Turkey Brine

I am a fan of brined turkeys. It seems all frozen turkeys have some form of brining before they are frozen so if you are not getting a fresh turkey, it has not been very important to add the juice that keeps your bird juicy. For some, they just want a different flavor to their meat when they cook a turkey. I have put together an easy brine that I think anyone can put together in an hour if they want to soak their turkey for a day or so.

Brine
Ingredients:
5 small turnips
1 head of broccoli
2 large carrots
3 cups chicken broth (left over from last chicken OR store bought)
1/2 an onion
2 tbs Rosemary
2 tbs bay leaves
2 tbs fennel leaves
1 cup coarse sea salt
1/2 cup table salt

Chop all vegetables 1/8 inch thick and only use the stem of the broccoli. Fill your stock pot half with water and put all ingredients in. Crush the herbs and stir them in regularly, put bay leaves in whole. The stove should be on high. Once all ingredients are in, fill to 3 inches from the top of the pot. Lid on, let it boil for 5 minutes and then simmer for 3 hours. Make sure to check for boil over and stir the leaves in occasionally.

Once the brine is done, let it stand on a cool element until room temperature. Occassionally stir the pot while cooling but let it cool with the lid on. Do not put it in the refrigerator incase the fats and oils separate. If you want to cook with some of the vegetables, take them out with a strainer for cooking. I like to save the bay leaves to put under the skin of the turkey with more rosemary and course salt.

Stay tuned for an entry on cooking the turkey!

Cornish Game Hen with blue cheese mashed yams

Last week, Nicole and I were craving something savory and hearty but not a huge portion. I decided to make the cornish game hens I had bought and match them up with some mashed yams.

Ingredients:
2 Cornish Game hen
1 lb of dense yams or sweet potatoes
1/4 lb of fragrant blue cheese (Amish, smoked, or Maytag)
1 tbs Olive Oil
1/8 cup Cayenne Red Pepper

The hen is simple. The meat is flavorful on its own, obvious chicken notes with a hint of the fattiness of duck. After cleaning them off, I decided to just dress the hens with a little cayenne pepper and rubbed them down. I set a dry cast iron skillet in the oven and heated to 350°F and put the hens back down-breast up in, until they were 180°F internally for 10 minutes.

While preheating and cooking, I boiled some cubed yams with a a tablespoon of olive oil. Once soft (note that they will show some small transparency on the edges) I drained the water and turned the heat down so they could simmer while being mashed. I used a large wooden spoon and mashed them against the side of the pot. A potato masher works as well. I then sprinkled bits of blue cheese over the top until it was completely covered. I replaced the lid on the pot and let it heat on simmer until the cheese had melted across the top.

The hens do not need to be turned or flipped but they will likely lose the skin on their back but will be juicy and flavorful. I would recommend paring the meal with a greens salad like arugola or kale with tomato, some caramelized onions and garlic, and a light sprinkle of blue cheese if you can handle it.

Good Eats

What does Jay eat?

I have realized that there is a strong distaste for people who post what they eat and do in their day to day lives online. In passing, I have found that I post what I cook on occasion, less to let the halls of history see what man eats, more to inspire imagination in my friends and peers.

My door is always open to a person who wants a meal. I love to cook for anyone that will share conversation. At the same time, the art of cooking is something never mastered, but always dreamt of. Today I will start posting what I cook with some information on how it is I put the meal together. There will be a small summary on where I obtained the ingredients and if there are specific storage requirements, I will include those. The mission is to inspire creativity in others and myself.

Good Appetite!

Jay

Summer Work

In three days I am leaving on an odyssey to Tajikistan. Much like the great wanderer, I will make a few unavoidable stops on the trip to Dushanbe. Wednesday May 12th will mark the commencement of my travels with a pit stop in Tennessee. My Motherland if you will. It will be short and certainly not an actual exposure to the people or culture but is perhaps more of a homecoming than any other leg of the trip. The following night, I will transform into a foreign and international setting among alien residents. Amsterdam will be my first stop on the opposing side of the Atlantic. Hopefully, I will be met by friends. Talitha Van Den berg and Molly Andrews. If I am lucky enough, Hilde and Vivianne will be there too. I do not assume such great fortune but I will be happy with a familiar face. From there, I will make my way to Istanbul, Turkey and my first place of temporary residence. No familiar tongues, exciting surroundings, and caution. After my stay, I will finally make my way to Dushanbe Tajikistan. My practicum Mecca for the summer. Working for Silk Road Science and Engineering as a project developer for next years water and sanitation project, I will seek to find the voices of the local community and harmonize them into a single comprehensible manifestation for next year. I hope to take surface water samples for heavy metals and pesticides to process when I return to New Orleans. Until Wednesday, I am packed and anxious to rejoin the world in wanderlust for something greater than myself.

Skiing the Summer

After skiing south america, I have decided to return for a little climbing. So far, I have my seasons pass to Stevens, will be hitting Crystal and Baker and at least ONE week in Whistler thanks to my buddy having a generous father. My skis were subject to low bases and less coverage so I retained a lot of core shots and almost derailed my edge. My bindings were tampered with and after a long and expensive tune process, my skis are ready for atleast a fall. I am looking at PMgear and marker duke/duke2 bindings for some new stix.