Turkey Stock

Well, hello there!  Why yes, I did survive Turkey Day!  The food was delicious and well-received by all, the house looked well enough, and both my family and my boyfriend's family got along!  It truly couldn't have gone any better.

And, in true don't-waste-anything-if-you-can-help-it fashion, I made some tasty turkey stock!  I hope all of you out there with Turkey carcases did or are planning on doing the same!  Here's my basic poultry stock recipe - homemade stock is great for risottos, soups, stews, gravy, you name it.  Works with rotisserie chicken bones, too!  I usually just keep a freezer bag of vegetable peelings in the freezer for when it comes time to make the stock, and throw those in.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday, and even that if you didn't, the stress has hopefully subsided now!

Basic Poultry Stock


Turkey or chicken carcass, meat and skin removed (a little skin is okay)
1 onion (or, the skin and ends the onion)
2-3 large carrots, unpeeled (or, the peels of several carrots, and their tops)
3-4 stalks celery
1 handful parsley, stems and all (great when you have extra parsley that's getting a little yellow)
1 handful dill, stems and all (optional)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (great way to use up those extra herbs from the holiday feast!)
5-6 whole black peppercorns

Add all ingredients to your largest stock pot.  Fill to cover with water; place over medium-high heat and let simmer 3-4 hours, until vegetables are completely cooked through and the stock is a lovely golden color.  Occasionally skim the scum off the top with a spoon.  Strain the stock into a bowl to collect the solids (all the vegetables and bones); discard the solids and place the stock in the fridge overnight.  Skim the rest of the fat off the top of the stock the next day.  Place stock in the freezer for homemade stock whenever you need it!

Project: Autumn Inspired Table Setting, Part 2

It's almost time for Thanksgiving, and the perfect time for a fun and festive project! These placemats are cute and simple, and I have received many compliments on them. If you would like to make the tablecloth as well, please see my post about it here.

The autumn table

You will need:

*Felt - multiple colors of the precut rectangle pieces

*Felt - dark brown by the yard for the edges/ backing

*Rotary cutter - optional

*Scissors

*Thread

*Sewing machine

*Measuring tape

*Straight pins

Materials

First, look at the premade pieces of felt, and decide if you want to add another layer to the back for thickness and to create a border. I chose to do this, but you can skip it if you want this project to be really quick and easy. (Just remember your placemats will be a bit smaller)

To make the backing, simply measure your felt by the yard so that it is an inch or two longer on each side than the precut pieces and cut it out. 

Center the precut piece on the piece you just cut, pin it together, and sew!

Trying different stitches can create a fun look.

Next, sketch some accent ideas out on paper. Draw the ones you like best in the size you want, trace around them lightly with a pen or pencil, and cut them out. 

It is important to cut out the entire shape in the base color. For example; I cut out the entire pumpkin in orange, even though I wanted the stem to be brown. The layers will add more volume to the project and make it much easier to put together.

Cut out any detail pieces, such as the stem, in your desired color.

Put the pieces together as you want them, pin them in place on the precut rectangle sheets of felt, and carefully sew around the edges.

Sewing some details in by hand really makes these placemats pop!

Notice the detail work on the pumpkin and the leaf

Make as many placemats as you like, and get ready for a beautiful autumn table and many compliments! My favorite was when my fiancée asked me where I bought them.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

The forecast may call for snow, but I am holding onto fall for a little longer.

Grandma's Foolproof Cranberry Sauce

Turkey day is drawing nigh, people.  And I'm hosting this year.  9 people.  This is my first time hosting.

Gulp.

I have at least one recipe, however, that is completely foolproof.  My grandmother's cranberry sauce.*  Because if there wasn't cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, there is a strong probability my family would riot.

Grandma has been making Thanksgiving dinner for nearly 50 years.  And it is perfect.  And I can't top that.  So I decided to go a different direction with some of the other favorite dishes.  Instead of Grandma's sausage stuffing, I'm making a wild rice stuffing.  Instead of herb-roasted turkey, I'm doing apple-cider-brined turkey.  Because if I were to make Grandma's stuffing, for example, it would be good, don't get me wrong, but not AS good as it would be if Grandma made it.  Because she's been making it for fifty years, you see.  And I haven't.

But her cranberry sauce.  It is so easy.  No one can say it isn't just as good as Grandma's.  Because it will be.

I test ran the recipe this week, partly because I couldn't believe how easy it was.  It was easy, people.  And there is even a secret ingredient.  An apple.  WHAT?!  An apple in cranberry sauce?  That's what makes it foolproof, you see.  The apple keeps it from being too mouth-puckeringly cranberryish, if you know what I mean.  My grandma invented this recipe.  She's a smart woman.  Trust the apple.

While I am going to make another batch closer to the big day, now I have a perfect topping for my morning oatmeal.  Told you this stuff was good.

Grandma's Foolproof Cranberry Sauce


*I neglected to take a picture of the finished product.  But you know what it should look like.**

**If you don't know what it should look like, go to Google images and type in, "cranberry sauce."  Yep.  That's what it should look like.

1 bag whole fresh cranberries

1 apple (Granny Smith is best)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Heat the sugar and the water until the sugar is dissolved, over medium heat.  Sort and wash the cranberries.  Chop up a whole apple (excluding the core of course).  Add both the cranberries and the apple to pot.  You can tell when the cranberries start to get done because they pop.  Stir occasionally, you’ll see when it starts to look done.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.