Carve Your Turkey - Pick Your Wine

How to Carve a Turkey

After hours of preparation and anticipation, make sure to carve the turkey in a way that preserves the flavor and texture of the meat.

Removing the wishbone and carving the breast will be a snap if you remove the wishbone before roasting. With your fingers, locate the wishbone in the neck cavity. With a small paring knife, scrape the meat away from the 'wings' of the wishbone, give it a twist and it will pop out.

To carve the breast, first remove the wing and then remove the whole side of the breast in one piece and slice cross-wise -- It's so much easier and produces more manageable slices that 'fit' better on the dinner plate.

STEPS:

1. Choose a sharp, thin-bladed carving knife. Running your knife along the bottom of the turkey, find the places where the thighbones meet the body.
   
   
2. Slip your knife into the joint to separate thigh from body on each side.
   
   
3. Separate the drumstick from the thigh using the same technique (cut through the joint, not the bone, wiggling the drumstick to locate the joint).
   
   
4. Running your knife along the bone, separate the meat from the thigh and drumstick. Try to get as much as possible in one piece.
   
   
5. Cut thigh and leg meat into thin slices.
   
   
6. Use your knife to find where the wings and body connect.
   
   
7. Slip your knife into the joint to separate wings from body on each side.
   
   
8. Carve thin slices off one side of the breast, cutting parallel to the breast. ( NOTE: A horizontal cut low on the side of the bird before you start carving the breast will allow for beautiful slices of white meat.)
   
   
9. Repeat with the other side of the breast.
   

TIPS:

• If you are carving soon after roasting, cover the turkey with foil and let it stand for 15 minutes first.
  
  
• Cut dark meat before light meat, as it will stay moist longer.
  
  
• The key in removing thighs, legs, and wings from the turkey carcass is to run your knife along the carcass until you find the places where bones meet. By cutting between joints, and not through bones, you can disconnect bones without much fuss. If you try to saw through a bone, though, you'll take a long time, even if your knife can do it, and make a mess in the process.
  
  

How to Choose a Good Wine

The best wine to choose is the wine you like best. I'm not calling anyone out.

The first rule of food and wine pairing is always to drink what you like, no matter what someone else says. The old adage of white wine with fish and red wine with meat is just a rule. If you keep in mind the principles of complementing and contrasting flavors, you'll have a winning combination every time.

It's said that only white wines fare well with poultry. However, take into consideration sauces, seasonings and cooking methods and you will find that soft red wines pair nicely with certain fowl. Spice food, spicy wine. Milder seasonings, milder wine. Just a suggestion.

You don't have to live in the states to have a

Happy Thanksgiving

The Editor

Ice Water Pickles

I know what you're thinkin', they're not to my liking either. But I gotta say that alot of kids REALLY like them. Maybe yours too.

• 6 lb. medium cucumbers cut into 6 to 8 pieces according to size of cucumber
• 3 quarts white vinegar
• 1 cup salt
• 3 cups sugar
• 36 pickling onions
• 6 tsp. celery stalks
• 6 tsp. mustard seed
• 6 quart jars
  
• Soak cucumbers in ice water for 3 hours. Drain, pack into sterilized jars. Add 6 pickling onion, 1 celery, 1 tsp. mustard seed to each jar. Bring the white vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil and pour over cucumbers to within ½ inch of top of jar. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. These are salty-sour pickles. Will make 6 quarts.

Let me know how it goes.

The Editors

Cole Slaw Dressing Twist

The other cookbook editor came up with a new cole slaw dressing mix that turned out, well......yummy. Here's what she put together.

• One bag (16 oz.) of precut cabbage . This one had some carrots and red cabbage mixed in, but I see no reason why you can't use the fancy cut cabbage package.
  
• Half a cup of sugar.
  
• Half a cup of vinegar.
  
• Half a cup of Ranch Dressing.
  
• Half an envelope of Good Seasons Italian dry seasoning mix.
  
• Half a cup of vegetable oil.

I should tell you that it makes a lot of dressing, especially if you double the amounts for two bags of cabbage. Use your own judgement. For us its a work in progress.

'Til next time,

The Editors

Church Cookbook - Recipes - Cooking Ingredients

Gotta Start Somewhere...........

Thought I'd tell you what this blog will contain. At least, what is planned.

I'll be posting recipes from the Sampler Cookbook which you can download by adding your email to the list from here.

I might post recipes we come up with and maybe some from the forum if we ever get that up and running.

I might post some church stuff. Maybe local. Maybe stuff related to the date. I don't know.

More as the mood strikes.

The Editor.