Tuesday's Plan

I woke up thinking about napkin rings, lol.  So, which will it be? Black or brown dinner plate? Brown or silver napkin ring? I love the black plate. I like the silver napkin ring, but I NEVER get to use the brown ones.

Decided to put my to do list in Google Keep. Trying to make technology work for me :-)

Today I get to play with my new food processor when I make cornbread. I am very sad about the demise of my old food processor. The dishwasher killed the handle on the work bowl. I can't find a replacement bowl. In b-school, I learned about the network effect. It's like being an Android or Apple person. You pick one because everything works together so nicely. After you choose, it's really hard to switch because you are vested in the current platform. 

That's how I feel about KitchenAid. My new food processor is a KitchenAid, only because all of my other countertop appliances, except two, are KitchenAid onyx black, (The offending two match each other and are together in another part of the kitchen.) Here's the problem -- I already hate this new food processor! Why? It is so lightweight compared to the old one. It feels like they took all the metal out! I also can't use any of my zillions of discs and attachments from the old model. That's a damn shame and really crappy since for the Kitchenaid stand mixers, any attachment works on just about any mixer. Grrr. 

Last night, before going to bed, I found all of the serving dishes. Those will be run through the dishwasher today.Today I'm making greens, brining the turkey and rocking a pound cake. I won't break a sweat until tomorrow :-) #Thanksgiving2015

Day 1 #Thanksgiving2015

I'm out of practice lol! I decided to make vanilla ice cream. When I reached for my vanilla beans, they we crunchy, so extract to the rescue. I have two ice cream cookbooks, one by Ben & Jerry, the other is by Williams-Sonoma. I prefer the Ben & Jerry book. The problem is, the recipies are for no-cook custard. Works fine for me, but my guests may have issues. I proceeded to cook and then overcook my custard :-( We'll see how it churns tomorrow.

I could be a Breyer's Ice Cream commercial -- fou ingredients you can pronounce!

I made turkey stock for the greens today. Shout out to the Cuisinart Slow Cooker - 9.5 hours on high. I start simple, just onion and garlic.  

Get you some smoked turkey wings and low sodium chicken broth. 

So here's the deal. I gave up pork in the mid '90s because of my family health history. It was either that or sweets and I have a distinct love for butter and sugar. Anyhoo, nothing flavors greens and beans like pork. Folks who claim turkey is the same are lying! Turkey is good, but it doesn't have the power of pork! 

Here's what I do to compensate. Use chicken broth or stock with your smoked turkey. Water won't do you any favors when it comes to flavor. Don't add any salt! Even low-sodium products have enough salt. 

I'll let it cool and then remove the fat.

You want your bones to be brittle and appear bleached. This means you've extracted all the flavor. These might be a little underdone. I want more than spotty white patches. If the stock doesn't set up properly (really gelatinous), back to the slow cooker!

I got my serving dishes down and started on my table. Not bad, huh?

I'm Ready

                           

I feel really good about this year! Groceries are bought. The major house cleaning is done. Recipes are out and ready for use. The only side project this year is a coconut cake. (I know. It's a major project.)  The challenge this year -- dinner is at 12:30!

Today I start the greens. The turkey has been thawing since Friday night.

#Thanksgiving2015