This post brought to you by cucumbers.
Stuffing.
Every Thanksgiving I eat stuffing and remember:
- This stuff is great
- There is nothing stopping me from making this year round
and then i immediately forget
I love other people’s stuffing. I made stuffing and gave myself food poisoning.
When I make it rather than “mashed potatoes made of bread” it’s more like “slightly moist croutons”. Breaks my heart.
By putting it inside a turkey or just somehow with stuffing?
Yeah, I put it inside the turkey. I used a friend’s recipe, but it must have been a bigger bird and took too long to cook or something.
Okay, I just Googled it:
When you place stuffing inside a turkey, it comes into contact with raw meat and juices that may contain harmful bacteria such as salmonella.
Yeah, it’s fallen out of fashion because if you leave it there overnight especially bacteria can grow in it. Well, sorry to hear that. I like making homemade stuffing but I just bake it in a pan… i guess that’s called dressing.
Try microwaving it on high for several minutes (until it’s basically too hot to handle) before stuffing the bird.
It also helps if you don’t pack it in. It should get to 165°F to be considered safe.
Pick up a box on sale and put it in the cupboard. It’s a useful base for some chicken pieces, or to make some vegetables into a casserole. Excellent with mushrooms. (Take into account the liquid that will be released by the cooking veggies, or else saute them first, before mixing with the stuffing)
This year, instead of a whole bird, I made Turkey Balls using 2 lbs ground turkey, 2 raw eggs, stuffing mix, then sauteed onion, celery, apple, mushrooms, (let cool before adding) Chardonnay, and cool broth. I added the usual spices, keeping in mind there’s already some in the stuffing. I piled them in a lidded casserole, but you can also bake them on a sheet pan and serve with dips.
The turkey balls sound really good. Like a good way to get a whole Thanksgiving experience in a more compact package
Plus there’s the opportunity for jokes
I made a bunch of stuffing not on Thanksgiving a few years ago. Was addicted to it and kept making it. But then ate it too often I got tired of it. This always happens to me though. I get excited about some food. Then I make it until I get tired of it and move on to the next thing.
This is me, but also with like people and hobbies and my career
In fairness, it’s not like you see it at the store all year round to remind you. Maybe get a couple boxes to have throughout the year? It’s certainly on sale right now, or at least will be at the end of December.
Fruits. I don’t have the habit of eating any fruit. It’s super unhealthy and when I do remember to buy fruit when grocery shopping, I am always surprised how good it tastes, only to forget about it for a couple more months…
You and me both! Or I get into a fruit kick, then slow down after a bit, and what I have starts to go bad so I stop buying them all together.
Are you me
No, we are legion. I’m sure oodles of people fall into this fruit trap.
Yeah I guess that makes sense. I wonder what would be a way to fix it
Frozen fruits? They don’t taste as good but you can still throw them in your smoothies and then safely forget about the rest for 2 months
I suppose I could try that, if the store has any
I’m basically a toddler when it comes to fruit. It can sit around on the counter looking all pretty for days and I won’t touch it. But the moment my wife cuts some up, I’ll devour it.
Maybe you just need a wife who likes to chop things 🤔
Especially oranges for me, every time I’m like " damn I should buy this mf more often"
Pulled pork. And then I wonder why I don’t do it more often, and then remember that I prefer homemade one, and then I realise
ain't nobody got time for that :(
Instapot, just as good, 90 minutes
Edible yes, but smoked is the way to go.
The worse part about smoking pulled pork is trying to roll it without mangling the paper.
Unless you finish it in the oven, you won’t get the Vital Crispies.
Do you use liquid smoke at all?
No, for the instapot I usually make carnitas.
Someone who can do a “pull the pork apart” robot attachment for a crock pot could probably make a pile of money.
Although now I’m imagining a little robot treading in the crock pot like old timey winemaking, where they stomped on the grapes.
A handheld mixer works great.
Honestly, even just doing a whole shoulder with two forks only takes a few minutes. Though I don’t shred mine down all the way.
Also, if you have a crock pot or oven, the cooking process is very simple and hands-off as well.
I’ve been doing this monthly and freezing portions for those nights of the week I can’t be bothered to cook. So yummy.
Stand mixer with a paddle attachment will shred meat in about 30 seconds.
Indian food mostly, but only because the best places are a drive away.
What’s your favorite Indian dish?
I like a big bowl of Rogan Gosht with some chicken biryani (my wife’s fav) and loads of naan. I’m not refined lol, just like that lamb and that chicken saffron yogurty stuff.
I go on Indian food kicks sometimes, where I’ll end up eating once or twice a week for months then I’ll go years without thinking about it again.
Brie. I never buy it on my own free will, but I am an absolute goblin when I see it at a party
The French secret for brie - leave it out before you eat it. I’m talking like a day or two. It’s bland otherwise but takes on a camembert quality as it rapidly ages
TJ’s triple cream is sinful and basically the same price as normal cheese.
I ONE TIME bought a Camembert with the plan to bake it. I very seriously thought that something was rotting in my kitchen and actually cleaned out the fridge. When I discovered that it was the cheese, I put the whole thing into a sealed container and the kitchen STILL smelled rotten.
Don’t get me wrong, that baked Camembert was amazing. But not worth the smell lol.
Cottage cheese. It just looks wrong, and there’s all different qualities of it like - no, I don’t want any . . . Oh well I’ll just have a small, tiny bite. Mmh. Not bad. Probably just a little salt here and . . Mmh. Mm hmm. Yeah. Oh. Oh! now I get the whole ‘cottage cheese’ thing . . Ooh pineapple you say . . Oh man okay yes. Yes, absolutely this is awesome. Must remember to get some more next time.
(Spoiler: does not remember to get more next time.)
Not a big fan of it myself, but the best snack ever is some kettle chips and cottage cheese as the dip. It looks weird/gross, yet every one who has tried it has loved it. I usually sprinkle some black pepper on it prior.
Huge fan of chilli cheese fritos with cottage cheese as a dip.
I feel like dill goes well with this
Green olives. None of my cooking use them as an ingredient, so once in a blue moon I remember that I like them, so I eat an entire jar with a toothpick.
I throw them in my salads
My “salads” are technically that due to having cucumber in them. But other than that it’s mostly just cheese which I don’t like with olives.
Have you tried Sicilian olives specifically? They almost have an umami flavour
I may have, I don’t know enough about olives to tell. I usually just buy the biggest jar of castrated green olives that I can find here in scandinavialand.
… I’m guessing Castelvetrano! Ha. Those are my favorite olives too.
I make sure I always have an unopened jar. As soon as I open it, I put another jar on the shopping list. Check out some Puerto Rican dishes. Arroz con Gandules, etc. Great use of green olives in those.
Falafel
From the House of Anárion? (Jk, I had never heard of this food and sounds like either a warrior or a place in Middle Earth)
It’s like fried chickpea patties or nuggets. Sort of like if you made fried hummus bread. Super good with tzatsiki (yogurt/cucumber) or tahini (sesame) sauce. Sometimes it’s served in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes and sprouts.
I was at the Del Mar Fair once and got some super green falafel. It was awesome. I’ve spent 30 years chasing that high.
Just this year I would say:
- salmon steak
- unagi (vacuum sealed and frozen)
- potato salad
- dace with salted black bean (and canned fish in general)
- banh mi
- sweet and sour pork
- deli cuts from the deli counter of the grocery store (been getting boar’s head chipotle chicken breast)
- roasted peanuts (honey, spicy or Japanese style)
- melona
I’m with you on the bahn mi, every time I have it I’m like “Why do I not eat this more often!?”
Idk what it’s called but my wife makes this chicken and pasta that uses parm garlic sauce and its 10/10. I know my issue is we make it then I over eat it which results in me hating it for a while and then the cycle repeats
Sounds like chicken alfredo
Nah, the chicken is slow cooked with the parm garlic sauce, cream cheese, some other kind of cheese, then some rigatoni. She adds a few other things as well.
Here’s a link be warned though it’s loaded with ads so have a blocker on
https://therecipecritic.com/crockpot-parmesan-garlic-chicken-pasta/
I don’t strictly forget about them, but I never think to buy them myself. Brussels sprouts.
I love egg nog, looked into how to make it. It’s takes over an hour to make, so definitely won’t get it out of season
dont forget to make it WAY before you need it- its not fun to try to power-chill hot fresh nog when guests will be there in an hour
Get outta here with that Hot Fresh Nog!
Is my new favorite thing to say.
please let me know how many times you are able to work it into conversations in the next year or so
Are you questioning my resolve?? My resolve…!?
GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT HOT FRESH NOG!
smh some people…
Unfrosted Blueberry pop tarts
This… Toasted and slathered in butter
You know, it’s people like you who are destroying the bounds of civilized snack food culture. And i wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
:)
Vol.1, Issue 2: Microwave your next handful of M&Ms just until you see a crack in the candy shell. A different experience you won’t regret.
Strawberry or gtfo aha. You ever try freezing first, glass of milk to dip optional but recommended
Edit: + break them in half vertically to optimize dipping
My stepson does that
He’s right ;) Its funny cuz i know its all fake but strawberry is best flavor, in real life prefer others but they got it right here
I gotta go blueberry. I’ve never been a big strawberry fan
Try yoir stepson’s trick tho, best is with homogenized milk or the highest fat you can stomach
Red cabbage!
Absolutely. I’ll just go through quarters of that stuff without a second thought, but I never remember that when I’m at the store.
Spinach puffs. 20 minutes in the oven for a quick and dirty not unhealthy meal. It’s delicious. It’s filling. It’s relatively cheap…. And for some reason I only make it once a month despite having some laying around in my freezer pretty much at all times.
Wait, spinach puffs up when you put it in the oven?!? Oil and spices or just straight-up frozen spinach directly in the oven?
A spinach puff is a pastry filled with spinach.
