It's That Time of Year...my most requested recipe

Keep It Simple Turkey Recipe

I have used this easy, no baste method for years...

Prep Bird: Thaw, Remove Giblets, Rinse in and out, Pat Dry

Soften 1 stick Butter, mix in 1 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning

Place 2 cups Chicken Broth in sauce pan and bring to boil (can sub 1 cup white wine or beer)

Gently loosen skin around breast, sides and back. "Rub" seasoned butter inside the skin and distribute evenly. Tie legs together with kitchen twine or mint-free dental floss and fold/tuck wings under-neath bird. Season Turkey with salt and pepper, inside and out.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use lowest oven rack so Turkey is not too close to top of oven.

Line Roasting Pan with foil (easy clean up). Spray inside of large Baking Bag with Pam and place Turkey in bag. Open bag wide enough to expose turkey and gently pour the hot stock/wine mixture over entire bird. This will "shrink wrap" the skin to the meat! (It looks cool--let kids watch this part). Press all the air out of the bag and tie with the twist tie or kitchen twine.

Place in warm oven and bake a 10-12 lb Turkey for 1 hour**. Open the cooking bag and press all the way down the sides and back. Lower oven temp to 350 and cook for one more hour

Poultry should be 160-170 degrees done.

Remove from oven, over with foil and a clean bath towel and let rest for 30-45 minutes so juices will re-distribute. If you slice too early, it will be dry!

** For any lb above 12 lbs, add 5 minutes cooking time per pound. If above 18 lbs-20 lbs, add 4 minutes cooking time per pound. (If over 20 lbs buy a HAM too!!)

ENJOY!!! Happy Thanksgiving...

Texas Birthday Bash

My daughter, Lindsay, turned 25 this weekend and we did a Texas themed birthday party to celebrate our family roots. BBQ and all the Fixins plus some other nibbles...

Here are a few of the recipes that folks have requested:

Pineapple-PepperJack Pimento Cheese Dip
1 cup grated Pepper Jack Cheese
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 small can Crushed Pineapple (Drained)
1 cup Mayo (may need to add few more Tbsp for desired consistency)
1 small jar diced Pimentos (Drained well)
1 small Jalopeno Pepper (seeded/deveined) chopped fine
3 Green Onions/Scallions sliced fin, green and whites
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In large bowl mix the Mayo, Onions, Pimentos, Jalopeno. Add in Pineapple, but dont over mix or it will get watery. Gently fold in Cheeses until well combined. Refrigerate for few hours to allow flavors to marry.

Serve with hearty crackers, pita chips or roll into tortillas jelly roll style and slice. Also great as a grilled cheese sandwich. I have also spread this into a platter and topped with Pepper Jelly...

ENJOY!

Best Thing I Ever Ate...Up to Now...still Eating...

There are a couple of Food Network and Cooking Channel shows that highlight some of the FN host's favorite bites and unusual food-finds or unique eats. Watching these made me think of my own culinary experiences to date. Here is a short list and, as usual, this list is subject to change as I continue to travel, experiment and munch my way through this life.

I will start off with some favorite dishes from basic "food groups" and finish with some of my "other" favorite bites. Some made my eyes roll back in my head...Here we go:

Favorite Pizza: Canadian Bacon/Mushroom/Pineapple-Thin Crust @ Crystal's Pizza Cave in Ablilene, Tx. Favorite Local--Rosa's Pizza and Marietta Pizza Company in Marietta, Ga

Favorite Mexican: Queso Flameado con Chorizo@ Uncle Julio's and Chicken Tortilla Soup @ The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Tx. Sour-Cream-Chicken Enchiladas my Mom's recipe.

Favorite Sushi: Favorite dish on the menu: Lobster Ceviche Salad@ Morimoto in Philly. Favorite Local--Shallot's Sushi and Thai in Roswell, Ga.

Favorite Steak: Grilled Rib-Eye with Garlic Butter @ Zentner's Daughter Steakhouse in San Angelo, Tx.

Favorite Chinese/Thai: Tea Smoked Duck @ Hunan's Home in San Fran.
Favorite Local--Prawn and Scallops in Garlic Sauce @Chin Chin, Marietta, Ga

Favorite Breakfast: Crab Cakes Cavallo @ Another Broken Egg Cafe--Destin, FL and Buttermilk Pancakes @ The Coffee Cup in Pensacola, Fl.

Favorite Seafood: Pan Roasted Mussels (with EXTRA Garlic Bread for soaking up the broth) @ Chicago's in Marietta, Ga.

Favorite Celebration Meal: 5 Course Dinner with Cornish Game Hen Tajine Entree @ Imperial Fez, Atlanta.

Other Best I Ever Ate--

Best Chicken Fried Steak: Joe Allen's in Abilene, Tx

Best Gravy: Whataburger (Everywhere in Tx and FL)

Best Salad Dressing: Pat's Garlic Dressing at Kountry Kitchen, McCaysville, Ga

Best Donut: The chocolate on chocolate from LaMar's in Kansas City
Best Mac and Cheese: Frankie Bone's on Hilton Head, SC
Best Meat and Three: Alcenia's in Memphis (Fried Pork Chop!!)
Best Sandwich: The Bacon Mushroom Club (sans the Sprouts) at Mellow Mushroom and the Super Duper from Jordan's in Hamlin, Tx. (Extinct :( )
Best Birthday Cake EVER: Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake--most moms and grandmothers in Texas have made this for their families.
Best Cupcake: Caramel Apple from Gigi's Cupcakes--East Cobb
Best Fried Pickles: Zaxby's
Best Lasagna: Blue Jeans in Blue Ridge, Ga
Best Wine: Evolution--Sokol Blosser Winery
Best Burger: Sonic or Whataburger


That's all for now...I'm hungry!

Foods to Focus on in 2011

As we all try to do the right thing and get on track after the gluttony of the holidays, here is a list of the Top 20 Healthiest Foods (according to nutrition experts, not me!)

Hope this helps...Drum roll please....

#20--Turkey Breast--Love It--most versatile protein on the planet
#19--Olive Oil--Use It, keep it simple
#18--Quinoa (hmm?)--had it once I think--becoming more common
#17--Black Beans--Good Stuff--find ways to incorporate in many dishes
#16--Green Tea--Drink it daily--good hot or cold
#15--Eggs--They are Back! Muscle-building, memory-enhancing Choline!
#14--Milk--Low Fat/Skim--daily dairy turns on your fat burners
#13--Water--8x80z per day...you cannot drink too much water in a day
#12--Sweet Potatoes--Baked (not the Yammy Casserole stuff)
#11--Soy--Milk, Tofu, Edemame...good stuff
#10--Beef--careful here--4oz LEAN portions only 3-4 times per week
#9--100% Whole Wheat/Whole Grain Breads--need that fiber--good carbs
#8--Almonds--great for heart, digestion, skin
#7--Yogurt--watch for sugar, keep it low fat and watch exp date--want "active" cultures
#6--Spinach/Broccoli (tie)--eat a bag full!
#5--Bell Peppers--Red, Orange, Yellow are best
#4--Tomatoes--Lycopene--Antioxidant--proven to prevent Prostate cancer
#3--Oatmeal--Best breakfast on the planet--takes down the cholestrol
#2--Blueberries--Antioxidant king!

AND THE #1 Healthist Food is...
#1--Salmon!! Not a personal favorite, but I will do the smoked/lox and in Sushi!

ENJOY!!

Keep It Simple Turkey Recipe

I have used this easy, no baste method for years...

Prep Bird: Thaw, Remove Giblets, Rinse in and out, Pat Dry

Soften 1 stick Butter, mix in 1 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning

Place 2 cups Chicken Broth in sauce pan and bring to boil (can sub 1 cup white wine or beer)

Gently loosen skin around breast, sides and back. "Rub" seasoned butter inside the skin and distribute evenly. Tie legs together with kitchen twine or mint-free dental floss and fold/tuck wings under-neath bird. Season Turkey with salt and pepper, inside and out.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use lowest oven rack so Turkey is not too close to top of oven.

Line Roasting Pan with foil (easy clean up). Spray inside of large Baking Bag with Pam and place Turkey in bag. Open bag wide enough to expose turkey and gently pour the hot stock/wine mixture over entire bird. This will "shrink wrap" the skin to the meat! (It looks cool--let kids watch this part). Press all the air out of the bag and tie with the twist tie or kitchen twine.

Place in warm oven and bake a 10-12 lb Turkey for 1 hour**. Open the cooking bag and press all the way down the sides and back. Lower oven temp to 350 and cook for one more hour

Poultry should be 160-170 degrees done.

Remove from oven, over with foil and a clean bath towel and let rest for 30-45 minutes so juices will re-distribute. If you slice too early, it will be dry!

** For any lb above 12 lbs, add 5 minutes cooking time per pound. If above 18 lbs-20 lbs, add 4 minutes cooking time per pound. (If over 20 lbs buy a HAM too!!)

ENJOY!!! Happy Thanksgiving...

Makes Me Smile

I have decided to keep track of stuff that makes me Smile :)

Some folks may refer to this as "life's simple pleasures," Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman had their "Bucket List," Julie Andrews had "...a few of my favorite things," and each holiday season there is "Oprah's Favorites List" that is a marketing phenomenon and creates overnight millionaires. Then there is that crazy hoarding thing that has found a place in the weekly reality TV lineup...scary!

I am just gonna jot down things that make me smile for whatever reason. When I think about it, I will add to a Scott's Smile Stuff list. I may also try to get rid of some of the clutter and junk-stuff in my offices, car and around our house. (I have shown a few hoarding symptoms if I'm brutally honest...scary!).

It's no surprise that this list starts off with foodie stuff. What did you expect?

SCOTT'S SMILE STUFF

Black-eyed Peas and Cornbread in a bowl; Burnt Ends of BBQ Brisket; That crunchy piece that you nibble off the stick of a Corn Dog! My girls in their matching PJs first thing on Christmas Morning; Sunrise/Sunset in the N. Georgia Mountains; Kim's Blue Eyes when she laughs; Real Lemonade; Chubby Babies; Pictures of my Parents and Grandparents; Making a Par in Golf; Funniest Home Videos; Banana Nut Bread; Janie's Chocolate Gravy on hot Bisquits; Brunswick Stew; Oskar's-Lake Martin, AL; Mussels from JTC Kitchen-Atlanta; Rudy's BBQ-Texas; my new Corny Cornbread Pudding; ALL things Wonka!

More to come...

Oops! Dang! Man This Pie is GOOD!

My best friend from high school was coming to our cabin for a guy's weekend and I thought I would make a pie to go along with all the Chicken Fried Steak, Junk Food and BBQ we were planning on fixin and eating for the 3 days.

It started out as my Mom's Buttermilk-Chess Pie (with a few chocolate chips thrown in) just because. Then, a late night idea, a bit bad planning, and a dash of gut instinct turned a layered concoction into something that made our eyes bug out on the first bite!

I didn't have all the ingredients, so I had to improvise. Our cabin near, Blue Ridge, GA, is 2o minutes from town and because of the late hour, I couldn't run to the store. I decided to hit the kitchen anyway. In addition to not having all the ingredients, I hit a few wrong buttons on the oven's "Timer." Instead of setting it to cook for 20 minutes and then go "ding," I set it to turn off after 20 minutes...needless to say, I forgot about the pie. With no buzz or ding to let me know it was done, it sat there cooking, then cooling for 2 plus hours!

So, here's the recipe...it really is amazing and one piece of this pie sent two country boys from West Texas into a sugar coma. You've been warned!

CHOCOLATE-CRACK PIE

(The name comes from how the top looks when you pull it out of the oven--you have to make this thing to really get that part)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I used a prepared Pillsbury Pie Crust (the kind you unroll out of a box) and layed it into a 9 inch glass pie plate--no need to blind bake.

In mixing bowl combine the following ingredients:

4 Eggs
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Light Brown Sugar
1/2 C Butter, melted
Beat together until fluffy

Add 1/2 T good Vanilla
3/4 Cup Milk or Cream
1 T White Vinegar
2 T Flour
1/2 T Salt
Mix well

Sprinkle enough Milk Chocolate Chips on the bottom of the crust to just cover, disperse evenly...about 1/3 of Cup of Chips should do.

Pour filling over chips to fill pie shell. Place on baking sheet and put into oven, shut the door, and Bake for 15 minutes THEN TURN OFF THE OVEN and Leave it ALONE for 90 Minutes!!

Best eaten at room temp, but store it in the icebox.

Note: Let it set out for a few minutes before eating to take the chill off...ENJOY!