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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017 Turkey trials: Perfecting a holiday meal HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A17 FEATURES Home cookin’ at the Herald By TAMMY MALGESINI COMMUNITY EDITOR If you’re stressing out about pre- paring a Thanksgiving turkey, I may be able to offer some tips. I recently read that most peo- ple only roast whole turkeys once or twice a year. That doesn’t provide much of an opportunity for "practice makes perfect." I’m no expert. In fact, I can count how many whole turkeys I’ve made in my life on one hand. Actually, I can do it with a peace sign. That’s right, I’ve thawed, stuffed and roasted a total of two turkeys in nearly 58 years. To maintain the tra- dition, I’m due to make another one in 2047. Although I’ve only prepared two big birds, I have perfected the process of making a traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey and stuff- ing that tastes like it came right out of the bird. But really, to stuff or not to stuff is a personal choice. Some people fear food poisoning due to bacteria from the bird’s cavity absorbing into the stuffi ng. The turkey isn’t some sort of decoration to be admired. Put the bird in the oven right after stuffi ng it. Prob- lem solved. Rather than a whole bird, I now purchase turkey breasts. This rem- edies the issue of wasted dark meat since John and I prefer white meat. I used to prepare the stuffi ng in a casserole dish. While it was good, it lacked the unique moistness of stuff- ing that has baked inside a turkey. To replicate the in-the-bird taste, I decided to layer the turkey with stuff- ing in between. I may not win any culi- nary prizes for attractive appearances, but the end result is mighty tasty. And, there are plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches, much to the delight of my husband. I suppose if I wanted my food to be pretty, I could modify the technique to create a stuffed turkey roll. To do that, you butterfl y the turkey breast, pound it out to an even thickness, top it with a layer of stuffi ng, roll it into a long cylinder, tie it with kitchen twine and then roast it. That just seems like too much effort. Creating the layered turkey breasts has solved several problems: •I don’t have to worry about truss- ing the turkey. •No worries about the complicated process of carving a turkey. •I no longer have to perform math- ematical equations to fi gure out how long to allow for defrosting the bird. I love turkey. And, in the Malge- sini household, turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiving anymore. However, John will be preparing homemade Italian pizza on Thursday. CRYPTOQUIP The Hermiston Herald staff had a Thanks- giving meal of our own on Monday. These are a few of the recipes featured: Flaky Pie Crust From John Malgesini A tasty, fl aky pie crust is really easy. You simply MUST follow directions. That’s it. Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups fl our 1 cup butter 1 teaspoon salt 1 dash sugar 3-6 tablespoons ICE water Potato-cheese pie Potato-Cheese Pie From Jayati Ramakrishnan Ingredients: 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced 2 cups pepper jack or cheddar cheese, grated 2 cloves garlic, grated fi ne 2 tbsp butter 3 tbsp fl our 2 cups milk breadcrumbs black pepper and salt, to taste To make cream sauce: 1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees 2) In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Once melted, add garlic and black pepper and fry lightly 3) Stir in fl our slowly 4) Lightly brown fl our in pan on low heat 5) Remove from heat and slowly pour in milk while stirring continuously to avoid lumping 6) Return pan to stove. On low heat, stir mixture 7) Turn to medium heat and let boil, stirring continuously 8) Turn off and remove from stove 9) Add salt and let sauce sit and thicken Assembly: 10) In a 9x9 glass dish, layer potatoes, cheese and sauce 11) After last layer of potatoes, cover with remainder of sauce and cheese 12) Sprinkle top generously with breadcrumbs 13) Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling 14) Add more salt if necessary For best results, enjoy with ketchup. Sweet potatoes can be substituted for a healthier alternative. Directions: 1. Mix 1 1/2 cups fl our, salt & sugar 2. Cut butter into mixture. If you do not have a pastry cutter, the knife method will work; mixture must be cut evenly. Once the mixture comes to pea-sized crumbles, cut in the rest of the butter. As that becomes even, add in the last cup of fl our. Once the pea-sized crumbles return, stop. Do not over cut! 3. Begin to add ice water. Start by sprinkling three tablespoons over the mixture. With a large-headed spatula or pastry slicer move the mixture around, adding 1/2 tablespoons of ice water. Do not go over 6 tablespoons. 4. Flatten mixture onto one side of bowl. With spatula or slicer, half the mixture. Knead until solid. Form into a hockey puck-sized disc and set back in bowl. Do same with other half. 5. Set discs aside for 20-40 minutes. You can refrigerate to speed process. 6. Knead briefl y to get dough pliable. 7. Use as needed for single or double crust pie, following directions for whatever pie fi lling you choose to use. Flaky pie crust whenever baking with fl our, always add a sprinkle of sugar. It adds to the fl avor. (Note: When baking with yeast, add a sprinkle of sugar to the water and the yeast will activate with a heightened vigor). This recipe will generally provide three crusts, the third being the trimmings of the fi rst two. I generally mold into a disc and throw it in the freezer. After two times through the recipe, I have enough for an additional two-crust pie. Pumpkin chocolate chip muffi ns. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffi ns From Jade McDowell Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups fl our 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 beaten egg 3/4 cup milk 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup canned pumpkin Directions 1) Mix together dry ingredients 2) Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients 3) Mix until moistened, then add chocololate chips 4) Place in greased muffi n tin and bake on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Hints: When baking there is NO substitute for butter! After step 5, you can freeze for several months. When you want to use thaw until room temperature. Knead briefl y to make pliable. Ice water is as important as the butter. It’s the temperature of the ice that causes the butter to react. The colder the water, the better the reaction. The dash of sugar is optional. I learned from a master baker (Thanks Ella) that SUPER CROSSWORD: BOXING CLASSES SUDOKU DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK EASTERN OREGON EVENTS The place to fi nd everything happening in Eastern Oregon. Post your events. It’s fast and easy! e-Edition For Hermiston Herald information 541-567-6457 • info@hermistonherald.com 333 E. Main St. • HermistonHerald.com Exact digital replica of this print edition is available online, every Wednesday by 5:30 a.m. Check out Hermiston Herald.com for more information.