup that sucks. Last evening, I cooked the dinner we ate tonight...a 20 lb turkey & Gumbo! My godmother cooked a batch of chayote squash...and tomorrow, we're doing another (smaller) turkey, a ribroast and some Oyster dressing...
So even though I spent 12 hours in the kitchen (cooking & cleanup), and had to go to the buffet on only 3 1/2 hours sleep, it was a blast!
Oh, and if I may say so, my bird and my gumbo kicked Boo-tay!
For my bird, I melted some butter and mixed in some olive oil. Into that I mixed a pinch of citric acid (a powdered concentrate), a 1/2 cup of dry white wine (a drinkable one- not the stuff you get at the grocery store), some black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and fresh parseley. I spooned it over the entire bird, ensuring an even spread by hand. After that, I added additional onion powder and garlic powder, and a sprinkle of paprika to aid in browning.
He was then stuffed and draped with baby carrots, yellow onions, green onions, red onions, and celery.
Cooking was for 30 minutes at 425deg F, followed by 2 hours at 350deg F.
There was no bagging, no basting, no turning, and the bird turned out perfect- nice and juicy with a crisp brown skin. The veggies came out crisp & sweeeeeet.
No salt was harmed in the cooking of this bird.
Instead of just putting the bird up after dinner, though, we deboned him completely- it takes up less room in the fridge that way- and put the carcass in hot water to make a turkey stock, along with some wilted parsley and dried out carrots (trust me)...which we will use in future gumbos. (That stock-making process added hours to my cooking time, but its well worth it.)
