[blindcooks] Re: How was your Thanksgiving?
- From: "Jon Rawlings" <twosocks76@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2013 08:14:03 -0800
I forgot to mention that our dessert Thanksgiving Day was the most amazing
apple pie I have ever had. I am still learning to make pie crust from scratch,
so I cheated by using pie crusts from the refrigerated section of the grocery
store. But, the pie filling was simply awesome! I cooked the apples on top of
the stove to drive off some of the moisture and concentrate their flavor, then
let it cool before making the pie the next day. The recipe is made in a cast
iron skillet and is made by placing the bottom crust on top of a butter and
brown sugar layer before filling the crust with the apple filling and placing
the top crust. Cooking the fruit before filling the pie means there's far less
shrinking of the fruit as it bakes, which means the top crust is flush with the
filling, and the risk of the juices boiling over is virtually eliminated. I am
going to make another version with a streusel topping and see how I like that
version, but the one that was served after the big dinner was about as good as
it gets! Jon
----- Original Message -----
From: Jon Rawlings
To: Blind Cooks List
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 8:05 AM
Subject: [blindcooks] How was your Thanksgiving?
I was just wondering how everyone's Thanksgiving holiday turned out. Emily
just took my brother-in-law to the bus station, and my mother and father-in-law
had a very early flight out this morning, so it's now back to life as usual for
us. I, for one, had a great week. Emily's parents arrived Monday night, and
my brother-in-law Chris arrived Tuesday afternoon. I made the traditional
Thanksgiving roasted turkey, which I brined over Wednesday night. My
father-in-law and Chris helped me race through most of the prep work on
Wednesday, which was a tremendous help. It was the easiest Thanksgiving meal I
have ever made because I had so much help getting it all done. Side dishes
included sausage and sage dressing which I made from my own homemade country
French bread, a green beans recipe from her side of the family, mashed potatoes
and gravy, and homemade dinner rolls. We also had munchies sitting out for
folks to nibble while dinner was being made. These included roasted salted
peanuts in the shell, deviled eggs, and an awesome chip dip that Emily grew up
eating on special family occasions that the family simply refers to as pickle
dip. It is simple, but very addictive, and everyone in the family has their
own slight twist on how they make it. It was a small group this year with only
5 of us total, but there was enough food to serve at least 12. It is
traditional in Emily's family to have several puzzles and games sitting out for
people to play and work on throughout the day as well, and we kept that
tradition going this year. We all went out Friday night to our very favorite
pizza joint, and my in-laws were very impressed, both with the quality of the
food and with the owner himself. One of my good friends works there part time
and is best friends with the guy that owns the place. We learned that folks
from the TV show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" will be here in March to film a
segment for their show featuring this awesome pizza shop and Italian eatery.
We're not sure when it will air, but when I find out, I will let you all know.
Saturday was full of fun activities such as a picnic which featured some of our
leftovers in sandwiches, a trip to the aquarium at a local neighborhood casino,
and a trip to the Ethel M. chocolate factory not far from us. The grounds
featured a huge number of all different types of cactus that had been decorated
with Christmas lights in all kinds of different colors. All in all, it was a
great week. Now, we turn our attention to Christmas and the coming new year.
This week will be bringing some much colder weather, which I am looking forward
very much. And last of all, since I haven't announced this on list yet, I
thought I'd let everyone know that Emily and I are expecting our first child in
May. We do not know the sex just yet, but expect to find out when we go to our
appointment in the first week of January. Fortunately for both of us, the
morning sickness phase is pretty much over and done...thank goodness! Life
will be changing a great deal in the not-too-distant future. Now, I'd like to
hear what others did for their holiday if you're willing to share. Jon
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