If you don’t know how to freeze blueberries don’t worry! It is so easy!  Most blueberries, at least in Texas, do not have natural pests so they are usually grown without pesticides. That is how the place we pick them does it anyway. The easiest way to keep blueberries, strawberries, and other berries for long term storage is to flash freeze them.

To freeze them just put them straight into a ziploc type freezer bag and lay flat in the freezer. Don’t rinse them, or clean them other than pulling out any obvious stems or leaves.  They will keep for more than a year..One year we had them for 18 months. It just can’t be easier than that!

I am working on a post for later…but I wanted to post this while I was thinking about it.

image:marye audet

Some of my favorite kitchen tools are simple things. I mean, I love my electric mixer and all, but you know what? Nothing beats cream like the old fashioned Dover beater. If you are uninitiated, that is a hand cranked beater, just a step up from a whisk .  It is downstairs in a drawer at the moment or I would get a picture of it. Fantastic machine, red wooden handles and very eco-friendly. I have a  hand cranked mouli-grater from the 1930s. I would not trade that thing for anything. Nothing, and I mean nothing grates nutmeg like that thing!

My parents lived through the Depression. My dad was born in 1917 and my mom in 1918. They saw an amazing amount of change in their lives. Maybe because of the Depression or maybe because they grew up in the country, my parents were very self sufficient. My dad could fix anything, build anything, and come up with the answer to anything. His answer to any failure was to try harder and think deeper. There was nothing you couldn’t do if you just kept trying.

Anyway, I was trying to find a round cutter to make hamburger buns one day. I wanted a particular size and could not find what I was looking for. Finally, a light went off in my brain and….

Do you see it? No? Take a closer look…

Yep. It is a big tomato can. Perfect size for hamburger buns.  The normal size cans are great for biscuits, and the small cans, like tomato paste size,  make great cookies or mini scones.

This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Every time I use it I think of my dad.

So…True confessions. Do you have a “highly technical” kitchen utensil that you love?

images: marye audet

The bread in the image above is Kalamata Black Olive Bread

In order to get those awesome artisan breads and pizza crusts you have to have a pizza baking stone of some type in your oven.

Why?

Simply because the baking stone makes for a far superior crust. It is the only way to get the crust right.

Personally, I have plans to construct Read more

Take a deep breath. I am going to tell you a secret…

Making a wedding cake is not so very hard to do. You can save a TON of money, and end up with a better tasting cake than if you bought it. I promise.

And seriously, have I ever lied to you before?

The end product will be beautiful, especially if you keep it elegantly simple. Personally, I hate the idea of spending 600.00 on cardboard cake slices. Read more

Making a romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner can be stressful. Not only does the food have to be great but you have to think about things like spinach int he teeth and garlic breath. Here is a menu that you can do, complete with links, using the food from the aphrodisiac list, for a seduction level of 10.

Don’t forget your favorite mood music!

Read more

I know that I explained how to fix a turkey in this post, Thanksgiving Preparation but sometimes pictures are so much more easily followed. So, when I fixed the turkey for OUR Thanksgiving I took pictures. I did not use the exact ingredients as in the other post. This year I decided to season it with Herbs de Provence rather than the cranberry sauce, however the techniques pictured can be used with any recipe. Ready?

Step 1- after the bird is thawed take the neck and bag of giblets out of the abdominal cavity and the chest cavity. Set aside. Rinse bird thoroughly in warm water. Dry with paper towels.

Step 2-Gather your ingredients together. Salt, pepper, herbs, the turkey, turkey bags, oil, etc.

Step 2 1/2 Use the peelings from the vegetables you used int he stuffing, a couple of pieces of celery, celery leaves, the neck and gizzard an heart (I don’t use the liver but some people do) and put in a pan covered with water. simmer until neck is done, a couple of hours, adding water as necessary. Once the neck is done, simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain and remove the vegetables and meat, and set broth aside.

Step 3- Make a mixture of salt, pepper, and seasoning in your hand and rub the inside cavity of the turkey.

Step 4 - Stuff the abdominal cavity of the turkey loosely with stuffing of choice. For my sage stuffing recipe click here

Step 6- Some people use twine to truss the turkey. I don’t bother. Just fold the flap of skin over and pull the legs in place.

Step 7- Turn the pan around and pull the flap of skin up to reveal the chest cavity. Stuff it loosely. You can even use a different stuffing if your family like 2 kinds.

Step 8- Now, very gently begin to loosen the skin from the meat on the breast.

Step 9- Make a mixture of the seasonings you plan to use (or cranberry sauce) and rub it over the meat. I sometimes will lay thin slices of garlic in here, or fresh herb leaves.

Step 10-Now, oil the skin lightly. I used olive oil, but anything will do.

Step 11-Prepare the roasting bag by adding a tablespoon or so of flour and shaking it well.

Step 12- carefully put turkey in roasting bag and tie up. Lay in a sturdy pan.

Step 13 - Cut 6 slits in roasting bag for steam to escape. Put turkey in the oven.

Now…here is where you have to make some decisions. The recommended way to roast a turkey is at 350 for about 4 hours for a 20 lbs stuffed turkey. Personally I roast mine at 325 for 8 hours, or about 20 minutes a pound. This was a 23 lb turkey and I put it in the oven at 12:00 noon.

at 3:00 p.m. it was starting to brown and smell good but no where near done.

At 8:00p.m. it was perfect. Meat falling from the bone, drumstick moved easily.Remove from oven at this point and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Open the bag (watch for steam). Pour the broth carefully into a bowl, adding the broth you made earlier.. Remove stuffing and put in a bowl and carve turkey.

Now, I have to admit that once I was ready to carve the turkey I totally forgot about taking pictures. Trust me, it looks wonderful.

I would just like to say that there is  now a mere five weeks until Thanksgiving, and nine until Christmas.  And I know that you are going to think I am even more weird than you did a minute ago but sometime this week I will be cooking the Thanksgiving turkey.  I bet you want to know why.

It is really simple, actually.   Cleaning up on Thanksgiving is awful. I hate it. One year I decided to try roasting the turkey in October to see what happened.  I was amazed.

You see, after the turkey is done you carve it up and lay it in a large baking dish, and then pour the juices over it.  Then you seal it up and freeze it. It sits in those juices for a month, you thaw it and warm it up…and the breast meat is tender and juicy, the flavor is better, the cleanup is non existent….I buy several during the holidays when the prices are around 39 cents a pound….and freeze for later  use..I just make sure to save a couple for the holidays.

I am hooked.  If you like the crispy skin on your turkey this is not going to work for you.

Thanksgiving Turkey:

1 turkey, thawed. I always suggest you get the biggest you can find.  The bigger turkeys are a better deal price wise and you can always freeze the extras for easy meals later on. I try for 25 lbs.  Make sure your oven can handle a big bird.

 Stuffing of choice. mine is traditional Midwestern Bread & Sage.  Marc like the pork filling from tourtiere used as a stuffing. Whatever you like go for it.  You can even stuff the abdominal cavity with one kind and the chest cavity with another.

Seasoning: 1/2 cup melted butter, salt, pepper, sage, and cranberry sauce.  The bought kind. In a can. Trust me.

Wash the turkey well.

Mix the salt, pepper and sage and rub the inside of the bird. Stuff loosely with the stuffing of choice, or if you are not stuffing it toss a chopped onion, 3 stalks of celery with leaves, 1 carrot, 4 cloves of garlic, and a little chipotle in the cavity for flavor.

Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your hands. Try not to break the skin.

Mix the butter (reserve at least 2 tablespoons) and 1/2 can of the cranberry sauce until smooth. Or as smooth as it gets.  Now, rub some of the melted butter mixture on your hands and rub over the meat.  Lay some raw onion rings between the skin and the meat if desired.  Use last 2 tablespoons of butter to grease the turkey.

Prepare a roasting bag according to instruction on the package.  Put the turkey in the prepared bag and put the whole thing in a large baking pan.  Seal the roasting bag with the tie provided and slash the top 4 times.

Bake at 325F  until done. About 20 minutes per pound. 6-8 hours. The leg will get very loose and probably fall off or be close to it when it is done. You will be able to move it easily.

Let turkey sit for a few minutes, no more than 15 or so because you need to get the stuffing out.   Slash the bag and empty the juice from the meat into a bowl. Set aside.

Empty the stuffing out carefully, preferably into a freezer to oven type of dish.  Pour a little of the juice over the stuffing. Seal and Cover. Label.  Freeze.

 Remove the turkey completely from the bag, if you haven’t. Carve as you normally would, laying the slices of meat into a baking dish. Cover with the remaining juice, seal, label, and freeze.

Deal with the carcass.  At this point you can roll everything that is left up in the bag and toss it.

OR

You can dump it in a big stock pot with an onion, bay leaf, carrot, full head of garlic, 1 inch piece of dried chipotle, a bunch of fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper and simmer it for 12 hours or so on low heat. A crockpot works great for this if you have one big enough.  Strain the broth from everything else, pick the pieces of meat out, and enjoy the best turkey broth in the world…ready to be made into the best turkey soup in the world..

Now…you  can look forward to enjoying the holidays with your family. Your house smells awesome, you have soup ready for dinner… Go read a book, and sip some coffee. You deserve it, you organized Holiday Diva, you.

 Make a note  for the day before Thanksgiving. Remove the turkey from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator.  On Thanksgiving Day you can warm it in a crockpot, a microwave, or oven… which ever you find most convenient.

Tip: If it says thaw for 40 minutes, FOLLOW TO THE MINUTE. I left one sheet longer and couldn’t unfold it. So I had to roll it out.

Oh, if you HAVE to resort to rolling it out, make sure you only fold it, NEVER shape it into a ball. That’s the whole point of puff paste. It puffs up like that because it has been folded and re-rolled numerous times.

When unfolding, I find it best to slip a butcher’s knife between the folds, instead of trying to pull it apart with your fingers, which will stretch the dough.

Just a tip — When grating lemon and orange peel, score the skin first, so that it’s easier to grate. I know it feels rough, but it’s slippery.

THAT got your attention didn’t it?

  I write alot about how strongly I feel about using organics when possible. I love the spectrum organic shoretening because it literally has NO trans-fats.  Hydrogenated shortenings can have a certain fraction of transfats and still have 0 trans fat per serving and I really am uncomfortable with that.

  Anyway, about a month ago I began using Spectrum, which is palm kernal oil that solidifies at room temp without hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation. All organic..and it performed beautifully in pie crust.

 However, I am so very dismayed to say that when it comes to a buttercream frosting that you can decorate cakes with (a la Wilton) your best bet is to stick with the Crisco or whatever you are currently using.

  You see, for some odd reason three of my eight children chose to be born in the first 11 days of July. The 1st, the 3rd , and the 11th.  Kyrie will be 4 tomorrow, Nick will be 7, and Matt will achieve that pinnacle of teenhood, 15, which means Driver’s Education is scheduled in the next few months. This year, to add chaos to a chaotic situation, Matt will be at youth camp the week of his birthday SO we have decidedc to celebrate all the birthdays tomorrow…complete with a homemade pizza buffet (I am trying out a mango-chicken-chipotle pizza) cakeS, homemade strawberrry ice cream, and pinata. That means that at 8 this moprning I started baking cake…a Strawberry Shortcake pan for Kyrie, a 3-D car for Nick and a fish for Matt.   They are the type that you decorate with the star tips and intricate details.

  All was going well until the frosting. The Spectrum left the frosting a little grainy..but I was o.k. with that until I tried to frost the cake and the frosting would not hold well, nor did it cover the cake surface, even after I covered the cake with a thin layer of frosting and chilled it well.

 Some of this may have to do with humidity.  We have had rain daily for 6 weeks and it is in the 90’s today and humid and rain is forcast. The Dallas area NEVER gets rain like this..They said last night on the weather that we were nearly at our annual average rainfall only 6 months into the year! Praise God our creek has not flooded excessively and the animals are well…muddy but well.

  Anyway.  The taste is excellent and for normal cake frosting I would use the combination unsalted butter/organic shortening. However for intricate cake decorating, especially since it is not something you eat on a daily basis, go with the traditional shortening for the best results.

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/2 c shortening

4 c confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

2 Tbs half and half

Mix shortening and butter until blended. Mix in salt and flavorings. Mix in confectioners sugar and add milk until you achieve a creamy but firm consistancy. Frosting for one cake (2 8″ layers, one character pan, etc.)

  Have a great weekend!