Food

[Raza]

I've never had good turkey.

Smoked.

Come by my house for Thanksgiving, we get a smoked turkey every year now. Maybe I can mail you a plate?

[Henry Krinkle]

I was surprised when I realized that I hadn't made spinach pasta with the Assistent yet.



Handcut papardelle with a pork variation of vitello tonnato.

[Raza]

I was surprised when I realized that I hadn't made spinach pasta with the Assistent yet.



Handcut papardelle with a pork variation of vitello tonnato.

Oh, that looks good.

How exactly do you make spinach pasta? Just mix it in with the.....flour?...that makes up pasta? I've never made fresh pasta (and probably won't; too intimidating).

[Henry Krinkle]

If you use fresh spinach you blanch it first, if it is frozen it only needs to be thawed. I mix the spinach into the egg before adding the flour. As you run the dough through the rollers the spinach breaks down completely and gets fully incorporated into the dough.

It isn't that hard, but since pasta is all about texture it can take a while to get the right feel.

[CanadianStraps]

Dark meat is always good, but turkey's white meat is almost always so dry it's practically inedible for me. Unless the turkey's been smoked, of course.

I am in awe that many here with an obviously well-above-average level of food appreciation have never had perfectly cooked and juicy white turkey.

I think the problem is the standard Hallmark card turkeys that we all see in commercials, etc. Stuffing a whole turkey and roasting it for hours makes it incredibly difficult to ensure even cooking without over or under doing anything. Getting the core of the stuffing cooked usually leaves the breast tips dry unless you are just so exacting with temperate and space. Especially if basted: basting a whole turkey over a long cook period encourages uneven heat distribution. I usually make 2 birds at a turkey worth event: rotisserie one on the grill, and de-bones and bake another, usually larger one. The rotisserie bird is whole but mostly hollow, usually just some pieces of fruit, etc loosely rattling around in there. A deboned turkey cooked flat takes only 1/3 the cook time, and everything is cooked evenly.

[ro63rto]

I think the biggest culprit is not letting the bird get to room temp before roasting.
By the time the "deeper" parts are up to temp and cooked, the outside is overcooked and dry.

[geoffbot]

Falafels, Haloumi, homemade hummus, red slaw and chimichurri, roasted veg, all very healthy

[geoffbot]

Then this

[geoffbot]

Enchiladas

[Dan R]

I am in awe that many here with an obviously well-above-average level of food appreciation have never had perfectly cooked and juicy white turkey.

I think the problem is the standard Hallmark card turkeys that we all see in commercials, etc. Stuffing a whole turkey and roasting it for hours makes it incredibly difficult to ensure even cooking without over or under doing anything. Getting the core of the stuffing cooked usually leaves the breast tips dry unless you are just so exacting with temperate and space. Especially if basted: basting a whole turkey over a long cook period encourages uneven heat distribution. I usually make 2 birds at a turkey worth event: rotisserie one on the grill, and de-bones and bake another, usually larger one. The rotisserie bird is whole but mostly hollow, usually just some pieces of fruit, etc loosely rattling around in there. A deboned turkey cooked flat takes only 1/3 the cook time, and everything is cooked evenly.

I really am not a fan of turkey. But I found that if I inject it with buttery and/or hot sauce then deep fry it, it the best tasting and moist bird of all excluding duck which naturally fatty.

YMMV,

Dan