Mud House Year

Brining a Turkey

Brining a turkey takes 24-48 hours.  We usually brine our turkeys for about 24 hours.  It is essential to keep the turkey refrigerated throughout the brining process.  There is plently of information out there about brining and we have found Cookshack to a reliable source.  I have adapted one of their brining recipes below.

Brining a Turkey

Ingredients:

one- 12 pound turkey

1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tablespooms chopped garlic
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons  dried, ground sage
2 teaspoons dried, ground thyme
1 bay leaf (optional, Al doesn't like bay leaves)

Here's how:

In a large pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil (I threw in some fresh sage and thyme from the garden).
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  

Remove giblets, pop-up tab, and any plastic attachments from turkey and rinse.

Place turkey in a brining bag. Then place it in a container just large enough to hold the turkey.  Pour cooled brining liquid over the turkey.  Remove as much air as possible from the bag and tie it tightly.
You want the turkey to be completely submerged.  We placed some rolled-up dish towels around the bag to push the liquid up over the top of the turkey.  Refrigerate and rotate the turkey (turn it upside-down) every 12 hours.

About an hour before cooking your turkey, remove turkey from the refrigerator but do not remove it from brining bag.  Let it sit and come to room temperature for no more than an hour.   Just before placing the turkey into the smoker, remove it from the brine.  Do not rinse.

Next up... the rub and preparation for smoking.

Smoking at the Mud House

This is Al's smoker... I've been meaning to tell you about Al's smoking hobby for awhile.  He has smoked some pretty amazing stuff, recently.  Each and every one has been delicious.  

Jalapeno poppers...

Red trout... 

The left-over red trout became this smoked trout spread for a recent dinner party.

Chicken...
In fact, that's the chicken we used for the chilaquiles.

Chicken thighs wrapped in bacon with baby bell peppers...

And, of course, pulled pork.

You see, Al comes from a long line of smokers.  Both of his brothers and his nephew are expert smokers. They got him hooked.  Al doesn't get hooked on things easily so this was quite an accomplishment.  He saved his pennies and bought himself his own little smoker.   At first, I was against it.  That is until my first bite of fresh, smoked red trout, then chicken, then pulled pork then...well, you get the picture.  It's addictive.

We are having 20 family members over for Thanksgiving.  We will begin brining two - 12 pound turkeys Tuesday night and we will put them in the smoker early Thursday morning.  Tomorrow I will share our brining recipe and method with you.  Until then I will leave you with this.
Yep.  You get the picture.  We're hooked.

As I said, Al doesn't get hooked easily.  He researched the heck out of smokers and spent much time discussing them with his brother who lives in Florida.  It took him awhile, but he finally made his decision.  This is the model he recommends.  You can find it at Amazon.  SMO25.

 

 

Pinterest Wednesday

It's pie season and this one is really good.  Buttermilk Chess Pie.  It comes to us from "A Cook and Her Books."    This recipe is close to my heart because my husband is a Kentucky boy.  The first time I ever heard of chess pie was after I met him.  Chess pie is a southern thing and there are a few variations. And, then, of course, there is the quintessential Kentucky version known as transparent pie.  I think this buttermilk chess pie is actually a close relative of the transparent pie because it does not include vinegar.  Our old family recipe for transparent pie calls for carnation milk instead of buttermilk, but other than that, the recipes are almost the same.  My brother-in-law created a family treasure by collecting old family recipes and combining them all into a cookbook.  It includes family history, photos, and wonderful Kentucky stories.  This is a page from the book with my husband's grandmother's recipe for transparent pie. 

And, here is the recipe for buttermilk chess pie from Pinterest.  

Buttermilk Chess Pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add eggs and buttermilk, stirring until blended. Stir in melted butter and vanilla and pour into unbaked pie crust.

3. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack at least an hour before serving. Store leftovers, well-wrapped in refrigerator.

Before I tried transparent or chess pie, I didn't think they looked that good but, boy oh boy, was I wrong!

GO MAKE IT NOW.  It's that good.  And, so easy to make.  No question, this recipe gets 5/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas.
    



 

The Sweetest Thing

Something about my previous blog, and those baseball caps hanging in the breeze, made me think about my favorite childhood books.  Remember this one?

Oh my gosh!  I loved Caps for Sale when I was a kid, and I loved reading it to my own kids.  It was first published in 1940 and it is the sweet story of a peddler who sells caps.

Until monkeys steal all of his caps.

And he has to come up with all kinds of plans to get them back.

I copied this from a review on Amazon "You need this one if you would like children to learn how to make predictions, recognize patterns, sequence events, and notice setting elements. "  Who knew?  I always  just loved it for its wonderful fun story, colorful illustrations, funny monkeys, and the giggles and laughs of little children as you read it to them.  I love, love , love this book!

 

But No Elephants is a lesser known book and I think I bought it for my kids from Scholastic.  It's the story of a kind-hearted grandma who buys pets from a traveling salesman.  She draws the line at elephants, though. My kids loved it and they asked for it more than any other book when they were little.  I never heard much about it over the years.  Funny thing is, years later, when my oldest daughter married and had a baby of her own, her mother-in-law sent this book to her and said it was one of her son's childhood favorites, too. It's now one of our grandbaby boy's favorite books.
So, so sweet.  I just love how families' traditions combine and grow and become more meaningful over the years.  

 

                                       

Our children grew up in Boston and we spent much of their childhood vacationing in Maine so the Robert McCloskey books were big favorites.  We especially loved Make Way for Ducklings.

 

                           Our oldest daughter was born when we lived on 57th and 6th Avenue in New York City.  That's about two blocks from the Plaza Hotel.  I took her for tea there when she was a tiny little girl.   She loved the story of Eloise and I think she enjoyed imagining what it would be like to actually live at the grand and elegant Plaza Hotel.

                                                 
She always loved Madeline too, maybe imagining herself in Paris.  This daughter grew-up loving to travel and took advantage of every opportunity to live in other countries, including going to summer school in Salamanca, Spain and spending a semester abroad in Chile.  

 

                                                             
As a little girl, our middle daughter was always offering to help.  She still does. I'm thinking it might be a middle-child thing but I will leave that to the experts.  While writing this post I asked her for her favorite childhood book and she said, "Herman the Helper," it's  about a very helpful octopus.  

                                                     
She also loved Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown who, of course, also wrote Goodnight Moon.  Over and over, the mother bunny tells her little bunny "Wherever you go, I will find you."  What sweet, reassuring words.  

I emailed our youngest daughter and asked her for her favorite books.  Without hesitation, she said But No Elephants and Nancy Drew.

                                                                
This daughter loves figuring things out.  While she was growing-up, she read and collected all of the Nancy Drew books.  She is now in law school and still has her collection of Nancy Drews.

 

When I sat down to write this, I was thinking about those baseball caps and those monkeys. Now I'm thinking about this sweet little guy and how fun it will be to see if his favorite childhood books influence the person he becomes. Or, does he choose his favorites because that is who he already is? Who knows??   Even the experts don't know the answer to that one!  All I know is what a joy he is.

 

 

Ok, here is one of my favorites.      I read it to my little girls when they were growing-up in New England.  It's about what to expect when you travel to my part of the world. Recommended reading before a visit to the Mud House.

With all of the technology today, there is simply no substitute for sitting down with a real book and reading to a child.  There are so many, many reasons why, and so many, many wonderful books. For me, it is simply magical.  It is truly the sweetest thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Mema's Dinner in a Pumpkin

I've mentioned Mema before.  You can read a bit about her here.  Among the many things I cherish are the recipes she shared with me while I was growing-up and, later, when Allen and I had three little girls of our own.   

That's Mema's handwritten recipe for dinner in a pumpkin.   I love her handwriting.  It brings her back to me.  This is a recipe she made for me when I was a little girl and then it later became a family tradition in my own family.  I remember one especially  memorable Halloween party when I made 15 individual little pumpkins for a bunch of costumed 5th grade girls.  And later, when we moved while our youngest was a freshman in high school, a little dinner-in-a-pumpkin-party paved the way to some new friendships. We made it every Halloween when the girls were little and now, we make it any time we are together between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I'm going to share with you Mema's original recipe and indicate my changes and additions in parenthesis.

Mema's Dinner in a Pumpkin 

This recipe serves approximately 4.  You can either use one medium sized pumpkin and serve it family style,  or use little ones for individual pumpkins.  The little pumpkins are a little more work but it's really fun for everyone to have their own pumpkins.  They are also sweeter and firmer.  Try to find 1 1/2 pound sugar or pie pumpkins. These were about twice as big as large apples.  

Ingredients:

One medium or four small pumpkins
1 1/2 pounds ground meat
1 teaspoon salt (I use more - 1 1/2 teaspoons.)
1 diced onion (I use half of a red onion.)
dash of pepper (I use quite a bit more - maybe 1/2 teaspoon.)
1 diced green pepper (I use a combination of red, yellow, and orange peppers.  I like the extra color.)
2 teaspoons oregano (I use 2 heaping teaspoons of Mexican oregano.  I always crush the oregano before adding it.)
2 teaspoon mustard (yellow or dijon)
1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider or red wine or balsamic - whatever you like)
1/3 cup sliced olives (I use half a cup of green - you can use black, green or a combination.)
1/2 cup rice (I don't use rice.  If you do, be sure to cook it first before adding it to meat mixture.) 
1 can tomato sauce (I use a 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies.) 
2 beaten eggs
(I also add a small can of green chilies.) 
(I rub inside of pumpkins with brown sugar.) 
(I made little individual bouquet garni from herbs in my garden.  I used tarragon, oregano, sage, and thyme.) 

Here's how:

Pre-heat oven to 350.
Drizzle a heavy, sturdy pan with olive oil.


Make lid in small pumpkin. (Cut the top as though it is a top for a casserole.)

Clean out seeds. (Use a soup spoon to scrape sides.  Leave the pumpkin flesh but get out all the seeds and stringy stuff.)

 
Brown 1 1/2 pounds ground meat. (You can use beef, turkey, chicken, etc.  I always use beef.) And drain
fat. 

Add all remaining ingredients to meat.

Combine and heat through.

Rub inside of pumpkins with brown sugar.  Sprinkle with salt.

Use a slotted spoon to fill pumpkins, draining off as much liquid as possible.

Put tops on, place in oven and cook for about an hour.  

They are done when meat is bubbly and pumpkin flesh ion the inside is just tender but not too soft.

Remove from oven.  Let pumpkins sit for a few minutes.  They are hot and heavy so use care when transferring them to individual plates or bowls.
 Be sure to scrape the pumpkin flesh from the insides of the pumpkins and mix into the meat - so yummy.

I always add a few dashes of Tabasco and a glass of red wine.
 Left-overs are particularly good, too.

Enjoy!




 

Halloween Macarons

There is something about this time of the year that sparks my imagination and I throw caution to the wind.  For days, visions of macarons have been dancing in my head.  Not just any macarons, mind you, but macarons wearing little pumpkin costumes.  I decided to attempt another batch of these finicky little monsters, color them orange, and add a little green stem.  Most importantly, I wanted a truly luscious chocolatey filling because nothing says "Halloween" to me quite like chocolate.  If you don't already know about my long, horrifying history with macarons, you can read about it, and find my basic recipe here.  To add the little stems to the macaron shells, set aside a teaspoon or two of the shiny, white meringue before you fold it into the almond/powder sugar mixture. Add some green gel food color and mix until the meringue is uniformly green.  Use a toothpick to place a mini-dollop to the center of the macaron before baking.  Do this to half of your macaron shells.  

I'm happy to report that I continue to have good results with my Mud House propane gas stove.   I'm not sure this batch actually looks like little pumpkins but the chocolate caramel ganache filling is to die for...

Mud House Chocolate Caramel Ganache
5 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, heated
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note:  It is important to warm the cream because it will be added to the very hot cooked sugar.   The cream boils furiously when added to the hot sugar, so be sure to cook the sugar in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the boiling cream.

Chop chocolate, place in heat proof bowl, and set aside.  
Bring cream to a boil.  Turn off heat and cover pan to keep cream warm.    

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water until all the sugar is moistened. Heat on medium-high, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Stop stirring and boil sugar undisturbed until it turns a deep amber. An instant-read thermometer will register 370 degrees.  I usually remove it from the heat just before it reaches temperature then slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously.  Use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture, scraping the bottom.  Return to cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture is combined and the caramel has dissolved.  Remove it from the heat and add butter, stirring gently.  Let the caramel mixture cool for a few minutes before adding it to the chocolate.  Adding too-hot caramel to the chocolate may cause the ganache to separate.  You want the caramel warm enough to melt the chocolate but not too hot.   Once you add the caramel to the chocolate, allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a minute while the chocolate melts.

Then stir very gently until the mixture is uniform and smooth.  Add the vanilla, stirring to combine.  Stirring too rapidly can may cause the ganache to separate.

Allow ganache to stand uncovered for 1 hour, then cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until firm enough to pipe onto meringue shells.  Use a piping bag and tip to pipe a large "Hershey kiss" sized dollop onto the flat side of mararon shell and sandwich with another shell.  Give a slight twist to the top shell as you sandwich it to the bottom shell.

Enjoy! 

Mud House Pumpkin Whoopie Pies For An Almost Halloween Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kathy!  That's Kathy in the red costume.  A few years after this picture was taken, I married the handsome hobo, top-right.

In honor of my sister-in-law, Kathy,  I am posting this recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies.  Kathy's birthday is today!  She is an almost-Halloween-baby and that explains why she loves everything Halloweeny and everything pumpkiny.   I adapted this recipe from epicurious.com.  It's easy and delicious as written so I made only a few minor changes.   I just wish I didn't live 2000 miles away so I could actually whip some up  and deliver them to Kathy's door.

Mud House Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
Whisk together sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla in a separate large bowl until well combined, then stir in flour mixture.Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, drop a scant scoop's worth of batter onto a lined baking sheet to form 1 mound. Make 15 more mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart.

Bake until springy to the touch, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack to cool.
Scoop and bake remaining batter on the other parchment-lined sheet. You should have a total of 32 cookies.

Leave oven on.

Candied pecans:

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup pecans

Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper.
Stir together sugar, salt, and 1/2 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Heat over moderate heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Stir in pecans.
Spread mixture on lined sheet pan and bake until coating is bubbling and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Cool completely on pan on a rack.

Coarsely chop candied pecans.

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

While cookies are baking, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and bourbon and mix on low speed until smooth.
If necessary, chill filling until firm enough to hold its shape.

Put it all together:
Fill a pastry bag with filling.  If you don't have a pastry bag, fill a zip-lock plastic bag and cut of the corner. Pipe filling onto flat side of one cookie,  Sandwich with another cookie.  If necessary, chill whoopie pies just long enough to firm up filling again, about 30 minutes.  I did not find it necessary to chill cookies before adding pecans.

Gently press pecans onto filling around middle of each whoopie pie to help them adhere to filling.

A  one-ounce ice cream scoop makes a good-sized whoopie pie.  This picture shows them next to one-inch square Crunchers.  Our dinner party guests ate two pies each for dessert.  If you want smaller, bite-sized pies, use a tablespoon to drop dough onto the cookie sheet.  An ice-cream scoop does result in nice round cookies, though.

Notes:
Definitely go to the slightly extra trouble of making the pecans.  The nutty, sugary crunch is a wonderful counter-point to the smooth, sweet filling. 

I made half of the filling with bourbon and half with vanilla.  I liked the vanilla better.  It's important to use good quality vanilla.  I love my Mexican vanilla.  It's a bit pricey but a it lasts a long time and definitely worth it.

Cookies can be baked 1 day ahead, and kept unfilled on racks at room temperature, covered with a kitchen towel.
Filling can be made 1 day ahead, and chilled, covered.
Pecans can be candied 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Helpful equipment:
Pastry bags and tips
Large, flat baking pans (warped pans result in odd-shaped whoopie pies).  I recently ordered this one from Amazon and have been using it successfully for macarons and whoopie pies.
One-ounce round ice cream scoop
Parchment paper
Good quality vanilla 

 

Happy Birthday Kathy!