This evening was brought to you by the letter B

Cross-posted from Calgary is Awesome.

I didn't eat these. Seriously.
Most people, after finding out that they ate 2,000 calories (the amount that an average person needs in one day) and 7,000 mg of sodium (almost 3x the recommended daily upper limit) in one sitting, would probably take it easy with their diet the rest of the week, maybe squeeze in a few more workouts... Me? I skipped tap class this week to go for burgers.

Vlad's Calgary Foodies Group was back in action - our original goal of the night was to have a sort of "Battle of the Burgers", sparked by Andree (are u gonna eat that?)'s review of Loungeburger. Vlad simply couldn't fathom how anyone could suggest that there is a burger out there than the sirloin burgers at Buchanan's, so he proposed a "Battle of the Burgers", and it was going to be a night full of letter Bs - burgers, bloggers, Buchanan's...

I was really looking forward to the opportunity to meet Suzi and Gwendolyn (what originally drew me to the outing, honest!), but they unfortunately cancelled. Andree cancelled too, but she ended up having dinner there anyway with her husband and in-laws and stopped by our table on her way out, and Liz of Trufflemutt joined us, so I did get to meet some fellow food bloggers, and more of Vlad's friends as well (Hi, Cindy!)

The evening started at Loungeburger, and as usual, we tried to take advantage of our numbers and try as many different burgers as possible. Of course, it would've been silly to only have 1/7 of a burger, so we split off into two groups - Beth, Brian, Arthur and I got the 'AAA' Alberta Beef burger as control, the Kobe burger, the Sausage burger, and the Ahi Tuna burger. Vlad, Liz and Cindy split the Kobe burger, the Lamb burger and the Alberta Sliders Trio (above - see, I didn't eat it!)


B is for Burger. Beef. BACON.
The Battle of the Burgers was a bit of a failure, as four of us brought our cameras, so we spent a *lot* of time passing the plates around, taking photos before we even got to splitting them up. The waiter joked that we can't complain to him if our food was cold, and he was right; I think the food would've been much better fresh and hot, especially the sides.


These onion rings would've been better hot.


I greedily had my tossed salad all to myself and it was so good. Not just because I like my vegetables (and it's always nice to see a salad that's not just pile of lettuce with some dry-looking grated carrots and maybe a pink wedge of tomato), but also because this one was dressed in a lovely sweet vinaigrette.

Oh right, the burgers...


I think our "control" burger was my favourite, perhaps because it was the one I ate first, but I think it's because of the pepper/herb bacon - it added a whole other dimension of taste and also some texture to the burger that in my mind, made all the difference.


B is for Beef cattle that drink Beer and get massages everyday.
But I could taste the difference between Alberta beef and the Kobe/Wagyu blend that Loungeburger has on their Kobe burgers. The latter was very soft and moist, making the 'AAA' beef seem a little gristly in comparison. I did enjoy the pretzel bun, feeling like it had more substance (and it was easier to cut) but felt that the horseradish aioli made it a little too salty for my taste.


B is for Beer mustard.
The sausage burger was good (can't go wrong with Spolumbo's!) and also came on a pretzel bun, though I wish it had more spices (not necessarily hot spices, but ones you generally find in sausage, like fennel seed) that could have distinguished it more from the other patties. I really liked the beer mustard though - very horseradishy.


The ahi tuna burger came with alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers and onions on a garlic and herb flatbread. I would call it more of an open-face sandwich than a burger so it can't really compare to everything else we ate, and I liked how light it was compared to the meaty burgers.

Everyone was happy to note that there was no more loud, thumping music like Andree's first visit. I've heard game nights are a zoo at Loungeburger, but even without that the service needed a bit of work - though the waiter was very attentive in the beginning, checking on us a little too frequently when we were still deciding what to order, after the food was served he was very hands-off. My ex-boyfriend always judged whether or not he liked a restaurant based on how often he got his water refilled - here the waiter came around once with the pitcher but only filled the glasses he was asked explicitly to refill, then our glasses stood empty for a long time and I think he forgot for a good 10, 15 minutes after I had to ask him for more water before he came with the pitcher again. Unfortunately I forget the prices for some of the burgers (I do remember the Alberta Beef burger being $11.50, the Kobe beef burger being $20 and the Sausage and Ahi Tuna burgers were $13?), but when we split the bill evenly between the seven of us, plus the 18% gratituity that was automatically tacked on, the meal only cost us $20 each. I think that's pretty good.

I think most people forgot about the Buchanan's part of the "battle", plus it was a weeknight, but a few of us (Vlad, Brian, Arthur and myself) pressed on despite being relatively full. Buchanan's is a whisky bar tucked on a corner just at the edge of downtown. According to Vlad, it usually caters to the high rolling business crowd and is very upscale, but we rolled in toward the end of the night, so it had more of a cozy, neighbourhood pub sort of vibe. Buchanan's has two types of burgers, both using sirloin beef - the Deluxe Bacon Cheeseburger and Hot and Spicy Onion-Jalapeño Jack Cheese Burger (both $19), and you can have a taste of both with their Mini Burger two-pack ($12). We got two, so it worked out to one mini burger for each of us, and they came with the cutest little cups of fries and coleslaw.


B is for Buchanans!
I chose the Hot and Spicy Onion-Jalapeño Jack Cheese Burger (because it was closer) and I liked the little kick of spice and the meat was very moist, but it wasn't the mindblowing experience that Vlad had hyped it up to be, and even he agreed. Maybe it was because we didn't get the full-sized burgers but I really wouldn't have been able to stomach it, or maybe it's because I simply don't get that excited about burgers. We picked a little at the fries (not very good) and if I was hungrier I would've probably picked up a fork and had some coleslaw, but I was very full.

So the search for the ultimate burger is still on, but part of me feels like I'm not the right person for it, because I'd sooner get excited about golden beets and purple cauliflowers than a sandwich. But of course, I could be proven wrong - Gwendolyn claims that Chuckwagon Cafe has the best burgers in southern Alberta... anyone want to go to Turner Valley with me?


Loungeburger
270 14 Ave SE
Calgary AB T2G 0L3
(403) 250-BRGR
Open Mon-Wed 11 AM-1 AM, Thu-Sat 11 AM-2 AM, Sun 11 AM-11 PM. Reservations recommended for large groups and on game nights.


Buchanan's
738 3 Ave SW
Calgary AB T2P 0G7
(403) 261-4646
Kitchen closes at 10 pm. Closed Sundays.

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Something old, something new, Part 2: Warm Beet and Butternut Squash Salad

My office is pretty open and casual (that and I need to try to let warm air trickle into my windowless cave), so I usually work with my door open. Whenever my door is closed and I'm not with a patient, it usually means one of two things - I'm listening to my iPod (to drown out the sound of the construction downstairs) and/or I'm eating...

Usually my snack of choice is cottage cheese, applesauce and a handful of walnuts, but I had some leftover beets to use up, and after flipping through Kathryn's Twitter feed and blog, I basically came full circle when I stumbled upon this recipe by Sophie, the dietitian behind Mostly Eating, who along with Elaine of Greens & Berries, are swapping recipes and nutrition resources with Kathryn over Twitter all the time.

I had to make a few tweaks to the recipe; despite looking in two places (the Farmers' Market and Sunterra) I couldn't find one of the key ingredients, sumac*, and I had butternut squash instead of sweet potato.

While I was shopping for this recipe, part of me wished that I was *in need* of beets instead of trying to use them up - Innisfail Growers had some specialty beets at their booth at the market - they had some of the carrot-shaped ones and some golden beets too! *drool* Totally going back for those :)

I actually made this recipe at the same time as I did the soup. The beet and squash can be roasted together (and having the rosemary-infused squash in the salad is *amazing*), then you can prepare the salad while the soup is simmering, or if you don't mind having it cold or reheated in the microwave, you can let the vegetables stand until you're done making the soup, and that way they won't be too hot to handle either.


Beets, ready to be roasted


I learned the hard way that I like raw onion less than I thought - my coworkers teased me about how a pile of raw onion would be left in my bowl after I finished the salad - so in the recipe below I've toned down the amount of onion that's in it, but if you like it more than I do, feel free to increase :)

Warm Beet and Butternut Squash Salad
Adapted from Mostly Eating
Makes 2-4 servings

• 6 medium beets, any colour, washed but unpeeled
  
• Half of a medium butternut squash (~700 g)
  
• 10 mL (2 tsp) olive oil
  
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  
• ¼ red onion, finely diced
  
• 30 mL (2 tbsp) orange juice
  
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
   
2. Rub olive oil into skin of beets. Loosely wrap beets in a tin foil parcel, and place on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.
   
3. After 20 minutes, rub flesh of squash with remaining olive oil and place cut-side down next to beets on baking tray with rosemary tucked underneath. Continue baking both for an additional 40-60 minutes, or until flesh of squash is soft in the middle, and beets are slightly firmer but soft to knife point. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool.
   
4. Remove skin from beetroot by rubbing them with paper towel and roughly chop.
   
5. Cut a crosshatch pattern into the flesh of the squash without piercing skin, then "invert" squash (it should look sort of like this, but in squash-form as opposed to mango-form) and cut cubes of squash flesh away from skin.
   
6. Toss beets, squash and onion in a medium-sized bowl with orange and lemon juices. Serve cold or warm (can be reheated for 30 seconds in the microwave). Excellent with a dollop of cottage cheese... for some saltiness and protein (!)

Nutrition Info (per ½ recipe): 188 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 35 g carbohydates (8 g fibre, 21 g sugar), 5 g protein, 196 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, potassium and manganese. A good source of vitamin B₆ and iron.

     *I've since heard that sumac can be found quite easily in Calgary, in Middle Eastern markets like Somar Food Market and Atlas Specialty, as well as Cookbook Co. Cooks, which I'm guessing has a better-stocked permanent location than their booth at the Farmers' Market, where I *did* find other, wonderful things.

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Something old, something new, Part 1: Smoky Butternut Squash, Carrot and Lentil Soup

I know I was going to stop blogging about Thanksgiving, but there was just one little problem - leftovers. Oh no, we managed to lap up all the leftover food in less than a week, but my overzealous shopping and stock-making left me with a few leftover ingredients:

Clockwise from top left: giblet stock, beets, carrots, rosemary
While I'm sure it would've been a fine challenge to make something just out of those ingredients, something caught my eye while I was at Sweetgrass Market the week before and I couldn't stop thinking about them...



So I knew I wanted to make a squash soup and then something with beets... I was originally leaning toward a curried squash soup, but then remembered all the herbs that I threw into my giblet stock and figured that that wouldn't go. I turned to my trusty Google Reader and searched through my 102 feeds of mostly food blogs for "squash" and "beetroot". I searched beetroot because Kathryn of Limes & Lycopene is a total beet fiend, and I was trying to hit all of her recipes, but she's Australian, and outside of North America beets are referred to as beetroot... but more of that in Part 2.




I ended up finding a recipe that sounded interesting and easy, and incorporated 3 of the 4 leftover ingredients (!) from The Great Big Vegetable Challenge. The premise of the blog is a mom (Charlotte) whose son Freddie didn't like vegetables, so to get him to eat them and start liking them, they went through the whole alphabet, finding two or three vegetables for each letter, and Charlotte made creative recipes with all of them! There are soups, muffins, veggie burgers, quiches, frittatas... the challenge has long been over now and Charlotte's even published a book about it, and most importantly, Freddie (and his sister Alex) are now veggie lovers :)

I ended up heading to the Farmers' Market and "squash and apples" seemed to be the theme of the weekend - it was actually hard to find butternut squash because that was probably all that people were familiar with and snapped up! There was lots of spaghetti squash, acorn squash, buttercup squash, and even lesser known ones like red kuri squash and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin). I finally found a nice, medium-sized butternut squash, then also picked up some apples (honeycrisp, my favourite), some other ingredients, then headed back home.




Charlotte has this neat tip where you roast the butternut squash with some sprigs of rosemary tucked underneath. The recipe just called for half the squash, so I put the other half in a warm salad and it's so good - the rosemary just perfumes the flesh of the squash, and it certainly helps that rosemary is one of my favourite herbs.

The soup also has onions, carrots, and potato.


Done with a neat white balance trick I learned from Donna Ruhlman
But the secret ingredient is definitely the smoked paprika...

    


My dietitianly self thought the soup was lacking in protein, and so my first thought was lentils - I prefer lentils over beans because they are much more low maintenance; they don't require soaking before you cook them. While the Farmers' Market did have some local dried beans for sale, I couldn't resist picking up these A.O.C. Du Puy lentils, as they reminded me of a dear friend of mine who absolutely loves them.

    


And the soup itself is simply delightful, with the smokiness of the paprika and the earthy sweetness of the squash and the carrots. The lentils give it texture and substance, and it's lovely paired with something a little salty, like garlic toast or crackers. And you know it's good when my brother, who would often choose to go out for food instead of having free leftovers at home, says one night at dinner, "Is there any of that squash soup leftover? I'd like some in the morning."

Smoky Butternut Squash, Carrot and Lentil Soup
Adapted from The Great Big Vegetable Challenge
Makes ~2 L of soup

• Half a medium butternut squash, seeds removed (~700 g)
  
• Olive oil
  
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 medium potato, diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 5 medium carrots, diced
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) smoked paprika
  
• 1 L (4 cups) of low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
  
• 250 mL (1 cup) of Du Puy or green lentils, picked through and rinsed
  
• 750 mL (3 cups) water
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
• (Optional) Plain yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
   
2. Rub olive oil on flesh of squash and place the squash cut side-down with a little rosemary underneath. Bake for 40-60 minutes in the oven, or until flesh of squash is completely softened. Set aside to cool.
   
3. Sauté onion, garlic, potato and carrot in a large pot or saucepan with a little olive oil and paprika until onions are softened and translucent, about 4 minutes.
   
4. Scoop out butternut squash flesh and throw it in the pot along with the stock and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn heat down to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
   
5. While soup is simmering, in a separate pot, bring water to a boil and add in lentils. Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils have softened and water is almost gone. Drain and set aside.
   
6. Remove soup from heat and blend soup using a food processor, blender or hand blender. Stir in lentils and add salt and pepper to taste.
   
7. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and a dash of pepper or paprika.

Nutrition Info (for ⅛ of recipe, about 1 cup): 171 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated) 0 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrates (10 g fibre, 4 g sugar), 9 g protein, 309 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin E, folate, potassium and manganese. A good source of thiamin (vitamin B₁), iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

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The Sherm's Ultimate Gripper challenge

Cross-Posted from Calgary is Awesome.

Why yes, there are two "Grippers" in that photo
I was just leaving Edmonton after the Dairy Farmers Symposium (yes, I know I still owe you an entry about that!) and meeting Chelsey when I got a text message (via Twitter) from a mutual online friend of Chelsey and I - Dr. Yoni Freedhoff.

Dr. Freedhoff is the medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, which specializes in obesity (bariatric) medicine and weight management. Dr. Freedhoff is probably one of the most outspoken medical professionals in Canada, and he is often calling out misleading information and faulty policies by the government, health-related associations (you may remember him from such fun times as the whole Dietitians of Canada and calories on menu boards debacle), the food industry, and others in his blog, Weighty Matters.

In his message, Dr. Freedhoff told me that he'd found out about a "frankenfood" in Calgary and wanted me to take photos of it for his blog. Of course, that was reinterpreted in my mind as a challenge to eat it.

The "frankenfood" in question was Sherm's Ultimate Gripper, one of the many hot dogs at Tubby Dog. On the menu, the hot dog (which is Tubby Dog's most expensive at $9.50) is described as follows:

dog is bacon wrapped then deep fried! topped with ham, homemade chili, cheese, mustard, bacon, hot peppers, onions, and a fried egg

For some reason, all of this sounded reasonable to me except for the fried egg. Still, I accepted the challenge though I did postpone it by a week because of Thanksgiving, and there's only so much gluttony you can engage in over a weekend.

I didn't want to do this alone, so I asked my cousin Kevin if he wanted to partake as well. Of course, he was up for the challenge - he did, after all, help make a turducken last week, and him and his friends used to make up ridiculous food challenges back in their university days, like how many Timbits they could eat in an hour, how many donuts they could eat in two hours, who could drink 4L of milk in an hour, how much Gatorade they could drink in an hour... in fact, leading up to the challenge he was convinced that he could eat two Sherm's Ultimate Grippers, but decided to just order one to start just in case he was underestimating the power of the Gripper.

We slipped into Tubby Dog on a Sunday afternoon, and unlike Friday and Saturday nights there, it was brightly lit and fairly quiet (though people started trickle in not long after we ordered). The guy behind the counter was completely casual when my cousin said, "I'll take a Sherm's Ultimate Gripper," and I chimed in with, "...and I'll have one too." Clearly people do this "challenge" quite often.

It took a bit longer than I expected for them to get our dogs ready, but they did have to deep fry our hot dogs (causing the whole restaurant to smell like hot oil for about a minute or so) and pan-fry our ham and eggs. This gave us time to catch up a little bit and also to soak in the quirky, kitschy decor - the entire restaurant is done in bright red and yellow, and framed posters, photos and t-shirts hang crooked on the wall. There's a corner with pinball machines and other arcade games, a wall with black-and-white short films being projected onto it, and two tall clear shelves of vintage canned foods.

Soon, the hot dogs were ready, and we were ready too.


The hot dogs were piled high with toppings and drizzled with cheese sauce and came in a little cardboard tray. It was hard to know where to start, and the plastic forks and knives that were provided to us were barely enough to do the job. I started by cutting off little sections here and there, and soon I was well on my way.


The Gripper was not as heavy as I thought it would be - while there were a lot of toppings, I had originally envisioned a tray that was more chili and cheese than actual hot dog, and then once you broke the egg yolk, that would spill over everything as well. The amount for each topping was "reasonable" so that the whole thing wasn't too heavy or messy and none of the flavours overwhelmed the others. They just melded. My favourite part was definitely the chili, which lined the big, fluffy white bun - the chili was thick (unlike the soupy stuff you find at fast food places) and you could really taste the cumin and chili powder in it. The fried egg wasn't that bad either, since the yolk was semi-solid and so again, wasn't messy, and combined with the ham and the hot dog, it reminded me a little bit of breakfast. My least favourite part was probably the cheese sauce (tasted way processed, but fortunately there wasn't too much of it) and the banana peppers, but the latter is probably just personal preference and the flavour contrast it added with its spiciness and sourness was generally welcome.

We finished our hot dogs and my cousin was still hungry, so we got a half-order of yam fries, which were HUGE (unfortunately my cousin's arm is covering most of it in the photo). The yam fries were more like yam chips and they salted them way too much, which overwhelmed the sweet earthiness which usually makes yam/sweet potato fries so awesome.


The challenge was fun, and my cousin is confident that he could eat two in one sitting, or maybe even three or four if he really tried. The hot dog was pretty good, but with all the buildup of it as a "Frankenfood" and a "challenge", it wasn't particularly heavy and gross, nor was it remarkably tasty, either. Though I had a pretty good experience at Tubby Dog, knowing how bad the food is for me (I don't know an exact calorie count, but given that according to Canadian Nutrient File, a regular chili dog is about 300 calories, I wouldn't be surprised if Sherm's Ultimate Gripper was double that, if not more (I'm guessing it's closer to 800), and probably has about a day or two worth of sodium (the half-order of yam fries probably added another day as well).) With a menu full of similarly greasy dogs, I probably won't be heading back to Tubby Dog any time soon, let alone order another Gripper!


Tubby Dog
103 1022 17 Ave SW
Calgary AB T2T 0A5
(403) 244-0694
Open Sun-Thu 11:30 AM-Late, Fri-Sat 11:30 AM-1 AM (Restaurant Service), 1 AM-4 AM (Window Service).

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Thanksgiving Sides: Two kinds of mashed potatoes and "Chinese-Style" Brussels Sprouts

Side dishes at Thanksgiving are just as (if not more) important than the turkey itself. From a nutrition standpoint, side dishes round out the meal with veggies and grains, and from a non-nutrition standpoint, side dishes make the whole Thanksgiving spread more impressive, provide variety in terms of colour, flavour and texture, and help conjure up their own memories - when people think about Thanksgiving dinner, they don't just think about the turkey, they think about the candied yams studded with marshmallows, the cranberry sauce that's still in the shape of the can, the roasted potatoes with crispy outsides and mealy innards... Anyway, we didn't eat any of that stuff.

Not that we didn't have any sides! My sister and I teamed up to make a salad and two kinds of "skinny" mashed potatoes, while I quickly did up some Brussels sprouts. We also ate "stuffing" (or vegetables soaked in turkey juices, really), which I already talked about in the previous entry, and my mom made some prime rib and defrosted some king crab legs.

I guess I don't have much to share in the way of "recipes", as we kind of eyeballed these things as we went along, so they're more techniques that you can think about than anything else...

    
I had made mashed potatoes with evaporated milk before, and I find that evaporated milk tends to have this rich, creaminess to it without all the extra fat (well, if you buy the 2% kind). So I thought, could evaporated milk alone replace the creaminess of butter and regular 1% milk? Well, sorta. No one said a peep when they had our mashed potatoes, but when my sister and I were doing our tastings, I felt like something about the texture and taste was a little off in a way that only butter could've fixed. Oh well!

"Skinny" Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes or 4 medium potatoes, peeled (or unpeeled, if you, like me, enjoy fibre), cubed
  
• Evaporated milk (about ½ of a 370 mL (12.5 oz) can)
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) brown sugar, 30 mL (2 tbsp) walnuts or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced, 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed from twigs and minced

1. Simmer cubed potatoes in a medium pot of boiling water until softened. Drain.
   
2. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes while adding in evaporated milk until desired consistency achieved.
   
3. While potatoes are being mashed, toast walnuts by placing them in a single layer on a dry skillet over high heat. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and set aside when walnuts begin to brown/give off pleasant nutty smell.
   
4. Mash in brown sugar (and if I had my way, cinnamon and nutmeg!) to taste. Scrape sweet potato into a bowl and top with roasted walnuts. Folding them into the sweet potato would work too. OR Mash in garlic and rosemary. Garnish with more sprigs of rosemary if desired.

Nutrition Info (per ⅛ recipe, assumes potatoes are boiled without skin)
Mashed Sweet Potatoes: 88 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 6 mg cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrates (2 g fibre, 4 g sugar), 3 g protein, 40 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamin A.

Garlic-Rosemary Mashed Potatoes: 105 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 6 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates (2 g fibre, 1 g sugar), 3 g protein, 29 mg sodium. A good source of potassium.

I made the Brussels Sprouts "Chinese-style". I was originally going to go with Heidi (101 Cookbooks)'s Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts recipe, but not many people in my family like cheese and it would've been tedious to line all those Brussels sprouts facedown on a skillet - I'd have to do them in batches! This "Chinese-style" blanche-then-saute technique is how my mom taught me to prepare Chinese vegetables like Chinese broccoli (芥蘭), choi sum (菜芯)and bok choy (白菜), and I think it works because all these vegetables are part of the Brassica genus.

Chinese-style Brussels Sprouts

• 5 mL (1 tsp) vegetable oil
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) sugar
  
• ~3 lb Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, outer leaves removed and halved
  
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
  
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Fill a large pot about halfway with water and add a teaspoon each of oil and sugar. Bring to a boil.
   
2. Add Brussels sprouts, turn heat to low and simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or softened with just a bit of bite. Remove from heat and drain.
   
3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet. Saute garlic for about 1 minute and add Brussels sprouts, tossing them to coat with garlic. Remove from heat, season to taste and serve.

Nutrition Info (per ~1 cup): 51 calories, 1 g fat (0.2 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrate (3 g fibre, 2 g sugar), 3 g protein, 22 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamins C, E and folate. A good source of potassium and manganese.

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Turkey from Start to Finish

I know, I know, I should probably be more on top of my blogging and not be talking about my turkey over a week after the fact, but if you think about it, I'm actually ahead of the curve for American Thanksgiving and Christmas, and of course this will be a great reference for me for future Thanksgivings... I am very selfish when it comes to this blog, really.

Like last year's turkey, this one was a riff off of this recipe, which I like because it doesn't use actual stuffing (therefore pleasing my family) but I dislike because it involves brining it overnight and flipping the bird (hehe!) and perhaps if I did those things the breast meat of my turkey wouldn't be so dry, but I'm not going to relent. I might buy a turkey baster next year/for Christmas though.

I didn't change the "stuffing" much - it was just chopped carrots, onion and celery. The recipe called for thyme and a bay leaf, but I didn't want to be stuck with a big bunch of thyme, so I bought a pack of "poultry mix" instead, which was still mostly thyme, but also had rosemary and sage.

    



Instead of brining the turkey, I took the defrosted turkey out of its packaging the day of, retrieved the bag of giblets from the neck cavity and set it aside (don't throw it out!), rinsed it and patted it dry with paper towels, then gave it the old rubdown with salt, pepper and a lightly crushed clove of garlic, then brushed it with some melted margarine (I know I could've used butter, but there was just the right amount of margarine in the tub...) before stuffing it with the half of the veggies and some of the herbs.


Then a technique I learned from a roast chicken recipe - you wiggle your finger under the skin of the breast to loosen it up and create a space, then stuff in a sprig or two of herbs. Do this for both sides and the thighs as well.


Line the pan with the other half of the veggies and more herbs and pour a cup of white wine over top (another reason I like this recipe). The wine that I used this year and I go waaaay back...


Actually, now that it's been over a week and nobody's displayed any signs/symptoms of food poisoning, I'm not afraid to tell you that I'm pretty sure I bought this bottle of wine last Thanksgiving for the turkey I made then...


Place the stuffed turkey on a roasting rack placed in the pan, and now you're ready to go!

The work doesn't end here - now you get to play with the bag of giblets! You may need the stock that you'll be making with it to make your gravy later on, though in my case this year, we had enough pan drippings to do the trick (because we didn't baste!) As I explained to Vlad, homemade gravy is not that much harder to make than store-bought gravy and is generally less salty and processed than its powdered counterpart (though admittedly, fat content is another story) and because you are using the same ingredients that you did with your turkey, the flavours will match better.

Usually your turkey giblets will consist of a neck (which produces tasty, tasty meat, as demonstrated to me by a former roommate of mine), heart, and liver.


I used the same types of vegetables in the stock as I did for the turkey, except you don't need to chop them so finely - just halve everything. This will make it easier to fish the veggies out of your stock when it's done.


Once you've got your stock simmering on the stove, use the time to prep your sides and check on your turkey occasionally. If you have a baster, baste every half hour or so, if not, just check on the turkey about ⅔ of the way, brush again with your melted butter/margarine then cover it loosely with foil so you don't burn the poor thing. When it's around the time that it's supposed to be finished, jab a meat thermometer into the turkey's thigh and into the stuffing - if it reads 185°F (85°C) and 165°F (74°C), respectively, then your turkey is ready! Remove the turkey from the pan so that you can get at the pan drippings for the gravy, then let it rest for about half an hour or so, so that everyone can admire it before carving.

    
And now for the gravy! I don't know why my mom insisted that I make it in a non-stick wok - maybe she thought it would help it thicken faster, but the downside is that you can't use a metal whisk on a non-stick wok! My gravy looked a little lumpy, but in the end I ended up whisking it in a bowl and everything was ok.


To summarize:

Turkey that Vincci's Family Likes (including Giblet Stock and Gravy)
Adapted from AllRecipes
Makes a ~6 kg (~13 lb) turkey, about 1L of stock and about 2-3 cups gravy

Turkey with vegetable stuffing:

• 1 × ~6 kg (~13 lb) turkey, neck and giblets removed
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 125 mL (½ cup) butter or margarine, melted
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• ⅔ package of "Poultry Mix" herbs
• 250 mL (1 cup) dry white wine

Giblet stock:

• 15 mL (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
• Neck and giblets from turkey
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 large onion, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
• 2 stalks celery, halved crosswise
• ⅓ package of "Poultry Mix" herbs
• Water to cover
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Gravy:

• Pan drippings from roasted turkey
• 85 mL (⅓ cup) flour
• (Optional) Giblet stock

Turkey with vegetable stuffing:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Rinse turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Rub turkey inside and out with salt, black pepper and garlic cloves. Brush turkey with ½ of the melted butter/margarine. Stuff turkey with ½ of the chopped onions, carrots, celery and herbs, minus a few sprigs. Wiggle your finger under the skin of one turkey breast to create a space and insert a sprig or two of herbs inside. Repeat with other turkey breast and with thighs.
3. In a shallow roasting pan, scatter the rest of the vegetables and herbs and cover with white wine. Place turkey breast side up on top of a roasting rack in pan.
4. Roast for about 3½ to 4 hours in preheated oven, basting every half hour with pan drippings (optional). At about ⅔ through the roasting time, brush turkey with the remaining butter/margarine, then cover loosely with foil. The turkey is ready when the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 185°F (85°C). Remove turkey from oven and pan and let stand 30 minutes before carving.

Giblet Stock:

1. While turkey is in the oven, brown giblets in vegetable oil over medium heat. Add vegetables and herbs into pot and cover with water.
2. Bring water to a boil, then set heat to low. Allow stock to simmer for at least 45 minutes and season to taste.

Gravy:

1. Pour pan drippings (without solids) into fat separator before pouring into small saucepan on low-medium heat. Whisk in flour and heat until desired consistency reached. You may need to add more flour (if not thick enough) or more stock (if there isn't enough gravy or if it is too thick).

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