Last year our Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch. I’d like to say it was five years of practice that made it so, but I can’t take all the credit for how things came together. My whole family all worked together to make our Thanksgiving a feast that we could enjoy, but not keel over from. Below are some of the things we did that enabled me to enjoy the leftovers for days afterward without feeling Thanksgiving’d out.

We ate early

We skipped the appetizers and dug straight into the meal at around 4:30. This way we had ample time to digest before dessert. I can’t speak for my guests, but I know I didn’t feel nearly as stuffed as in past years. We were able to enjoy all of the food throughout the day. Our family was able to spend all day together without much worry on what everyone would eat.

We made more than we would need and packed it up right away

We had plenty of leftovers to feed our out of town guests with a minimum of hassle because we packed everything up in plastic containers right after we ate. Nothing went to waste and everything was preserved at its freshest.

We split the work

I drafted up a schedule of preparations the night before that gave each of us jobs to do. We didn’t plan it this way, but us young’uns did the cooking and the parents took care of the cleaning. Everything was back to normal before bedtime and I don’t think any of us were especially exhausted. It was comforting to know we wouldn’t have to wake up to a mess in the morning.

What are some of the ways your family handles the big day?

I’ve written before about how having a well stocked pantry makes it easy for me to choose to cook every night instead of eating out. A well stocked pantry means different things to different people. For me, it means having versatile ingredients around that are as ready as possible to use at a moment’s notice. It also means having items around that won’t spoil, and knowing how best to store items that will.

Dried Beans and Grains

I’ve written a lot about keeping dried beans around, and Jen’s last post about red beans and rice is a great way to put them to use. But how best to store dried beans so that they are always on hand? I like to keep them in glass jars. They are pretty that way, and generally protected from insects that might be attracted to them. An airtight container also helps to keep them generally free from too much moisture. Usually I save jars any time I buy something that comes in one, clean them thoroughly and take off the labels by soaking in hot soapy water. This gives me jars of all shapes and sizes to use for storing any manner of dried good. I think I may have developed a bit of a love for jars, especially since I’ve started following Food in Jars.

I do the same thing with grains, though usually in bigger plastic containers, since I tend to keep around much greater quantities of each grain.

Aromatics and Spices

I always have a few fresh aromatics around, such as garlic, onions, and ginger. Garlic goes in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator, still attached until I’m ready to use it. Onions go in a bin on a pantry shelf (though in the summer heat, I’m considering finding a darker, cooler place to put them).

Ginger gets a different treatment, however. I used to keep it in the vegetable bin with the garlic, but I often found that it would get a little moldy or dried out before I was able to finish it all. And then I tried freezing it. That was the best trick I’ve ever found for storing ginger. Just pop a few fingers of ginger into an airtight freezer bag and put them in the freezer. Take out pieces as you need them.

Freezing causes many raw aromatics to get mushy, but since I usually pulverize ginger with a microplane when I use it, I don’t really care about maintaining its natural texture. Even better, frozen ginger is ridiculously easy to peel, and even easier to grate because the ice crystals that form during freezing have already broken down the tough fibers of the rhizome. So there are two wins – the ginger can be kept for longer (meaning that it is always on hand for making my favorite dish), and it is even easier and faster to break down when I do wish to use it.

We always keep a good amount of our favorite spices around. My favorite trick with spices has been to make a mix of the spices we use the most frequently so that they are always on hand and easy to throw into any dish. We’ve done this with our own blend of taco seasoning (a mix of cumin, granulated garlic, cayenne, bouillon) and gyro seasoning.

Getting things out of those jars

It’s all well and good to keep a well stocked pantry, but what happens when you’ve stored something too well? In our house, there always seems to be a sneaky little gnome or something that goes around tightening jars. No problem, though, because Jen came up with my favorite trick to get just about any jar open, no matter why is it sticking. Put a big rubber band on it, and just twist off the cap! For those repeat offenders, just leave the rubber band there.

Stay tuned – next time I’ll talk about how I freeze just about everything for later use.

Last year's perfect turkey, dark meat platter

If you’ve never bought a turkey before, it can be overwhelming to try to understand all the differences between them. There are plenty of guides, but there are so many of those too, it’s hard to know what will be best. In my family we have always chosen frozen kosher turkeys, but even if you don’t keep kosher there are plenty of good reasons to choose a kosher turkey. This cuts down the options a bit, which in this case, is a good thing.

Last year's turkey getting a feather inspection

My favorite reason is that kosher turkeys, like all koshered meat, have already been brined. This results in saltier meat that is more likely to retain its moisture during cooking. Sure, you could brine any turkey yourself, but if you live in a tiny New York apartment like I do, you probably don’t have room for the equipment to do it right. And besides, I have enough other dishes to worry about on Thanksgiving, I’ll take the occasional shortcuts where I can find them. If you start with a kosher turkey, then you’ve got all the flavor you need inside the meat before you even start.

Our turkey from 2008, rubbed down with seasoning. Probably a bit too much seasoning, actually.

When shopping for a turkey for Thanksgiving, see if your regular grocery store has any kind of holiday special going on about a month before the holiday. Stores will often have promotions that give away a turkey, or discount a turkey, if you spend a certain amount at the store over a certain period of time. This can help reduce the cost since a kosher turkey will be slightly more per pound than an non-kosher one.

2006's turkey getting a flip with ziptop bags over oven mitts.

Preparing and Cooking the turkey

Makes enough turkey for 8-10 people, plus leftovers

Prep time from fridge to table: Approximately 6 hours

Equipment:

• Roasting pan
• Tin foil

Ingredients:

• 14-16 lb kosher turkey
• 1-2 tbs paprika (mix in hot or smoked if desired)
• 1 tbs freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 tbs kosher salt
• olive oil

1. If the turkey is frozen, defrost for at least 4 days in the refrigerator before you plan on cooking it. Defrost by putting the whole turkey, wrapping and all, into a big bowl or watertight container, and putting the whole thing, uncovered, into the fridge. This way, any loose liquids or condensation can drip into the bowl and not all over the rest of your food.
2. Once the turkey is well thawed and the day to cook it has arrived, put the bird in the (freshly scrubbed clean) sink, and open up the wrappings. Rinse with cold water, inside and out. There may be a packet of extra goodies in the cavity, or a neck, or both. Remove these and save for another dish or for stock-making.
3. Kosher turkeys tend to have more feathers left on the wings and tail than the average Butterball because of the way they are processed, so it’s a good idea to inspect and remove any that you find. A clean pair of tweezers usually does the trick. Once you are satisfied with the cleanliness of your turkey, dry it off with some paper towels and put it into your roasting pan. It’s probably a good idea to clean out your sink again at this point.
4. Mix together the dry seasonings in a bowl. Rub the turkey inside and out with olive oil. This will help crisp the skin and help the seasonings stick. If you have a kitchen helper, have them shake the seasonings over the turkey while you rub it into and under the skin. Make sure to cover every spot of the turkey with some of the rub. Any excess seasoning can be left in the cavity.
5. Face the turkey breast down in the roasting pan. Cover with a tent of aluminum foil.
6. Put into a 350 degree oven with a timer to check on it in 2.5 hours.
7. Take the turkey out of the oven and prepare to flip it. One of the most successful ways we have ever flipped the turkey has been to cover oven mitts in clean plastic produce bags, plastic wrap, or gallon sized ziptop bags, and just picked up the turkey and turned it over in the pan. This way you’ve got a good hold on it (remember, it’s hot!) and you don’t tear into it the way tongs might. I’ve seen “turkey flippers” in fancy cookware stores, and I suppose those could also work, but our method has always served us well. However you do it though, flip it so that it is breast up.
8. Before putting it back in the oven, you can salvage some of the liquid from the bottom of the pan for the gravy, stuffing, or even the mashed potatoes depending on how you like them. Much of it will evaporate in the last hour of cooking, so it is best to collect it now.
9. Return the turkey to the oven without the aluminum foil tent and let it roast for one more hour.
10. At the end of the hour, the flesh on the legs should be pulling away from the bone and the skin should be crisp and brown. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover it back up with the foil tent to rest for an hour.
11. Once the turkey has cooled down enough to touch, you can carve it. I like to separate white meat and dark meat onto different platters, but you can, of course, organize the perfectly carved turkey however you prefer.

Cooked this way, you’ll barely need gravy because all of the meat will be moist and flavorful on its own. Not that I’d ever pass up gravy, I just put it on my mashed potatoes instead.

2005: My first turkey, right before being flipped (tin foil tent was removed for the photo).

One year ago: Bacon Waffles (you can use any kind of bacon for these!)

Last year I thought of all kinds of things to say to all of you about my favorite holiday, but I thought of it all too late. I mean, really, who needs Thanksgiving tips a week after you’ve passed out from feasting? This year, I’m going to get my Thanksgiving started early. I have so many things to be thankful for this year, and I want to share the great resources I have with you early enough to be useful.

To me, Thanksgiving is about gathering together the ones you love, and showing them how much you love them by feeding them tasty foods made with care. One could probably argue that a lot of holidays are like this, but I like this one most because there’s no better reason to celebrate than thanks. Thanks for being alive, being with the ones you love, having more than enough to go around (because we truly are extremely lucky in that respect), and for being able to share it all. And unlike some religious holidays, I know I always get this one off from work. So really, it’s a time for guilt-free expression of joy. But enough with the sentimentality, on with the food!

In terms of Thanksgiving, there are few people I can give more thanks to than Alton Brown. The techniques I’ve gleaned from him over the five years I’ve been making Thanksgiving dinners for my family and friends have transformed me from a master re-heater to a proficient saucier. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it a lot here, but sauces are my favorite things to make, and it’s really all thanks to Alton (my arteries probably don’t feel the same gratitude). He explained the word “roux” to me and it was all gravy from there.

But specifically in the world of turkey and turkey day accoutrement, Alton has outdone himself. There are a series of clips available on Hulu right now which dissect each task of the Thanksgiving day chef into an easy to understand, practically foolproof set of concepts. From jellied cranberry sauce to perfect mashed potatoes to the entire bird with stuffing, he’s got us covered.

And while Alton has taught me tons over the years, no one has taught me more than the women in my family, for which I am endlessly thankful. My mother knows poultry and so I’ve always been lucky enough to have a fail-proof turkey technique just a phone call away. This turkey is always perfect. I mean look at last year’s spread. That was some moist turkey. Stay tuned for my turkey advice.

Because of my family, I’ve always had a strong tradition of holiday feasts to look back to when coming up with a menu. Family or tradition can be a great resource. What were your favorite Thanksgiving dishes growing up? I like tradition, but I also like to try new things. I try to balance the meal with some old family standards, and mix in some new flavors from my friends. For example, the way I make turkey and gravy is generally the same year to year, but with stuffing, Jen’s family’s cornbread-style recipe is more adventurous. This way there’s something familiar and something new at the table for everyone.

If you’ve never done a Thanksgiving feast before, it can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. The first time we attempted a Thanksgiving dinner, we made the dishes we knew we could handle (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes), and bought the dishes we weren’t yet sure how to make (cranberry sauce, gravy, pies). Over the years, we increased the number of dishes we made from scratch, until we’d got the day down pat. Now we even make our own pies. But remember, we didn’t start there and you don’t need to either! Each year, we learn a bit more, and take tips from the masters in our lives on how to get each component right.

I’m going to try to post my best Thanksgiving tips each week until the holiday. If there’s anything you want to know more about, leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to get it in.

One year ago: My Grandma’s Vegetable Soup

Related posts:

1. Thanksgiving
2. A Simple Turkey, a retrospective

Because it’s been so beautiful out, we’ve changed some of our usual eating and cooking habits for the summer. We’ve been eating out a bit more and have been sharing more meals with friends. To counteract the cost of eating out more often, we’ve slowed down our grocery shopping routine (Incidentally that is not very hard to do considering you don’t need to cook as often if you eat out more).

Despite the fact that we haven’t really shopped in the last month, we’ve still been eating about as well as we usually do (one disclaimer: I’ve had a ton of fresh greens and herbs from our local community garden that I wrote about last time). That’s why you haven’t seen much of me here, I’m cooking some old favorites over and over again. It’s times like these where I’m really proud of my home cooking experience and the ability to keep a well stocked pantry and freezer.

Not writing blog posts (sorry about that, really), has also given me time to read some other great posts. These two say it all better than I ever could, and also came at the perfect time:

• A Guide to Using Dry Beans for Cooking by Trent Hamm over at The Simple Dollar – Trent has been posting some great frugal cooking guides this summer. I loved this post because I too have recently found the joys of keeping dried beans. I just throw each whole bag into a jar when I bring them home from the store, and they can last almost forever. I can throw a handful or two into any soups I’m making (skipping the soaking step isn’t ideal but can be done), or soak some all day for an easy dish that night. So many varieties of beans are healthy, delicious, cheap and easy to keep around. Dried beans are also easier to lug home from the grocery store than cans – which is important when you live in a 4th floor walk-up.
• At GetRichSlowly – Reader Story: How I Save Tons of Money by Grocery Shopping Once Every Three Months. This post’s title is slightly misleading as the author does get vegetables from a CSA biweekly, but the idea behind it rings true: shop less often and you’ll save money. Another point she makes that I believe in is that cooking out of your pantry forces you to be a little more creative with how you put meals together, and helps you develop a sense of what works together.

These two posts reminded me a bit of the sort of topics I want to cover here at Get Cooking: being creative and unafraid in the kitchen, cutting costs without sacrificing health or flavor. Stay tuned for some new recipes straight out of the pantry!

One year ago: Collard Greens with Chick Peas

As promised, following up from last weekend, here are the results of the Mother’s Day soul food feast. I think the pictures practically speak for themselves. The food was a triumph! The only problem now is that since I know how very easy it is to make perfect fried chicken at home, I’ll want it all the time. I made a few adjustments to the recipes that were new to me (I can never resist). Keep reading for notes on how I made the perfectly fried chicken, sweet potato wedges and corn pudding.

My concerns about the crust on the fried chicken not being crispy enough if left to steam in the oil were unfounded. I followed Paula Deen’s grandmother’s recipe, as mentioned last week, except that I fried the chicken in vegetable oil instead of shortening. I set up less than an inch of oil in an enameled cast-iron French oven because I wanted to make sure I had a good lid to cover the chicken after it crisped. The cast iron also helped regulate the heat and keep the oil as hot as it needed to be to get a good fry over the course of many batches.

After the chicken had one flip, I covered the pan and lowered the heat just a little bit. For the dark meat, I left it covered for about 8 minutes, flipped the pieces and re-covered for another 5 minutes or so until I was sure the meat was done. The white meat cooked a bit quicker. Each piece was drained on paper towel and eaten right away. My mother, the chicken expert, said she had never had homemade fried chicken that didn’t come out either burnt, greasy, or too dry. This chicken was none of those things. The meat was moist and fell away from the bone (when there was a bone to fall away from). The crust was perfectly crunchy and golden, and not greasy at all.

While the success should certainly be attributed to the great recipe I followed, I also think it had something to do with the chicken I used. I bought two chickens on Saturday and butchered them myself that night. This was not only cheaper than buying pre-cut pieces of chicken; I got to trim all the parts to my own taste and not waste a thing. My best move, I think, was to take all of the white meat off the bone so that it could have as much surface area for crispiness as possible. All of the parts that didn’t make it into Sunday’s dinner went into my freezer stash for building chicken stock. And since the pieces were bought right before I needed them, I never had to freeze them, which surely increased their tenderness.

I just gave them a little dry rub with some seasoned salt and pepper the night before and they were ready to be battered and fried according to the recipe right before dinner the next day. Since my favorite part of fried chicken is the crispies on the outside crust, the only thing I would change when making this chicken again is to add salt and pepper to the flour dredge.

I didn’t have a recipe for the sweet potato wedges, and I was a bit worried about how to get them to come out crispy instead of mushy. After doing a bit of internet research, I gleaned tips from various blogs and threads and came up with a process that worked great for me. I cut the sweet potatoes into wedges, skins on. I soaked the wedges in cool water for 30-40 minutes. Then I let the wedges drain in a colander, preheated the oven to 400 degrees,  and lined two cookie sheets with parchment paper. I lined up the wedges on the parchment paper with plenty of space between so the potatoes would roast and not steam.

The wedges went in completely naked, without any seasoning or oil. Then, 15 minutes later, I gave them a flip and let them continue to cook until done. It took a couple of batches, but I was determined not to let them be mushy, so the extra time was worth it. The final product was tasty without adding any extra seasonings, but when I make them again I may decide to toss the wedges in a bit of sea salt the moment they come out of the oven, to encourage the flavors within each wedge to surface.

For the corn pudding, I mostly followed Paula’s corn casserole recipe. I didn’t have a box of corn bread mix on hand, so I just added the dry ingredients following a corn bread recipe I had on hand. If you do this, just substitute the box of mix with 1 1/2 cups corn meal, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp salt. I also left off the cheddar cheese, since my mom is not a fan. I might want to play with this recipe a bit more to get it a bit more pudding-like, but all in all, it was a delicious sweet and savory side.

The chicken was crispy, and oh so tender, savory and meaty. The sweet potato wedges had a satisfying crunch to them, along with a hint of caramelization. The corn pudding had firm little kernels that popped in my mouth, surrounded by a full-bodied spoon-bread, and was sweet, fresh and mild. The different textures and flavors of these three dishes, along with the moist bitterness of the red swiss chard and chick peas, came together in great harmony. The whole family really enjoyed everything, and all the extra chicken I made was gobbled up, which is a great sign of a meal well done.

All of this frying and experimenting with corn has got me craving something else wonderful, so expect to see me frying up some corn fritters here soon. I have a new recipe for them that I just can’t get enough of!

One year ago: Gyros Revisited: Beef

Related posts:

1. Mother’s Day Soul Food

I know you probably think I’ve posted the same dish twice in a row. And honestly, considering the month I’ve had, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had done that. But no, I’m not that absent-minded (yet). This risotto has an even more winding origin than the last one I posted. If you are actually craving something like Roasted Red Pepper Risotto, I assure you there are far easier ways to come by it. One day I’ll probably try to figure one out. That day was not today.

I bought two gigantic red bell peppers on sale this week and I wanted to try something new with them. I found a tasty sounding recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Tomato soup on Recipezaar. I’ve had some luck finding inspiration on that site before so I decided to give it a try.

We roasted the peppers in the broiler, turning every thirty seconds or so, until the skins were more or less black and blistery. Then we put the peppers into a paper bag and left them to cool. We peeled the burnt and crackled skin off and de-seeded the slippery roasted peppers. We gathered the rest of the ingredients. We didn’t know what the “chili paste” listed might be in this case, so I fashioned something out of dried chili flakes and hot sauce. We followed all the rest of the steps as written, and then blended it into a nice smooth soup. It was such a gorgeous red, I couldn’t wait to taste it.

What I haven’t mentioned, however, is that I have been fighting off a particularly bad sinus infection these last several weeks, and so my sense of smell, and therefore, taste, has been compromised. I can’t really tell – everything tastes fine to me. My mouth doesn’t seem to know what it is missing. However, when someone else tastes what I’ve prepared, I am reminded how off my senses are right now.

Neither of us is afraid of spiciness, so when Jen tasted the soup and announced that she couldn’t stomach eating more than a spoonful of it, I knew the spiciness must be really bad. I had been so worried about whether or  not the taste of roasted pepper would come through the tomato that I hadn’t even thought about how much spice I had added, or how it would intensify after being pureed.

After working so hard on such a beautiful soup with such prime ingredients, I couldn’t bear to let it go to waste, but it was late, we were both hungry and tired and there was just nothing that could be done to salvage it at that moment. I packed it away for the night, and we munched on the garlic matzoh we had made for dipping instead. I vowed to try again the next day.

I knew I couldn’t trust my senses alone if I wanted to fix this dish. We brainstormed ways we could cool the soup down to a point where it would be edible. First we thought of adding some dairy, to dilute it and nullify the heat. Unfortunately, the heat was too strong for that plan to be effective. The only other option we could think of was to use the soup as the liquid in a risotto. Since we had so recently made a tomato risotto, I was reasonably sure it would work. I crossed my fingers that it would take the heat down enough notches.

I started the risotto as usual, with about half a cup of finely chopped onion and a bit of olive oil in a pot. Then I added about 3 cups of long grain rice and allowed it to toast lightly and get coated with oil. Then we added a cup of the soup and  cup of water at a time, stirring and adding more even amounts of the liquids until the rice puffed and became creamy.

Somehow, magically, the risotto came out as the soup should have. Just a hint of spice, a creamy texture with notes of both roasted red pepper and tomato. It was delicious and I will have the leftovers for lunch this week. I didn’t get to have the soup I was planning on (next time I make it I won’t add spice until much later on in the process, and hopefully I’ll have my sense of taste back by then too), and the experience definitely wasn’t one I’ll willingly repeat, but it turned out delicious in the end anyway.

Hopefully you won’t take the above as instructions on how to make what turned out to be a fabulous dish. The real lesson I would want you to take away from this is that cooking is a creative pursuit. There is no one way to do anything. No matter how badly you think you’ve ruined a dish, a little creative thinking can probably remedy it. Just be patient with yourself and your ingredients and try to think outside the box.

I never would have thought about making risotto like this, but this winding road led me to an unlikely but appetizing dish. Now I’ve still got half the soup left – any ideas on what I could use the rest of it for?

One year ago: Tangy Pineapple Shrimp with Okra

Related posts:

1. Tomato and Sausage Risotto, à la Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart

What do you do when you become to busy to cook consistently? Hopefully, you have the foresight to stock your freezer with reheatable home cooked items. Happily I did manage to have a sense that things were going to get hectic around here and I was able to pack the freezer with these tasty little packages. I only wish I had thought to do the same with some larger meals, but well, hindsight is always twenty/twenty.

Still, there’s no need for you to suffer with take-out or instant foods for every meal just because your schedule has become too packed to keep fresh food around. These burritos are easy, flexible, and are a perfect example of a simple on-the-go meal that can run the gamut of flavors. I got the idea from The Simple Dollar’s Bulk Breakfast Burritos recipe but alternated some of my own favorite fillings to make them suitable for any time of day.

Recipe: Freezable bean burritos with a zing

Makes 8 burritos (multiply as needed)

• 8 medium or large flour tortillas
• 8 pieces of American cheese
• 2 batches of “Unfried” Black Beans mixed with a dollop of your favorite hot sauce
• 1 batch of Guacamole

1. Fill each tortilla as show above.
2. Fold the left and right sides in and then roll the bottom up until the burrito is closed. This is also explained, with photos, in the Simple Dollar recipe.
3. Wrap the burrito in plastic wrap. Freeze.
4. When you wish to eat, remove from the plastic wrap, wrap in a paper towel, and defrost in a microwave for about 2 minutes (power level – 50%), and then heat on regular power for about 1 minute.

These gooey, zesty little packets have brightened many a work day when I’ve been too rushed for breakfast or lunch. What are some other ingredients you would add to your frozen burritos? I’m about to make another batch and I want to plant some variety in my freezer this time.

One year ago: Vegan Extra Cheesy Grits

This picture would have been discarded if I hadn't noticed a longing face poking in.*

Half sour pickles, sometimes called “new pickles”, weren’t my favorite growing up. They were overlooked in the quest for the most lip-puckering sour garlic pickles. As my taste buds matured, however, I came to appreciate the more delicate saltiness of a good half sour pickle. From what I’ve noticed, half sours are made from very similar recipes to full sours, but are not left to ferment for as long.

After my recurring failure to make a good sour pickle, I experimented with the less intimidating half sour. I used the same recipe I had been tooling with since the summer. The first time I made them, I found the chips to be a little too small, so instead of using Kirby cucumbers the second time, I used some large jersey cucumbers. You could even use a long seedless cucumber (the kind that come in shrink wrap) for nice large sandwich chips.

Half sour pickles in their jar

I found this recipe on the blog Fork This. The procedure is very similar to the Bread and Butter pickles, except that the cucumbers pickle in salt brine rather than vinegar.

Arthur Schwartz’s Homemade Kosher Pickles adapted by David Lebovitz and Melissa Sands, Pickled Cucumber Recipe:

• 2 quarts water
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt – do not substitute table salt or sea salt
• 12-15 Kirby or small cucumbers, cleaned & sliced as desired
• 1 bunch of fresh dill, washed
• 1 teaspoon each: coriander, allspice berries, fennel seeds
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

In a large pot, heat water with the salt until dissolved.

Sterilize two 1-quart jars by running them through the dishwasher or filling them with boiling water and dumping it out.

Put two or three bushy sprigs of dill into each jar. Pack in the pickles, layering in each jar: 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mix, 2 bay leaves and 2 smashed garlic cloves.

Carefully pour in the brine to cover the cucumbers completely. Cover each jar with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band or kitchen twine. Store in a cool, dark place for 3-6 days. When they have reached the desired sourness, put on a lid and refrigerate.

Following these directions, you may end up with extra brine, which you can discard or use to pickle something else. I followed the recipe mostly as written, except that I put the jars straight into the refrigerator to keep them from souring deeply. The result was a crisp, light, salty, dilly pickle. They were great on burgers, sandwiches, and just straight from the jar.

*Incidentally, the face pining away for those Kirby cucumber pickle chips (or maybe just the burger underneath them) belongs to the sweet little dog we adopted this summer, also named Kirby.

One year ago: Being Gluten-Free and the Benefits of Whole Grains

Related posts:

1. Brine-less vacuum pickles
2. Bread and Butter Pickles
3. Lemon Pickles

Hunk of a traditional raclette cheese

While grocery shopping last week, I noticed a wheel of raclette cheese at the cheese counter. The sight of that cheese brought back warm memories of the first time I tasted it, during my time in France, with my host family gathered around the table on a cold winter’s night. The memory of raclette, the meal and the cheese, struck me as a great way to spend the holiday with family.

Raclette is a type of cow’s milk cheese from France and Switzerland. The cheese has a ripe scent and a mild flavor at room temperature. When melted, the scent can be very strong. The flavor also increases, but, if you are put off by strong cheese smells, don’t be in this case: the cheese flavor is subtle and complex when melted, much like other cheeses used for fondue.

Potato and hard sausage for smothering with raclette cheese

Raclette is also the name of a traditional dish of those regions. In sum, the cheese is  melted and scraped onto a plate of cooked potatoes, with cured meats and pickles (like gherkins and capers) on the side. Melting the cheese can be done in a variety of ways – traditionally the round of cheese was placed beside a fire and scraped onto potatoes as the surface melted. A more modern technique includes the use of a raclette party set which is a kind of hotplate that diners can cook foods on top of and melt cheese underneath in an individual non-stick tray (my French host family had one of these).

Slices of raclette prepared for melting

Without a fire or a raclette grill, however, you can just put slices of the cheese on a cookie sheet and heat in a conventional oven at up to 400 degrees. Just watch the cheese and when it is all melted, remove the tray from the oven and slide it over the potatoes, and eat immediately. The cheese will firm back up pretty quickly and while it will still be delicious as it cools, the signature flavor most noticeable when it is freshly melted. After cooking for days, an easy meal of raclette was a great way to get the family around the table without much effort.

Cinnamon bread spreads to the South

Of course, with all the time we saved cooking by making raclette, we decided to whip up a batch of that Chain Letter Cinnamon bread, this time adding some nuts for decoration. We brought a starter with us down to Jen’s southern family and now, since it has split into four new starters, we can safely say that this Amish bread has invaded the South!

One year ago: Syrian Lemon and Olive Chicken