Tip: Deep Fried Turkey

We like to fry our Thanksgiving turkey. (When I say "we", I mean "Mr. LT" there.) It's quick (under an hour), and the turkey comes out juicy, but not the least bit oily. In previous years, we've always used peanut oil to fry the turkey, but this year, when mr. LT went to Costco, the big 5-gallon container of peanut oil was $50!! I'm cheap, the economy sucks, and no way were we paying that much.



Mr. LT needed to go to the Sportsman's Warehouse yesterday, and found that they carry cottonseed oil, which has a similar high smoke point to peanut oil. The cottonseed oil was $19 - so he bought it.



After consulting with Mr. LT, I just learned that the container of cottonseed oil was only 3.5 gallons, so we need to check to make sure that will be enough to cover the bird. In any case, even if we have to buy a second container of cottonseed oil, we'll still be ahead. Lesson: don't assume there aren't better deals available than at the warehouse stores.



One thing I do need to figure out is a reliable method for straining the used oil. We've tried several different ways of doing this in the past, and really, it's just been one big FAIL after another. Off to google!

Christmas Cookie Exchange?

Anyone else up for doing a Bend-area based Christmas cookie exchange? Basically, everyone makes several dozen of one kind of cookies, then the group gets together and everyone goes home with a variety of cookies, without having to make several different types of cookies themselves. How many varieties everyone gets depends upon how many folks participate.

I'd love to do this if others are interested. Comments, baby!

16th Anniversary Dinner

Last night was our 16th wedding anniversary. Burger had agreed to watch Zippy for us, so Mr. LT and I headed out to dinner. He was in the mood for sushi, so we headed over to Mio Sushi up at the Cascade Village shopping center. We'd heard the food was good, and had been meaning to try it for a while.


So at 7:00 PM on a Friday night, we walked in to Mio Sushi, and while it was crowded, it was not packed. There were a few seats left at the sushi bar, so we chose those.


We hadn't been there before, so we carefully looked over the menu to figure out what we wanted to try. We filled out our sushi card-thingy with a ton of options - probably $50 worth of sushi, at least. We were brought water almost immediately after we sat down, but we didn't get any other attention. At all. I finally flagged down the water girl and asked for our server, and I could see her trying to get someone to come over to us, but another five minutes passed and we still hadn't even had a drink order taken.


So we left. When we got back to the car, the time was 7:34. We'd pulled in and gotten out of the car at 6:56. So we waited no less than a half hour for service, and never got any. What a shame.


Mr. LT still had sushi on the brain, so we headed toward Kanpai over on Newport. We've been there numerous times in the past, and it's always been our go-to place for sushi here in Bend. Well, Kanpai was packed, and there were very obviously people still waiting for tables. We were really hungry, so we didn't stop to see how long the wait was. No knock on Kanpai, they're reliably busy for a reason.


Well, what else should we do? We could have gone to Deep, but we were dressed very casually and Deep is nicer than we were in the mood for (sorry, Deep. We love your food!), so we decided to change directions. Mr. LT hadn't tried Thai food until recently when we visited Typhoon (friggin' YUM), and he'd been really happy with the food at Typhoon. So I suggested Thai.


We talked about going to Typhoon, but were worried it would be packed, so I suggested we try Angel Thai Cuisine over on Division. It's very off the beaten path, so I hoped we'd be able to get served quickly. I'd heard good things about Angel Thai, and had been wanting to try it, so we headed on over. At 8 on a Friday night, Angel Thai was very quiet. A large party (of 8 or so) was leaving as we arrived, and only one other table was occupied.


We were seated quickly and brought water immediately. Our drink orders were taken quickly - Mr. LT had a Thai beer, and I had a glass of shiraz - and the shiraz was actually from Thailand. They had fried calamari as a special appetizer, and Mr. LT and I both love calamari, so we ordered that early. The calamari was very good, and the dipping sauce was excellent - almost like a spicy plum sauce. Or something.


I ordered the Phad Prik Catfish (#71 on this menu - the menu at the restaurant is a little different than the website). It was very good, with some nice crisp basil leaves, and enough spice that you feel it, but not so much that you need to douse the flames. Mr. LT ordered the Panang Curry with beef. I loved this dish, although I'd probably get chicken, were I to order it, as I prefer the lighter taste of chicken (or seafood) with curry. In any case, I loved this dish - the sauce was amazing, and I got a very strange look from Mr. LT when I told him I'd be happy to bathe in the sauce. There was plenty for two of us - more than enough, really. The dishes were served family style, with rice on separate plates, so it was easy for us to share.


While we were full, something sweet sounded great. Neither of us had ever tried sticky rice before, so we ordered the mango sticky rice for dessert. While it's definitely not an American dessert, it reminded both of us of oatmeal - and I mean that in the best way possible. It was delicious, and the cold mango was a nice contrast to the warm rice. We ended up taking some of our dessert home too, because we were really full and couldn't bear to leave it behind.


All in all, we ended up with a wonderful anniversary night. While the evening didn't go as we'd originally hoped, we ended up being thrilled with our dining experience - the folks at Angel Thai could't have been nicer, the service - always at risk when things are slow - was great, and the food was great. Angel Thai, thanks for a great evening. And Mio Sushi, you've still got some things to learn.


(And Mr. LT, I love you. Here's to another fantastic 16 years. Happy Anniversary, babe.)

Stuffed Squash

Last night, I made stuffed squash for dinner, something my dad (and mom) used to occasionally make. Mr. LT asked what was for dinner and gave me one of those "ew, disgusting" faces when I told him. Sigh.



Well, in the end Mr. LT loved it. It got a little overcooked because I was running Burger and her friends all over town while the squash was in the oven, but we just scraped off the overly browned bits and ate the rest. Here's what I used:



2 acorn squash, cut in half with the seeds and ikky stuff scooped out


1 tbsp butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1 package sweet Italian sausage

2 cups bread crumbs

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground thyme

2 eggs


I cooked the onion very slowly to carmelize it, then took the sausage out of the casings and cooked it with the onion until it was done. I then moved the onion/sausage mix into a bowl, added the (freshly made, a small miracle for me) bread crumbs, the thyme, brown sugar, and the eggs, which I'd beaten slightly.



While all that was happening, I should have had the squash in the oven, but I didn't. I was winging this recipe and forgot how long it can take squash to cook. After I'd finished the stuffing, I realized my error and stuck the squash in the oven, un-stuffed, with a little pat of butter in the cup of each half, for about 15 minutes. Next time, I'd leave the squash in for 30 minutes pre-stuffing, and cover them with foil. Lessons learned...



In any case, when I took the squash out of the oven, I then stuffed them with my mixture, making nice mounds on top of each individual squash. I stuck 'em back in the oven (at 350F) and let 'em cook while I ran Burger around town (she and her friends wanted to see the production of Bye Bye Birdie at Summit HS last night). Then I got home, noticed the burned bits, scraped them off, and fed Mr. LT, Zippy, and myself.



So next time, I'll remember to (mostly) pre-cook the squash, and I think that these would be even better if maple syrup were drizzled over the top of the stuffed squash after they were stuffed. Yum. I'll be making this again. Thanks to my parents for the inspiration!

Meatloaf - Secret Ingredients

I made meatloaf for dinner tonight, and have gotten rave reviews from all. Basic recipe (this makes a TON of meatloaf, but I like to make extra; halve the recipe to to feed 5-6 people):



Loaf:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 lb. ground turkey

2 eggs

2 cups oatmeal

about 1 cup milk

1 small onion, diced

12 oz. cottage cheese (I used large curd, either would work)

3 tbsp. worstershire sauce (about, I think. I poured some in liberally)

Salt, pepper

------------

Pour oatmeal into bowl, pour enough milk into bowl to cover the oatmeal. Let soak for a half hour or more.



Mix all ingredients (including any milk that the oatmeal hasn't absorbed) together. Place in bread pan or other oblong pan (or two pans if necessary).



Topping:

Ketchup

Worstershire Sauce

Sweet Chili Sauce (if you can find it, if not, you can omit this)



I didn't measure these - I probably used about a cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of worstershire sauce, and 1/3 cup of the sweet chili sauce. Mix together well, spread a nice layer over the meat.


Bake at 350 F for an hour to an hour and twenty minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 160 F or more.


This turned out really yummy and was nice and moist. Who knew?

Pizza Heaven

This weekend, Jen and I took off for a long-planned weekend visit to Baker City to try the pizza that Kina and Whitey (and staff) work so hard to make. We'd heard rumors that it was good, and I believed it would be good. What I didn't know was that I'd come home and wish Paizano's was HERE instead of five hours (at best) away! OMG, Jen and I agreed that we both wanted to try the Sweet Thai Shrimp pizza, and decided we'd actually do half the pie with shrimp and half with chicken. The chicken rocks, but the shrimp is insane.

This isn't your typical pizza - without having heard Kina talk about it so often, I don't think I'd have braved it. It has sweet chili sauce, peanuts (yes, peanuts), coconut (yes, coconut), and green onions along with the shrimp (and these aren't canned shrimp) or chicken. I know it sounds weird. I know, really. But it is SO GOOD that I'm wishing that I'd brought a pie home with me. Yum.

The crunch and light saltiness of the peanuts, mixed with the tropical hint from the coconut, with the bright, clean tasting fresh shrimp, blended with the crisp green onion and the just-sweet just-sharp enough taste of the sweet chili tomato sauce blend was perfect. The pieces definitely make the whole - I think if I'd thought to order this anywhere else (I gave total trust to Paizano's here), I would have asked that the coconut be left off, and I would have been less enthralled with the result.

I'll be dreaming about this pizza for a while to come, and looking for excuses to go back to Baker City. Kina, it was so great to meet you, finally!!

Leek & Potato Soup

I'm in easy dinner mode right now - this means simple meals that don't require a ton of prep work. Some are good for you, some aren't. But they're all simple. :)

Last night, simple meant leek and potato soup - chop some leeks, saute in a little butter to soften. Add about 4 cups of chicken (or veggie) broth. Chop some potatoes, toss in. Simmer for 30 minutes or so. Some folks like the soup just like that, but I prefer a smoother soup -- so I use my immersion blender to blend the soup. I also tend to add a generous dash of milk here, but it's not necessary. The only seasoning I use is white pepper and maybe a little salt. The entire family loves this soup, and I keep trying to make enough for two meals, but am often unsuccessful because it just disappears.

I like to have a variety of things to top the soup with - a dollop of sour cream, some bacon bits (real ones, not those nasty fake Bac-Os), grated sharp cheddar - Burger likes the soup as is, and we'll all certainly eat it like that, but I really love the addition of the toppings.

I get a loaf of good bread, and we're all happy. Diluzzio's has a kalmata olive bread that's a particularly good match.

Sonic!

One thing we learned to love during our year in Arkansas was Sonic Drive-In. The food is fine fast food, but Burger and I formed a serious relationship with the drinks at Sonic. And the ice. Sonic has these little tiny ice cubes that are PERFECT for crunching. (Burger says they're more like tiny cylinders than cubes, and she's right.)

Yesterday, Bend's first Sonic opened, and of course we had to head up there to get our fix. I had my much-missed diet cherry limeade, Burger had a vanilla root beer, and Zippy got a cherry slush (while the slushies don't use the ice cylinders, they rock too. Burger loves the Blue Coconut one). Mr. LT had a boring ol' diet coke, but even that comes with good ice.

YAY for Sonic!

I'm so easily excited.

Trader Joe's - Opening Date

I'm told that the Trader Joe's that's about to open in Bend has moved their opening date up to March 22 (from March 28)! Trader Joe's will open on March 28 - my original source was wrong. Shame on me for not checking the date. I can't wait - we're in dire need of their salsa and I completely miss their frozen foods, especially the gnocci!

You won't see me there next weekend, though. I've dealt with my crowd for the month.

Full and Frenzied

This morning, we woke up bright and early (which, to me, means at 8 am) so we could meet Jen and family at the Victorian Cafe for breakfast. We've been here five months, after all (how time flies!!) and had yet to make it to what we'd been told was the best breakfast place in Bend. Well, the verdict is in -- the food was fantastic! I had the classic Eggs Benedict (as did Mr. Jen), which was fabulous (although I was somewhat envious of Jen's choice - I don't remember what it was called, but it was basically eggs benedict with spinach, roma tomatoes, and asagio cheese. To make it even better, Jen asked them to add avocado to it. It looked amazing and I think I'll try it next time!). Mr. LT had the country fried steak, one of our favorites. It was good, but not great. I think it needed more pepper or something. It was still good enough that he cleaned his plate (as did I).

Zippy had the children's french toast and scrambled eggs. I took the liberty of putting the boysenberry syrup on her french toast (because I love boysenberry syrup, and she doesn't care one way or the other) and had a few bites of it. YUM. Burger also had french toast and did an admirable job of finishing most of her food. Stinky was with us too and had blueberry pancakes. They were apparently good, but weird - the blueberries were placed between the two pancakes instead of dropped into the batter. This did not make Stinky a happy fellow. He still ate a fair amount, though! All in all it was a great breakfast.

All of the adults had bloody marys - I had the spicy one, everyone else had the regular ones. Let me tell you that "regular" generally means "wussy", but not at the Victorian!! The regular were nice and spicy - and my "spicy" bloody mary was really hot (but oh so good). I can only imagine what the "very spicy" version is like! I got about halfway through my drink before we were seated for breakfast and was a little loopy. Sigh. I've turned into such a lightweight!!

The only complaint we had was that the hot chocolate was watery. Really, it kind of sucked. The presentation was very nice, it was served in a glass cup with a nice topping of whipped cream and either cinnamon or nutmeg (Burger had the topping GONE before I thought to check which), so it was very pretty. But the taste was blah. It's not that hard to make good hot chocolate, even if you do use a mix for the base - add a dollop of whole milk or half and half, a squirt of hershey's syrup and you're good to go. Anyway, this certainly wasn't a deal breaker and we'll be back again!

After breakfast, we all went over to REI, where they were holding their annual garage sale - basically, things that have been returned (REI has a lovely, liberal return policy) are marked down and sold as-is to REI members (the REI membership is SO worth it). The place was a ZOO, and there were a number of people who were seriously out of control and a little rude (most folks were nice, though).

We scored - Burger got a nice North Face fleece jacket she's been coveting, I got a pair of Marmot gloves I'd lusted after but couldn't justify the cost of (the tag says there's a tear in the liner, but I can't find it for the life of me - so I bought them at about 40% of the original cost. Whee!), Mr. LT got a pair of hiking shoes, and Burger and I will share the pair of skis (with bindings!) we found for $100 - you can't beat that.

Before this year, I hadn't skied since Burger was a baby - I used to ski whenever possible, but it just seemed like such a hassle (and expensive) for the years when she was growing up. I learned to ski when I was three, so I used to be pretty good, but I pretty much suck now, so sharing these skis with Burger until we don't suck is at least a temporary solution. I couldn't see passing them by - I have no idea if I'll ever get back to being a good skier, and Burger doesn't yet have much experience - she's been skiing three times this year and LOVES it, but we're going to wait to invest in good skis until after we see how she does with some time on the hill.

We looked for skis for Zippy, but the kids skis apparently were snatched up very quickly - there was only one pair of kids alpine skis that I saw in the bin (and they were too short for the Zipster, who's the size of most 7 year olds, instead of most 5 1/2 year olds - I guess she received some genes from my 6' aunt), but I saw multiple people walking around with other sets of kids skis. Sheesh, we were there at 10:15 and it started at 10! For some reason, the whole event reminded me of the bridal gown frenzy at Filene's Basement, although there was no clawing and pushing in evidence. But I'm not a great crowd person unless there's alcohol involved. In any case, the deals were great and I'm glad we went.

Interesting Food?

Warning: if you're squeamish, stop reading this post now.

Last night while I was waiting for our take-out to be made, I went and walked aimlessly around my favorite grocery store (well, I have lots of favorite grocery stores. I dig this one because they sell tons of cool stuff that I haven't seen before and they cater to a Russian/Slavic/Middle Eastern/Greek kind of clientele - my fascination with all things Russian extends to food). I found something I'd never seen in a grocery store before:

Yes. It's a lamb head. Dig the eye. (and no, i didn't buy it. i wouldn't know how to cook it)

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic. I should probably be sorry for posting this at all, but I'm mostly not.

Kool-Aid Pie

Recently, a friend of mine who knows I love to cook asked me if I had a recipe for Kool-Aid Pie. I'd never heard of such a thing, so I went online and the first hit was something that sounded right to her.

Fast forward three days. I'm semi-sick, and dear friends are coming over and bringing most of dinner with them. I need to come up with side dishes (simple - roasted corn and roasted potatoes. I was semi-sick!) and something for dessert. So I thought hmmmm... Kool-Aid Pie. I'll make it!

My thoughts? First, it was very simple to make. Second, it was sweet sweet sweet (I did just notice this when re-googling for the first link - guess I should have let it sit a day, but if I have TIME to make something ahead of time, it's going to be fancier than Kool-Aid pie!). Third, about 2/3 of the people who were here finished their pieces, so it didn't suck completely.

The final verdict is that this is an acceptable dessert. I think if I needed to make it again, I'd substitute the condensed milk with evaporated milk (to cut the sweetness) and reduce the amount of milk used, so as to not water it down. It was nice and fluffy, and for a very middle-American dessert, it was pretty okay.

I used pink lemonade Kool-Aid mix, by the way. That I don't think I'd change.

Sue me. I'm a heathen.

It's been hot as hell here lately, and that hasn't made life any happier for me. There's very little A/C in SoCal, and absolutely none at our house. Usually we have a nice breeze coming off the ocean, but the past five or six days were absolutely miserable.

Why am I a heathen, you ask? Well, I'll be frank here. I'm committing the major sin of drinking a CHILLED glass of Merlot. I stuck the bottle in the fridge the other night when I thought I wanted red wine, but I also knew I wanted something cold. Turns out it was other cold stuff that I drank that evening (I love our kegerator, and can't believe that my better half wants to sell it. But that's neither here nor there...). But tonight! Tonight I am having cold red wine. And it tastes quite dandy, thank you.

Please note that we are indeed having red meat with dinner. I didn't want to push the envelope too much.

My favorite pizza topping

I'm mostly posting this because I know that keeneye reads my blog. And because The Minkz posted about piggies.

But, it's utterly true, and completely important.

My favorite pizza topping is bacon. Yum. You can't put it on the pizza when it's raw - it has to be pre-cooked. But friggin' yum. Bacon and onions, bacon and mushrooms, bacon alone... Bacon on pizza is awesome and shouldn't be missed!

So keeneye, please, try some bacon on a pizza before you open. Small pieces. Cook the bacon about 80% before you put it on the pie. Yum.

Gotta get me some!

OMG, it's happened. Bacon Salt. You can sprinkle it on anything and the target will get a bacony-goodness taste. These guys are geniuses!

I gotta get me some!! BACON!!!

ps - it's fat free and vegetarian friendly! i know some veggies that are going to be very happy!