Post-Thanksgiving

Well, my turkey-induced tryptophan coma has finally cleared. I know I'm 'way late this week, but it took awhile to recover from the Big T. I cooked for 13 guests most of Wednesday and half of Thursday, and then spent the weekend rushing around with other things...

I thought I'd pass on some of my new and old favorite holiday recipes.

Strawberry Grapefruit Pie

What a great tart-sweet counter to all the richness of typical Thanksgiving dishes!

This was my new discovery for Turkey Day 2016. We got a whole bag of yummy Texas Reds, and I went looking for other things to make besides fruit-inna-bowl. This pie is as simple as can be:

1-2 Ruby Red Grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

1 box Strawberry Jell-O tm

1 Graham Cracker Pie crust (store-bought or home-made)

Place the grapefruit pieces in the pie crust. Make up the Jell-O according to package directions. Pour the Jell-O over the grapefruit and put the pie in the fridge to chill for at least a few hours. Longer is better.

I made the mistake of keeping the grapefruit segments whole as you can see in the photo. It makes a pretty pie that way, but a pie that's hard to eat. Cut the sections into bite-sized pieces!!

Red Cooked Turkey

It's been a couple years since I posted my favorite way to make turkey (or other poultry for that matter. I swear I learned this from Martin Yan, of Yan Can Cook, back when Saturday morning PBS was the equivalent of Food Network, but I can't find the actual recipe anywhere.

If you're like us, you mostly go for turkey breast anyway. Legs and thighs are OK for Turkey curry or ragout or whatever else you do with those lesser leftovers. In the past that breast has oven been far too dry. Nevermore! As the Raven said.  The only thing you don't get in this recipe is crispy turkey skin.  That's OK... I can do without.

Just in time for Christmas, this recipe can be adapted from a 8-14 lb turkey breast to a whole chicken or two, or bags of chicken parts; and it's this simple:

1. Put the meat in a large stockpot n your stove top.
2. Fill the pot to cover the meat by 1 inch with half soy sauce and half water, plus one whole Star Anise. Yep soy sauce and licorice!! Have no fear.
3. Remove the meat from the pot, and bring the liquid to a hard rolling boil.
4. Return the meat to the pot and bring things back to a hard rolling boil.
5. Turn the heat off. Put a lid on the pot, and WALK AWAY FOR TWO HOURS!

That's it!! Now you're free to use the oven for all those other great holiday dishes we all love.

The heat from the boiling liquid, the pot and the stove top takes that flavor all the way to the bone! You have the most moist, juicy, flavor-filled turkey breast you can imagine. 

 IT DOES NOT TASTE OF SOY SAUCE OR LICORICE, it tastes of “please sir can I have some more?”. People who normally hate turkey (including my foodie friend Sara Peterson) ask for seconds and thirds!

This year I got a 13 lb boneless breast.  HUGE!!  When it came time to assemble, I "accidentally" used a lot more soy sauce than normal (I was trying to use up the jug of rich, dark, mushroom soy sauce I bought last year).  When it came time to serve I cut the meat into 1/2" and 3/4" slabs and let folks pick what they wanted.  The picture above shows a leftover slab which was stored in the fridge in some of the braising liquid -- hence the dark surface.  Still the inside is white and tender and juicy!

Update: I've been thinking that this technique can go far beyond Chinese. I made a ham this year to a recipe by my friend Sara, which called for simmering the meat in a large jug of Sangria with additional fruit. I used my slow cooker for 4 hours on High. But I'm thinking there's no reason you couldn't use the Red Cooking technique and half the time.  If  you like Coq au Vin, use chicken and cheap red wine.

And what about a Mojo infused Pork Roast..... Now where'd I put that stockpot....

My Green Bean Casserole

My take on this 1950s classic. Cook this in the oven while your Red Cooked Turkey is on the stove top. Using Alfredo sauce cuts out all the salt from the Cream of Mushroom soup. Minced crimini mushrooms ensure the quintessential mushroom flavor remains. I like my green beans al dente rather than squeaky so I only cooked them half an hour. If you like softer beans go for more time!

2 lbs fresh Green Beans, tipped and cut in half

2 cups Alfredo Sauce

1/2c cup Milk or Half & Half

1/4c cup minced Crimini mushrooms

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1/4t tsp Black Pepper

French Fried Onions to taste.

Preheat over to 350F.

Lay green beans and mushrooms in a suitable baking dish Combine Alfredo sauce, milk, pepper and soy sauce, and pour over the beans. Top with onions as desired. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, top with more onions, and serve.

Banana Bars

Harvested and ripened another big bunch of bananas (20).

So it's time for another banana recipe. Here's a quick and easy (and pretty healthy) banana bar that I first posted back in 2014. No added sugar, for those of you watching such things in your diet. Gluten free too. Easily made lactose free. Diabetic friendly.. All that good marketing hype.

3 ripe Bananas, peeled

1/3 cup Applesauce (no sugar added variety)

2 cups Rolled Oats

¼ cup Almond or real Milk

½ cup Raisins or other dried fruit

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

Mash everything together in a bowl until well mixed. Turn out into a 9x9 baking dish or 9x4 loaf pan. Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes. Makes a dense, chewy 'bar' that would be a great lunch bag addition.