If I ever go to GenCon, I may just cook!
I almost wish I could give classes here on EnWorld- some of these things are pretty simple once you know what you're doing.
The Roast Turkey, for instance, is something I stumbled upon.
1) Clean your bird.
2) Melt butter, adding white wine, and just a little lemon juice (or powdered citric acid) equivalent to 1 lemon. Make a lot of this- at least 2/3 cup total volume liquid. It should be pretty thin and easy to pour.
DON'T USE COOKING WINE- its largely wine-flavored salt water. The wine you use should be a dryer white that you wouldn't mind drinking (if you like dry white wines).
3) Stuff bird and line pan with your favorite veggies- in addition to the ones I listed above, I've also added baby carrots, zucchini and mushrooms to the mix with decent results.
4) Pour butter/wine mix over bird, then season to taste- I use powdered onion & garlic, red & black pepper, and paprika to improve browning. Your bird should be sitting in a bath of liquid about halfway up the pan (if the pan is close to being full of your bird). If you didn't make enough, just pour more wine into the pan.
Notice I use no salt- I'm a sodium-dependent hypertensive. You won't miss it though.
5) This is the tough part- look in a cookbook to find the right time & temp for your bird. I prefer to use the "sear then slow cook" method. Cook it at high heat for 15 minutes, then turn the temp down for a long, slow cook.
I don't tent the bird, I don't flip it, I don't baste it, and I don't cook it upside down.
Instead, the butter & wine mix will
steam the turkey, and it should be juicy. Done right, this will be the easiest and juiciest turkey you'll ever make.
If you have the time, for extra credit in your home-ec class, open up that cookbook again and find "Stock."
1) Debone your bird that night and put it in storage- ziplocks, tupperware, it doesn't matter. It will take up less space.
2) Take the carcass and drop it in water, along with any veggies you don't want to eat (they burned, their texture is off, whatever) and any of the bird's pot drippings that are left. Set it on your stove to cook.
3) Don't let the water boil. You want a simmer, just below a boil. If the water boils, you risk overcooking the stock.
4) After the carcass falls apart in the pot, remove it and then cool & strain the liquid in the pot, removing the now flavorless veggies and meat bits.
Doing this, reducing it to a reasonable concentration, and cooling it for storage takes
hours, so don't start making stock at dinnertime.
That stock should fill up a couple of ziplock bags or a medium largish bowl, depending upon how you intend to use it.
Used as a substitute for commercial chicken broth, its perfect for adding to beans, soups, and the like. I've used mine in gumbo- despite the unusual ingredients, they don't stand out. It merely tastes well seasoned.
Tonight, put it in my Creole red beans.
(BTW, the same steps can be used with shrimp or lobster for a seafood stock.)
