Tag Archives: cooking

Thanksgiving Cooking Plans…

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This is pretty much a reference for my own use.  Feel free to ignore.

Tonight –

  • Head straight home and get the turkey in the brine.
  • Go to Clearwater to pick up your number and shirt for the Turkey Trot
  • Stop by Publix on the way home to pick up some necessities.  Grab some subs while you are at it.
  • Prepare the spinach casserole and get it to “ready to bake” status
  • Make a loaf of french bread
  • Make the cranberry sauce

Tomorrow

  • Wake up at the ass crack of dawn.
  • Flip the turkey
  • Go run a 5k
  • Come home and start the Pumpkin Soup
  • Bake another loaf of bread
  • Clean
  • Put the Turkey in the oven around 2
  • Take the turkey out when it is done and cover.
  • Put spinach in the oven

When Come Back Bring Pie

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Weebl and Bob are copyright j. picking

Weebl and Bob are copyright j. picking

According to Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich there we must all accept that there are certain inalienable truths :  Prices will rise.  Politicians will philander.  You, too, will get old (and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders).

Oh, and Pie is greater than Cake.

Not many people are aware that Ms. Schmich included that in her original column.  Unfortunately that line was omitted from the printed article by a delusional cake loving typesetter named Gladys who worked for the printers.  It’s true.  My wife told me.  My wife….Morgan Fairchild!  Yeah, that’s the ticket!

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Random tidbits

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Because the day is wrapping up and I don’t want to start another project at this point.

The next book in the Anita Blake series, Micah, is set to hit the stores on February 28th. You can read the first two chapters of it here. Having done so, I have to admit that I’m not all that excited about the book. I’ll buy it, and I’ll read it, but it really seems like the same formula that has fed the series for some time now. Anita struggles with the fact that she’s boning several guys. Anita has a bad reputation. Anita complains about the possibility of sleeping with strangers (but does so anyway). As interesting as the sex is, it’s really sad to me to see that the series has really become erotica with a horror background instead of horror with an erotic flair.

And speaking of horror novels, apparently New Line Cinema has licensed out the rights Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees to a publishing company called Black Flame. I just read through the customer reviews of the novels, and I have to admit to being mildly intrigued (and a bit dissapointed that some of the ratings have been so low). I freely admit that these two characters are, oddly enough, near and dear to my heart. I loved watching the movies growing up, and I can recall the influence of them showing up in many of our early tabletop games. I’ve even thought about writing some fan fiction with them in it myself, but haven’t ever gotten around to it (could have something to do with the fact that I haven’t written any new fiction at all in years).

I want one of these. I also want a kitchen big enough that I can have all my cooking toys out on display without utterly and completely losing all of my counter space. Speaking of which – Are there ANY houses around here with decent sized kitchens? Even xanyboi‘s kitchen, which has a lot of floor space, seems to have a lack of counter and storage area.

You know, at some point I should probably take my Christmas tree down.

Probably won’t be this weekend, though. Between my social engagements, a planned Molten Core run, and side work that I have to do I’m not going to have time for much else.

And on that note, it’s quitting time.

Adventures in bread making

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So for Christmas this year, netgoth got me a Cuisinart Bread Machine. This was definitely a big “squee” gift for me, as I’ve wanted a bread machine for years. After reading the instruction manual thoroughly, I went to the store and got a few ingredients that I didn’t have handy around the house (they make a special flour for bread???), and set out on my new doughy adventure.

Experiment #1 involved a pre-packaged bread mix from Krusteaz – Italian Herb Bread Mix. What tripped me up on this was deciding the proper cooking time. The instructions were for 1 pound or 1 and 1/2 to 2 pound bread machines, so when I set the timer I used the 2 pound option. I think that was my big mistake. It was quite overcooked, almost burnt in places. It also didn’t rise properly. I think this may have been a result of using water that was either too hot or too cold. Even the parts that were not overcooked (the center) had an odd taste to them, though, and didn’t go really well with the olive oil I was dipping it in. Call this one a failure.

Experiment #2 was a Chocolate-Cinnamon Bread recipe that I found on the Fleischmann’s Yeast web site. I must say the results were much better. Got a decent rise out of the bread, and it wasn’t overcooked. I think the recipe itself was a bit lacking, though. The boys seemed to like it, but to me it wasn’t really sweet enough (for a dessert bread). Mind you, I didn’t make the glaze to put over it because I figured that it was going to be “bad” enough on the waist as it was.

So, to date, less than stellar results…but I think that will improve in time. As far as ease of use goes, though, this thing is GREAT. Hooray for kitchen toys!