Happy Mother's Day!

It's my first Mother's Day as a mom and I spent it with family including my little girl. I spent the weekend baking and cooking - by choice - as a treat away from my usual hurried schedule. I'm still indulging in these cupcakes which are just decadent enough. The frosting, which I discovered about here, worked out great. Best frosting ever...wasn't too sweet or sickly. I added sprinkles to some, chocolate crumbles to others and toasted coconut for me and my dad. For my gluten free mom & sis, I tried out three other new recipes which I'll post about later. Hope you all had a great mom's day and celebrated moms in some way!

Scenes from Sunday

Easter Sunday turkey dinner went over really well and I 'm confident we're on the road to building another tradition for our family. Here are some photos from the weekend.

And here is how I do my dressing (not stuffing) and it has been adapted in past dinners to be both vegan and gluten-free. You just have to be aware of the type of bread you use, butter/margarine, and stock. First, I fried one onion which has been diced finely until it is translucent. I added one apple and a few mushrooms, both also diced finely. Once the onions are starting to caramelize, I added some (a dash) salt, pepper and thyme as well as a good palm-full of savoury (a Newfoundland tradition).

Then I added this mixture to coarsely chopped (or blitzed in the food processor) stale bread. I added even more savoury (I love the stuff) and then a few tablespoons of vegetable stock along with a little butter. Stir everything together and bake it in the oven, covered for the most part, until golden. The stock and butter help the flavour plus keep the dressing moist. I've had dressing that is like sawdust it's so dry. I just like this kind better. The proportions are vague because I kind of just toss everything together. It always tastes good and I just adjust more or less depending on how much dressing I'm making.
  

We're still having turkey sandwiches and I've had a request for turkey soup with the frame I froze after the meal was enjoyed on Sunday. Waste not, want not. Hope you all had a happy Easter!

Mindful cooking means mindful prep

I'm cooking Easter dinner tomorrow for my family and we're having turkey with all the fixings. I've cooked turkey dinner for a crowd before but this will be the first time in our new(ish) house and with a baby in our lives. And what did I do? Forget to take the turkey out of the freezer in time to let it thaw in the refrigerator.

So it's now being carefully watched in a sink of water while it speed-thaws. You can thaw a turkey this way if you check it every 1/2 hr and replace the water so it stays cold (40 degrees F or colder). If done this way, it should take about 1/2 hr per pound to thaw safely.

I plan on putting the bird in a brine solution overnight and popping it in the oven around 9am so it'll be ready and well rested by our dinnertime of 2pm. For turkey novices, it takes about 4-4.5 hrs in a 325 F oven for an 8-12 lb turkey and you want it to rest at least 1/2 hour afterwards to let the juices redistribute throughout the meat. The internal temperature of the bird should reach 165 F with a food thermometer for safety.

Or you can do what this lady suggests! (warning: language)

Happy Easter all!

Sticky situation

Last weekend I was afforded the luxury of time in the kitchen so I decided to make sticky buns. I was reminded that there are few more satisfying feelings than kneading dough. Also doughy buns with cinnamon and sugar are just plain delicious. I found the recipe in an old book I bought second-hand which is a 150th anniversary church cookbook. Church groups here usually know what they're talking about when it comes to baking! And I'm thinking these would be a lovely accompanying treat to any Easter brunch. The recipe is fairly easy though takes a while to process due to rising times. I was able to do some chores around the house in the in-between times...and all that waiting had some yummy rewards.

Dough:
2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 pk fast-rising (instant) yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 large egg

Filling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
The recipe called for 1/3 cup raisins and 1/3 cup pecans to add to the mix but I omitted them

Syrup:
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tbs butter or margarine
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
The recipe called for 36 pecan halves for garnishing, but again I omitted them

Directions:
First you mix together just 1 cup of the flour and the rest of the dry dough ingredients. Then heat the wet ingredients and add them to the dry. Add the butter and egg and mix for 3 minutes. Then stir more flour into the mixture until you form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead in additional flour, if necessary to form a stiff dough. Knead for about 5 mins until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl, and turn the dough over to bring up the greased side. Then cover the dough with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 30-40 mins until it doubles in size. You can also place it in the fridge and let it rise there overnight.

To make the filling, combine the sugar and cinnamon. When dough has risen, lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets or 2 muffin tins (you can make these in the muffin tins and the cups will contain the buns). Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Try to keep the rectangle even to make rolling easier. Spread the butter over the dough and then sprinkle with the filling mixture. Roll the dough into a log; try to keep the log roll tight as you go and pinch the edges to seal them. Cut the log into 1 inch sections crosswise and put the buns on the sheets or tins. Cover and let the buns rise again- this time about 30 minutes. I told you there was a lot of waiting but the end result is so worth it!

Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the buns 20-25 mins until golden brown. While they're baking, make the syrup by combining the sugar syrup butter and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Resist the urge to lick this mixture because it will be HOT...though yummy. When the buns are finished in the oven, remove them to a wire rack and brush the sticky syrup mixture over them. You could, of course, omit the syrup altogether and you'd have perfectly respectable cinnamon buns. But, 'common!

The church recipe book says to serve these treats warm which I highly recommend. And really, I dare you not to try them as soon as you are finished. My partner in parenting wisely advised that I wouldn't be able to make such decadent treats every weekend with our little one. He was right, but we all need a treat every now and then. And not one of these buns went to waste so I think he enjoyed them as much as I did. I hope you do, too.

Food traditions

With Pancake Day around the corner, I'm reminded there are a lot of traditions and holidays centered around food. I haven't always followed these traditions due to being busy or just plain lazy. But now that I'm a mom, it's up to me to introduce traditions to my family and make these days special. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without gingerbread cookies, after all. Think about all the traditions and holidays we use food to commemorate. And even if it's not as simple as a cake on one's birthday (though that's a pretty important food-related tradition!) you have to admit we tend to use food as a way to celebrate almost everything. So I'm going to make a commitment to pay more attention to these foodways traditions in the future and give Charlotte special moments. I have visions of presenting homemade goodies to her and family on special days and even of her helping me prepare meals and treats when she gets older.


Thankfully, I have a good few months before she is able to eat solid food. It will give me time to reflect on my own family's traditions and food moments as well as my cooking/baking repertoire . Though she will be just old enough to try a few bites of these reindeer gingerbread cookies (with pretzel ears, chocolate chip eyes and a Smartie nose) come Christmas time. I made these for the first time this past December so maybe it will be our first food tradition!

Fall into this cake

I've had a lack of posting lately...mostly due to a squirmy baby inside my tummy which has taken over my natural appetite and desire to stand in a hot kitchen. Expect posts to be sparse in the coming weeks and months. When I do have time (and energy), though, I promise to post what I've been up to with cooking and/or baking. This time, I have something just sinful to share: pumpkin rum raisin cake. It's a dense dessert that's full of flavour and spirit. Here's how it goes:

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup amber or dark rum, or apple juice (I used dark rum)

1/4 cup warm water

4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cups pumpkin purée

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Glaze
Raisin-soaking liquid

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups icing sugar

First, soak the raisins in the rum and warm water and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350C and grease a bunt pan. 

Beat the eggs, sugar and oil until frothy and then add the pumpkin purée and blend until smooth. Set aside.

 

 In another bowel, sift together flour, baking powder, spices and salt (ie. all the dry ingredients).

 Then mix the dry into the wet ingredients until just combined. Drain the raisins (save the liquid) and add those and the nuts. Mix to coat. This would also be delicious with chocolate chips!!

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 55 mins (until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few crumbs). 

When baked, allow to cook for about 10 mins before inverting the pan and turning the cake out onto a cooking rack. Cool the cake completely. 

For the icing glaze, mix together 3 tbs (or slightly more, who's counting?) of the raisin/rum liquid with the icing sugar and vanilla. Drizzle a small amount over the cake and let cool and harden. Then drizzle some more and let that cool and harden. Repeat this a few more times until the glaze builds up on the cake. 

 

Serve and enjoy. It's a great fall treat and a little boozy so it feels special and very grown-up. The original recipe is from an unexpected place: Our Compliments. Happy fall everyone!

Dessert for dinner

Pancake day is today and it's tradition to have pancakes for dinner around these parts. It's the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the last day before the 40-day lent period. Traditionally, this was the last day to have fat, eggs (meat) or anything bad for you before the long lent stretch. Hence, pancakes for dinner was a treat and a way to use up all that stuff around the house. I'm not giving up anything for lent but I am on a diet and will continue with it after this Shrove Tuesday treat (and extra trip to the gym).

Pancake day for me is about another tradition: the fortune-telling trinkets found inside the pancakes. Growing up, my mother would put coins in our pancakes and that was supposed to symbolize prosperity or the promise of wealth. It often just turned into a way to get some extra money and a competition over who got the most coins.I remember going to a friend's house one year for pancake day, though, and I ended up with her mother's wedding ring in my pancake! Here are some common pancake trinket:

-a penny, to symbolize poverty
-a nickel, to symbolize wealth; We often received quarters :)
-a string, to symbolize a fisherman (if a boy got the string, he would be a fisherman, if a girl did, she would marry one)
-a wedding ring, to symbolize that you would marry soon; I've also heard it means you won't die an "old maid"
-a button, to symbolize that you would never marry
-a nail, to symbolize that you would soon pass away
-a thimble, to symbolize that you would be a seamstress (a girl) or a tailor (a boy); I've heard that a thimble could also mean you will have a lovely house/household when you grow up.

And here is a great recipe for those who are not trying to use up all the butter, sugar and eggs in the house for this one meal (from SparkPeople):

100 Calorie cinnamon pancakes 
Whole Wheat Flour, 1.25 cup
Baking Soda, 1 tsp  
Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, 2 tbsp  
Skim Milk, 1 cup  
Eggbeaters, .5 cup  
Vanilla extract, 1 tbs
Cinnamon, 2 tbsp 

Mix flour, baking soda, and splenda in bowl. Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl. Beat into dry mix roughly, so as to add more air to mix. Stir in cinnamon last. Serving size is 1/3 cup mix. Use a cooking spray on the skillet when cooking.

Serving size is one pancake. If you use less than 1/3 of a cup batter (like 1/4, or 1/6) you can have two for 100 calories. You can also add smooshed bananas to the batter, blueberries,peanut butter, use real eggs instead of egg beaters, or add a touch of brown sugar instead of the splenda. I also generally add a tsp of baking powder to pancakes to make them extra fluffy.
Number of Servings: 8

We've only just begun...

You don't have to worry
All your worried days are gone
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come...
- The Zombies

I'm thinking about 2010 and all that happened in life, and in some respects with food and cooking. It's been a large year and it's quickly coming to a close. So in its dwindling days, I'll be thinking about the ups and downs, the successes and lop-sided moments. Sounds like as good a way as any to mark the end of the year.

And for one day in the new year, DesktopGourmet will list some personal accomplishments (both food and otherwise) as I enter 2011 with some (hopefully) new found perspective.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

So so so sweet potato crisp

It's holiday pot luck season and I've found a new go-to dish to cart along to parties. It's a crowd pleaser, gluten free, vegetarian (though not vegan) and easy to whip together. It's part dessert and part side-dish so it's perfect for any type of get-together. And there's seasonal ingredients so it'll put you and the guests in the right mood for some holiday cheer.

What you'll need:
8 oz cream cheese
1 can sweet potato (or about 2 medium cooked sweet potatoes)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 apple (I used Granny Smith), cut into small cubes
2/3 cups cranberries
1/2 cup flour (I used rice flour to make this gluten free)
1/2 cup oats (old fashioned, not cooked)
1/3 cup butter/margarine (softened)
1/4 cup pecans (optional)

What to do:
1) Heat oven to 350 F

2) Beat cream cheese, potato, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the cinnamon in a blender or food processor until combined and smooth. Pout into a casserole dish (1 1/2 qt) and top with cranberries and apple pieces.


3) Mix together the flour, oats and remaining sugar with the butter. Use your fingers to mix it all up until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in nuts and sprinkle the crumbs over the dish.

4) Bake, covered, for 30-35 mins until heated through and golden brown.

I would suggest experimenting with this too because pears or pomegranate seeds sound awfully good too! And I didn't have pecans so I used peanuts and it worked out well.

If you're making this ahead of time for a party, you can bake it and cool it down before refrigerating. When you're at the party, put the dish in the oven again to re-heat and away you go!

Cookie Me Christmas

To kick off the holiday baking season, I decided to start with a fool-proof stand-by recipe: the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. This recipe makes a bunch of cookies (as in 40 or so) and is easy to make and bake. It's not diet, or gluten free or even dairy free but it is an old stand-by and I'm sure many of you out there are going to be looking for a great cookie recipe this season.

What you'll need:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I did sub half of the white flour with whole wheat and it worked out fine)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
34 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips + 1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven 375 degrees F

Like many cookie recipes, you make this one in two stages: wet and dry. First combine the flour, baking soda and salt together in one bowl and stir with a whisk to get any lumps out. Second, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together the soft butter, sugars and vanilla. Combining butter and sugar is called "creaming" and you'll know it's done combing when the mixture is lump-free and fluffy. Then you add one egg at a time, combining after each addition, to the wet mixture. Finally, combine the dry into the wet (in batches and slowly so you don't end up with a snow-storm of flour in your kitchen). Stir in the chocolate and nuts by hand with a spatula.

You then drop the cookie batter onto non-greased cookie sheets with a spoon. I use two spoons, one to drop and the other to pry off the dough hanging on to the original spoon. It's a technique that's good if you don't want to get your hands in a mess

Bake each cookie sheet 9-11 minutes until the cookies are just set in the middle and brown on the edges. You may have to rotate and/or turn your sheet in the oven depending on how hot your oven is, if it's convection, if it's old, etc. I recommend not putting more cookie dough on a hot, out-of-the-oven, sheet because it causes the dough to melt a little and screws up the baking time.

Let baked cookies cool on the sheets on top of the stove for a few minutes before transferring them to wire racks to complete cooling. Pour up a glass of milk and enjoy! Merry (early) Christmas!

Birthday happiness

My birthday party table with candy buffet, watermelon shark and huge themed birthday cake courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend. We ate and ate and ate ourselves into a birthday tropical paradise!

Whew it's been a while since I uploaded anything or did a blog entry. I haven't even told you how my birthday party went! It was a few weeks ago and the luau theme was smashing! The weather cooperated and, though extremely windy, it was a hot and lovely night.

My luau-themed food went over well too. I started with the idea to roast a pig but that didn't fly. Then I dumbed the idea down to pulled pork sandwiches. That would have been more work and messiness than it was worth though. So in the end I did a bunch of finger foods, some on sticks, that guests could pick up and eat while mingling with a drink in one hand. For that drink, I made huge batches of sangria. One batch was my regular birthday (or any special occasion) alcoholic sangria. The other was a non-alcoholic sangria punch for anyone who wanted something refreshing but didn't want the buzz. The recipe is from Kraft Foods and it's served me well for a few parties. Seriously, it tastes just like the real thing!

For the food I made:
- fruit kabobs (self-explanatory enough)
- pigs in a blanket (get it??)
- candy buffet with tropical-themed candy like Swedish fish, gummy sharks, sour fruit, etc.
- Hawaiian pizza on a stick (this was a kabob of ham, pineapple and cheese with pizza dipping sauce)






And finally the main event:

My watermelon shark! I saw a picture of this online and knew I had to make it as the centerpiece of my party. I got directions here and enlisted my sister to help carve the shape of the shark mouth and teeth. Using blueberries for eyes and more Swedish fish as the shark's food, the whole thing was a big hit!

Add in some twinkle lights on the patio, a few leis for guests to wear, some beach balls and you've got yourself a party. So there it is, a long-awaited update and a recount of my birthday luau party. With a little imagination, Internet researching and some food I was able to create a tropical paradise birthday party.

And I whopped it up a bit with some sparklers at midnight!

Sugar, (maple) sugar

In the spirit of Canada Day (and summer pot lucks) I present to you a different and creative offering: maple shortbread.

You 'll need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple suyrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup!)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with parchment paper or foil (or a large springform pan like I used) and preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream together the sugar, butter and syrup until fluffy.

Add in the flour, 1/2 cups at a time by hand. Stir together until everything is just combined.
Press the soft dough into yiour prepared pan. Prick the top of the shortbread all over with a fork. Bake at 350 degress 25 minutes until golden. Let it cool on a wire rack.
You can leave the shortbread just like this, or you can gild the lilly a tad with a maple candy glaze (!) by combining in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs whipping cream
2 cups peanuts (optional).

Pour the melted mixture over the prepared shortbread and smooth to cover. Put the whole thing back into the oven for 20 minutes more until the topping is caramalized and golden. Cut into wedgest (or squares/bars depending on the size pan you use). This should make about 40 decent-sized bars if you use a 9x13 inch pan. They're rich cookies with a hint of maple flavour. Just enough to

A thought on themes

My birthday is approaching and I've begun thinking about parties and themes. Now I'm not one to turn down a good party of any kind. And I fully believe with the right mix of people, you don't need a themed party to have a good time. Most of my party past has consisted of good friends, good wine, good food and laughs. That all being said though, I really wanted to do something a little different for my birthday. It's smack dab in the middle of July and I'm hoping for good weather. I was thinking a wine and cheese dress-up party. But the reconsidered, thinking that with (hopefully) hot temps and celebration, no one will want to be confined to a fancy dress or suit. So I'm going to go with an old stand-by: Hawaiian luau.

This type of party theme can get a bit out of hand quite easily. I'm aware of the tackiness that comes along with this party meme. It's fine to go out and get a bunch of decorations from the dollar or party-supply store. But that can become over-done and lack-luster. I'm going minimalist on the decorations and trying to get creative on the food and drink. I hope I'll meet this party theme half-way and succeed in throwing a fun bash that lets everyone relax and enjoy themselves.

So in the next few weeks I'll be thinking up fun food ideas, researching tropical cocktails, stringing up twinkle lights, and scanning stores for leis. I hope it to be low-stress and fun. Stay tuned for pictures and feel free to submit ideas or recipes!

Momma needs a drink...

Sometimes in life, a girl just needs a drink to get her through to the next hurdle. And it is in these times when knowing a little about tastes and having no fear of experimentation comes in handy. Give me a poorly stocked bar and martini shaker, and some ice, and I'll come up with something. Like a MacGyver in the kitchen. Yesterday, given I had not one bottle of wine left (at least not one that I was willing to open for such a grand occasion as a Tuesday night) all I had was peach schnapps (don't ask why), lemonade, grenadine and vodka. Believe it or not but it worked well enough. Recipes and kitchen experimentation doesn't have to be all about food. No sirree. You can extend your enjoyment to the liquid variety (either alcoholic or non if you wish). If you're in the mood to have a little fun with liquid libations yourself, here are some resources I've found useful throughout the years:

Epicurious

What to Drink

The Webtender

Cocktail Times

Holiday baking

I've posted on the Signal Blog about my holiday shortbread baking-fest. Happy holidays all!

The kitchen grinch mindset

What better season is there for cooking and baking then the holidays? The weather is cold, houses are warm and filled with friends and family, guests keep you on your hosting toes...except all that is a bunch of crap. Right? Well not really but it feels like it lately and I swore to myself this year to take a break and not over-exert myself into the food frenzies. Last year I did two brunches back to back weekends, made homemade treats as gifts for everyone I knew (tied with a bow), had at least three different cookie doughs in the freezer "just in case", made my own mulled cider, and did Christmas day breakfast for family before heading out the door for at least two other meals that day. Not this year. Not me. I just don't have the mindset or energy.

But a gathering of old friends who are home for some holidays made me realize I don't have to settle on doing absolutely nothing. There is a happy medium ground between all that baking and cooking activity and being a kitchen grinch. I came to the realization when I tasted this friend's sticky toffee pudding. Now, I'm not from the UK nor do I have an emotional attachment to the stuff. But it was deadly! And it reminded me of a couple cooking shows and specials I've seen over the years where this sticky toffee pudding is featured every time. It's like the Brit's version of fruit cake - only amazingly better. Plus I've always wanted to try making it from scratch. I've even done the caramel sauce before but never the cake.

So I'm going to try my hand at it finally, Rachel Allen's recipe to be exact because it just looked so good in her Bake! cooking school segment. And hopefully, just maybe, it'll get me back into the baking spirit. Then I'll try really hard, I promise, to not get out of control. No biscotti, no sugar cookies, no blueberry jam done up with my own to/from tags and ribbons, no Guinness chocolate cake that takes a whole day to make...just sticky toffee pudding.

One step at a time.

photo: photobucket

Monkey bread

Halloween is upon us and usually I go all out testing my creativity and dishing out all sorts of spooky-themed food. This year though, things are a little different and I won't be having my usual table of horror. But I will need a great dish for a pot luck so I'm making monkey bread. This one has been a favorite of my group of friends for a while and a couple of us make it regularly. It's so gooey and sinfully good it's also known as orgasm cake! Here's how to do it (the recipe that is):

2 cans (340 g each) refrigerated cinnamon roll biscuits

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

125 g (1/2 of 250-g pkg.) brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a fluted or tube cake pan.

Unroll the biscuits and cut them into small pieces. Place the pieces into a bowl and toss with the sugar and cinnamon. You can do this recipe with plain biscuits but you might as well go whole hog on this one!

Start layering the biscuit pieces into the cake pan and sprinkle with the leftover sugar mixture from the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle the whole thing with the butter (hello yumminess). Bake 30-45 mins until puffed up and golden brown. Let cool in pan 5 mins and then invert onto cake plate (one with sides is good to catch any oozy sugary goodness).

To make the dipping icing, mix the cream cheese, sugar and milt together. Put in a small bowl or glass and you can insert the dip right in to the hole in the middle of the cake. This dessert works well for parties because it's interactive and decadent. Caramel-y goodness!

And if you don't have a sweet tooth I just found this idea for a savory monkey bread from Serious Eats.

Happy Halloween!

photo: bakingbites.com

Success!

The turkey brining the night before the big day. I didn't have any receptacle big enough for it so I brined it in the fridge's veggie crisper!

All the sides (well, most of them). The new stove makes for a great server!

The main star! The finished turkey and my dad's carving skills.

The verdict on the turkey? Awesome! I was scared right up until my dad carved the thing but the meat turned out moist, juicy and tasty. All the other meal components went over well too. So there, I did it and it went over well. Our guests had a good time and that's the main thing. Now to relax a bit, have some drink, watch some tv (football apparently) and dream about leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey crazy

It's Thanksgiving dinner at my house today. I have been brining the turkey since last night. This morning I got up, rinsed the thing off, patted it dry and prepared it for the oven. So far so good. I didn't drop it, spill the brining liquid all over my kitchen, cut myself or anything equally as horrible yet. One thing may have gone wrong, though. All my research and experience told me it was going to take a long time to cook a turkey. I have 1 1/2 hours 'till dinner though and I think it's done! The meat thermometer I'm using says it's at the right temperature. What to do now? I'm going to tent it with foil and let it rest. Then I'm going to wing it, so to speak, and rely on the premise that leftover turkey is always better. It looks great though so hopefully it'll taste OK too.

Root vegetables are boiling and stuffing, cranberry sauce and dessert is made.

If you want to know the method I'm using, check out my guest blog account of the details on Signal Blog. I'll keep you posted!