Bob, as part of his Thanksgiving feast, sent along this shot of his Southwestern turkey that he rubbed with our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub and smoked over mesquite. Mmmmmmm....
I really like the fact that he also incorporated our rub into his "Green Baby Beans"- sauteed with mushrooms, red onions, garlic, Survival Spice and a cabernet wine sauce over polenta. A lot of imagination and hard work went into this, Bob. Well done, sir!
Bob, in Surprise, AZ, emailed me Friday with the menu he served on Thanksgiving this year. Wow! Lots of good stuff to peruse, and I dig the fact that he did a variety of poultry to feed all his guests, instead of just a turkey or two. The nicely printed menu they took the time to do is really cool, too. He sent along a picture of his Southwestern Turkey, and I'll post that next.
Thanks, Bob! Nicely done, sir.
If you've got a Thanksgiving pic to share, email me, and we'll help you show off your creation!
(Photo: Thanksgiving plate '06)
Instead of a Friday Funny this week, here's a shot of Thanksgiving dinner last night. Basic, traditional stuff, but really good- it's funny, but after working really hard to create more exotic and elaborate dishes, sometimes getting back to basics is a really great change in and of itself!
I roasted the turkey with Survival Spice™ rubbed inside and out, then stuffed the bird with apples and sweet onions. I roasted it at a pretty low temp this year, 325º until the last half hour or so, so the skin didn't get quite as crispy as usual but the meat was really moist.
The stuffing this year was simple- a light brown bread with onion, garlic, celery, apples and raisins, with lots of sage and thyme.
We had a old fashioned green bean casserole, only I used fresh green beans. It was a fun change, normally I'll do my green beans with crispy bacon, then thinly slice shallots and fry them to provide some crunch.
Mashed taters, gravy and a fresh cranberry sauce I make by pureeing fresh cranberries, oranges, and apples, with enough orange juice to sweeten it a bit.
How about you? I'm starting to get in some good Thanksgiving pics that I'll post next week, if you've got one, email me!
(Photo: Easy BBQ turkey with Survival Spice™ bbq rub, and stuffed with apples and sweet onion.)
Happy Thanksgiving from Desert Island Foods™.com! May your holiday be filled with great food, loved ones and gratitude. And great food.
Did I say 'great food' twice? Yep.
Dinner was simple last night- more of the Scaryaki Salmon I posted about, plus some pearl barley and sauteed veggies- a selection of bell peppers, mushrooms and red onion in Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, glazed with a good balsamic vinegar.
How about you? Cook anything good this weekend?
Happy Friday, all! I hope you've got something good cooking for the weekend.
Here's some great thoughts on drinking, sent to me by Janella, a virtual clearing house for the funny.
See you Monday, and thanks for reading!
Here's a thrown together meal that turned out pretty well, another of my "crap, it's dinner time what do we have in the fridge and what can i make out of it" situations, which sadly have become the norm.
I had some tri-tip cut into strips on hand, so I hit them with Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, and grilled them off with some onion, while I heated up some black beans, and sliced some Colby cheese. Threw some large tortillas on the grill after I removed the beef and onions, and made some quick burritos.
The trick with tri-tip cooked this way is to not overdo the heat, just a nice medium fire until they're medium rare.
The photo's not that good, I know, but the burrito was!
Julie files this report on the Honeycrisp Apple Phenomenon, along with a really cool picture:
Hi. I kept hearing about this new exciting type of apple called the Honeycrisp. I mean, if it's on the national news, it must be special, right?I bought some at the grocery store. They were $2.99 a pound, while the regular old golden ones were .99 a pound. I bought 2 to try. And they are good. Lots of taste and crunch. But I kept thinking they were going to have the slightest taste of honey. They don't. Unless I'm just unable with my long-abused tastebuds to pick up the nuances. Too many years of hot salsa?
I'm wondering if you've tried them and if so, didja like them?
I've sent a photo, and you have to admit that this particular Honeycrisp does not look all that happy. It has a "face" kind of like the angry tree on the Wizard of Oz. Perhaps it has already grown tired of the paparazzi.
I picked some up the other day, and I found I really like them. They seem less dense somehow, with a flavor somewhere between a Golden Delicious and a Granny Smith. Pricey, but worth it. Thanks, Julie!
Here's a refinement on the Scaryaki sauce I've posted about a few times here so far, with an adjustment for the salmon I had on hand.
I wanted something a little more traditional in terms of the sweetness a typical teriyaki sauce has, but with the heat in my "scaryaki" version, so I added a touch of honey to the usual blend of soy, hot chili garlic paste, and Sriracha hot sauce, with just a touch of sesame oil. After letting the fish marinade for about half an hour, I drizzled a bit of canola oil on the fish as my skillet was heating up. Why do I oil the fish, and not the skillet? Because if you do it this way, you'll have far less spattering, because there's no extra oil in the pan.
The honey I added this time forced me to change my cooking technique somewhat- instead of being able to sear the salmon at high heat, which of course would burn the honey, I settled on medium to medium high heat this time.
I served this with brown rice and a salad similar to the one in the Scaryaki Halibut post. Mmmmmm.....
So, cook anything good this weekend? Give!
Happy Friday, everyone! Another busy week is coming to a close, so here's a Friday Funny from Chuck that really had me scratching my head. Sometimes truth is stranger (and funnier) than fiction...
Have a great weekend! Cook something good, and email me a few pics to get us drooling!
The Novello version of Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva is nearly sold out after just two days! (The link is to the regular version, which is wonderful.) This an absolutely incredible product- fresh on the palette, grassy, with buttery overtones. The olives are grown on a family-owned organic orchard outside of Rome, and the quality is astounding!
Email me if you're interested, it will sell for $24.99.
Whatever your political flavor, get out there and vote today! As an aside, our shipment is going out to Operation Gratitude today, thanks again to all who donated! I'm going to leave the "Two For the Troops" ad up in the right sidebar so you can continue to help us spread the word and ask your friends and family to help, as they do shipments a few times throughout the year.
I've made meat loaf a lot of different ways, but this is the easiest yet so far! As much as I like meat loaf with chopped onion, or celery, or carrots, or even pine nuts, after getting home from work late one night I knew none of that was going to happen, and the results were still terrific.
This is so simple, but packed with flavor. A couple pounds of 80/20 ground beef- don't use that stuff packed in a cylinder so you can't see what you're getting, get something you can look at, or grind it yourself. Add an egg, a good glug of dijon mustard, a handful or two of parmesan bread crumbs I always keep on hand in the freezer, and of course plenty of our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub. Mix it well together by hand, but don't pack the heck out of it, you don't want a brick, this stuff is dense enough as it is!
Pack lightly into a loaf pan, and bake at around 350º for 40 minutes, then take it out and pour off the released grease and juices, so it can brown and not boil. Top it generously with ketchup and more Survival Spice, then bake at 375 until the loaf is done and the ketchup/SS mixture is browned nicely. Let it rest for 5 minutes, slice and serve.
This stuff makes amazing sandwiches, if you've got any left over. Which is unlikely, so make two, just in case...
Happy Friday, everyone! Another hectic week here, but here's something(s) to think about over the weekend, courtesy of Jim, thanks!!!
Have a great weekend. If you whip up something worthy of sharing, email me a few pics!
I've been notified that our supplier is headed to Italy for the harvest and the special first pressing of Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, called Novello. (The link is to the regular version, which is wonderful.) This an absolutely incredible product- fresh on the palette, grassy, with buttery overtones. The olives are grown on a family-owned organic orchard outside of Rome, and the quality is astounding!
I'll stock some if I get enough interest. This would make an incredible gift this holiday season, and would delight the food lover in your life! Email me if you're interested, it would sell for $24.99.
