Foo - What's cooking

I'm creating a dessert for Xmas.

I started with dried lingonberries I got from Amazon by mistake.
I've already mixed about a half pound with a jat of Smucker's low sugar strawberry jam.
I first partially reconstituted them in warm water that I put a tbsp of honey in, for
about 5 min.

Later today I am going to make a graham cracker crust, but I am going to add some ground almonds to that.

And then I am going to use that to make a lemon cheesecake made with Meyers lemons. I'll be making half the recipe, I don't want it to dominate the dish.

So I'll do the crust, then add and bake the cheesecake, and put the fruit mixture on just before serving.

I have a trick I use for turkey. I have a V shaped roaster rack. Mine is ruggeder than the one in this pic... But this will give you an idea what to look for.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OkrGPx-3L._SS500_.jpg

I cook the bird upside down for half the cooking time. It's tough to get the bottom of the turkey done without drying out the breast meat. This fixes that problem.

I just couldn't face eating turkey again... so I'm making lasagna with meat sauce & spinach... my son's fiance is bringing her Bailey's Irish Cream cheesecake with chocolate ganache topping; when she decides to get off the recipe, I'll share - it's divine!

If you're cooking a small turkey and have a large stock pot - try this: turkey should be UNDER 13 pounds - put about 6 cups soy sauce into the stockpot, along with 8 - 10 cups water, bring to a boil. Lower the turkey into it, and return to a simmer; simmer that bird for @ 35-40 minutes - turn it about as need be for even coloring. Remove the bird, discard the liquid. Now, let the bird cool so you can handle it, and then do whatever else you want to do to it - but the cooking time will be about 1/2 of normal oven time. Your bird will be juicy and really really brown! And, this definately saves some time.

You can add ginger slices, scallions, onions, rosemary - or whatever - to the stock & the flavor will infuse into the bird.

If you like chocolate, here's my version of a hot fudge sundae.

If you were making brownies from scratch, you'd take 1/4lb cooking chocolate
and melt it in a double boiler.

Do that.

You can cream butter, or just melt it in with the chocolate, I simply toss it in with the chocolate (butter, only butter)

Take a brownie mix you like, I prefer one with walnuts. The only caveat is that if the cooking chocolate is the strong type,
get a brownie mix that uses a mild chocolate. That's key. Most mixes use a mild chocolate, Hershey's or Nestles is fine for the baking chocolate.

I'd avoid the fancy pants expensive chocolate for this, you know the strongly flavored type that is the espresso of the chocolate world.

But then, I always avoid that. It's ridiculous. The whole point of chocolate is a luscious richness that is utterly lost when you get all macho with it.

Add the chocolate/butter mix to the brownies mix, add an egg and some low fat sour cream (optional, but...)

Bake the brownies at 325F.

You want them to come out, if anything, slightly underdone.

Immediately cut them up and put one in a dish.

Put a scoop of coffee ice cream on top (real coffee ice cream, not the overpowering Starbucky sort of thing).

Then add a home made hot fudge sauce. There are some gourmet hot fudge sauces sold in specialty shops,
one available around here is Death by Chocolate Hot Fudge Sauce, and that's my favorite. It's really more
of a thick ganache sort of thing.

I then sprinkle some crushed walnuts on it.

I make it once a year.

Glove-boned gamehens with cornbread-tapenade stuffing; green beans with onions, almonds and little carrot julienne; risotto Milanese; and I haven't figured out what I want for dessert yet.

Something healthy.
Nothing like what you are cooking.
Ohno