Merry Happy Chrismachanukwanzakah: Starting a new job during the holidays is...interesting (I realize this is way late)

[Note:  I realize that this is WAY late, but it happens.  Some things are way easier to write, and sometimes I don't have the patience to deal with the pictures that I prefer to accompany a particular post...
...Also, I got pretty busy with that job-thing.  Ahh, well.]

A story of the holidays:

I started a job!:  I'll pause for your well-wishes... Aww, thanks.  You're pretty awesome too.

  Yeah, so I started this position just before the holidays, which was...interesting.  We're supposed to go out and find people in the community (not selling stuff...that crap makes me shudder and want to punch somebody), but during the holidays, people ain't out.  All that is its own stress, but that's not the focus of the posts I put out there.  It's just a little background.

  In order to get to my place of work, it's close to an hour there and an hour back... it is the suck, my friends.  When I get home, I'm super wiped, and that turns into me not being good about fixing my lunch for the next day.

  I quickly see just how expensive it can become when you eat out for lunch for a few days.

  Yeah, fuck that noise.  I was much better starting week 2.

  ANYhoo, this part leads into the next.

Chanuka PJ Party: My bad.

I get home after a long, but purposeful day, and I'm about to pass out on the couch.
  Picky-eater: "Aren't we supposed to be somewhere tonight?"

  Me:  "Fuck!  Hanukah!"

Yeah, my bad!  So, the party had already started, and there was NO time to cook.  Luckily, the picky-eater had asked that I pick up a pecan pie on the way home and we always keep a bottle of white wine in the fridge.

Non-chip party contribution FTW

Christmas Eve Day: STOCK! 

We decided to do our gift exchange early (probably because I'm an impatient creature), and the picky-eater got a Le Creuset stock pot for me!  It was one of the many items that remain on our registry.  I'm not complaining, though.  It's an easy go-to list for future gifts. 

The picky-eater is very difficult to shop for, so I went ahead and got a game that'd been mentioned.  Oh, word to the lazy, all new Wii games require the Wii motion plus attachment.  And, don't worry, they did not, in fact, stop making them... contrary to what folks at some Gamestops might say.

GoodEats!

Christmas Day:  Chill.

For the puppies?:  Oh, yeah, they get Dingos.  With a solid supply already in the closet, we decided to forgo our customary Dingo Candy Cane.

First Meal of the New Year: a solid start

Souffleed omelette with sauteed shallots and a homemade strawberry-banana-blackberry smoothie

It sounds way harder than it is.  Oh, I should mention that I was too excited to take pictures--my bad.  I'll make it again and post later.

My morning... and by morning, I mean a brunch kind of morning:

It was friggin' cold outside and in the apartment, so I took much longer to crawl out of bed than normal.

The dogs weren't moving, so they were no help.  I was supposed to have an earlier brunch with some friends, but that was postponed till people recovered from celebrating.

As a small, symbolic gesture of what I'd like to continue in the new year, I actually got formally dressed and made myself look presentable.  On a normal day, I would still be in slippers, a robe, and lounge shorts/pants.

I was needing to eat a little something and didn't want to think too much, so I picked two things I've made in the past that are pretty darn easy.

A souffleed omelette and a smoothie.


Smoothie:

The smoothie contents will vary based on what I actually have, but we picked up a giant bag of frozen strawberries from the store, and I had some left-over blackberries that I froze from a little ways back.

I don't have specific proportions, but I've found what works for me

1 Banana (frozen is preferred, but not necessary)
Oat flour*
Frozen fruit (I've only tried berries so far)
Milk
(Yogurt--if you have it/like it.  I did not have it.)

*(Why the hell are you using that?  Well, I like the idea of having some grain in my diet, and it helps thicken it some.)

Blender (ideally with a removable center in the lid)

• put banana, oat flour, and fruit (strawberries and blackberries) into blender
• I recommend adding any powder ingredients prior to milk and/or yogurt 
• add in enough milk for the other ingredients to mix 
• pulse on puree or crush ice 
• turn on mix and determine how thick you want the smoothie to be
• while on, take out the center of the lid and add additional milk till you achieve the consistency you prefer
• pour into a cup/glass/whatever
• for excess (which I make purposefully), I put it in small pyrex containers and freeze them as a cheap dessert for later or a no-fix breakfast
• set in fridge till you're done with whatever else you're fixing
• IF you're going to drink it pretty soon
• it might get a little thin, if left in the fridge too long

Souffled Omelette:

Okay, it is a little more involved than a regular one, but I prefer it to regular omelettes.

I first learned about this from Laura Calder on French Cooking at Home.  She added spinach, but I was just not feeling that.

The filling can be whatever you feel like, but shallots make me happy.


2-3 Fresh* Eggs
(separated into two medium bowls)
2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 Shallot, minced
Salt

*You can tell a fresh egg is fresh by how well it stays together when cracked onto a flat surface and how high the yolk sits.  The closer and higher, the fresher the egg.

10-inch non-stick skillet
Fitting lid

Another pan to saute the shallots in

Large whisk
Small whisk (or another whisk, I think the smaller one makes life easier)

• Saute shallots
• set aside and cover
• Beat the whites
• to medium peaks
• Season the yolks
• Beat the yolks
• over heat until lightened in color and sticky
• over simmering water is recommended, but not necessary
• I was lazy and impatient, so I didn't do this today
• Stir in a little of the whites into the yolks
• Fold the whites into the yolks
• Pour into a heated skillet with melted butter
• medium high
• Cover with lid
• I prefer a glass lid, so I can see what's going on
• When semi-set on top
• scatter shallots across top
• Cover again till gently set and browned on bottom
• Slid half-way onto a plate and fold over
• Enjoy!

I hope you have a wonderful new year.

Oh, and I have recently started a job (yay, paying bills!), and I'm not sure how often I'll be on here.  I intend on continuing this, though.

Thanksgiving Left-Overs: ...if you actually have any

Currently our little family is only two people... and two dogs.  SO, we can only handle so many left-overs.  Consequently, we don't make quite as much as some other folks when we have holiday meals.

Still, what we make is not subtle and quite hearty, so we STILL have left-overs around the holidays, namely that turkey.

What to do?  Well we take some steps to make life later more awesome.

1.  Save all drippings from cooking turkey
     -stick in fridge to separate the fat
     -freeze, if you're not going to use in a few days

2.  Save all bones and meat scraps (neck, and the stuff in that bag)
     -freeze and save for turkey stock later

     (there may have been veggie scraps, but I wasn't conscious for them)

3.  Save extra rolls... even if they didn't rise and got kind of messed up
     (oops, we forgot them on top of the fridge)
     -pulverize for bread crumbs
     -freeze and save for later


-Our second eating of the turkey was basically the same as our second eating of chicken.  Braise

Okay, so we don't do the exact same thing.  Rather than having the whole carcass sit partly submerged, we pick the meat of the bones and braise it in the drippings, some chicken stock (if you have other plans for the drippings), or a combination of the two. 

This was delicious on its own, but was awesome for sandwiches.  I put a little creole mustard on mine.


-For the drippings, we like to use it in potato soup.  If the fat freaks you out, stick it in the fridge and the fat will solidify on top, just take it off and/or strain it through a tea strainer/cheese cloth.

A little goes a long way, but add to your own taste.  Oh, and this will also make it take longer to finish the soup since the drippings add heft.


-After your done with the turkey carcass, freeze it until you're ready to make a stock.  You can simply prepare it as you would for a regular chicken stock.

Use it as you would chicken stock, and it will also carry over some of the Creole garlic Cajun injector (or whatever flavorings you use).


-As for the rolls, yeah, this hasn't happened before, so we're entering new territory.  I'll let you know what actually happens, but they'll either end up adding some body to meatballs/burger patties or breading some chunks of chicken that will either be fried or baked (but can be frozen for future use). 

Yay!  We still have turkey stock in the freezer, along with drippings, and the roll-bread-crumbs.

I'm not gonna lie; I love having one meal stretch and contribute to other meals, and whole chicken or, in this case, turkey does this beautifully.

Portal before eating is not a good idea: Thanksgiving 2011

Uuuuuggghh....

I do not throw up easily, but watching the picky eater power through the game Portal, I'm super nauseous.  It's really neat, and very entertaining to even just watch, but whoa, damn. 

For approximately half-an-hour, I was grumpy, did not move quickly, required dimmed lights and TV volume, and demanded ibuprofen and cold water.... This was also before dinner even started.


(Slightly) Earlier that day:

Before officially waking up, I would wake up for a minute or two at a time.  I was already trying to sort out a plan of attack for the day: make sure to use a bowl for the Cajun Injector, so the jar doesn't get contaminated this year (we were a little too excited last year and didn't think), prep for the roast vegetables, and I dozed off again.

When I officially woke: everything was already cooking, the jar was contaminated again (not a huge deal, we used it all any way), and I was rushed to get the veggies prepped.  The in-laws and the picky-eater figured that I needed the rest.  The Wednesday prior, I had two job interviews!  I woke up crazy early, like I do, and didn't get to sleep till way late.

Honestly, I can't complain. Seriously, waking up to a huge, delicious meal with little to no prep work is pretty awesome.



For my contribution, the roast vegetables, I forgot the butter (yes, I was that sleepy/out-of-it-from-portal still), but it was still quite tasty.  In a future potluck post, I'll include pictures and the recipe.  Oh, and for future reference, I'm not leaving cherry/grape tomatoes whole when I roast them any more. 

When halved, the juices reduce inside and provided a very concentrated flavor.  If, weirdly, you prefer them whole, I suggest poking them with a paring knife to help them reduce slightly... and also not explode when you jab them with a fork (ouch).

A small event, but awesome all the same.

We have, yeast rolls (we fight over them), turkey dressing, roast veggies, and Cajun injected turkey... and our standard wine.

Yeeeaaah, I wanted to show some of the prep work, but that didn't happen. Maybe I'll get better at taking pictures as I go, but I only have so many hands!

My big thing is that we were together and family came to visit when we were unable to travel.

The puppies were bitter that they didn't get more scraps (I blame the picky eater for the scraps they did get--just meat) but were on their best behavior in hope of someone dropping some delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving!