Last night was one of those nights where I kept opening the fridge, hoping something delicicous and interesting would appear as if by magic. All that was there was ground turkey, some frozen sausages, and an old head of purple cabbage.....mmmmmmmmm. After yelling upstairs and asking Greg what he wanted for dinner, he said "make meatloaf!" Now I know to some, this might not sound delicious or interesting, but to the two of us, meatloaf is excellent. Turkey loaf on the other hand is kind of gross. So when all you have is ground turkey and sausage, you make turkey sausage meatloaf.....it was pretty darn good.

1lb of ground turkey
four sausages with casings removed, or ground sausage
1/2 cup of oatmeal
several dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
1 egg
a few pinches of oregano
a few dashes of soy sauce

combine all ingredients in a large bowl and dig in with both hands to knead together. when fully combined, shape the loaf and place on a broiler pan in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Bake for at least 30-45 minutes until firm and done.

The other thing we had in the kitchen was an acorn squash that had been around for a few weeks. I took my vegetable peeler to the outside skin then cut the squash in half and scooped out the seeds. Added a pat of butter or two to the wells, salt and peppered them and shoved them in the oven in a shallow pan filled with water. The squash was done when the meatloaf was ready and it was soooooo good.

Enjoy!
Seth

Pineapple upside-down cake

Ok, I know what you are all thinking..Oh my god, I haven't had that since my mom made it in the late '50s! I know you're thinking that because two people made that comment to me after I served it at dinner the other night.

It all started after our friend Sarah gave birth last week to little baby Luna, who was a month early. Sarah adores pineapple upside-down cake and so I thought I would try a recipe I found at www.epicurious.com For one, the recipe called for dark rum...mmmmmm and B, the cake is baked in cast-iron skillet (probably my favorite kitchen tool). I took the recipe and tweaked it just a bit.

When I took the cake out of the oven, Greg almost flew down the staircase from his studio and kept badgering me about making him one too. He actually wanted me to cut the cake in the shape of a crescent moon (not because the cutest baby in the world is named Luna, but because he wanted to eat the center!) He pouted and stuck out his bottom lip and wondered why I never made him cake anymore.....I told him when he gave birth, I would make him a pineapple upside-down cake!

Anyway, he pressured me to make another one for him and then agreed to share it with friends who came over for dinner....I have to say that the cake is amazingly rich and moist. Its a reat treat if you like pineapple. Its pretty easy to make too, and will impress all your friends.

One note....This recipe call for sugar, though I used Splenda for the body of the cake and brown sugar for the top and didn't really see any difference in taste.

For topping
I medium can of Dole pineapple chunks in juice (drain juice and reserve for later
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
reserved pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Preheat to 350 degrees
melt butter and brownsugar in skillet and cook for about 4 minutes until blended and completely melted. Take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Spread chunks of pineapple even over the butter sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients (I normally never do this because I don't want to dirty another bowl, but you might want to)

Cream butter and sugar together and add eggs one at a time making sure they are completely incorporated. mixture should be nice and thick. Add vanilla and rum. Alternately add dry ingredients and pineapple juice and mix until fully incorporated. Pour batter over butter sugar mixture making sure it spread evenly.

Cook in oven for between 30- 45 minutes depending on how hot your oven cooks. Test cake at 30 minutes for optimium moistness. If test comes out dry, pull pan out of oven and let sit for 5-7 minutes. HERE IS THE PART THAT SEEM HARD BUT ISN"T You might want to do this over the sink.

Take a cake plate that is larger than the skillet and invert it over the top of the skillet. Holding both the skillet and the plate firmly together...flip...cake should transfer to plate. Put chunks back in place and serve warm or at room temp.

Enjoy,
Seth

Papa J's Wine & Lobster Bar, East Belfast

After hauling wood around all day so that we were sore and crabby, Greg took me out on a date last night, sweet boy that he is. We decided to try the new restaurant that opened in East Belfast yesterday. I'd read about it in Village Soup and it sounded interesting. I knew there wouldn't be a lot on the menu for me since it bills itself as a lobster bar, but we decided to try it.

The restaurant opened up in the old Fat Boy's Diner. It promises great water views, but the windows overlook the RV resort, which is fine for right now since there are no patrons in the resort, but come summer, thats what you'll see when you look out the windows, a sea of shiny metal and lots of lawn chairs. So anyway, the interior has been spiffed up and we give them an A for effort there. A nice deep red wall color greets you in the foyer upon arrival, there are different shaped and colored lampshades over each of the tables, and two dining areas, both with televisions tuned to sporting events (strike one for a wine bar). Unfortunately, I felt that we were in a restaurant that was trying really hard not to be a diner, but failed. It tried to be cozy, but was a bit cold for me...floors painted a flat grey, diner tables with ugly abstract painted designs in mauve and gold, and wierd posters tacked to the accustical tiles on the ceiling. Just not the atmosphere for a place that calls itself a wine bar.

Service was very friendly and our server was so attentive. While they cleaned a table for us by the window, we were waiting out front and several people smiled and asked if we were being helped. The wine list was extensive and the prices were very reasonable. The red wine glasses are huge and fit nicely in one's hand. The owner came over to pour Greg's wine, but didn't welcome us until Greg asked if he was the owner. The first pour of wine was a bit small to the point where we looked at each other because it was noticeable. Greg wants me to mention that if you call yourself a wine bar, and you have enormous wine glasses, you should please your customers by filling the damn thing up more than a 1/4 full!! He said he'd even pay more for a better pour. My stoli on the rocks came in a small stemmed glass crammed with ice. I hate small rocks glasses primarily because I am a big guy and have large hands.

Menu was brought out to us on a chalk board and most everything was seafood. Besides seared sea scallops, lobster stew and clam chowder, the appetizers were standard bar fare..mozzerella sticks, wings, and jalapeno poppers, which I was dismayed about...have something a bit more original. I must say the prices are very reasonable. I chose what I thought said Penne Chicken (12.95, but no pasta arrived with it, so I think it had something to do with being pan fried. Greg had the 1 1/4 lb lobster for 14.95. Each came with a salad of greens with tomatos, red peppers and purple onions. We chose the house dressing of balsamic and roasted garlic vinagrette which was excellent. A lovely looking basket of warm herb bread came out with the salads. The bread smelled great, but was completely tasteless. I think it was bread machine bread which has a tendancy to be really flat tasting...whoever made this bread forgot to put in the salt to unify the flavors. The lobster arrived and Greg said it was really sweet and perfectly cooked. He had a great time tearing into it and ate every bite. My chicken came out next with a side of garlic mashed potatos. It was a boneless breast with a lemon caper sauce on top., (no capers to be found though). I carved into it and found that it was undercooked and still pink in the middle. I asked the owner, who stood at a bar table next to us with his friends all evening, to have it cooked a bit more because it was still pink in the middle and he looked at me and said "so you want it well done?" and I immediately said, "well, I'd like it cooked so its not raw in the middle." when it came back, it was cooked through and was really tasty. The caper sauce was actually sweet onion garlic and lemon that was really nice. The garlic mashed potatos were good, needed to be a less dense. They were unceremoniously plopped on my plate with an ice cream scoop, reminding me of institutional food. I was served my white chicken and white potatoes on a white plate with no garnish or side vegetables....in fact, no vegetables were offered at all. Even though the food was good, there needs to be a bit of creativity on the plate if one wants to be a wine bar and not a diner.

Desserts were lemon merengue, apple or bluberry pie and we passed, craving something a bit more in keeping with a nicer meal, some chocolate confection or rich cheesecake (we stopped at Darby's on the way home and split carrot cake and another drink.)

We got out of there for about $50.00 for four drinks and dinner. Not bad at all. I do think it will be a total tourist draw in the summer. One thing I have to mention that really got to us was the acoustics in the place. It might have just been the loud people at the bar, but we could hear every word and every laugh coming from every corner to the point that it was annoying as hell. A couple of single women at the bar were flirting with a guy and they were shouting and laughing this really shrill laugh that grated. Maybe a carpet to deaden the voices.

I left liking the food, but not the restaurant itself. I wanted more from a place that bills itself as a wine bar. Wine bars should have jazz piano playing softly in the background, should be dark and cozy, should have white tablecloths and waiters in white aprons. Perhaps I am expecting too much, because this is the way wine bars are in the big city. Papa J's is essentially a diner with good food lamely disguised as a restaurant.

Atmosphere: B-

Food: B (would have been higher save for the uncooked chicken, lack of vegetables and bad bread)

Service: A

Enjoy!

Seth

Food musings from Florida part 2

I was just over on the beach watching the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico and thinking about some of the other food experiments I tried this winter that
I have not shared but should. I'll write them down here and then probably put the recipes on site when I get home. If there is something in these musings that you absolutely must try, shoot me a comment or an email, mostly so that I know that David, aka "my biggest fan" is really not the only person who reads these. There was a wonderful woman who emailed me a while back, but I bet I lost her in my winter inertia.

Anyway, one of the hits of recent dinners in Maine Foodie's kitchen was a very simple yet tasty Chicken curry with mashed acorn squash and a delicious wild rice mix I found at the Coop in Belfast.

One dish that needs more experimenting, but got raves (I love the attention, I think thats why I cook) was a spicy potato encrusted chicken breast that I made up. It was really tasty, but definitely needed help in the crispy potato department. This evolved out of making pecan and cornmeal encrusted pork chops...maybe thats what I'll make the old folks tomorrow night (can you say geriatric dinner party? I knew you could) We are having my grandparent's friends for dinner....my grandparents died in the early '80s if this gives you a hint as to age here!

Ok, time to wrap up the ramblings and clean the kitchen (the other reason I cook...I usually don't have to clean, but since Mom made spagetti, I get to scour...oh my cuticles!

Enjoy!

Seth

Food Musings

Maine Foodie has been so busy with his day job that he hasn't had time to write about anything in such a long time. Now that I am down in Florida for a bit of a rest, it might be good to update things a bit. Because I've been so busy commuting from Maine to New York and points beyond, Greg and I haven't had much of a chance to dine out. We've been making comfort food a lot...in fact, if I ever open a restaurant around these parts, thats what I want to call it..."Comfort Food." Serving things we had as children, but with a flair. I've been perfecting my meatloaf and found that putting whole grain oatmeal in as a binder is really a nice touch. Also making a kick-ass whole wheat-cormeal pizza dough with fresh rosemary and seasalt as well as a fabulously easy lentil soup with sausage.mmmm mmmm mmmm. I promise to post these soon, right now I have to imbibe on my mom's spagetti and meatballs....damn its good to be home sometimes.

Enjoy,
Seth

Update on Three Tides, Belfast

We had one one of the best meals we've had at Three Tides last night. It was our anniversary and we decided to spend the evening with friends, so we went to Three Tides and sat at the bar. We were able to snatch bits of conversation with David and Sara, the owners, who are great friends of ours. They reserved us two seats at the far end of the bar and poured champagne for us when we got there.

The chef, Tom, prepared the most beautiful delectable scallops surrounding a small bed of greens for Greg. I had the quesadilla with chicken, extra crispy just for me and we shared a tomato basil and mozzarella salad.

The new desserts by "Let Them Eat Cake" of Belfast were out of this world, a definite improvement over the desserts from now defunct Periwinkles (And thats a tall order, because those desserts were really good) We sampled the carrot cake with a caramel prailene center and the decadent coffee chocolate fudge cake. mmmmmmm David, if you're reading this, we had an excellent time last night..thank you! Of course the atmosphere at 3Tides is the best around. Three cheers for David, Sara, and little Luna!

Food A+

Atmosphere A

Verve A++

Enjoy,

Seth

Hideaway Diner, Northport

This is an update of a place that used to be one of our favorite, easy places to go for dinner. Its been taken over in the last year or so and has really gone downhill rapidly. Last night's food was terrible! There was only one table occupied save for the table the owner was using and it was a "special menu" night (Mexican Fiesta) as well as their normal menu.

Every once in a while, when we are tired and working late, we want to just go someplace cheap and cheerful for dinner....well, that just doesn't exist here on the midcoast..so we go to the hideaway, which is at least cheap. The decor is old, tacky and a bit dirty. They have removed traditional diner food like burgers and chicken strips and hot dogs from the menu in favor of things they think will impress the locals...like smothered beef tips and chicken parmesan. Yuck is what I have to say to this.

Greg, of course, always has the fried haddock which he said was fair to mediocre. Me, I found it hard to order something safe from the menu to order. Tried to order the roast turkey, but they were out of it...tried to order the pork, but they were out of that too....had to have the chicken parm, because it was the next safest looking thing....it arrived just as I knew it would....fried chicken strips sitting in overdone greasy pasta covered in bottled sauce with parmesan cheese on top and then microwaved......my stomach is still greasy!

Food D+

Atmosphere D-

Enjoy while I go out and get a bromo seltzer,

Seth

Tournadoes of Beef with a Red Wine Sauce

Last night we used up the leftover beef fillet that we had from my birthday last week and invited some friends into share. I searched for a recipe for redwine sauce and found one where I didn't have half the ingredients. I figured that I would substitute stuff to see what happened and it came out with rave reviews from everyone.

2 tblspoons canola oil

1 leek chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 tblspoon sugar

2 tblspoons redwine vinegar

3/4 bottle red wine

1 can chicken broth

1 can beef broth (I didn't have any and used a mixture of kitchen bouquet and worcestershire)

teaspoon ground thyme

1 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 tblspoon butter

1 tblspoon flour

sautee leek and garlic in oil until tender and add sugar and vinegar..cook down for about 5 minutes. Add red wine and boil down to about 3/4s of what you put in (10 minutes or so) then add chicken and beef broth and let boil for 1/2 hour or so. Add thyme, peppercorns, and white pepper and simmer for another 20 minutes to blend, stirring occasionally.

Run mixture through a sieve and place back on heat. Meantime melt butter and add flour, mix and add to redwine sauce and stir. adjust with salt and pepper accordingly.

I then wrapped the tournadoes in bacon and tied off with kitchen string. Sauteed in butter for four-five minutes per side, slipped out of pan, untied the string and took off the bacon, added fresh pepper and salt on tops and served with sauce, spinach, and garlic mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Seth

Chocolate Orange Fruitcake

The fruitcake hater's fruitcake

Cake
2 1/2 cups large pecan pieces, toasted
1 cup (packed) chopped dried black Mission figs
1 cup (packed) chopped pitted prunes1 cup (packed) chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup (packed) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup purchased prune butter

Glaze
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed
Chopped candied fruit peel (optional)

For cake:Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Generously butter and flour 12-cup angel food cake pan. Combine toasted pecans, chopped dried figs, prunes, dates, orange juice concentrate, Grand Marnier and grated orange peel in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sift flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Combine brown sugar and 6 ounces chocolate in processor and chop into small pieces.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl to blend. Add chocolate mixture and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in prune butter. Stir in 1/4 of dry ingredients. Mix in fruit mixture and remaining dry ingredients in 3 additions each.
Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted near center with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Turn pan over onto rack; let stand 5 minutes. Lift off pan; cool cake completely. Wrap cake in plastic and store at room temperature 2 days.
For Glaze:Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Whisk in orange juice concentrate.
Place cake on rack. Spread some of chocolate glaze thickly over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Spread remaining chocolate glaze over cake, covering completely. Sprinkle with chopped candied fruit peel, if desired. Refrigerate cake 30 minutes to set glaze. (Fruitcake can be prepared 3 weeks ahead. Wrap cake in plastic and refrigerate.)

Decadent Christmas Gingerbread

Greg and I usually make something to give to friends and family for the holidays. I try to do something different every year, but there was so much pressure on us to make our decadent holiday gingerbread that I caved and made a whole bunch this year. This is a really moist, dense, and strongly rich treat. It is important to do several things with this recipe. One is to whisk all the ingredients together to maintain the air inside the batter, another is to make sure to generously butter and flour the bundt pan, the last is to make sure and use a bundt or a springform pan with the hole in the middle or else the cake will not cook. LOAF PANS DO NOT WORK HERE! One can find oatmeal stout at speciality stores like Trader Joe's. Otherwise, the Guinness Stout works just fine..though I've always wondered what honey brown ale would do. This is the gingerbread recipe from the Gramercy Tavern in New York City

1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout
1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Confectioners sugar for dusting

10" bundt pan

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess. (very important)
Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugars. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream.

Enjoy,
Seth

Logos Pub, Belfast

Greg and I finally set foot into Logos Pub, after several years of passing it by. We had cabin fever yesterday afternoon and went to town to do some errands. We were on our way from the bank to Bay City Wraps and decided to try the Logo's lunch specials for $3.95. I was pleasantly suprised by the interior of the bar which had a lot more to look at that was interesting than most bars in the area. Interesting decor, clean, friendly, and the TV was tuned to an HGTV apartment facelift show..what more could two boys want????

Anyway, besides the regular menu, Logos offers $3.95 lunch specials. Yesterday there were crab cake sandwiches, spinach lasagna, squash soup, and a few other items. I opted for Lasagna and Greg had the Crab Cake sandwich. We sat at the bar as the only customers and had our sodas. Its so nice that one cannot smoke in bars anymore...it makes the whole experience so much more pleasant.

Food arrived and I thought to myself that it looked straight out of a food service package...which it probably was. Cost them a $1.95 and a bit of electricity to nuke and voila! Greg said that his crab was actually Krab and that there wasn't much to boot. The lasagna definately tasted like a cheaper version of Stouffer's.

I might go again to try something off the regular menu. Someone came in and had a quesadilla...also food service by the look of the thing, but it did look better than the lasagna.

Food: C+

Atmosphere B+/ A-

Enjoy!

Seth

Ice Cream Cake

Its Shane's birthday today and, as I usually do, I asked him what his favorite cake would be....of course he says "mmm Ice Cream cake with the oreo crunchies on the inside" So, I got out my largest spring form pan, lined it with parchment paper and then spread out softened moose tracks icecream on the bottom...then a layer of crushed oreo cookies with the chocolate cream center, then a layer of vanilla. The whole thing went back into the freezer to harden again. Then I whipped up some cream for the frosting and covered the whole thing, transferring it to a plate after taking it out of the spring form. Much to my dismay, the darn thing didn't fit in the freezer! Its outside in the snow right now...I do hope it hardens up a bit out there.

I'll add decorative icing and thats about it...easy as that. I was going to do a caramel layer in the middle, but I didn't have any corn syrup handy.

For the rest of the meal we are having grilled chicken breasts with bar-b-que sauce and melted American cheese, French Fries and peas.......thats what you get when you ask what an 18 year old wants for his birthday dinner!

Enjoy,

Seth

Today is the first day of my swearing off butter, sugar, and flour....whats a food addicted boy supposed to do????? Greg and I have a deal together. He gives up cigarettes and alcohol and I give up the above mentioned stuff AND go to the gym four times a week for a period of three months. After that, we can extend it or go forward.

Sorry fans...that is if anyone really reads this....Maine Foodie's site might be a bit boring for a while.....who cares about recipes for skinless grilled chicken and peas????

Enjoy,

Seth

Pumpkin Cheesecake

A friend asked me to send her my pumpkin cheesecake recipe from Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd just write it down here and take it from there. I combined a traditional pumpkin cheesecake with my tried and true New York Cheesecake recipe, which made for a very light, almost whipped cheesecake.

Here goes:

butter a 9" springform pan and cover the bottom with a mixture of graham cracker crumbs and butter with a good sprinkle of ground ginger. Set in fridge to chill

In a large bowl with a mixer cream:

1 lb each softened cream cheese and ricotta cheese until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar and beat in 5 room temperature eggs, one at a time until completely incorporated. Add 1/3 cup flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each of fresh ground nutmeg and ground cloves. 1/4 teaspoon of allspice and a dash of salt. Also add some ginger for a spicier cheesecake.

Fold in one cup of sour cream and then one can of pumpkin puree, making sure the pumpkin is incorporated fully.

Place in a preheated slow oven at 325 degrees for 1.5 hours. (the top will be cracked when done) turn off oven but do not open door and let the cheesecake dry for another 1.5 hours. Best the next day.

Cover completed cheesecake in sugared pecans:

in a medium saucepan combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water and cook to 280 degrees on a candy thermometer. Turn off heat and pour in chopped pecans, stirring to coat. Turn out onto greased cookie sheet and let cool. break up with kitchen mallet and sprinkle on cheesecake.

Our 18 year old nephew lives with us now. Never seen the outside of Palm Beach County before, so there are loads of new things for him to experience. I turned him onto Chai last night as an alternative to coffee, which he can't stand but drinks to stay warm up here in the hinterlands.

I've been showing him how to cook a few things. His boss, a chef at a great restaurant near here, *see the review for Atlantica from last summer* has convinced him to apply for a spot at CIA, the Culinary Institute of America. He's all excited about it and really wants to go. Trouble is, its a bit expensive. When the packet arrived from the school, there was a list of creative ways to finance the tuition. Here is the best part of that...and here is where I need your help.

Shane has a chance to win a $4000 scholarship to CIA by submitting the best apple pie recipe from the northeast. He's been practicing, but needs a kick-ass pastry recipe to really stand out.
So, I call on anyone who reads this who might have great-grandmother's ancient recipe for the best apple pie from the old country, or a modified version of the recipe from the back of the Ritz cracker box to give me a shout and use the comment space to tell me about the recipe. PLEASE! I'm serious here.
Thanks

Enjoy,
Seth

OK, maybe I've been up too long already today, but while getting the turkey ready for the herb rub, I was listening to NPR and there was a chef on talking about butterflying the turkey at his house. He says it cuts down on the roasting time by half and is kind of gratifying because one has to pound down the turkey to make it flat! All one does is carefully cut down either side of the backbone, taking away the ribs and any other small bones.

Good idea I thought! I'll just cut that backbone out with a pair of kitchen shears (which I found in the first drawer that I opened...a feat in this house with three batchelors putting stuff away from the dishwasher!)
So, I hacked away at the backbone and opened the turkey up, splayed it out on my marble board and then pounded the crap out of it with a kitchen mallet. It was a fantastic feeling! Highly recommended!

I then separated the skin from the breast with my fingers and shoved the cilantro rub inside. Either my turkey will suck, or it will be interesting. I guess my advice about this is to do a test run before making Thanksgiving for 14 and deciding to try something new with the main course on the morning of the "big day."


Its ok though, we are having a buffet and margaritas, so things should be pretty relaxed today.

Have a Great Thanksgiving.....a report later on how things went here in Northport.

Enjoy,
Seth

I've been thinking about how to prepare my turkey for over a week now. We are having two turkeys this year because the guest list keeps growing...not sure I can cook a 30 lb bird! So far we have 17 people and I'm sure it will top 20 by Thursday.

Anyway. Greg is grilling a turkey outside. We found the perfect recipe for him....Turkey with a tawny port basting broth. mmmmm

I want to do something completely off the wall for me, so I finally decided to make a spicy turkey with a cilantro rub for under the skin.

I'll take a bunch of fresh cilantro and chop it up really fine before mixing it with garlic, chipotle powder, cayenne and line juice. I'll stuff the cavity with sliced hot peppers, onions, and lime wedges. Perhaps we should have margaritas as well. hmmmmmmm

I'm also making a spicy pumpkin cheesecake...yum

Happy Thanksgiving!
Seth

Here is a great leftover dish my Mom used to call:

Chicken Tits and Worms

Pick over your roast chicken or turkey from the night before and chop the meat into small bits with your kitchen shears

Put a pot of water on to boil and cook your favorite pasta

Thats about where I end following dear old mummy's recipe and forge ahead on my own.

Depending on how much you are making, here is a wonderful Bechamel sauce recipe that works great every time. It makes about a cup, but you can double it if you feel the need

3/4 cup milk or half and half

3/4 cup chicken stock

(or conversely, you can use 1.5 cups of milk and a bouillon cube)

put liquid in a glass measuring cup with:

1/4 wedge yellow onion

whole peppercorns or fresh white pepper

dash of grated nutmeg

1 bayleaf

pinch of cayanne

salt

two pinches crumbled rosemary.

put in microwave for 6 minutes on low to medium heat. Make sure the milk doesn't boil over

but be sure it gets warm.

meanwhile

melt 2 tablespoons butter

and two tablespoons flour in a pot. Constantly stir to cook, but do not brown.

Strain milk and pour over flour butter mixture. Discard onion bayleaf mess.

stir until thickened.

Add 1 cup grated cheese...chedder works best, or some leftover cocktail cheeses gouda and havarti or something. Stir stir stir and take off heat.

Combine chicken and pasta in an ovenproof bowl and pour cheese sauce overtop. Place in 350 degree oven until you can smell the nutmeg cooking and the sauce is bubbly.

Makes a bit of a mess, but its super easy.

Enjoy,

Seth

Went to see Bridget Jones II last night with the girls. Before that we went to Rollie's in Belfast for dinner. Tried to go to Darby's but the waitress essentially turned us away because we didn't have a reservation, nor did she feel like putting two tables of four together for us. She was extremely rude and we just turned around laughing because of the attitude at a restaurant in Belfast, off-season!

Anyway, I had a very nice calzone at Rollies, probably one of the nicer meals that I've had there. Just wanted to give you an update.

Enjoy!
Seth

Wouldn't you know it, while I sat down here to write out the dish I'd made several nights ago for dinner, I spilled tea on my keyboard. I spent two days waiting for it to dry out...to no avail...so I had to get a new keyboard and in the meantime I kind of forgot what I put in the recipe to make it good. Well, here goes.

Lamb and beef shepard's pie

We tend to eat the same dishes over and over again because they are easy and I can do them by rote and its easy to go to the store. We have what we call "Little Chickie" night at least once every two weeks where we roast a chicken and have veggies and taters or something like that. Its mostly comfort food in this house and essentially I am gathering some good recipes together for when I open a restaurant and call it "Comfort Food." This Lamb dish would be an excellent addition. I didn't know how it would go over with the boys, but they loved it and ate almost the whole pan full in one night!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

make your favorite mashed potatoes. I leave the skin on my potatos and toss them with lots of butter and salt..a bit of chicken broth and garlic and top it off with fresh ground pepper

olive oil

1/4-1/2 cup chopped onions

3 cloves minced garlic

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 lb ground beef

salt pepper to taste

a few crumbles of dried rosemary and oregano

1/2 cup beef bouillon

a splash of red wine

tablespoon of melted butter and one of flour mixed together and stirred in as a thickener

Sautee onions and garlic together with hot olive oil in an iron skillet and add lamb and beef browning and cooking. Drain off fat and excess liquid while cooking. After draining, add salt and pepper and herbs..continue cooking. Add bouillon, wine and butter/flour mixture

1/2 cup cut baby carrots

1 bunch baby asparagus tops and middles cut into 2" lengths

any other veggies you want

Add the carrots and and stir into meat mixture. After 5 minutes add asparagus and take off heat. mix well. Add mashed taters to the top of the skillet and place in oven until the potatos are crispy and golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

Seth