Thanksgiving Miscellaneous

A few small changes occured or were inspired during my prep for the holiday.
  First, my honey purchased me a new, red, non-stick, aluminum pan that I adore soooooo much. I cooked with it several times and the experience was goosebump enducing. I actually got jealous when my honey asked to use it. I think I will call my pan ALBERT, because he is divine.
  Next, my trip to the farmers' market was very productive. I bought some new honey collected a few miles from my home. I was able to taste the product before purchasing and the experience was nearly orgasmic (tee hee...). This honey was light tasting which was a contrast to its dark coloring; but, the mix of berries and flowers intertwined with honey was mind-blowing.  It made my sweet potatos and rolls amazing. We also purchased some fresh strawberries for the house. Peaches are no longer in season, so I had to settle with frozen.
  My two desserts ended up with some additions not previously thought of until the day of conception. As mentioned in my previous post, I added a topping of candied pecans to my sweet potato pie. I used butter, brown sugar, and ALBERT to make the candy so it would be easy to cut through unlike making the candy with corn syrup. I also got the inspiration to put strawberries in with the peaches to make a STRAWBERRY-PEACH COBBLER. The final result got mixed reviews because the filling was not extremely sweet; however, I prefer my fruit pies/cobblers on the tart side just like my daddy used to make.
  Overall, the newly added changes were accepted and great.

Thanksgiving Day

The day before and the day of Thanksgiving were very exciting. I cooked all the dishes that would taste better the next day, I.e. green beans, sweet potatoes and desserts, on the Eve of Thanksgiving. I also rearranged my home to accommodate for entertaining adult guests and not children. I did have a few hiccups during the process. While making my SWEET POTATO PIES, I accidentally put in 1/2 cup of baking soda instead of 1/2 teaspoon; needless to say, my pies looked like a science experiment...but thank goodness for tasting because those pies hit LA BASURA (the trash) as soon as they cooled. I was able to make one more pie using my homemade, flaky crust and the correct measurements of ingredients. I also caramelized some pecans fresh from my friend's tree and drizzled the candied nuts on top of the pie. My final disaster happened while the turkey was roasting. I tend to roast my turkey overnight at a very low heat (250°) while basting every 2 hours. Well four hours in, I awoke to a semi-smoke-filled kitchen. My oven has a glitched (that was supposedly repaired last month) were the temp increases to about (500°) on its own. Thank goodness the temp had only increased for approximately 30 minutes because the turkey was beautifully golden and juicy...the smoke was due to the drippings in the pan burning. So, two burns on my right hand and several hours later, the gathering was a success. My table was exquisitely decorated by yours truly and the guests loved the dishes that my Honey made as well. After Thanksgiving Day ended, I gave my daughters a break and I tackled ALL the dishes; then, I literally hibernated, reading books for 3 days.

PERSIMMONS

Welp...it has definitely been a very BUSY few weeks for me with the Thanksgiving holiday.
  However, after a little over a month after the initial purchase, my family was able participate in the tasting of the ripened fruit known as the PERSIMMON.
  I will describe the experience to the best of my abilities. As mentioned in a previous post, the persimmon started to turn a deep crimson, orange as it ripened. At the time of our tasting, the skin was actually loosened from the flesh, like the skin on a boiled potato. Once I cut slices out, the flesh resembled that of pumpkin without the strings. Also, very similar to a beet. The minimal amounts of juice were VERY sticky to the touch.
   Considering the size of the tiny fruit, there was not much to share amongst four people...not to say that we wanted seconds after the first bite. The fruit was slightly sweet like a juiceless peach/nectarine. It was like eating honeysuckle fresh from the vine with that small hint of sweet honey flavor. The off-putting part of a persimmon is the texture on the pallet of the mouth. With flesh like a beet, you would think a thin slice would go down easy...NO! It was a VERY GRITTY texture in close comparison to licking/eating a raw/uncleaned RUSSET POTATO (I know you have experienced that failure as a child...or adult). There was no way getting around that AWFUL texture. It literally made us run to the sink or trash can to rid ourselves of the horrid taste.
  Overall, I can understand why this fruit called the persimmon is mainly used in marmalades since it does have medicinal qualities and it has a sweet taste. However, I DO NOT believe I could endure eating it in a pie unless cooking it somehow breaks down the texture.  But as a side note...for a fruit that I barely heard of outside of a street or old lady's name, I have stumbled upon this "rare" fruit a lot in the last few weeks. Also, OPRAH used them in her centerpiece for her Thanksgiving table where they were more inviting to view in vases than on my plate.

November 5, 2012 - November 10, 2012

For the past few days, I have been organizing on prep for the upcoming holiday. Also, due to the fall season (my fav cooking season) I cooked beef soup on Wednesday and chili last night. I love making soups because they are easy to prep. Beef soup consists of browned beef, tomato base with veg and stewed tomatoes. I also pair with it either sweet cornbread (like my mom) or cheesy bread. Chili is more time-consuming. I typically soak the beans over night (being careful to remove any rocks or bad beans). In the morning, I drain the water off and add spices, chopped onions and peppers plus fresh water to continue soaking the beans until the hulls (outer covering) of the beans start to open. The starch from the beans thicken the water while cooking plus I add tomato sauce for additional flavoring...but be careful with seasoning by constantly tasting, or your chili can quickly turn to spaghetti sauce with beans. **RANDOM THOUGHT** After the election ended, pretty much ALL the "water cooler" conversation centered around not the President but the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. My question is, will eventually people be able to purchase weed at the local grocers??? Just imagine going through the produce section and there is a bin full of spinach and next to it a bin of BUD..."food" for "thought".

November 4, 2012

Today, I decided to do a picture log of me preparing a meal for dinner. I cooked one of my specialties COUNTRY STYLE PORK RIBS WITH GREEN BEANS AND SWEET POTATOES. When choosing pork, make sure that the MEAT TO FAT RATIO is 85/15 to 90/10. The fat is what carries the flavor in pork so you don't need to season the meat as much as beef or chicken. Always clean your meat before cooking in cool running water and trim any extremely fatty areas. If you are cooking meats for extended periods of time on a stovetop, make sure it's in a deep pot/skillet that has a lid to prevent drying. Also, sear (brown each side on a higher temp) the meat in order to trap the natural juices in the meat before simmering for long periods of time. When using fresh veg=vegetables, rinse them in cool running water as well. ENJOY THE PICS.

**UPDATE** Can you believe that PERSIMMON I purchased at the market almost a month ago is STILL not ripe? Well, it's getting there. It has shrunken a little and is now turning a vibrant red, orange from a pale yellow, orange. I will keep you posted...I hope it's worth the wait.

November 2, 2012

Today, baby Maelena and I ran errands plus daddy tagged along. We took brother to the bus stop and headed to the college I am currently attending for some supplies. After that we headed to the grocery store for a few items and to our surprise a few guys from NASCAR with their race cars were promoting an upcoming race....which screamed PHOTO-OP!! Next, we visited the farmers' market (by the way, I have visited each week since I first blogged...I'm like a regular now...they now my name like CHEERS). For dinner I prepared HOMEMADE CHICKEN STRIPS USING PANKO BREADING, SMOTHERED POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS...who needs KFC?!?

October 31, 2012

So, today is TRICK OR TREAT DAY and my children are definitely going door-to-door. It's actually a big event for them because my 2 husbands (EX & NEXT) will be going trick or treating with them. I decided the family should eat dinner before heading out so I prepared something quick and easy...BEEF AND BROCCOLI on white rice. Today was my second opportunity to use my wok and I loved it. First I sauteed onions and pepper then I added my beef to brown. After I drained the juices, I added my thickening agent and the broccoli. It was so tasty and it wasn't heavy. Therefore, we were able to walk for what seemed like hours. We made it home around 8:30pm which gave me time to check the candy for openings (any candy that has the slightest opening or not good in appearance, I pitch). I also count the candy and they had over 350 pieces...they will have dessert (candy) for at least 3 months at 2 pieces per day.