Holiday Kransekake Time

Celebrate your Scandinavian heritage, or start a new family tradition this holiday season with an authentic kransekake from

Teton's Kitchen.com

Orders are filling up fast, so place your order soon!

Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments

Non-edible, but forever fragrant!

(I first made these some 13+ years ago, and they still smell great!)

2 cups ground cinnamon (buy in bulk)
1-1 1/2 cups applesauce

In a bowl mix and then kneed the above indigents to form a stiff dough. Adjust the amount of applesauce as needed. Roll out the dough, to about 1/4 inch thickness, between two sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top layer of plastic wrap and use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Use a toothpick, or straw, to create a hole at the top of the ornament for the ribbon. Arrange the ornaments on a newspaper lined drying racks, and allow drying for a few days. When completely dry, use a finger nail file to file off the rough edges. Decorate by gluing dried flowers, metallic thread, ribbon, etc., if you choose. Thread a ribbon through the hole at the top, and it is ready to hang.

Other ideas for Cinnamon-applesauce ornaments:
Gift tags
Place card stands,
Party favors
Hang them in your closet, car, or bathroom

EASY TURKEY!

Smoked turkey is my weakness! Brine and smoked is sinfully good! However, if I have to cook a turkey indoors I have always used the fast and hot method. Gourmet.com just happens to have the method written out…so, I borrowed it (see below). I usually roast a 20 lb bird, it takes roughly 4-5 hours, and half way through cooking when I turn the bird is the only time I might baste.

Use my recipe, your own creative concoction, or the ideas provided by gourmet.com.

My favorite recipe for roasted turkey:
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup Dijon mustard
3 lemons
2-3 boxes of the fresh Poultry Herbs you find in your produce section (thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, tarragon)

Wash and pat dry the fresh herbs and lemons. Wash and pat dry the turkey inside and out, and place in a roasting pan (follow the directions given below by Gourmet.com, but leave off all the salt and pepper). Juice the lemons into a small bowl, and save the rinds. Whisk together the soy sauce, mustard and lemon juice. Use your hands, a pastry brush, or turkey baster to cover the turkey with the soy mixture inside and out. Place the lemon rinds inside the cavity of the turkey. Lay the herbs on the turkey breasts and legs, saving some sprigs to be placed inside the cavity with the lemon rinds.

Follow the roasting directions below provided by gourmet.com.

Tips:

• Always watch the drippings level in the bottom of you roasting pan! If it over flows it will catch fire. If the level gets too high just spoon out the dripping, or extract it with the baster.
  
• A foil tent over the turkey for the first couple of hours to prevent burning the herbs over the breast works well. Make sure the moisture that collects under the foil during roasting drips back into the roasting pan and not out side of the pan,
  
• If you like the stuffing in the turkey, use some of the dripping extracted to prevent overflow to make your stuffing separately. Scoop the cooked stuffing into the cavity after the roasting, and after you have removed the lemon rinds and herb twigs.
  
• Are you going to garnish your platter? Consider garnishing with fresh rosemary and lemon wedges, maybe a few sprigs of thyme.
  

The Simplest Roast Turkey (from Gourmet.com)
Serves 8 to 10

• Active time: 20 min
  
• Start to finish: 3 hr
  

November 2005

You’ll rejoice as white and dark meat alike come out juicy and tender in a bird you can set and forget—and then enjoy.We do not recommend this high-heat roasting method for turkeys weighing more than 16 pounds. However, for turkeys weighing less than 14 pounds, start checking the temperature earlier. If you only have a dark-colored metal roasting pan, add 1 cup water to the roasting pan before putting the turkey in the oven.Learn how we achieved turkey perfection.

• 1 (14- to 16-pound) turkey, neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for turkey giblet stock
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt (2 teaspoons if using a kosher bird)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  

Special equipment:

• Pliers (preferably needle nose); a small metal skewer (optional); kitchen string; a flat metal rack; an instant-read thermometer
  
• Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
  
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450ºF.
  

Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.

Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.

Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.

Other cooking options:

Stuffed turkey: Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.

Roast turkey breast: The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)

Career Change- GOOD!

Elections night 2008, I was running an in-house camera, from the media platform, for the Democratic Party’s Election bash. My job was to project a big picture on a screen so the thousands in attendance could see who was speaking at the podium. Being a former “newsie” I did get to see some old buddies from my news station days. It was really, really nice to see them again. However, I know for sure, I don’t miss the job, or the windowless environment, deadlines, competition, questionable ethics, “The Book” (a.k.a. “ratings” which happen four times a year, when all your fav shows are no longer re-runs), and some other stuff.








Anyway, the evening was emotional, my right hand got badly squished by a 32” TV that, no joke, weighs more then I do (and I’m 5’10”, yep it was a big @$$ TV!), and the anxiety of the evening was almost too much for me to handle. All of it reassured me that I made a good move.

Being in a kitchen, creating yummy things that put joyful expressions on beautiful faces is where I need to be. *Sigh*

Rooks Rike Rooby Racks! Rummy!

"What The...?!?!?!"

"OH MY GAWD, THAT IS DISGUSTING!!!"

Me: (rubbing hands together) "EXCELLENT!"

No worries, it is just food in costume... or is it? Hmm?

My experience has been, if you make this look real enough no one will have the guts to touch your "kitty litter" for about an hour, or two, if not longer, or until they have had a few drinks.

This is super easy to put together. Practically fool proof. Kidz, of all ages including you, will have great fun crafting Tootsie Rolls into "Kitty doodie."

What you will need to make a Kitty Litter Cake:

NEW litter pan (Sm. pan for approx. 25 servings, *Lg pan for about 50+ servings)
NEW pooper scooper.

NEW pan liners.

1 box chocolate cake mix (make according to the box)

1 box vanilla cake mix (make according to the box)

2 boxes instant vanilla pudding mix (follow the "pie instruction")

1 pkg. vanilla sammich cookies

green or blue liquid food coloring

1 bag of Tootsie Rolls

1 sheet of newspaper for the full effect.

Wash and sterilize your NEW litter pan and NEW props. Make the pudding and refrigerate.

Bake the cakes (according to the pkg) in 12x8x2 inch rectangular pans, side by side in the oven (again, according to the pkg) till done, and then cool completely.

Get out your food processor and roughly chop up the cookies. Reserve about 1 cup - 1 1/2 cups (2-2 1/2 if doubling the recipe) of the cookie crumbs, this will go back into the processor with a little food coloring and become the litter.

Line the litter pan. When the cakes are cool crumble both cakes into a large bowl and pour the pudding over it. Mix with your hands until you think the pudding is well distributed (this can be a lot or a little, see fool proof, no right way). Dump the mixture into the litter pan and lightly press it down. Make the litter by putting the reserved cookie crumbs back into the processor and add a few drops of food coloring, mix... Well, till it looks like kitty litter. If you don't have a kitty go to your neighbor and ask to see their litter box...

Sprinkle the cookie "litter" evenly over the entire cake.

Now, for the super fun part!

On a microwave safe plate, unwrap and nuke about 6 Tootsie Rolls for approximately 3-6 seconds, until they are warm and soft. Twist, taper, roll, squeeze, whatever the candy until the desired effect is achieved! Use a little "strategery" and place the candy "dookies" in the "litter."

It is all about the presentation! Before the guests arrive, spread out the newspaper and place the litter pan full of cake goodness on it. Maybe have a little extra cookie litter to scatter around on the paper, along with a few candy dookies.

Be ready for people to get grossed out. This is the one, and only time, you want and can take pleasure in hearing someone say "THAT IS HORRIBLE!"

Remember to be polite, and say "THANK YOU!"

* Easily double this recipe (2 choco. cake, 2 vanilla cake, 4 puddings, 2 pkgs of cookies, you are fine with the one bag of Tootsie Rolls). Make sure you get the right size of pan liners.