more turkey sandwiches-

nothing special tonight- more turkey sandwiches-  but found this amazing tutorial on how to perfectly boil an egg!

Pork Loin smoking on an open fire....

Ok. so the fire's not open, it's contained in my Weber Kettle. So sue me.  Smoked pork, Mixed veg, and mashed potatoes for supper last night, carrying it to a friend's.





Pork Rub

• 1-1/12 C kosher salt- Iodized Table Salt Will NOT do for this application.
• 1T onion salt
• 1T Garlic salt
• 2 T Celery Salt
• 2T paprika
• 3T Black ground pepper
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1/4 c Black-strap molasses
• 1tsp Mace
• 1tsp Nutmeg (FRESHLY ground)
• 1tbsp ginger

I put the rub on the meat on Saturday afternoon, but I made a newbie mistake- I forgot to RINSE the meat before I threw it on the grill.  The result was a little more salty than I like.  Smoked this with Kingsford Briquettes, and applewood chunks.  Everyone liked it, despite the salt.


Remember to RINSE your meat- at least 1/2 hour in fresh water with one change of water before it goes on the grill.
This was a 6 lb loin, and took 1 1/2 hours on two low fires with a water pan between them.

it's begining to smell a lot like Christmas.....

especially in my kitchen, if Christmas smells like peppermint to you.

I should have double bagged the candy canes. really. maybe even triple bagged them.  because when I began to smack them to crush them, the bag split, and candy canes went flying all over the kitchen. 
These lovely treats were so simple to make, thanks to the tutorial on "Baked by Rachael"

They came out a little thick, but that's my inexperience. If you have to get one of the hearts, be careful. The second candy cane that forms the heart was supposed to show through the dark chocolate, and mostly doesn't!

Sunday- Planned Leftovers- Soup and Sandwiches

Autumn Chopped Salad

OK, I admit it- I don't have a panini press, but I DO have a George Foreman Grill. I love hot sandwiches in the fall and winter.The sandwich filling was inspired by this Autumn Chopped Salad I found on Pinterest

Smoked Turkey, Pear & Walnut Panini

2 C smoked Turkey, cubed
2 pears- 1 diced, 1 sliced
1 C chopped walnuts, divided (If you don't like walnuts, use whatever nut you like!)
Balsalmic vinegar, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
sliced cheese- something with some bite
softened butter
bread

• Toss the sliced pears in a little vinegar to prevent them from oxidizing.

• Place the turkey, half the walnuts, the cubed pear and the spices into your food processor.  Process until it forms a thick paste, scraping the work bowl several times.  add about 3Tbsp of Balsamic to the paste, and process until incorporated.
• mix remaining walnuts into paste for texture 
• Butter bread on one side only
• Place slices of bread , butter side down on your hot grill, Spread with paste, top with sliced pear, cheese and second slice of bread, butter side up. close grill, and cook until crisp and golden on both sides, and the cheese is melted.
• Serve immediately with hot soup and cold crisp salad . (Mine will be  Pacific's Cashew Carrot Ginger soup with a Romain salad with cranberry balsamic vinaigrette- what will yours be?)

Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 c fresh cranberries
1/2 c Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 c EVOO
Salt and white pepper to taste
sugar to taste

• process the cranberries until chopped very fine.  Add Cranberries and 1 tbsp or less sugar to jar,  stir to coat, add Vinegar and mix thoroughly (I processed the sugar and cranberries together)
  
•  add salt, pepper and EVOO, cover and shake until emulsified. Let sit at least 1 hour to allow flavors to combine. Keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week, in a tightly sealed jar.
• for less "crunch" in your dressing, you can microwave your cranberries until very hot, add the vinegar, then allow to cool before you add the oil and spices.

Saturday- Planned Leftovers- Turkey Goalers

So tonight is a recipe from a promotional  Minnegasco Modern Living Center recipe book from my childhood.  Mom says it's from somewhere between 1955 and 1962.  Tonight we're pairing these with baked potatoes, but you can serve alongside leftover veg from Thanksgiving, if you have any!

Turkey Goalers

1 baseball sized sweet onion, diced small
2-3 cups diced leftover turkey, white meat, dark meat or a mixture
3/4 c mayo
3-4 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1 loaf good bread ( I prefer white for this, because it is what I grew up with)
Sliced cheese.  We always used Velveta, but now I prefer a nice colby or mild cheddar.

In a large bowl, combine the mayo, sugar and mustard.  Add milk a little at at time until it is the consistency of salad dressing. (Do not leave out the sugar- the sugar is what binds with the milk.  There should not be enough in the dressing to make it sweet)  Add diced meat and onion, toss to coat. Refrigerate about 1 hour, to allow flavors to combine.

Lay slices of bread out on a cookie sheet- about 2 per person.  Top with turkey mixture, spreading it to completely cover slices of bread, and then top that with sliced cheese.  Place under the broiler until cheese bubbles, and edges of bread begin to toast.  Serve immedieately.

Time for the Turkeybird......

It's 8:45 am and I'm headed out to the garage to start the grill.  Hopefully WITH the chimney starter. Wish me luck. pics soon.  We're smoking a 20+ lb bird for Thanksgiving this afternoon.  According to Weber, that needs 13 minutes per pound- that's 260 minutes or 4 and 1/3 hours.  Dinner is at Three, so the Bird needs to be off the Grill by 2, so it can rest and get down to MIL's place in the 2:15- 2:30 range.  Counting Backwards- that means bird on the grill at 9:30 at the latest.  Time for Coffee and a cruller, and a grand and glorious washing of pots to make room to make pie fillings. 

The Turkey rub:

• 1-1/12 C kosher salt- Iodized Table Salt Will NOT do for this application.
• 1T onion salt
• 1T Garlic salt
• 2 T Celery Salt
• 2T paprika
• 3T Black ground pepper
• 1/4 c Brown sugar 
• 1tsp Mace
• 1tsp Nutmeg (FRESHLY ground)

The night before, Rub the turkey all over, inside and out with the salt rub.  Be generous, use it all.  Refrigerate, covered until time to grill the bird the next day. At this time, also get our smoking wood into water, if you are using big chunks.  they need to be thoroughly soaked before they go on the grill.  I'm using hickory this year, though I also was gifted some lovely apple-wood.

Build a pair of fires in your Weber kettle about 25 briquettes on each side.  Use rails or baskets to contain your fires, and place a disposable aluminum tray in between, with about 1" of water in the bottom.  Place your chunks of wood on the fires.

Back soon with pictures.

pie handles

Pumpkin Pie Tarts made with the Babycakes Pie Maker

Ok, so we're on batch 4 of 6  pumpkin pies for tomorrow.  Out of filling. Need to run get more pumpkin and condensed milk. and ground cinnamon.  And pie crusts- cause these are WAY too convenient.




Things I've learned:

• Pillsbury Pie crusts  make 6 bottom crusts for this baker per round- but you need to re roll to get crust 6. 

• I found a great tip on the web for these things- place a 1/2 inch wide strip of PARCHMENT PAPER under your pie crust before baking, with ends that stick up about an inch to each side.  Pies lift out of baker like a DREAM.

• DO NOT vent or sugar your top crust.  BIG MESS, blackened sugar and filling.
• Let cool longer than the recommended time- I've been letting mine sit 20 minutes between batches.
• The Pies are slightly larger than you would expect- the Pumpkin Pie Tart recipe says it makes 24- I got 15 out of it.

SO- it works perfectly with both single and double crust pies.  We'll see this afternoon how a crumb topping goes.