Food TV

Thanksgiving was a success. Bewteen Alton Brown’s brined turkey, and stuffing (granted with a few modifications)and Garlic Mashers, Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Roll Cake, Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Apple Pie, Broccoli, Cauliflower Carrots, with Parmesan Bread crumbs, and a plain old fashioned Turkey Pan Gravy, we had more than enough to eat. Especially adding in the frozen pumpkin & Pecan pies, brown & serve rolls, and of course, Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly… Oh yeah, and the ham and yams that the Hubby made. Wow, that’s a lot of food. I know that I said all of the recipes would be from Good Eats, but as it turns out, the show didn’t provide the full variety of dishes that I wanted to serve, but the Food Network Website has an amazing selection of dishes, and a wonderful recipe box feature. Each of the recipes were put together in one place, easy to find, and follow…

So, how easy were the recipes to prepare? And how did they turn out? And most importantly, what did the family think? Well, here’s a recipe by recipe review, of all of the savory dishes, and the review or the desserts is next!!!

Of course, we’ll start with the brined Turkey. The brine itself was really easy to prepare, although I’m sure I didn’t use enough salt. The recipe called for a callon of vegetable stock, but I used water instead and forgot to compensate for the sodium in the stock. Nonetheless, the turkey came out really moist and delicious, and here even 2 days later is still tender and flavorful. Once I got it out of the brine and rinsed, I got to put in the stuffing.

The stuffing that Alton made on Good Eats, when he finally conceded that stuffing, perhaps, is not evil, looked pretty good, so I used that as the base for my recipe. I did make a couple adjustments though. Mushrooms creep me out, and nobody in my house is a fan of bell peppers, so I replaced them. The mushrooms were easily replaced by the heart, liver, and neck meat of the turkey. And instead of a traditional “trinity” with the bell peppers, I switched it up to a mirepoix, using carrots instead. As for the bread, the recipe called for Challah bread, but I couldn’t find that, and my whole family loves sourdough, so I used that instead. For stuffing, I have to sat it turned out pretty darn good. Although I am not a super huge fan of stuffing, the whole soggy bread thing grosses me out. But those in my family that are fans of stuffing loved it. They said it was the best stufing they had ever had, and that’s saying a lot…

The roasting of the turkey couldn’t have been easier. Although I did place the probe of my new, fantastic, probe thermometer a bit too close to the surface and it claimed it was done after only an hour and a half. I proclaimed it a liar, and put it in deeper into the breast meat. A more reasonable couple hours later and it was really done. And while it was resting I put in the veggies.

The broccoli/cauliflower/carrots with parmesan bread crumbs was really easy to make. It only took a couple minutes to brown up the bread crumbs and cheese, and put it all on the veggies that were all nice and steamed. Even better, I forgot about them in the oven and left them in for at least 10 minutes longer than I should have, and they didn’t burn or overcook or anything. It’s almost like the crumbs worked as a protectant for the veggies. Hooray!!!

The Garlic Mashers were AWESOME!!! Although, next time I make them I am going to crush the garlic first. Whilst I really enjoyed munching on whloe cloves of garlic, I can’t say the same was true of the rest of my family. Plus the act of crushing the garlic will release a lot of it’s flavor. The gravy, on the other hand didn’t turn out really well at all. Well, the flavor was awesome, but I didn’t follow through on the directions. Turns out it REALLY IS necessary to seperate out the grease from the drippings. So instead of gravy, I got a really tasty turkey oil soup… It still went well on the potatoes, as I said the flavor was fantastic, but it was by no means gravy. Heehee, live and learn, I suppose.

So, how did the family like it? My mom has crowned me the Queen of Thanksgiving. My dad said the turkey was better than any he had ever made. I was showered in compliments all evening long. I couldn’t have wished for it to turn out better. Next year though, Dad and I will be working together. Now that my family has the confidence that I can do more than peel potatoes, Dad and I can put out a feast to end all feasts next year!!!

With the holiday season fast approaching our hearts and minds turn to those less fortunate than ourselves. Sounds cliche, I know, but in the best of worlds it is true. Fans of the Food Network are probably aware of their current work with Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength is an organization dedicated to prevention of childhood hunger in America. Food Network is proud to be the national television sponsor of Share Our Strength. Look for your favorite Food Network Stars doing commercials and events for Share Our Strength.

Having said that, our favorite stars also have charities that they love and donate to on their own. I’d like to tell you a little about those too.

First of all, Alton Brown. In case you all haven’t figured it out by now, Alton is my favorite Food Network Star. It doesn’t hurt that he’s adorable and geeky in a super funny and smart kind of way. Add to that, his pet charity is one of my favorites too, and he is very nearly the perfect man… (Second to Hubby of course…) The charity of which I speak is Heifer International. Heifer International is working to rid the world of hunger following the old adage, give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. When you donate to Heifer international you buy a hungry or needy family a piece of livestock, a cow, a pig, a sheep, and not only does the organization give that animal to them, it teaches them to breed, care for, and recieve nourishment from, these animals… They also have programs that teach about agriculture, planting food, and getting those that live in cities to become closer to their food sources. Also, they acknowledge the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is spreading across the world and have included AIDS Prevention and Awareness Programs… All around an amazing charity!!!

Rachael Ray, has currently been working with City Harvest, and has recently donated two tickets to her daytime tv show to City Harvest’s 25th anniversary bid against hunger auction night. The tickets were won for an astounding $18,000 each!!! However Rachael also has here own charity, called Yum-o! In this day and age of fast food and meals on the go, Yum-O works to help families lears to cook together, building relationships over mealtimes. They also work to prevent childhod hunger (do we see a theme here yet?) On top of all of that they fund cooking education and scholarships.

Emeril also has his own charitable foundation, called, shockingly enough, the Emeril Legasse Foundation. Established in 2002 Emeril’s foundation is dedicated to “inspire, mentor, and enable our future.” The funds raised by his organization are in turn granted to other charities, childrens organizations that have something to do with food or hunger prevention…

If you would care to donate or help with any of the above charities, just click on the links and they will direct you to the site!!!

Also, to all of you lurkers out there, I am extending an invitation. Please, comment here what you would like to read about. Whether it be a specific show, or a particular personality… Any recipes that you’re just dying to have… Anything that you would like to see me write about. Once each week, I promise to take one of your suggestions and blog it, but I can’t do it if I do’t get your suggestions!!!

Remember this week, no mater how bad your life is, somebody has it worse. Donate time or money to the charity of YOUR choice today, whether it be one of the above or something totally different. I’m sure it will make you feel better!!!

The title here is pretty self-explanatory. I am going to list the top chefs that have shows on the network and let you know why I like them. Feel free to let me know who your favorites are and why you like them, too!

Emeril

Show(s): Emeril Live, Essence of Emeril

Reason I Like Them: Emeril is Food Network. By that I mean that he is everything that one would think the Food Network is going for when they make their shows. He makes amazing food that is accessible to the home cook. Emeril is the type of Chef that makes you want to cook. I love that I can point his recipes out just by the names of them. You can tell what an Emeril recipe would be because just the sound makes your mouth water. He’s also completely entertaining and fun to watch. He makes food cool, which is amazing.

Paula Deen

Show(s): Paula’s Home Cooking, Paula’s Party (more…)

Food Network has joined forces with a charity organization known as Share Our Strength. Food Network is the official national television sponsor for this excellent organization that is fighting to end the childhood hunger epidemic in America.

If you want to help, a great way is to host a bake sale in your community. You can register to host a bake sale by visiting Great American Bake Sale. The Great American Bake Sale initiative began on May 19 and will last until August 31. Sign up today and have a chance to help feed children who desperately need your help and join the million of people who are already participating.

The money that is earned will go to raise the level of money necessary to create summer and after-school feeding programs for low-income children. You will also be helping to support nutritional based education programs for lower income families. (more…)

I will admit that competition-wise, Iron Chef is definitely one of my favorite network shows. My boyfriend, Dominick loves to tell me how I should go on one of the Food Network cooking competition shows, but I think he is biased. I like to think I still have a long way to go when it comes to defining my food style and I need a bigger kitchen to play around in before I’d even consider going. However, in the meantime I watch shows like the Next Food Network Star and Iron Chef and get a wistful “feeling” as I discuss what I might have done had I been on the show.

If you love the Iron Chef and find that you take things to extremes, you might be able to show your spirit on Food Network. The network is looking for people that have taken their love of Iron Chef to the next level. For example, do you like to watch the show in your own little uniform? Do you play food commentator in your kitchen? Do you have your own Iron Chef Food competitions? If you do any of these things or something equally as interesting, then you should let them know. They are looking for you!

The people that the Network is interested in will have a chance to experience the rush of airtime. The Food Network cameras will come and capture you in action or you can send them a tape on your own. If your story is chosen that could mean that you will be featured on the Food Network along with other Iron Chef Fans. If you think you have that fan quality then you need to submit your story.

Let us know if you’ve entered and how it turns out. If you are featured on the show, I will make sure to let our readers know!

Iron Chef, Food Network, Contest