My 30 Days of Thankful
Day 22
I am thankful that I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family. My husband does not have to work. My kids have no schooling. Everyone is healthy and home together. There are many families that are separated during the holidays. From families going through deployments, hospitalizations and shared custody of children; there are many families that are not as lucky as I. I am very grateful for the time I have with my family. I know that one day each of my children will grow up and make their own families. One day they will want to do their own Thanksgiving Dinner in their own home. I hope they will be able to accept that they are growing up graciously and be willing to back away so they can spread their wings to soar.
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
30 Day of Thankful (Day 21)
My 30 days of Thankful
Day 21
I am thankful for my Culinary Arts training. It makes preparation for big holiday meals less stressful. Proper preparation can prevent you from panicking the day of. Make any fillings the day before. Chop any vegetables. (minus onions as they absorb bacteria too fast once cut) Plan when you need to get each dish in the oven. Pre-steam veggies earlier in the day, then put in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Finish them in the oven after the turkey comes out. (while the turkey rests before carving. At least 30 minutes)
Day 21
I am thankful for my Culinary Arts training. It makes preparation for big holiday meals less stressful. Proper preparation can prevent you from panicking the day of. Make any fillings the day before. Chop any vegetables. (minus onions as they absorb bacteria too fast once cut) Plan when you need to get each dish in the oven. Pre-steam veggies earlier in the day, then put in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Finish them in the oven after the turkey comes out. (while the turkey rests before carving. At least 30 minutes)
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
30 Days of Thankful (Day 13)
My 30 Days of Thankful
Day 13
I am thankful that when my husband's scooter broke down this weekend it was not the entire clutch burning out like he sourly thought. Instead of this much more expensive repair, I am grateful that it was only the drive belt. It is our sole transportation for him to and from work. (other than bicycles) Yes, you read that right.. We do NOT own a car. It is one of the luxuries we gave up so that I could be a stay at home mom to our kids full time.
It has not been easy. There has been a few incidences where my family has given us a ride in emergencies. Like Nadia's head injury thanks to her two older rougher big sisters. I could have called an ambulance and thanks to our awesome insurance gotten her a free ride to the hospital but it was not that kind of emergency.
There are also less drastic situations like when my family celebrates Thanksgiving out at my sister's house out in the middle of no where. I would gladly stay home and cook but in the past they bullied until I let someone drive us all out there. This year we are staying home. ::excited::
Day 13
I am thankful that when my husband's scooter broke down this weekend it was not the entire clutch burning out like he sourly thought. Instead of this much more expensive repair, I am grateful that it was only the drive belt. It is our sole transportation for him to and from work. (other than bicycles) Yes, you read that right.. We do NOT own a car. It is one of the luxuries we gave up so that I could be a stay at home mom to our kids full time.
It has not been easy. There has been a few incidences where my family has given us a ride in emergencies. Like Nadia's head injury thanks to her two older rougher big sisters. I could have called an ambulance and thanks to our awesome insurance gotten her a free ride to the hospital but it was not that kind of emergency.
There are also less drastic situations like when my family celebrates Thanksgiving out at my sister's house out in the middle of no where. I would gladly stay home and cook but in the past they bullied until I let someone drive us all out there. This year we are staying home. ::excited::
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Eat, Drink and Be Thankful!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Remember to take time today to remember what you are thankful for. Show someone how much you appreciate them. Share what you are thankful for with those in your life. I am thankful for my family.
Fun Fact: Did you know that Thanksgiving was usually celebrated in September or October? In1941, Congress set the date as the fourth Thursday in November and made it a national holiday
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Remember to take time today to remember what you are thankful for. Show someone how much you appreciate them. Share what you are thankful for with those in your life. I am thankful for my family.
Fun Fact: Did you know that Thanksgiving was usually celebrated in September or October? In1941, Congress set the date as the fourth Thursday in November and made it a national holiday
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Some Sanity in the Madness
It's that time again this year. Time to start your OVENS!! Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Every year I go baking mad and it all starts with the baking marathon that is Thanksgiving. My very large family still gathers together every year even though we have all grown and had our own families. In this gorging spectacle my job has always been the pies. I love to bake, if you don't... tough cookies and nasty store bought brick cookies to you too. I'll add a few more tips for Thanksgiving to satisfying even the most baking challenged.
Even with all the dangers of stuffing turkeys people still enjoy doing it. Nothing like bonding over a family struck down with food poisoning. To be safer this holiday after draining the excess blood from the turkey heavily sprinkle kosher salt on the inside cavity of the turkey. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and rinse in cold water. The salt will draw the excess blood out of the cavity.
A good time saver is to cut all the vegetable for the hor'dourves tray the day before and just store the cut vegetables in an ice bath in the fridge. You can also cut the veggies in to decorative flowers if the mood strikes you. The easiest to make by far is a mum. Cut a criss-cross pattern (4 lines intersecting from 2 different sides in an X) into the top half of a radish and store in an ice bath for it to "bloom" open.
When making your apple pies this year for thanksgiving be sure you simmer the apples in a pan before baking in the pie shell. If you don't precook the apples you could end up with a large gap between the top crust and the apples.
A extra tip when making the pie dough crust use ICE cold water. It keeps the fat from blending easily with the flour. The less you blend the dough the flakier the crust. I prefer placing all my ingredients in the freezer after measuring out the dry ingredients (salt and flour) into a freezer bag. In a separate bowl cool the fats (butter or shortening). I cool all ingredients separately for 30 minutes before blending together as usual.
While baking your pies and the crust starts to darker long before the pie will be done. Make a ring around the outside edges of your pie with tinfoil.
To get that extra golden look to your crusts lightly brush the crusts with a egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar to give it extra crunch.
Egg wash for browning baked goods. 1 egg whipped with 1TB water. Brush on baked goods lightly to get a golden sheen. Then bake as usual. This will even work well on rolls.
Various Thanksgiving Tips
Even with all the dangers of stuffing turkeys people still enjoy doing it. Nothing like bonding over a family struck down with food poisoning. To be safer this holiday after draining the excess blood from the turkey heavily sprinkle kosher salt on the inside cavity of the turkey. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and rinse in cold water. The salt will draw the excess blood out of the cavity.
A good time saver is to cut all the vegetable for the hor'dourves tray the day before and just store the cut vegetables in an ice bath in the fridge. You can also cut the veggies in to decorative flowers if the mood strikes you. The easiest to make by far is a mum. Cut a criss-cross pattern (4 lines intersecting from 2 different sides in an X) into the top half of a radish and store in an ice bath for it to "bloom" open.
When making your apple pies this year for thanksgiving be sure you simmer the apples in a pan before baking in the pie shell. If you don't precook the apples you could end up with a large gap between the top crust and the apples.
A extra tip when making the pie dough crust use ICE cold water. It keeps the fat from blending easily with the flour. The less you blend the dough the flakier the crust. I prefer placing all my ingredients in the freezer after measuring out the dry ingredients (salt and flour) into a freezer bag. In a separate bowl cool the fats (butter or shortening). I cool all ingredients separately for 30 minutes before blending together as usual.
While baking your pies and the crust starts to darker long before the pie will be done. Make a ring around the outside edges of your pie with tinfoil.
To get that extra golden look to your crusts lightly brush the crusts with a egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar to give it extra crunch.
Egg wash for browning baked goods. 1 egg whipped with 1TB water. Brush on baked goods lightly to get a golden sheen. Then bake as usual. This will even work well on rolls.
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