Instead of posting affiliate links throughout my blog, here is a running list of products I use. If you purchase from this page, it will directly benefit my blog and cooking career. Thanks for taking a look!
Cusineart Immersion blender (I have a vintage one that isn't available anymore)
Mr. Coffee Grinder (for spices only!)
The Food of the Philippines
Om Jag Var Din Hemmafru
You don't have to wait a whole year to make this turkey breast for Thanksgiving. Pastrami turkey is great for sandwiches, kicking up your minestrone or seriously, snacking on when you're wrapped up in your blanket watching Netflix. The brine was adapted from Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie.
| Things you'll need: | |
| 5-pound turkey breast Brine: 1 bay leaf 1 1/2 cups kosher salt 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp coriander seed 1 dried chili pepper 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp cinnamon 2 whole cloves 2 tsp fresh ginger 1 cup of honey 1/2 cup brown sugar 5 garlic cloves |
For the butter: 1 stick of softened butter 1 bunch of chives 2 cloves of garlic For the rub: 1 tbl black peppercorn 1 tbl coriander seed For smoking: 2 handfuls of maple wood chips (or pecan) 1 chimney of coals 1 fennel bulb |
Make sure you have a container and lid large enough to fit and submerge the turkey breast. Unwrap the turkey and remove any organs from inside the neck or breast cavity. Pat it dry with paper towels and let it come to room temperature. Wash your hands.
Soak the wood chips in water and set aside.
Heat a quart of water in a pot and whisk in the salt, honey and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and make sure to stir the salt and sugar until they dissolve. Turn the heat off and add the rest of the brine ingredients. Let the spices steep for 10 minutes as it cools.
Add the brine and the turkey to your container. Add enough ice to cover the turkey. Cover and store in the fridge for up to two days. Check that the meat is submerged, add cold water if the ice wasn't enough.
While you wait make the butter. Leave a stick of butter on the counter for a couple of hours to soften or if it's rock hard, use a grater to quicken the process. Chop chives finely with the garlic and fold into the butter. If you want a less chunky and bright green butter to go under the turkey skin, pass the butter through a couple pulses of the food processor (but not necessary).
If you have a dedicated spice grinder, pulse the peppercorn and coriander until you don't see whole seeds anymore. I like it coarse but if you prefer you can make it fine. If there be no spice grinder in your kitchen, simply crush the seeds with the handle of a wooden spoon, bash a ziplock bag or even empty your pepper grinder and pass the seeds through--though I understand that might take a while to grind out.
Once the turkey is brined, drain the container and dry the meat with paper towels. Take the butter out of the fridge to soften.
On a cutting board, carefully lift up the turkey's skin and run your hands as best as you can underneath it. Like, get in there but don't rip it. Spread 2 to 4 tablespoons of chive butter under the skin. If you can't get it to distribute evenly, at least prioritize the top because the butter will melt and cascade down. Sprinkle the rub all over the turkey breast and place on a pan that will fit in your grill or smoker. Stuff the fennel bulb into the empty cavity.
Prepare a chimney of charcoal until they turn gray. Turn them out on one side of the grill and place the turkey on the cold side of the grill. Throw a small handful of wet wood chips on the coals and cover the grill with the lid. Make sure the vents are open. Smoke for 1 hour and turn the breast 180 degrees before you throw more wood chips onto the coals. Continue for another hour and baste with the remaining chive butter. Do not brush it on, but drizzle so you don't wipe off the pepper crust.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Once the turkey is done smoking, roast it for an hour until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F. Let it cool out of the oven for 15 minutes.
Slice it up and store in the fridge all week for sandwiches.
Don't know what to do with the turkey carcass? I've got some ideas on my guest post for Dear Kate..
Going to try this recipe? Let me know by tagging @Randwiches on Instagram or Twitter. I want to know how to improve it.
Thanksgiving Leftover day is my favorite time of the year because figuring out what to do with the them is a fun creative exercise. It’s gotten to a point where I over-prepare dinner to ensure I’ll have stuff to play with for the whole weekend.
Here are some of my hacks to repurpose everything from mashed potatoes to the turkey bones.
1. Keep the Party Going
In years past my friends at Put a Egg on It would host a day after Thanksgiving sandwich potluck. Everyone would bring their leftovers and we’d spend all day making sandwiches. It’s such a great idea because you can try everything from another person’s dinner. Here are some of my favorites:
Pulled turkey is easy to make the next day. All you need to do is shred all the meat and simmer it in a bit of gravy and brown sugar. You can also ~trust me~ and use mang tomas a Filipino brown sugar liver sauce. Serve on potato rolls with pickles.
Leftover cured meats platter and salad turns into an Italian sub.
Have you ever considered a dessert sandwich?
2. Soup’s On
Save the turkey carcass and bones to make soup stock. Remove all the meat from the bird and set aside for another dish. Roast the bones on a sheet pan at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Throw those into a stock pot with any carrot shavings, celery hearts or tops; onion peels, garlic, bay leaf and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 4 hours. Cool it down, strain and you’ll have stock for days!
Gravy can also act as a soup starter. Just add 1 cup of water or unsalted broth per tablespoon of gravy.
An easy leftover soup is shredded turkey, hot broth and a scoop of mashed potato.
3. Fry, My Pretties!
Cold mashed potatoes are perfect head start for croquettes. If your mashed potatoes are on the liquid-y side, stir in dry bread crumb or blended up stuffing to make a thicker filling. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the potatoes into balls, roll them in flour, dip them in whipped egg and roll in bread crumbs. If they fall apart while you are dredging them, the potatoes are too thin. I like to freeze these croquettes before deep frying for 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown.
Make turkey tenders by tearing leftover meat into large chunks. Similarly, dust them in flour, dredge in egg and panko breadcrumb before deep frying to a golden brown.
4. Butter Me Up
Make cranberry orange compound butter. Fold a hefty spoonful of cranberry sauce and zest of an orange into a stick of softened butter. Place the mixture on parchment paper, roll it into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill for two hours to set it. It also freezes well for a couple months.
Got a ton of leftover herbs? Thyme, rosemary and sage blend well together with a bit of garlic and melted butter. You can substitute olive oil and use this as an easy spread for garlic bread. It lasts for up to another week or freezes for a couple months.
5. On the Rocks
Make a cranberry simple syrup by mixing 1 cup of hot water per 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce. Strain the mixture, let it cool completely and mix with your favorite seltzer, lemonade or vodka on ice.
Cheers! If you use any of these leftover hacks, I’ve love to see it! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram.
This is part of my Thanksgiving 2016 post, see the rest of the menu here.
Cranberry sauce has a bad reputation. Many people have only experienced the gelatinous canned version. What will blow your mind is how easy it is to make. It'll take less than 15 minutes, I promise.
| Things you'll need: | |
| 1 bag of fresh cranberries 2 tangerines 1/4 cup honey |
Two dashes of nut bitters* Pinch of salt |
Wash the cranberries thoroughly. They float! Make sure you jostle them around.
Add the honey, tangerine juice and zest to a small sauce pan on low heat. Whisk to combine.
Place the berries in the pan and turn the heat up to medium. The cranberries will quietly pop over the next 5 minutes. Stir to scrape the bottom and make sure none of the sauce burns. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking until all the berries are popped and have liquified. When the sauce is done, turn off the heat and let cool for a couple minutes before adding the bitters and salt.
You can make this up to three days before Thanksgiving!
Switch it up!
*The story behind the pecan bitters is that I got it from my dear friend Lauren Nischan, who I bunked with at Eat Retreat in Wisconsin. She made 20+ bottles of homemade bitters and taught us how to mix and match them. At the end of camp, she really didn't want to lug the bottles home, so I took the pecan!
Making your own cranberry sauce? Show me by tagging @Randwiches on Instagram! I want to compare notes.
Ah, Thanksgiving day. It is merely the social hurdle standing in the way of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving Leftover Day. With catering, you try to make exactly the amount of food you need for a job. However, today, I am overprepping my dishes to ensure that I have things to play with all weekend. I've even gone so far to co-host several leftover parties over the past few years.
Here's what's I'm contributing:
Subscribe to our show to help us keep the lights on! // See all of my GIFs here
ChefShock is a brand new cooking show on Twitch. Wait, Twitch? Yes, the video game streaming site! It is the first live cooking show where my friend Justin Warner cooks an entire meal from scratch. You can buy the ingredients ahead of time and cook along with us.
I'm thrilled to be part of this show as a chat moderator and 'peanut gallery,' switching off duties with the lovely Kelsey Kinser. See me drop some mad food science as Justin preps the food.
You'll learn basic skills like cutting onions and other aliums...
Meet my personal hero, #SaltPig...
And because we're on Twitch, we still geek out about games...
What I love about this is our anti-Seamless, DIY approach to cooking. It's within reach and totally possible if you learn the basics with us. We live-moderate the chat to answer questions about the recipes and kitchen tools. Plus, we're fun! All of the pixel art for the dishes and titles are by my dear friend Diego Garcia. We have episodes saved if you missed it live. You won't find another show that does this right now, so I hope you watch!
Here's week 1's menu:
I’ve seen pickled mushrooms in Italian deli cases and was always off-put but their slimy nature. Inspired by Epicurious’ #CookItWithColor challenge on Instagram, I scoured the internet for ways to transform the magical looking mushrooms I picked up every week from the Madura Farms table at the McCarran Farmer’s Market.
I love the idea of roasting the mushrooms before brining them, they have more of an edge and developed flavor. The addition of white wine vinegar and paprika add a much-needed zest to an otherwise run-of-the-mill appetizer.
| What you'll need | |
|
1 pound of oyster mushrooms 1/2 lemon, zest reserved 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar 1 small chili pepper 1 shallot, sliced into rings 1 garlic clove, grated 1 tablespoon of hot paprika | 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 1/3 bunch of chives 2 tsp of salt 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1/2 teaspoon of whole peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 medium swing top jar |
Cut the foot off the oyster mushrooms and separate them. Make sure to brush off any dirt with a paper towel or food-safe brush. Lightly toss the mushrooms them in a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a couple grinds of fresh pepper. Broil them on low for 5 minutes or until they shrink. The idea is to wring them out of moisture so they will absorb the brine.
Meanwhile, prepare the jar by steaming it in a water bath for one minute. In a small pot, simmer the vinegar, sugar, garlic and remaining salt until the sugar dissolves. Pierce the chili pepper and add it to the jar with the mushrooms, lemon, zest, shallot, paprika, peppercorn and bay leaf.
To finish, twist the chives into a rope and coil them into the jar. Fill the remaining space with ice and let the jar cool at room temperature until the ice melts. Store it in the fridge for two weeks.
I recently served these mushrooms as an amuse bouche on a dollop of whipped robiola cheese. Try them on your next antipasto plate, in a salad, sandwich or on pizza.
Love mushrooms? Check out these other posts.
Meep! I have some news!
Freaking out over here because I got to show my extreme love for cheese on Guy’s Grocery Games, season 10 episode 5. Watch me and 3 other contestants race around a Flavortown with shopping carts.
You might be able to catch reruns on Food Network, check their page here.
It’s available on Amazon for $2.99 and for $1.99 on Youtube
Will you be tuning in? Let me know by tagging @Randwiches, @FoodNetwork and #GroceryGames on Twitter. Here is the link if you want to share the show details: bit.ly/jdlvonggg
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who have helped me build my cheese knowledge over the years.
Steve Jenkins, author of the Cheese Primer. This was the first book I ever read about cheese. It’s meant to be a reference, but I read it straight through like it was a Jane Austen book -clutches pearls-
Another bit of trivia is that if you look closely in the background of any Good Eats episode, Alton Brown has a copy in his kitchen.
Monica Byrne and Leisah Swenson, owners of Home/Made Brooklyn. If it weren’t for a fateful Craigslist posting and opportunity to spread my wings in the kitchen (and cheese board), I wouldn’t be writing this post right now. Will always and forever bring a wheel of Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery to every job interview.
Murray’s Cheese shop. I interned in the caves with Zoe Brickley (now at Jasper Hill) and volunteered for as many classes as I could in my spare time between running communications at The Tank and working at Home/Made. I did it for the love of cheese and I have to thank Murray’s alums Beth Griffenhagen, Sascha Andersen, Jordan Zimmerman, Josie Adams, and Sydney Wilcox for teaching me. I still have my stacks of pairings worksheets and tasting notes!
Do you love cheese or want to get on my level? Get to know these people or ask me questions any time!
Rich miso mushrooms take this spin on grilled cheese to another level. Pair it with the zesty acidity of an arugula salad and crunchy garlic, you’ve got an easy dinner in just 15 minutes. Inspired by the mushroom tartine at Home/Made Brooklyn, where thick slices of walnut bread are grilled with their famous herb oil and smoked mozzarella.
| What you'll need | |
|
For the tartines: 10oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed 1 tablespoon of butter 1 teaspoon of miso ¼ cup pesto 1 shallot, chopped 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced 4 thick slices of crusty bread 1 garlic clove, grated ½ cup of water Salt | For the salad: 1/4 pound of arugula Juice & zest of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon of olive oil 1 tablespoon of fried garlic Fresh pepper |
Makes 4 tartines
Set your oven to broil.
Slice the mushrooms into 1/4” pieces and place in a pan on medium heat to dry them out.
Meanwhile, spread a thin layer of pesto on each slice of bread. Whisk the remaining pesto in a small bowl with ½ cup of water and the miso.
As the mushrooms release water, add the butter and shallot. Once the shallot is translucent, add the garlic. If the mushrooms aren’t sizzling and look too dry, add a swirl of olive oil. Saute for 5 minutes. Turn the heat all the way up and deglaze the mushrooms with the miso-pesto. Reduce for 4-5 minutes on low heat until it forms a thick sauce. Turn off the heat and let rest in the pan. Taste and salt it as needed.
Broil the bread for 1-2 minutes until toasted. Place mozzarella on each slice and broil until the cheese melts. Turn off the oven, move the toasts to the highest rack and hold there until you are ready to eat.
Combine all of the salad ingredients except the fried garlic. Garnish with the garlic right before serving.
Arrange each plate with a handful of arugula salad and a piece of cheesy toast. Spoon an equal amount of mushrooms on each tartine & enjoy!
Love mushrooms? Check out these other posts.
Here's a tip from issue #10 of Put a Egg On It. Cure egg yolks for two days in soy sauce for a custardy addition to oatmeal! This requires no skill except for cracking open an egg and separating the white from the yolk.
Here I have a bowl of overnight oats with a cured yolk, chopped flowering mustard greens, garlic scapes, and sliced turnip. Sure beats a bowl of sugary oatmeal from a packet!
