Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is my favorite holiday with all of the essential elements of joy: food, friends, and football. As a Bears fan, I get to watch the Packers and the Lions compete today and I am guaranteed to leave a winner.
We are also celebrating Chanukah with my wife’s family — a twofer for the day!
Of course, we begin with our own game. We are starting the day with the 47th annual Turley Turkey bowl. As always, it is the Bears against the Redskins. I am the coach of the Bears and John Rice is the coach of the Redskins. While the Bears have a long unbroken record (at least here in McLean), Rice is an ever-creative coach and Redskins are expected to be a fierce team this year. However, our Bears team remains injury free and will be ramped up with donuts and hot chocolate. In honor of Trestman, we will be trying out our new West Coast offense style.
I am also making our traditional two Turkeys — one in the oven and one smoked on the grill. Both will have an apple-sausage-cornbread stuffing and Waldorf salad. We will have 16 and three dogs over for the dinner.
Now it is off to the gridiron and the annual appearance of the McLean Monsters of the Midway. I will update on the game for those of you who cannot see us on cable.
Until then, Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
UPDATE: The Monsters of the McLean Midway triumphed again in a spirited game. The final score was Bears 21, Redskins 14. The last play was particularly exciting with an intersection, a recovered fumble, and Redskins touchdown with just 30 seconds remaining on the clock!
AY,
True, true, but I look at cooking like painting or music. Sometimes one color or instrument is dominant and other times it plays a supporting role. Sometimes it’s just inappropriate. Like chocolate covered salmon or a concerto for tuba.
AY,
Crisco does well in that capacity, but to me the biggest difference is a good cast iron skillet and proper technique. Temperature control is key and you need an oil with a high burning point for fried chicken. Peanut oil works just as well. So does Canola. It’s also not fast food. It takes 20-30 minutes cooking time to do it right. It is easier to screw up fried chicken than one might think.
I use lard, coconut oil and ghee for high heat cooking, including deep frying.
Gene,
Don’t You forget that cheese needs to talk….
Elaine,
Crisco works really well for Southern-style “Cat Head” biscuits too.
Don’t be alarmed though. They contain no feline product. They get the name from the shape they take in the pan.
Elaine,
And really good fried chicken…… Crisco has many uses… If it ain’t fried chicken…. It ain’t chicken…..
If it doesn’t moo on the grill it’s over cooked….
If it don’t say nabisco on the package they ain’t Oreos….
Blouise
1, November 29, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Gene, nick,
Cheez Whiz doesn’t exactly challenge one’s culinary skills but there are certain times when nothing else will do.
*****
I’m entering this discussion a bit late. Your crab appetizer sounds like one my friend makes. It’s very tasty. I’ve never bought/used CHeez Whiz or Velveeta. My husband claims they’re products made from old leisure suits!
That said, I know Crisco is bad stuff. Yet, I use it for two things–pie crust and a homemade whoopie pie filling that I use to frost my sour cream chocolate cake–which is a family favorite. Crisco makes a really flaky crust.
Gene, For a treat I’ll buy 10 year old cheddar from an artisan I know. Better than sex.
Blouise, I see your problem. I bet my grandma or Aunt Julia could help w/ this. They would make their own ricotta[recooked in Italian]. They would use whole milk and sometimes cream, depending on it’s use. The key to the texture is how long you let the cooked milk drain or separate[curds and whey]. The longer you let it drain, the thicker it gets. They would also use goat or cow milk depending on it’s use. Hell, they would have a slight difference in thickness depending on if it was for stuffed Manicotta or lasagna. Goat milk for those, cow for cannoli or ricotta pie which would “make you slap your mama.”
Foodies are pretentious and I always ask those who I trust to slap me upside the head if I ever become one. However, I can be a snob of sorts, particularly w/ Italian[or Eyetalian] as they say in these parts. If Cheez Whiz works then by all means use it. However, I think an artisan cheesemaker could make you a ricotta that would do the trick. Grandma and Aunt Julia are dead.
AY,
As much as I love Vermont Extra Sharp White Cheddar (and I really do), I think it would just totally smother the crab.
But I agree with the sentiment. Sharp cheeses rock.
Nothing but the very best Vermont Extra Sharp White Cheddar….. If you can’t make it with that…. You probably don’t need it……
Blouise,
Sometimes Neufatchel is sold as low fat cream cheese although a soft farmer’s cheese would probably work. Freezing any soft cheese can be problematic though. It’s the stabilizers they add with the emulsifiers that probably prevents the issue you’re talking about with Whiz. Do NOT make the mistake of buying no fat cream cheese. It is an abomination that makes Cheez Whiz look like manna from Heaven. It’s closer to spackling compound than actual food. Maybe chilled or soft frozen instead of hard frozen is a suggestion as well. However, making a soft cheese into a sauce first might also alleviate the freezer issue. If you do it old school and start with a Bechamel base, the additional milk, butter and flour (in the roux) should have the same effect as the artificial methods of emulsification and stabilization found in the jar.
Just some thoughts.
I am in kitchen mode today.
Juliet,
That sounds plausible … but make a batch of the cheez whiz ones for comparison for both taste, freezing and broiling … just halve the recipe
Gene, nick,
Cheez Whiz doesn’t exactly challenge one’s culinary skills but there are certain times when nothing else will do.
I’ve tried ricotta which didn’t work … it’s the chemistry involving the freezing and direct broiling of the frozen tidbit that comes into play. The main taste is the butter (there is a lot of it), crab and garlic and the cheez whiz acts as the binder/stabilize (have to keep those fats from oxidizing). However, I will try the Neufchantal, which I believe in this neck of the woods is often called “farmers’ cheese”. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
You wrote: “Cheez Whiz doesn’t exactly challenge one’s culinary skills but there are certain times when nothing else will do.”
Just ask the folks who eat Geno’s and Pat’s cheesesteaks in Philly. ((*_*))
I don’t use low fat anything. I’ll experiment with this over the next few weeks and report back.
Blouise, Gene nailed it w/ ricotta IMO. I would not use the part skim, however. Use the higher fat content for binding, texture, and of course TASTE. The calories aren’t that much more.
I discovered Neufchantal cheese back in the early 80’s when we moved to Wi. I hardly ever use cream cheese, just Neuf.
Blouise,
Have you tried Neufatchel or ricotta? I’m also thinking you could make a thick-ish cheese sauce with Fontina too.
Blouise,
My vote is cast for ricotta also, since the consistency would be similar. I also think it tastes better than cheez whiz.
I’m thinking of a thick sauce mornay approach.
Juliet,
I’m with you on that one. If it comes in a jar – or worse – in a can, it isn’t cheese. But since that probably acts as a binder, probably any soft white cheese would work. Even ricotta. I’m kind of naturally averse to yellow cheeses and seafood anyway. They tend to overpower the seafood. For example, I love lobster. I love macaroni and cheese. But I’ve never had lobster macaroni and cheese anywhere that didn’t taste like a waste of good lobster.
nick,
Give us a good substitute for Cheese Whiz and I’ll try it … seriously.
I’ve experimented with a couple of other cheeses that aren’t “processed cheese food” but the results weren’t happy so if you have a suggestion I’d welcome it and will try it.
Just how much whiz is in a jar of Cheese Whiz? In Wisconsin using Cheese Whiz is a Class D Felony, same w/ Velveeta.
I may have to substitute for the Cheez whiz, but otherwise it sounds yummy.