Dec 08

Crock Pot Mash Potatoes, Reducing the Stress of the Holiday Meal

Holiday meals are an interesting phenomenon where we prepare more side dishes then typically served for a meal. It is also one of the meals where lukewarm dishes appear to be the norm. With this being said, nothing tests the capabilities and capacity of the cook and kitchen more than preparing the holiday meal. There is a balancing act between preparing a large number of traditional family dishes for the meal and the dishes being hot. Even when the cook is calm, cool and collected, the kitchen may just not be large enough to handle all of the side dishes coming out of the off and off of the stove at the same time.

I like my food to be hot and I to struggle with the ability to manage the capacity of the oven with the number of dishes that are requiring cooking or reheating just before the holiday meal is being served. Whereas in the past I have managed through sheer chaos and stress, this year I was presented with a different challenge. We were invited to friends for Thanksgiving Dinner and we were responsible for the Turkey, Mash Potatoes and Dessert.

Mash Potatoes in a Crock Pot

Mash Potatoes Spooned into a Crock Pot

The dilemma that I faced with the mash potatoes was when to prepare them, where to prepare them, how to transport them and when to reheat them? I was speaking with my mother and she mentioned that my sister for the past few years has prepared her mash potatoes early on Thanksgiving Day and kept them heated on Low / Warm in a Crock Pot until it was time to serve the mash potatoes at the meal.

Could the answer to my dilemma be this easy? Was it truly possible to prepare the mash potatoes early that morning, keep them heated in a crock pot throughout the day, then transport them in a stable container, plug the crock pot into a wall socket at our friend’s house and the mash potatoes be hot and ready when it was time for the meal?

Mash Potatoes in a covered Crock Pot

Mash Potatoes in a Crock Pot with Pats of Butter

 

The answer is YES!

A small 3 ½ Quart Slow Cooker / Crock Pot will hold six pounds of mash potatoes. Prepare your mash potatoes as you would for any meal. Before adding the mash potatoes to the crock pot, spray non-stick oil on the inside of the crock pot. Spoon them into the crock pot, top with a couple pats of butter, turn the crock pot into Low / Warm, cover and walk away. It is this simple.

If you are preparing the mash potatoes for a meal at home, then there is nothing more to do until you are ready to serve them for the meal. If you are taking the mash potatoes to a friend’s house, then place the crock pot on the floor of your vehicle and they will arrive safely without tipping over. Once inside, just plug the crock pot into the wall socket and they will be at the perfect temperature for the meal. There is no need to stir the mash potatoes before serving.

Mash Potatoes Kept Hot in a Crock Pot

Mash Potatoes in a Crock Pot Ready to Serve

Dec 06

Carving the Turkey Early, Reducing the Stress of the Holiday Meal

Almost everyone has the image of the Norman Rockwell painting of Freedom from Want with the grandmother presenting the turkey to her family at the dining room table on a platter. It is a nice image, but from my own personal experience, carving a turkey can be a self-imposed stressful experience and not an activity I wish to perform in front of large gathering all waiting to dive into the holiday meal. Not to mention, I typically need to change my clothes and take a shower after carving a turkey and breaking down the carcass to yield as much meat off of the bird.

With this being said, this Thanksgiving I was responsible for roasting the turkey, but the meal was going to be a friend’s house. I went through all of the possible options of when to cook the turkey, how to transport the turkey, where to carve the turkey and when to carve the turkey. In the end, my mother came to my rescue by mentioning that her friend for many years would cook and carve the turkey the on Wednesday, the day prior to Thanksgiving. The meat would be in a pan and reheated in the oven with chicken broth.

Perfectly Roasted 20 Pound Turkey for Thanksgiving

Perfectly Roasted 20 Pound Turkey for Thanksgiving

At first I had difficulty believing that this process would actually work. How could a turkey cooked the prior day still be moist and tender? The key to keeping the turkey moist and tender was to pour enough chicken broth to cover the bottom ¼ inch of the pan and then tightly seal the entire pan with aluminum foil.

Early on Thanksgiving morning, I pulled the turkey out of the refrigerator, removed the giblets, wash the turkey and then covered with entire bird with melted butter, salt and black pepper. The turkey went into the oven for the recommended amount of time and when finished I removed the perfectly cooked bird. I allowed to turkey to cool down and then proceeded to carve the turkey removing both the white and dark meat. I placed all of the meat into a large deep aluminum pan and poured in enough chicken broth to cover the bottom ¼ inch of the pan. The aluminum pan was then tightly wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the refrigerator.

A few hours later when it was time to go to our friends for Thanksgiving dinner, the tightly wrapped plan was easily placed in the back of the vehicle and brought to our friend’s. About 45 minutes prior to sitting down to eat, I preheated their oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and placed the covered pan into the oven. Once we were ready to eat, I removed the pan from the oven, removed the aluminum foil cover and in the pan was steaming moist sliced turkey.

Carved Turkey Meat in an Aluminum Pan

Carved Turkey Meat in an Aluminum Pan

Of course I was still hesitant that the turkey would be dry and tough, but true to my mother’s instructions, the turkey was perfect. In fact, it was some of the best turkey I have ever eaten. As promised the turkey was moist and tender. I know that I will never even attempt to time the turkey being ready and carved just before we sit down for a holiday meal ever again. Not only is having the turkey ready to serve hours or even a day earlier a less stressful way to prepare for the meal, but having the turkey already carved and ready to be served on a platter for the table allows the oven to be used for other dishes and helps minimize the amount of cleaning required after the meal.

For me, the additional time provided allowed me to start the stock pot to make Roasted Turkey Soup from the carcass before leaving for the dinner at our friends. Yes, the image of the turkey being brought to the table is a nice image, but in the end, less stress will always make for a better memory of the holiday meal with friends and family.

Remains of Thanksgiving

Turkey Carcass on Cutting Board

 

Dec 04

Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen with the Succulent Salmon

I have not played the board game Clue in decades, but when thinking of titles for this post, the inclusion of Colonel Mustard was decided upon from the very beginning. I wish I knew what it was, but the pairing of mustard with salmon is one of those combinations where you just cannot go wrong. What initially was going to be one post about salmon baked with mustard is now a post on the number of variety of mustards that pair well with salmon and baked.

Wrapped Salmon with Ingredients for a Mustard Crust

Wrapped Salmon with Ingredients for a Mustard Crust

Whether the mustard is a sharp Deli Brown, a refined Grey Poupon or a tangy Horseradish Mustard, there is one element critical to the mustard and that is the inclusion of an acid.

Different Types of Mustard used to Bake Salmon

Different Types of Mustard used to Bake Salmon

Yes, the mustard in a container already has an acid added, typically a vinegar, but when preparing the mustard for the fish, I have found that for every three tablespoons of mustard, one tablespoon of an acid is needed. At the moment, we have been using fresh squeezed lime juice, but any acid (vinegar, citrus juice or even a dry white wine) would do just fine.

Ingredients:

Salmon Fillets (The mustard mixture will be enough to cover three pounds of fillets)

3 x Tablespoons of Mustard

1 x Tablespoon of an Acid (White Vinegar, Citrus Juice or a Dry White Wine)

Salt & Black Pepper

Preparation:

While the oven is preheating to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, place the salmon fillets on the parchment paper you have put on the baking pans.

Salmon Filet Portion Cut in Half

Salmon Filet Portion Cut in Half

Mix the mustard, your acid and also add black pepper and salt to taste. I have applied the salt and black pepper to the fish in all possible combinations, and have found that adding the seasoning directly to the mustard ensures that best coverage to the fish.

Mixture of Mustard, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper and Salt Mixed Together to be Coated on the Salmon

Mixture of Mustard, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper and Salt Mixed Together to be Coated on the Salmon

Liberally brush on the mustard mixture on the fish, coating not only the top, but also the sides of the fillet. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Salmon Filets Coated with Mustard, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper and Salt

Salmon Filets Coated with Mustard, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper and Salt

Once the fish has baked, remove the salmon from the parchment paper and serve with a vegetable that has been steamed or stir fried. For us, baked salmon and stir fried broccoli is the go to combination.

Mustard Crusted Baked Salmon Filet

Baked Salmon Filet with Mustard Crust on Parchment Paper

To date, the following mustard style have been tried; Grey Poupon, Deli Style Brown, Chinese and Horseraish. There are several more that I still desire to try; course ground and a English style.  Likewise, there is a container of Honey Mustard and Ballpark Style (bright yellow) in the refrigerator that I have been hesitant to consider. To date, the Chinese Style Hot Mustard has been the most impressive.

Baked Salmon Filet with a Mustard Crust

Baked Salmon Filet with a Mustard Crust served with Brocoli

Nov 26

Turkey Cottage Pie (Re-Purposing Thanksgiving Leftovers)

I initially was calling this meal Turkey Shepherd’s Pie until Stuart ask me when was the last time I heard of someone shepherding a flock of turkeys? Sometimes the Scot’s can be so infuriating with their exactness. Regardless of the name given, shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, a casserole or a gratin, this meal is a delicious, one pot way of using some of those Thanksgiving / Holiday Dinner leftovers.

Turkey Cottage Pie on a Plate from Thanksgiving Leftovers

Turkey Cottage Pie on a Plate

I have plenty of leftover turkey meat and giblet gravy to make more than one turkey pot pie, but I wanted to do something different. I had a lot of leftovers from the 10 pound bag of potatoes that I made into mash potatoes so I was thinking that I would make a turkey cottage pie.

The vegetables that I added to the turkey and gravy were fresh mushrooms and a frozen medley of vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans) but honestly any type of vegetable chopped small would be perfect.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups of Diced Leftover Turkey
  • 2 Cups of Fresh Mushrooms
  • 2 Cups of Frozen Mixed Vegetables
  • 2 Cups of Leftover Gravy (Giblet Gravy for me)
  • 4 – 6 Cups of Leftover Mash Potatoes (Heated to make it easier to spread on top of the other ingredients)
  • Butter
  • Salt & Pepper (To taste, but since most of the ingredients have been previously seasoned, little to no additional seasoning will be required)
  • 8” x 6“ Aluminum Containers (2 Count) or a 9” x 12” Casserole Dish (1 Count)

This amount of ingredients will make two small dishes, with one dish feeding two people comfortably or the use of a large casserole dish to feed four people with no problem.

Preparation:

  1. In a large bowl add the turkey, mushrooms, mixed vegetables and gravy, mixing all of the ingredients together.

    Turkey Cottage Pie Filling

  2. Then ladle the contents of the bowl into the aluminum containers / casserole dish.

    Turkey Cottage Pie Filling in Aluminum Dishes

  3. Once all of the filling has been ladled into the dish, then gently spread the warmed leftover mash potatoes over the top of the filling. If desired and who can resist, top the mash potatoes with a few pats of butter.

    Turkey Cottage Pie Topped with Mash Potatoes

  4. In an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, cook the turkey cottage pie for 30 minutes uncovered. Let the cottage pie sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

    Turkey Cottage Pie Baked and Ready to Eat

It was a tasty meal utilizing leftovers from the holiday dinner. I can see making this same meal with leftover roasted chicken when mash potatoes and gravy were also made for that meal.

Baking a Frozen Turkey Cottage Pie:

For this recipe I made two 8” x 6” containers of Turkey Cottage Pie. One we ate for dinner and the other was covered with a lid an placed in the freezer to be eaten at a later date.

Turkey Cottage Pie Sealed and Ready to be Frozen

When this frozen Turkey Cottage Pie is going to be eaten, the oven will be preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and the container will go into the oven for 50 minutes covered and then for the last 5 – 10 minutes broil the cottage pie to brown the mash potato topping.

Nov 25

A Melting Moment

As a young girl growing up in New Zealand I used to enjoy these simple biscuits/cookies as a treat after school. In some ways Melting Moments biscuits are like a lighter version of shortbread, and because of the icing sugar and cornflour, they literally melt in the mouth, and the amount of butter, makes them very more-ish. In some way they are similar to Viennese biscuits, but they tend to be piped into shapes rather than biscuit shapes.

Melting Moments

Melting Moments

Though I’ve heard since that people in the UK make melting moment biscuits, I think they are more popular in Australia and New Zealand. As well as making them into biscuit shapes, you could add lemon juice and zest to the mixture for Lemon Melting Moments or some coco for chocolate flavoured ones. Another popular way of presenting them is to stick two of them together with butter icing to make a sandwich. As I mentioned Melting Moments are very similar to Viennese biscuits, so you could use a piping bag to make different shapes of biscuits.

Ingredients

  • 125g (4.5oz) butter, room temperature
  • 115g (4oz) of plain (all purpose flour)
  • 45g (1.5oz) of icing (confectioners) sugar
  • 50g (1.7oz) of cornflour (corn starch)

Method

    1. Heat the oven to 160C (320F) and either greased a baking tray with butter or line it with parchment paper.
    2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is pale and creamy.
    3. Add the flour, icing sugar and cornflour to the mix and combine with a wooden spoon to a smooth paste.

      Butter, flours and sugar creamed together

      Butter, flours and sugar creamed together

    4. Roll the mixture into golf balls sized shapes and place on the baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them for expansion. Press a fork into the top of each of the balls to slightly flatten them and make a pattern on top.

      Melting Moments ready for the oven

      Melting Moments ready for the oven

    5. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until they are a light golden brown.
    6. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and leave to cool before eating.