Roasted Half Turkey Breast and Wings with Honey-Pineapple Glaze

My brothers and I always argued over who would get to eat the turkey wings. There were three of us children. The turkey only had two wings. So we had to take turns from one time to another.

Stores didn’t sell turkey parts when I was a kid. My mom roasted a whole bird. She ate the breast meat. My Dad learned to eat the dark meat. The leftovers were used for open face sandwiches with hot gravy (oh yum!)

Fortunately, these days you can go to a supermarket and buy a half turkey or separate thighs, drumsticks, wings — including cut up wings — breasts, even half breasts and even necks. Which is what I did yesterday — I bought a half breast and 2 extra wings because on Academy Awards night my brother is coming and he and I can each have a wing and my husband Ed and sister-in-law Eileen can have the white meat.

Ain’t modern life grand!

Here’s how I’m going to cook the turkey:

Roasted Half Turkey Breast and Wings with Honey-Pineapple Glaze

1-1/2 cups pineapple juice

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, chopped

turkey breast half, about 3 pounds

2 small turkey wings, cut into sections

salt to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the juice, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a saucepan. Whisk ingredients until smooth and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer for 10-12 minutes or until thickened and sightly syrupy. Set aside to cool. Rinse and dry the turkey breast and wings and place them in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper if desired. Place the pan in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Roast for 25 minutes. Pour half the juice mixture over the turkey. Roast for another 20 minutes. Pour the remainder of the juice over the turkey; turn the wings. Continue to roast for another 25-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees and the wings are golden brown. Baste occasionally during cooking. Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before carving the breast. Serve with pan juices. Makes 4-6 servings

Is that a book you got there?

fridayreads:

Well you KNOW we want to hear about it! Reblog this post with a line about what you’re reading this week, and you’ll be automatically entered to win wonderful books and prizes.

This week’s giveaways include 20 book cover t-shirts from Out of Print clothing!

Just started “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides. It’s a family saga but focuses on gender issues as a young baby girl (Calliope) becomes a man, Cal, later in life. 

Tdaziki

I don’t eat potato chips anymore because they’re a “trigger food” for me. That’s a term I learned from Dr. Stephen Gullo, a psychologist who is also an expert on weight management. I interviewed him once for an article on “how to control your weight during the holiday season.” 

He more or less said that trigger foods are the ones that you eat, and eat and eat and eat and also stimulate you to eat other food in addition to the trigger food, so you wind up eating more than you should or even want to. Trigger foods are different for each person.

For me it’s potato chips. I could eat an entire 7-ounce bag. In fact, I have. 

It’s not totally bad though because I am fussy about brand. I won’t eat just any potato chips. 

When I’m in a supermarket I run down the potato chip aisle so I won’t be tempted. Unfortunately, about a year ago my local Stop&Shop had 7-ounce bags of Lay’s on sale for 10/$10. It was too good to pass up, so I bought 2 bags and well, you know what happened. It’s just my husband and me in the house and he doesn’t eat potato chips.

But this coming Sunday night at my annual Dinner-at-the-Oscars for my brother and sister-in-law, I will not serve chip-and-dip. We get together during the afternoon and they stay until the award ceremony is over. That means some snacking when they come, dinner at 7 o’clock-ish.

This year during the afternoon I’ll be serving Tdaziki, a yogurt dip that I make with Chobani nonfat plain yogurt, which is so thick, rich and delicious that it’s almost hard to believe it really is what it says it is.

Tdaziki has grated cucumbers plus fresh dill and mint, so it is truly refreshing and bursting with flavor, making it the perfect dip for cut up vegetables, chunks of crusty Italian bread, pretzels and (gasp) even potato chips.

The recipe is from my book, Hip Kosher. Try it. You’ll like it. And I know that yogurt dip probably isn’t a bad trigger food for anyone. 

Tdaziki

• 3 cups thick, Greek-style nonfat yogurt
• 3 medium cucumbers
• 1 large clove garlic, mashed
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Place a double layer of cheesecloth in a strainer. Spoon the yogurt into the lined strainer and set it over a bowl. Let rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Place the yogurt in a bowl (discard the liquid that has accumulated in the bowl). Peel the cucumbers and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop and discard the seeds. Grate the cucumber in a food processor or by hand. Press the cucumber in a sieve, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible. When the yogurt is ready, stir in the cucumbers, garlic, mint, dill, salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Stir to blend ingredients thoroughly.

Makes one quart, serving 10-12 people

Chocolate Chip Brownies

School’s out. Make brownies.

If you have a kid or a grandkid, make brownies with the kid or grandkid. That way you get delicious dessert, delicious photos and delicious memories.

This picture shows my granddaughter Nina, almost 4, after making a batch of our favorite chocolate-chip brownies. Her brother and cousins weren’t at my house so she had the beaters, spatula, wooden spoon and bowl all to herself.

Check out the jewelry. She was wearing her finest plastic rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

Here’s the recipe;

Chocolate Chip Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Put the chocolate and butter in the top part of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter have melted. Stir to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Remove the top part of the double boiler from the bottom pan and set it aside to cool. Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat them with an electric beater set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick, light and well-blended. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and blend ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and blend ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 28 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the brownies in the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Makes 16

Cherry Cobbler for a birthday

Today is George Washington’s real birthday. Back in the day, we celebrated it on February 22nd. At school we made 3 cornered hats and colored them black. We learned about Washington, as a general, crossing the Delaware during the American Revolution. 

And of course we heard the same story every year. That George Washington never told a lie and one time he chopped down a cherry tree and then immediately ‘fessed up.

No one really knows if that one is true or not. Nevertheless, Washington’s birthday and cherry desserts were always the “big thing” long long before President’s Day became associated with sales on cars, clothes and mattresses.

So, happy birthday dear first president. I sometimes wonder what you would think about the political climate of the 21st century.

Cherry Cobbler

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 cups sour red cherries, drained canned or fresh, pitted
• 2 tablespoons minute tapioca
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter and work into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Beat the egg and milk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough has been formed. In a separate bowl, mix the cherries, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, tapioca and lemon juice. Let stand for 10 minutes. Place the cherry mixture into a baking dish or pie pan. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces and scatter on top of the cherries. Roll or press the dough to fit the baking dish or pie pan, crimping the edges to seal the dough to the pan. Make 2-3 slits in the dough. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6 servings

New York City Classes for Pregnant Women, New Moms: How Not To Behave After Pregnancy Loss -- Clue: Don't Blame A Woman for Her Loss. Don't Charge Her With A Felony.

amotherisborn:

Last week Georgia state Representative Bobby Franklin introduced a bill to his state legislature that would make miscarriage a felony unless a woman can prove she wasn’t at fault for causing it. Miscarriages must be reported to the state within 72 hours. If a woman miscarries at home, she…

Georgia State Representative Bobbly Franklin is a monster.

I actually shouldn’t click and send this because I am so furious I am likely to say something I’ll regret. So I’ll keep it short and say that, after suffering two miscarriages, and late ones at that because of what is known as “incompetent cervix,” I still find it difficult to think about the loss and sadness and the feelings of rage, jealousy, guilt and uselessness I felt then.

Report me? Report me? When I needed care and comfort, a loving family. Support. 

Is there something wrong with the drinking water in Georgia?

Georgia state Representative Bobby Franklin is a monster.

I better stop here. But I will email and otherwise let my own legislators know how I feel about this and hope you all do the same. You can do it here: http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/house/index.htm

Hey, Whatcha Readin'?

fridayreads:

Yep, it’s Friday again! Reblog this post with a line about what you’re reading this week to join FridayReads and be entered to win wonderful books.

Reading “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson. It’s about the migration of southern blacks to the north and west during the period from about WWWI through the 20th century. Incredible read, history plus personal stories. Highly recommend.

Fairway Opening in Stamford, CT

When I moved to Stamford, CT. it was just beginning to change from a small, sleepy Connecticut city to an important commercial center. The place is growing in leaps and bounds, but not out of control. Downtown is a busy hub with businesses, hotels and restaurants, a terrific regional symphony orchestra (the Stamford Symphony), lovely parks and a shopping mall. It’s becoming a big city, at least as far as Connecticut standards go.

And while there’s been a lot of progress over the years, it’s still not done. The south end, which flourished at one time, long before I ever moved here, is now at last getting some attention with a huge urban redevelopment project.

Fairway, an 80,000 square foot supermarket is among the newer entries into the Harbor Point Project. It has everything you could possibly want in a grocery store and more to the point, they have employed hundreds of people from the local community. This week they started a new “Share the Love” project in an effort to reach out to the area’s homeless. They are going to donate a portion of this week’s receipts to St. Luke’s LifeWorks, the largest provider of services to the homeless in Fairfield County. So every time someone shops at Fairway, some of what they spend will be given to the shelter.

This particular program ends tomorrow — so Fairway shoppers — come on in before the deadline!

But beyond this program they’re also going to provide internships and job training for some at St. Lukes — and have already given jobs to 35 SLLW clients.

Jobs matter. Everywhere. But here in Stamford, it makes us better, makes our home a better, more livable place. SLLW helps people come out of homelessness and into the working world. They can do much more with more money, so thanks to Fairway for being so generous. 

Eric Carle and Buttermilk Pancakes

I’ve been reading Pancakes, Pancakes! Eric Carle’s lovely book about a boy who asks his mother to make him a pancake for breakfast, but she’s very busy and so asks him to get all the ingredients she needs to make it. 

No, it’s not part of my #fridayreads reading (but maybe it should be!). It’s a children’s book and my grand daughter Nina happens to be fascinated with it right now so I read it to her whenever I pick her up from pre-school (where there are several shelves filled with books that parents, grandparents and assorted other caretakers can read in between school and going wherever else they’re going that day).

I like this book not only because it’s a cute story and has the kind of whimsical illustrations Carle is known for, but it also attempts to show children that it isn’t so simple to make a pancake. First you have to have flour (so Jack, the boy, must go out and use a sickle to thresh wheat and a flail to hack the seeds — so many terrific words for children to learn!!). Jack also has to coax the hen into laying an egg, milk the cow and even churn the cream to make butter.

One amazing part of this story is that Jack doesn’t have a meltdown or temper tantrum. He actually does whatever is necessary to find the ingredients needed for the pancake.

Talk about motivated!!

His last chore is to go down to the basement to find some jam, from among the jars of preserves that his mother has stored down there.

He does finally get his pancake. 

I love this book. I love that Jack becomes part of his own wish come true, that he doesn’t seem to mind participating, doing some chore, to get what he wants. I am glad he is rewarded in the end.

But for the rest of us who will not have to thresh or flail the wheat, but can go down to the supermarket and find everything we want there, we fortunate ones who only have to mix ingredients, here’s a really good recipe for pancakes. Serve with jam, the way Jack likes it, or with the more standard maple syrup. 

Here’s a tip: keep buttermilk in the house because it’s terrific for pancakes, biscuits and all sorts of other baked goods. It lasts a long time in the fridge (and you use almost a quart for this recipe). If you don’t want to do that though, you can buy buttermilk powder (reconstitute with water), which you can usually find in the baking aisle of a supermarket. That keeps about a year in the cupboard.

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups buttermilk
• butter for frying the pancakes

Melt the 3 tablespoons butter and set aside to cool. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a second bowl mix the egg, buttermilk and melted, cooled butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix to blend them but do not beat vigorously. Preheat a griddle or large saute pan over medium heat. Lightly butter the pan before cooking the pancakes. When the pan butter has melted and looks foamy, slowly pour about 2 tablespoons batter (for small pancakes) or more (for larger pancakes), leaving space between each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until bottom is lightly browned and bubbles form on the top. Flip the pancakes with a rigid spatula and cook for a minute or until the second side is lightly browned.

Makes 6-8 servings

Roasted Pistachio Crusted Salmon

Salmon is one of the best diet foods. I really don’t like the word diet and I hate thinking about foods that can help me stick to one. I know, I know, “it’s a way of life not a diet” but I do NOT find that kind of talk helpful when I’m trying to shed a few pounds. I don’t want to think about always eating fish and lean chicken and facing life without french fries forever. 

But salmon is different. It’s actually delicious and it’s meaty and filling. And it looks good too. Besides it takes under 5 minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to roast. A really quick-fix-dinner for during the week. Even my mother made salmon and she never knew a fish that she liked.

So here’s my recipe for an easy dinner dish. It doesn’t go well with french fries, so I won’t even miss them. But sauteed fennel and parsnip “fries” would work. 

Roasted Pistachio Crusted Salmon

4 salmon filets, about 6-8 ounces each

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the salmon filets in a baking dish. Mix the olive oil, mustard and lemon peel together in a small bowl and spread this mixture evenly on top of the fish. Sprinkle with the nuts and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish (the center should still be slightly under done). Makes 4 servings