Tag: food

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Turkey soup

Turkey soup

We got a turkey a whole week before Thanksgiving for some reason, so I brined and roasted it as practice for doing it again at a friend’s house next week. It turns out even a 15 pound turkey has quite a bit of meat on it, so I’ve been making turkey dishes all week.

Turkey soup is really easy to make if you can manage to make some turkey stock after carving the bird. To make stock, just simmer the carcass in water a while. You can add things like peppercorns, allspice, onion, celery, carrot, etc. if you want to and are not completely burned out on cooking. I cool the stock a while then strain it into something for the fridge. You can remove the fat from the top the next day.

For the soup, soften some vegetables like onions, celery, cabbage, and so on in butter over medium-low heat. Add some chunks of turkey and some stock and simmer a little while. I serve it with grated cheese and homemade Worcestershire sauce.

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Cheese crisps

Baked cheese

We usually just buy packaged parmesan crisps, but that feels lazy because they’re so easy to make. I don’t think the homemade crisps come out any cheaper than the packaged ones though, so I only recommend making your own if you can’t find the packaged ones. The packaged ones also seem to work better for actual dip delivery, but if that’s your goal pork rinds work way better.

Set your oven to 350 F. A higher temperature will work fine, but will be less forgiving of inattention – a good way to test your smoke detector. You will need a non-stick baking surface, such as a silicone baking mat. Grate a bunch of parmesan-type cheese or use pre-grated. Make little piles of about a tablespoon each of grated cheese, leaving room between them for meltage. Bake at least 10 minutes then start paying attention. They should be completely melted and bubbly. For maximum crispiness bake until they turn golden brown…but don’t let them burn! It’s easiest to move them to a cooling rack if you let them cool in the pan a little bit first. Try not to burn your mouth or eat them all at once.

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Tequila chicken

Tequila chicken Tequila wings

I have most of a bottle of tequila in the cupboard, probably left over from making margaritas a long time ago. Clearly it’s not getting consumed as a beverage, so I decided to try some in a marinade for chicken. It’s excellent mixed with lime juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce, oregano, and cumin. Let the chicken marinate for as long as you can, up to overnight. I’m not sure what it really does, but the chicken seems to take on a nicer golden brown color, and maybe there’s a little of that desert-cactus flavor from the tequila. I first tried it with wings, but it’s great on all bird parts.

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Grilled beef short ribs

Grilled short ribs

I love braised beef short ribs, but in the middle of summer I hate using the oven. It’s not as if it makes the house a lot warmer, but it sure feels like it. So, I grilled these lovely specimens after rubbing them down with some creole seasoning. They did end up a little tough, but that was easily overcome by slicing them thinly.

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Farmer’s market time!

The Amish market in Garrett Park goes on all winter, but the produce can get a little dismal in the middle of winter. Not that there’s anything wrong with turnips, beets, and apples…but brilliant tomatoes and strawberries just look a lot tastier:

Tomatoes Strawberries

The cool thing about the Garret Park market is that it goes on until 1pm, so lazy folks like us can make it there before it closes – we like the Kensington market too, but rarely make it there because it ends at noon.