How to Cook A London Broil

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By Sarah Sandori

A London broil is a great way to cook steak. Note that I said a “way to cook.” In other words, it’s a method, not a specific cut of meat. This distinction has confused many a novice cook.

Adding to the confusion, some butchers will call a cut of meat “London broil.” Usually, though, the cut of beef used for a London broil is flank steak, although other cuts, notably top round steak, may be substituted.

Flank steak is naturally tough, so you need to tenderize it (by pounding with a mallet) or marinate it, or both, before cooking with it. To turn it into a proper London broil, you … broil it. Makes sense, right? But not so fast … you can also grill it and still call it a London broil.

Here are two recipes, one for broiled London broil, and the other for grilled London broil.

London Broil (Broiled)

Ingredients

<>1 beef flank steak (1 to 2 pounds)

<>1/3 cup Italian salad dressing

<>2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions

1. Combine salad dressing, wine or wine vinegar, garlic and cooking oil in a bowl to make a marinade.

2. Make several shallow cuts on both sides of the steak. Place the meat in a baking dish.

3. Brush the steak with the marinade; be sure to coat both sides. Cover pan with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for 1 hour.

4. Remove from refrigerator. Pour off excess marinade.

5. Preheat oven broiler. Place pan with steak approximately 3 inches from top heat. Cook 5 to 8 minutes per side (to medium doneness).

6. Cut steak into slices and serve.

London Broil (Grilled)

Ingredients

3/4 cup cooking oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy or Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 flank steak (1 to 2 pounds)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except the meat in a bowl to make your marinade.

2. Make several shallow cuts on both sides of the steak and place in a baking dish. Try for a cross-hatching effect with several overlapping, diagonal cuts.

3. Brush steak with marinade, making sure to coat both sides. Cover pan with plastic wrap, place in refrigerator and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

4. Grill steak over hot charcoal or other high heat for 5 to 8 minutes per side, depending on the degree of doneness desired. Baste with leftover marinade if you wish.

5. Remove steak from grill, slice into thin strips, and serve.

Sarah Sandori is the food and entertaining columnist for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium. Have you ever wanted to be able to exactly duplicate a favorite dish from a favorite restaurant? Check out Sarah’s article where she reveals her source for the most mouth-watering secret restaurant recipes in America: http://www.solid-gold.info/most-wanted-recipes.html

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Campfire Cooking and Recipes

By Charlene Davis

Our family loves camping, and I mean in the traditional way with tents, sleeping bags, and sans electricity. No sissy RV trailers for us! This is a real shocker for anyone who knows me because I’ve always joked that my idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn with no TV. Last year my husband and son invited me to go with them on their annual Halloween Cub Scout campout (they needed a cook) and I decided to take them up on it. Everyone – and I mean everyone – couldn’t wait to see how I did roughing it in the great outdoors. Well, I had a blast and the guys said they had a lot of fun with me there; thus, a new wilderness mom has been born.

Naturally I embraced my new passion with enthusiasm and have been collecting a number of camping recipes and tips. Since this is time of year when families are making vacation plans and some of our subscribers will be going camping, I wanted to share some of my newly gleaned information with you.

Note: For those of you who are not camping this year but are still driving to their destinations, please read my ezine article entitled, “Road Trip Tips for Kids.”

Pita Bread Pizza

1 package (6) Pita rounds

1 14 oz. jar prepared pizza sauce

1 8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese

Any other toppings you like

Place pita bread on hot grill and toast to desired doneness. Turn over, add pizza sauce, cheese and any other toppings you desire. Grill till cheese melts.

Source: Camping Recipes.com

Campfire Stew

1 pound hamburger

1 medium onion [optional]

2 cans mixed vegetables [don’t drain]

1 bottle ketchup

In Dutch oven, brown hamburger with onions and then drain the fat. Return to fire/burner and add the remaining ingredients. Also, rinse your ketchup bottle with about 1/2 cup water and add. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes; but it is best to simmer for about an hour. If stew starts to become dry, just add a little water or more ketchup diluted with a little water for you ketchup lovers! Serve hot with warm bread or crackers. For added flavor, pour into your serving a little ketchup, steak sauce, Worcestershire, etc.

Source: Camping.About.Com

Cast Iron German Potato Salad

4 slices bacon

1 medium red onion, diced

1 pound red potatoes, precooked and cut in half

3 tbsp. white vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fry the slices of bacon in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove bacon with a slotted spoon and add onion to bacon drippings, cooking and stirring until onion is clear. Add potatoes and sear for 1 minute, cut side down, until brown and crisp. Remove from heat and pour the contents into a large mixing bowl, setting the skillet aside. Crumble the bacon and add to potatoes, along with the vinegar, salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly. Chill and serve.

For more cast iron skillet recipes, please see my ezine article “How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (plus recipes).”

Foil Pocket Dinner

A friend of mine told me about this type of campfire/grill foil cooking which I thought was really cool. In addition the following simple recipe, I found hundreds more at ChuckwagonDiner.com:

Hamburger or Chicken

Potatoes, sliced

Carrots, sliced

Worcestershire Sauce

Foil Bag

Hamburger shaped into a patty or piece of chicken, sliced potatoes, and carrots. Place in a foil bag and add Worcestershire sauce. Cook on coals or grill until tender. Serve with green salad and/or fresh fruit.

Ziplock Omelets

One serving:

2 eggs

1 ziploc bag

Extra ingredients: cheese, mushrooms, ham, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, etc.

First have each individual write their name on a quart-size ziploc freezer bag. Crack 2 eggs into the bag (not more than 2) and shake to combine them. Add whatever extra ingredients that person wants in their omelet and mix contents together well. Be sure to squeeze extra air out of the Ziploc bag. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can
cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed! Also makes a great conversation piece

____________________________

Charlene Davis is an experienced and published writer specializing in business, retail, e-commerce, weddings, parenting, spirituality, and food. For more recipes and cooking articles, visit her Busy Moms Recipes blog at http://busymomsrecipes.blogspot.com or sign up for her free newsletter at http://www.busymomsrecipes.com

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How To Cook Lobster Tail

Learn How To Cook Lobster Tails

So you want to learn how to cook lobster tail?  Excellent!  When cooked the right way, lobster tail is one of the most succulent foods on the face of the earth….

Many beginner cooks are intimidated when it comes to cooking lobster tails and rightly so.  They aren’t cheap!  So you want to make certain you are cooking them correctly to avoid waste.

Lobsters, once considered to be a poor mans food, are now more of a delicacy that people only occasionally enjoy. There are a variety of  ways to prepare lobster tails and I hope this post will help you on your quest to cooking the perfect lobster tail.

Preparing and Broiling a Lobster Tail Step By Step

Step 1 - Preparing the Lobster Tail:

Step 2 - Cooking the Lobster Tail:

Step 3 - Finishing the Cooking Process:

Grilled Lobster Tails

In the following video, chef Jason Hill shares his method for grilling lobster tails.

Here are the ingredients Chef Hill provides to make this fantastic Lobster Tails:

2 (8 oz.) lobster tails
2 tablespoons chive oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic-shallot puree (or 2 crushed garlic cloves)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 cups water (use as needed)
Salt and pepper (as desired)

How to Smoke a Salmon

By Chris Conklin

You have no doubt come across this wonderful delicacy sometime in your dining experience. If you were a fan of smoked salmon, than I am sure it is not something that you will soon forget. I am going to show you just how easy it is to enjoy smoked salmon anytime you want, just as long as you are willing to invest a little bit of time into it.

For the purposes of this article, I am going to assume you have your own smoker. But don’t worry if you don’t because I am going to show you how to guild your own in later articles.

I like to start with a good quality Wild Alaskan Salmon. Farmed salmon is almost like eating poison and I highly suggest you stay away from it at all costs. Spend a little extra and I promise you your taste buds will thank you. That being said, I like to use Chum Salmon. It is lesser known than all the other species of salmon, but it is a little less expensive and has a very high oil content. This is a good thing. The more oil a fish has the better it is for this process of smoking, and it will not dry out as quickly

First things first. You need to prepare the salmon 12 hours ahead of time with a process called brining. This brine I will show you is quite simple but adds really nice flavor to the fish.In a large container pour in 4 cups of warm water, 1 cup Kosher salt, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup brown sugar. Stir vigorously until well combined. At this point your salmon should be cut up into chunks of equal size. Place them in the brine mix, skin side up please. Put the lid on your container and put it back into the fridge for 12 hours.

After 12 hours take each piece of salmon out of the brine, rinse lightly under water, and place on the counter to dry. After about an hour of drying, a pellicle will form over the top of the Salmon. This just looks like a shiny skin and that is what we want. Now we put the rub on that is going to flavor our smoked salmon delicacy. For this application I am going to give you my recipe for what I like to call “Indian Candy”. This recipe was shown to me by the Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Rub each piece of fish with butter until lightly coated. Then rub each piece heavily with brown sugar. Let sit while you prepare your smoker.

You want to get your smoker between 150 and 180 degrees rolling with Alder smoke. I highly suggest Alder as it gives the salmon a very unique flavor. You will enjoy it, I guarantee you. Put your salmon in and close the door. Do not even peek for two hours. Just let the smoke do its work. After two hours begin to look every once in a while for the Salmon to start flaking. Once it begins to flake it is done.

Now here is a secret that no one will tell you. The flavor of the salmon is better the next day. What I like to do at this point is vacuum seal each piece while it is still warm. This ensures that maximum flavor stays with each piece. Put into the fridge until the next day, open and enjoy.

I hope you have enjoyed this lesson on how to smoke a salmon. As you can see it is not that hard, just a little time consuming, but trust me on this one, it is well worth the wait.

Chris is a chef and an award winng BBQer. Check out more of his recipes at http://www.squidoo.com/alaskanseafood

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Need a Quick, Tasty Meal? Open a Can of Tomatoes

By Harriet Hodgson

Need a meal in minutes? Canned tomato products are your solution. These products are colorful, tasty, and healthy. According to a 1997 University of Illinois nutrition study, the lycopene in canned tomatoes may help to prevent prostate cancer. Other studies, including a year-long study conducted by the University of Toronto and another study at Harvard University, turned up similar results.

Canned tomato products are rich in vitamins A and C. One half cup of canned tomatoes equals a serving from the vegetable group on the U.S. Government Food Pyramid. The USDA has posted recommendations for storing and using canned tomatoes on its Website. Canned tomatoes should be stored in a cool, dry place, the FDA says, on a shelf and not on the floor.

You should avoid freezing canned tomato products or exposing them to sunlight, the FDA adds, because temperature changes shortens their shelf life and speeds deterioration. Leftover tomatoes should be refrigerated in non-metallic containers that have tight lids. Use these leftovers in 2-4 days.

Never buy products in dented or bulging cans. Tomatoes are acidic and, to prevent a reaction between the acid and the metal, the inside of the cans has been sprayed with a protective lining. Dents may damage this lining and the product may be spoiled.

Tomatoes are a fruit and an adaptable fruit at that. There’s nothing like a bowl of Tomato-Basil Soup with Caesar Croutons on a rainy day. If you like fish you’ll like Sole Poached in Tomatoes and White Wine. As for Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes and Tomatoes with Bacon, they go with just about everything, including scrambled eggs. Got a can opener?

TOMATO-BASIL SOUP WITH CAESAR CROUTONS

INGREDIENTS: 1 large can of tomato puree (28 ounces); 42 ounces prepared chicken stock (the kind in the cardboard carton); 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, garlic powder to taste (about 1 teaspoon); 1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil; Caesar salad croutons; grated Parmesan cheese

Pour tomato puree into soup kettle. Using the empty can as a mesuring cup, add 1 1/2 cans of chicken stock to the puree. Pour in a little more stock if the soup seems thick. Add remaining ingredients except croutons. Cover soup and heat until it starts to simmer. Garnish with Caesar salad croutons and grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 servings.

SOLE POACHED IN TOMATOES AND WHITE WINE

INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 pounds sole fillets (or talapia); 3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes, drained; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley; 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 1 clove of garlic, minced; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1/4 cup half and half; 1 tablespoon soft butter; 1 tablespoon Wondra flour

Place fish in a non-stick skillet. In a bowl combine tomatoes, onions, parsley, seasonings, and white wine. Pour over fish. Put lid on skillet, leaving a crack for steam to escape. Poach fish for 5-10 minutes or until it flakes with a fork.

Take lid off skillet. Drizzle half and half around fish. Work the flour into the soft butter and add this roux to the fish sauce. Move the skillet in a circular motion over medium heat until sauce thickens. Serve with rice and butter lettuce salad. Makes 4 servings.

CHEDDAR SCALLOPED POTATOES AND TOMATOES WITH BACON

INGREDIENTS: 3 medium potatoes, washed but not peeled; 14 1/2- ounce can of diced tomatoes with juice; 3/4 cup frozen chopped onions; 1 1/2 tablespoons Wondra flour; 2 cups mild cheddar cheese, grated (may use Velveeta); 2.8-ounce package of real bacon pieces (the precooked recipe kind)

Coat a shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Cut potatoes into thin slices. Combine tomatoes, onions, and flour. Spoon a little of this sauce on the bottom of the baking pan. Layer potatoes, tomato mixture, bacon, and cheese in dish, ending with cheese. You should have enough for two layers.

Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Tent the dish with non-stick aluminum foil if the cheese browns too quickly. Cool for five minutes before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

Copyright 2005 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Before she became a health writer she was a food writer for the former “Rochester Magazine” in her hometown of Rochester, MN. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is avalable from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is also posted on Amazon.

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Leftover Turkey Recipes: 5 Delicious Ways to Make the Most of Your Festive Bird

By Elizabeth Martyn

Roast turkey is a great family favourite, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But after the feast, comes the question – how to use the leftovers? Here are five ways to make the most of your festive bird.

1. Leftover turkey sandwich recipes
   Use thick slices of turkey breast and add a little of the dark meat for flavour. Use different breads, like ciabatta rolls, baguettes, wholemeal bread, or toasted white bread.
   Add other ingredients, such as:
   • salad leaves like lettuce or spinach
   • sliced avocado
   • cherry tomatoes or thinly sliced beetroot
   • wafer-thin cooked ham
   • crumbled crispy bacon
   • sliced hard-boiled egg
   • soft cheeses, like Brie or Camembert
2. Leftover turkey salad recipes
   Use both white and dark meat. Cube or shred the leftover turkey.
   • Toss with toasted almonds, thin slices of fresh mango and soft salad leaves. Dress with a light vinaigrette.
   • Mix with cubed avocado, slivered yellow and red pepper, sweetcorn and halved cherry tomatoes. Dress with olive oil, whisked with lime juice and chilli.
   • Stir shredded turkey breast meat through cooled cooked thin rice noodles. Add shredded lettuce, matchstick slices of carrot and cucumber, and dress with a well-blended mixture of 2 parts light soy sauce to 1 part sweet chilli sauce.
3. Leftover turkey soup recipes
   • Add diced turkey to a basic vegetable soup recipe. Try it with celery and apple, in a chowder with sweetcorn, or as part of a spicy oriental soup, with noodles and shredded leaves.
   • Liven up turkey soup with herbs and spices. Try thyme and oregano, ground coriander, smoked paprika.
4. Leftover turkey and pasta recipes
   • Mix diced turkey into tomato and sweet pepper sauce and serve with rice or pasta.
   • Stir pesto through chopped leftover turkey for an instant pasta sauce.
5. Leftover turkey curry recipes
   • Turkey makes a great curry. Soften a chopped onion, add cubed turkey and curry paste. Cook for a few minutes, add stock. Stir well, simmer until turkey is heated throught. Serve with rice and naan bread.
   • Cook as above, but try red or green Thai curry paste, and use liquid made with creamed coconut grated into boiling water, or use canned coconut milk.If you have more leftover turkey than you can use straight away, carve off slices on the same day that the turkey was cooked, interleave with cling wrap, overwrap with foil, pack in airtight plastic bags, and freeze. Keeps well in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Elizabeth Martyn is webmaster at http://healthy-eating-made-easy.com, where she provides information, tips and recipes on using seasonal, fresh ingredients to feed the family healthily and without hassle.

Visit the site for more leftover turkey recipes and ideas for great family meals.

This article may be published electronically or in print in its entirety as long as the author by-lines in the resource box are included and urls kept live.

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My Famous and Easy to Make Sweet Potato Pie

By Lorna Darden

The smell of a hot fresh sweet potato pie on Thanksgiving is one of the best smells in the world. I’ve always looked forward to homemade pies on the holidays. It’s my favorite dessert besides banana pudding. If this is your favorite pie and you don’t know how to make it. This recipe is the easiest to follow. If you just want to impress someone with some homemade cooking my recipe will win the award. The ingredients are very simple and inexpensive. Hope you enjoy and are looking out for more of my recipes. With this recipe you can make three sweet potato pies. You will need:

• Five large sweet potatoes
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs (large)
• TBSP of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 stick and a tbsp of butter
• TSP of salt
• Three original pie crusts.
• Large bowl

First rinse potatoes with warm water. Get a large pot and boil water, put the potatoes in the boiling water and let boil for about at hour and a half. Until tender. While the potatoes are cooking turn the oven on 300. Sit the butter out on counter to soften. Once potatoes are done, let them cool off.

Peel all the skin off of the potatoes. Put them in a bowl and smash them with a potato smasher whisk or whatever you have. Try to get it creamy like mash potatoes. Add your butter, eggs, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon and a cup of sugar. Add in a half of cup of flour and stir. Then add the rest of the flour, mix well. Taste and see if it’s tasting like that good old sweet potato pie. If you need more sugar add it. Adjust to your taste; add a little more of each to get that taste you want if needed.

I don’t believe in measuring, I’m good when it comes to putting in the right amount of ingredients. It runs in my family. We all are great cooks and soul food is our specialty. All you need when it comes to making home cook meals is the right amount of love and soul that’s the secret to great cooking. Now, that the entire pie filling is ready you are ready to fill in your pie crusts. Pour filling into to the pie crusts. Do not over fill, leave enough room inside the crust so that the pie will rise and not drip out of the pan inside the oven. Tip: You can spray a little butter flavor cooking spray into the crust to give it that butter tasting flavor.

Put the pies into the oven and let cook for an hour. When done the top of the pie should be a nice brown color. Let cool for a half an hour or serve fresh out of the oven. That’s how you make sweet potato pie. Hope you enjoy and it’s um, um, so good. Remember eat in moderation.

For More Thanksgiving Recipes

http://www.wirelessdiva.wordpress.com

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My Thanksgiving Turkey

By Dorrie Ruplinger

The Thanksgiving turkey – why is it the cause of stress for so many people? I know I am not the only person who has viewed that turkey as my enemy on Thanksgiving because Butterball turkey has a hotline that receives thousands of calls each year from people with various turkey questions. The hotline typically starts operation by mid-November and runs until Christmas. The hotline is even available on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been making turkey for Thanksgiving for over 20 years and last year I finally got some tips that gave me a moist flavorful turkey that everyone at my Thanksgiving dinner actually had second and third helpings!

Over the years it seemed like I had tried just about every method of trying to cook the turkey. When I was first married I tried the traditional pan roasting method. But I forgot to buy my turkey until the day before Thanksgiving. And I bought a big one because I wanted to be sure to have enough turkey for everyone. Because I waited too long to buy my turkey and because I bought such a big one it wasn’t thawed by the time I needed to cook it, but I tried cooking it anyway. I ended up with a dry turkey overcooked on the outside and barely done in the middle. Oh, and I had lots and lots of leftover turkey because nobody liked it.

The following year I was busy with a baby and again forgot to buy my turkey in time to get it thoroughly thawed so I was up most of the night before Thanksgiving running cold water over my turkey to get it thawed. The turkey ended up turning out okay but I was so tired and crabby by the time I served dinner that I didn’t care whether or not the turkey was done.

Then a few years ago I got the bright idea to deep fry my turkey. Several people recommended it to me. They said a deep-fried turkey was delicious. I thought, “Deep-fried food is delicious. My turkey problems are solved!” So I bought a turkey fryer and two big containers of peanut oil for frying that turkey. But I didn’t buy any marinade to inject into the turkey against advice from lots of people.

My husband was in charge of deep frying the turkey in the garage while I was finishing up the side dishes in the kitchen. The directions said it would only take 30 minutes to deep-fry the turkey. Because we wanted the turkey to be nice and hot for dinner, my husband didn’t start cooking it until about 40 minutes before dinner. That seemed about right to us. I don’t know exactly what happened but that darn turkey took a whole lot longer than 30 minutes to cook. Instead of having turkey as our main course, we had it as a very late dessert! We thought that was okay though because the turkey looked deliciously brown and crispy when it came out of the fryer. But because we hadn’t seasoned it at all, it was pretty blah and bland. We learned the hard way that when everyone we ask recommends injecting a turkey with a marinade for flavor before cooking it, that it is probably a good idea. That year my Thanksgiving turkey cost me well over $150 when I calculated in the cost of the fryer, the oil, and the turkey. For that amount of money I could have ordered our entire Thanksgiving dinner from a local restaurant.

The next year I was listening to a local radio station one morning in early November when the female morning show host started talking about how she made her Thanksgiving turkey. She said the recipe was a little involved but that it made a delicious turkey. I was ready to give it a try. I downloaded and printed the recipe, all three pages of it. Making that turkey was like taking care of a baby for nearly two days. It had to be seasoned and put in brine; patted dry; seasoned again; then put in another brine to soak. Then I finally got to cook it. I was so proud of that turkey. I thought it was going to be the best tasting turkey ever since it was the most work I ever put in making a turkey. But that didn’t happen. Nobody liked the flavor of the turkey so I again had lots of leftovers that nobody wanted to eat.

At that point I decided I wasn’t meant to cook a turkey. A turkey and I just didn’t get along. So for two years I didn’t make turkey. But for some reason my family thought it wasn’t Thanksgiving without turkey. I wasn’t sure why they missed it. It never tasted good. Then I realized what it was. The Thanksgiving turkey was a yearly joke at our house and when I didn’t make one there was nothing to complain about. The turkey jokes couldn’t be made.

So last year I tried yet again. But I talked to my son who was taking a culinary arts course at the time for tips. He assured me he could help me make a better turkey. And he did. Our turkey last year was great. And making it wasn’t complicated. It was so tasty and so easy to make that I make turkey every couple of months.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY SIMPLIFIED

Ingredients:

One 5-6 pound turkey breast, thawed and patted dry

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

10-12 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 package from your grocer’s produce case)

1 cup water

Place turkey in a roaster. I use a Nesco roaster, but you can also bake it in the oven. Pour the water in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the turkey with the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the thyme springs on top of and around the turkey. Cover and bake according to the directions on the turkey package.

If baking the turkey in the oven, remove the cover during the last 30 minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the skin.

After taking the turkey out of the roaster or oven remove the thyme springs from the turkey and discard them. Let the turkey stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Dorrie Ruplinger is the publisher of http://www.thanksgivinginfozone.com which provides information and resources about Thanksgiving.

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Turkey the Old-Fashioned Way

By Janice Duplantis

There are many delicious ways to prepare and serve turkey. It might be deep-fried, brined, poached, grilled…to mention just a few methods of preparation. This article, however, will focus strictly on tips and techniques for preparing perfect turkey the old-fashioned way – oven roasted.

Basic Technique for Roasting a Turkey…

1. The safest method for thawing a frozen turkey is by allowing the turkey to thaw in the refrigerator. Be certain to plan ahead…it will take approximately 3 days for a 20 pound turkey to defrost.

2. Everyone wants to prepare enough turkey for the number of guests they serve, and generally desire to have some turkey left over. To determine the correct turkey size that will be needed, see the section below entitled ‘How Much Turkey is Enough?’

3. Cooking time will differ depending on whether the turkey was purchased fresh or frozen. Calculate approximate cooking time in a 350F (175C) oven based on the following: 20 minutes per pound for a defrosted turkey, and 10 to 15 minutes per pound for fresh.

4. A turkey will cook more evenly if it is not densely stuffed. As an alternative, flavor may be added by loosely filling the cavity with aromatic vegetables and/or fruit — carrots, celery, onions, apples, oranges, kumquats or garlic. Carefully tucking fresh herbs underneath the breast skin will also add flavor.

5. Before roasting, coat the outside of the turkey with vegetable or olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

6. For even roasting, it is best to truss the turkey, and especially so if roasting stuffed poultry. (See ‘How to Truss a Turkey’ below.)

7. Set the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan to promote maximum air and heat circulation and to ensure that it cooks evenly. To yield moister, juicier white meat, place the turkey ‘breast-down’ on the rack. This technique will prevent the turkey breast from overcooking and becoming dry.

8. Set the roasting pan on the lowest rack of the oven to keep the turkey away from the top, which is the hottest part of the oven.

9. Once the turkey is cooking in the oven, resist the temptation to ‘peek’ inside by opening the oven door. Opening and closing the oven door will cause the temperature to fluctuate, which will only increase the likelihood of a dry turkey. Avoid opening the oven door until approximately 45 minutes before the turkey expected to be done.

10. After checking for doneness (see ‘When is the Turkey Done?’ guidelines below), remove roasting pan from the oven, tent the turkey with foil and let it ‘rest’ for approximately 15 minutes before carving (see tips on ‘How to Carve a Turkey’ below). If additional time is needed to prepare gravy, heat up side dishes, etc., the turkey may be allowed to sit at room temperature (covered) for up to an hour without losing too much heat.

11. Refrigerate any leftover turkey within 2 to 3 hours of preparation. Store in airtight, shallow containers to allow adequate circulation of cool air; date and label the containers. Turkey may be safely stored refrigerated for approximately 5 days and frozen for up to 4 months.

================================

How Much Turkey is Enough?

On average, to provide 2 servings of turkey for each guest (and allowing for leftovers), the suggested weights are as follows:

> 10 pound turkey for 6 people

> 12 pound turkey for 8 people

> 15 pound turkey for 10 people

> 18 pound turkey for 12 people

> 21 pound turkey for 14 people

> 24 pound turkey for 16 people

- If you will be serving more than 16 guests (a recommended turkey size of more than 24 pounds), buy two turkeys that equal the total suggested weights.

- If the recommended turkey size is less than 12 pounds, you may wish to buy a turkey breast to roast.

================================

How to Truss a Turkey…

To ‘truss’ means to secure poultry or meat into a compact shape. Trussing will ensure even roasting. The following technique is recommended when roasting poultry, especially a stuffed turkey.

1. To truss with string, take a piece of butcher’s string about three times the length of the turkey. Place the turkey on its back, tail end nearest to you. Slide the string underneath so that it is cradling the turkey in the center of its back.

2. Gently pull the string up the sides…then around the wings. Pull the strings toward you, close to the breast, so that the wings are held against the body.

3. Cross the strings at the base of the breast, then wrap each string around the end of a drumstick.

4. Tie the ends of the string together, cinching it tightly so that the legs cross.

5. Finally, lift the turkey so that the tail end is up and wrap the string around the tail. Tie the string, pulling tightly so that the cavity is covered by the tail.

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When is the Turkey Done?

<> You will want to test your instant-read or traditional meat thermometer a few days before preparing the turkey to ensure it is properly calibrated. Place the thermometer in a pot of boiling water. It should register 212F (100C) — water’s boiling point at sea level. If the reading does not reach the desired temperature, you will want to buy a new thermometer.

<> Keep a careful eye on the thermometer during the last half hour of cooking since the internal temperature may rise rapidly toward the end.

<> Using a meat thermometer, test for doneness in the thickest, meatiest parts of the turkey:

Test the widest section of the breast near the wing joint; the temperature should be 165F (73C).

Test the legs at the top of the thigh, near the hip joint; the temperature should be 180 (82C).

If cooking a stuffed turkey, determine the internal temperature of the stuffing as well; it should be at least 165F (73C).

<> If using an instant-read thermometer, insert it deep enough to reach the heat sensor (the indentation about two-inches from the tip).

<> Also examine the juices and oils at the bottom of the pan that are released during cooking. If they have a pinkish tinge, continue roasting; if they are clear, the turkey is probably done. (Try to insert the thermometer as infrequently as possible, to prevent the juices from escaping.)

<> Another way of checking for doneness is to move the leg up and down. The looser it becomes, the closer it is to being done.

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How to Carve a Turkey…

To carve a turkey, it is essential that you use a sharp carving knife and a good, heavy-weight fork. The following instructions will make carving a turkey almost effortless.

1. Begin by cutting through the skin where the leg meets the breast. Pull the leg away from the body with the fork and continue to cut down, close to the body, to find the joint where the thigh meets the body. Pull the leg out further and slice right through the joint to remove the leg and thigh.

2. Place the leg skin-side down and locate the line at the joint where the thigh and the drumstick meet. Holding your knife along this line of the thigh, you can slice easily through the joint. If you hit resistance, adjust your angle and try again. Cut down through the line and separate the thigh from the drumstick. Repeat this process with the other leg.

3. Remove the wishbone (actually the collarbone) from the turkey. Removing the bone will prevent it from splintering when you carve the breast meat.

4. Next, run your knife through the skin along one side of the breastbone. Then cut down along the ribs, pulling the meat gently away from the bones in one large piece, leaving behind as little meat as possible.

5. When you reach the wing joint, cut through it and continue to remove the breast from the body. Repeat with the other side.

6. Finally, remove the wings and slice the breast meat before serving. (For even, attractive slices, cut the meat against the grain.)

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So, there you have it…everything you need to know about successfully roasting a turkey.

As you can see, preparing a turkey by adhering to the techniques above is not at all difficult. The small amount of effort you invest will be well rewarded when the final product reaches the serving table and your guests rave about how absolutely marvelous it is. Just remember one thing – serving a juicy, flavorful roasted turkey does not have to be reserved solely for the holiday season – it’s wonderful anytime of the year.

Copyright ©2005 Janice Faulk Duplantis

Janice Faulk Duplantis, author and publisher, currently maintains a web site that focuses on both Easy Gourmet and French/Cajun Cuisine. Visit http://www.bedrockpress.com to see all that Bedrock Press has to offer. Janice also publishes 4 free monthly ezines: Gourmet Bytes, Lagniappe Recipe, Favorite Recipes and Cooking 101. Visit http://www.bedrockpress.com/subscribe.html to subscribe.

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Thanksgiving on a Calorie Budget

By Tory Klementsen

Just because Thanksgiving is, traditionally, a feast doesn’t mean it has to be a high calorie feast. It’s actually a meal that is relatively easy to make into a tasty, healthy feast.

Turkey is extremely low in fat, particularly the white meat of the breast at just 30 calories per ounce (without skin), it’s a high protein, lowfat bargain. Remember that a 4 ounce serving (120 calories) is about the size and thickness of a deck of cards.

Mashed potatoes can be made with fat free chicken broth instead of milk or, heaven forbid, cream. I make mine with broth, lots of garlic, parsely, and after they’re mashed, while still hot, I like to take 2-3 (serving 4) wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese and mix it in…not well, so that there are “stripes” of cheese flavor.

Cranberry sauce can be made fresh with lemon and orange zest, sweetener (to replace the sugar), and cinnamon. Get fresh berries and heat in a pan to let them release their juice. Add the juice of the orange and lemon, zest in some zest, then sweeten to taste. Of course some of us wouldn’t call it Thanksgiving if we didn’t hear the telltale sound of the *shlonk* from the jellied cranberry sauce sliding out of the can, so remember that 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce is 110 calories.

Add a big salad, and roast up some fresh in season vegetables..sprinkle (or provide) fresh sea salt and ground pepper and who needs butter and sauces?

For bread I love Great Harvest Bread. I’ll choose something that just speaks to me, made fresh, and picked up Wednesday afternoon. Sorry, I just can’t do “diet bread” on Thanksgiving.

Lately I’ve been enjoying REAL pumpkin pie. I make a low-fat, low sugar version that isn’t quite as good as the real thing, but comes to 135 calories per slice and is a great substitute with some Cool Whip Free.

If you’re not in control of Thanksgiving meal, you can still make it work without completely derailing your hard work. One thing I’ll do is take the “mystic” out of the meal. I host my own Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before and invite friends. That way I can control what I cook, make the turkey EXACTLY how I want it, and when the real day comes, I haven’t been jonesing for turkey all month. The meal then becomes more about who I am with than what I am eating.

Other things I’ll do:

Often the local YMCA hosts a workout. Bring a bag of food and work out for free. Roy and I will run down the Y (one mile), work out in their step class or other cardio class, then run home. That’s a good 500-700 calories burned! Maybe this year, if they aren’t doing it, I’ll host my own fun run!

• Pre-journal everything I know I’ll eat. I know I’m going to have turkey, potatoes, and salad. I’ll journal that and the cranberries, plus anything else I bring. Going in with a plan lets me stick to my target.
• Bring a dessert…that’s where the calorie creep happens! I bring my pumpkin pie, or I make a pumpkin cake. I know the calories for both of those items, so I’m prepared!
• Enjoy the cut veggies beforehand. Often I’ll volunteer to bring this too so I can make the dressing myself and control the ingredients.
• Focus on fun and the family, not on the food. The holiday is about what you’re thankful for not what you put in your belly! ENJOY the food for what it is, a reason to get together with people you don’t see very often.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving

Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Tory’s Pumpkin Pie

1 Keebler graham cracker crust
1-1.5 cups cooked pumpkin (micro a full sugar pumpkin for 15 min then let cool)
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
1 pkg fat free, sugar free vanilla pudding
1 cup water
2 egg whites

Mix together spices and pudding. I prefer cook and serve, but suddenly can’t find cook and serve at the store. Add water and mix out the lumps. I then throw the entire thing into my 44 year old Vitamix (except the pie crust, obviously) and mix well so there are no pump-lumps (pumps? plumps?). Pour into shell, bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Perfection! I might need less water, though. It depends on how liquidy the pumpkin is.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

* 1 box Angel Food Cake Mix

* 1 can pumpkin (or the pumpkin from one small sugar pumpkin)

* 1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice

* Cool Whip Free

Pre-heat oven according to directions on the angel food cake box. Fold pumpkin into the angel food cake. Bake Prepare bundt cake pan with Pam and flour. Pour into pan and bake according to box.

This comes out kind of like a sponge cake and is SO moist. No one will ever know how easy it is! Top with Cool Whip Free for a dessert that comes to approximately 140 calories for 1/8 of the cake.

Cranberry Relish

* 12 oz cranberries (fresh)

* 1 medium orange

* 1 small lemon

* 2 small apples, cored, peeld and chopped

* 1 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp ground allspice

* 1 cup water

* Sweetener to taste

Zest orange and lemon and add zest to cranberries. Peel the oranges and chop. Juice the lemon into the berries. Add the apples and oranges to the berries, along with the spices. Heat berries, mashing slightly to release the juice. Add water as needed. Add sweetener to taste.

Tory Klementsen is a formerly “flabulous”, currently fabulous Certified Personal Fitness Professional who has “been there and done that”. She has lost and maintained a loss of over 100 pounds since 2002. Her focus is on helping others find their inner-athlete and reaching their goals through true, lasting lifestyle changes in fitness and nutrition. Tory coaches clients both in person and through her personal training website at http://www.journeyfitnessonline.com She gets what it takes to make a decision to change and see that decision through to the end, and she’s ready to help YOU reach your goal and get lasting results.

Are you ready to take your first step on a journey that will change your life? Come and see Tory at http://www.journeyfitnessonline.com

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