Three years ago ( WOW – I cannot believe it has been that long ) I wrote this post on a few tips I have learned on how to keep your turkey juicy.  With Thanksgiving tomorrow for the folks in the United States, I thought I would share some turkey tips again that I have used in the past and present.

Most turkeys become dry for two basic reasons.

• The first is that the bird is being overcooked. All meat, fish, and poultry dries out if it is cooked too long.
• The second cause of dry turkey is the way it is prepared and cooked.

What I would like to go over in this next section are some ways that will ensure your turkey stays juicy the next time you fire up your oven.  I think I am about to go against a lot of traditional techniques, so by all means feel free to comment and tell me that I am losing my mind.

1. Create a bed for the turkey in the roasting pan – I like to use carrots, celery, onion (slice them large and create a flat surface for the turkey.  Place a rack on the vegetable base.
2. Flavor the bird. When you buy turkeys they do not come seasoned!  Use your favorite seasonings on it  – flavoring the cavity is a great tip and I also like to throw an apple in the neck cavity.  It keeps it juicy as well as adds a nice flavor.
3. Use a roasting pan three inches deep or less and a rack for even roasting. If the bird sits on the bottom of the pan, or the pan’s sides are too high, the heat cannot penetrate the bird uniformly. Turn the roasting pan at various intervals to further facilitate even roasting.



4. If you stuff the turkey with a good moist stuffing, the juice from the stuffing will penetrate the bird from the interior and help prevent drying.
5. For the first 20 minutes, I like to cook the bird at a really high heat (450 degrees).  This will allow the skin to brown on the outside and lock in the juices.
6. After 20 minutes reset the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and turn the turkey upside down so the breast is on the bottom and add 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken stock flavored with black pepper (this will act as a basting mechanism for the turkey. Since the breast cooks faster than the dark meat and needs less cooking, situating it on the bottom( breast side down) exposes it to less direct heat.
7. Do not truss the bird. The dark meat will cook faster unfettered and thus reduce the chance of the breast overcooking by the time the dark meat is done.
8. Don’t bother basting. The meat, covered by the skin, will not absorb the juices. Also by opening and closing your oven too many times you are losing valuable heat.
9. DO NOT go poking the turkey with a knife or fork to check for done ness.  You will lose valuable juice.  Some folks like to use the pop up meat thermometers which are fine when they work.  I like to use the leg check technique.  If the leg when you wiggle it is very easy to move and the skin breaks the bird is done.  You can also use the 20 minutes per pound rule for no stuffing and 25 minutes per pound for a stuffed bird.
10. The last step you need to remember is that once the turkey has reached the proper temperature, remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to sit 20 minutes. This is another step that will help keep the meat moist. If you carve the meat immediately, all the juices will run out and the meat will not be as moist as it could have been.

Well that sounds like a lot of tips and alot of writing for zesty.  I hope you like these tips and as I said earlier – they are just my practices and techniques.  I would love to hear all your turkey roasting techniques so readers can get some great ideas in preparation for the holidays.

Have a great Wednesday and a happy holiday.  Take Care!

zesty

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Good morning All!  I am writing this from the lovely Northern Virginia area in the hotel prior to some meetings today.  Lately I have been eating a lot of eggs and one thing I find with eggs is that they are very versatile.  Which is a good thing… but you have to keep it fresh and real!  Make eggs fun.

I wanted to walk through the way I cook an omelet.  This is something I talked about three years ago but I wanted to freshen it up and share a few things I have learned along the way.

Omelets: They’re easy to cook, right? We’ll see.

The first thing to remember is that you need the right size of frying pan. This is more important than you may think. Too large, and the omelet will dry out; too small, and it will not cook through.

As a basic guide, you need a 15 centimeter pan for a two-egg omelet and a 25 centimeter pan for a four to six egg omelet. That is, 6 in. and 10 in. respectively. Which, handily enough, is pretty much the size of pans you should have in your kitchen anyway.
The second most important thing is not to beat the eggs. I’ll repeat… do NOT beat the eggs like they stole your iPad from you.

Instead, abandon the habits of a lifetime and stir the yolks into the whites using a knife blade. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Warm your empty pan through on a moderate heat, add a good knob of butter, turn up the heat and swirl it round to coat the bottom and sides of the pan.  When the butter is foaming pour some into the egg mixture, stir it in and then immediately pour the eggs into the pan.

Shake the pan to spread the mixture evenly. Now, using a fork or thin spatula, draw the cooked egg away from the edge of the pan and let the uncooked liquid run into the space created.

When the omelet is almost cooked, but the surface is still soft and liquid, flip one edge of the omelet towards the center of the pan so that it folds over. Then slide the unfolded edge onto a warmed plate, rolling the folded edge over the top of it as you do so.  An omelet cooked in this way requires no filling, except perhaps some fresh, chopped, herbs added to the egg mixture about 15 minutes before cooking.

So just to recap, by all means you can add extra ingredients to your omelet, whether it be cheese, vegetables or meat.  It will not really change the cooking time just be careful not too add to much extra “stuff” as it will dry out the mixture.  For the one above I added some baby spinach and a little cheese.  It was excellent and sometimes I have been even getting in the habit or serving a little salsa with it.

I have a question for you!  How many people eat beans with their eggs?

Can’t wait to hear from you.  I will check the comments and I will be back Wednesday for another post.  I am working on getting the brussel sprout recipe from last week to post for everyone to enjoy.

Take care

zesty

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Greetings ZestyCookers! I’m Kath, of Kath Eats Real Food, and I’m happy to be sharing a cooking video with you all. Zesty asked me to prepare something that he wouldn’t normally cook, and tofu immediately came to mind. It’s such a delicious food that gets shunned by so many for being “weird.” It’s not hard at all to prepare (easier than meat, in my opinion, because there’s no risk of contamination!) and the flavor options are endless.

Enjoy this video of Asian Spiced Tofu, Sweet Potato Fries and Roasted Asparagus

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FVoPUdCRqY

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So Thursday is here, the sun is out and spring is arriving soon (hopefully).  Not that this is a spring cleaning exercise but I wanted to share with you some things I do to organize my fridge.  My methods are pretty elementary however it’s better than just pushing items to the back of the fridge in hopes someone will move them.

Have you ever wanted to see what exactly is in Zesty’s fridge? Well I thought it would be easier to illustrate using some pictures.

Read below for the tips and feel free to add your tips in the comments.

Organize Your Fridge

1. Place Big Items in the Back

To avoid losing items in your refrigerator, keep the big items in the back so that you can keep up with the smaller items. It’s not fun to pull out a jug of milk only to realize that there is a old bologna in the back of your refrigerator.  Depending on how full you keep your fridge and how much room you have, I like to keep the food to the front of the shelves if possible to avoid losing items and allowing food to expire.

2.  Keep Like Items Together

Another way to organize your refrigerator is to keep like items together. This also helps to avoid losing items. For example, I like to keep kids treats such as apple sauce, yogurt, puddings and drinking boxes together just so that they are easier to find.

3. Put All the Condiments in the Door

It’s annoying to try and pull a large item out of your refrigerator when there are several small containers of condiments in front of that large item.  You end up pulling, moving the little bottles, pulling some more, moving some more…… Next thing you know zesty made a mess all over the floor. This is why it’s best to keep condiments in the door.

4.  Use See Through Containers

There is something horrible about pulling a container from your refrigerator, opening it, and wondering what it is. Or if you know what it is, not knowing when you put it in there. How old are those leftovers anyway? When you organize your refrigerator, use containers that you can see through.

5.  Stack Items Properly

When you get home from the store, keep your refrigerator organized by stacking the items properly. It’s tempting to just chuck the items in the fridge (I do this all time ), grab a cold drink and rest, but you’ll regret it later. Take the time to put like items together and stack them properly.  This will also make it easier to find the items you need, when you need them.

6. Clean it Out Often

I find it valuable to clean out your refrigerator at least once a week or once every two weeks.  Before you go to the grocery store, peek into your fridge and see what you have on hand.  Then throw away anything that’s old (hopefully you do not do this too often). This ensures that you have room for your new groceries and that your refrigerator stays organized.

So there you have it!  Like I said, pretty much just common sense but I really wanted to share this with you as we head into spring cleaning time.  I find it so rewarding to have a clean and organized fridge.  Throwing food out, having food expire or grow mold really makes me upset.  I know it happens and is sometimes unavoidable but keeping a clean fridge and an up-to-date inventory will help reduce the waste.

Have a great Thursday and I will see you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Wednesday!  With Mother’s day not that far away and lobster season quickly approaching, I thought I would switch gears and present you some facts and tips about lobster.

PEI is famous for lobster that has bright red shells and juicy tender meat.  Lobster was once so common that they were used as fertilizer.  Lobster has now, as you know, become a gourmet delicacy.  Lobsters have ten legs, beady eyes, long antennae and a crust-like shell (like the picture below).  The bright red color characteristic of the lobster is only achieved by cooking.

When alive, lobster are usually greenish-blue and speckled with dark spots. Once the meat is cooked it turns a delicate white tinged with red.

How to Buy Lobster

Lobster may be purchased live in the shell, or freshly cooked in the shell.  When purchased live, make sure the lobster has some movement and the tail should spring back when straightened out.  When handling live lobster, be careful of the claws as they can give you a serious pinch.  To protect yourself and to prevent the lobsters from harming each other in captivity, the claws are usually immobilized by placing an elastic band around them.

Lobster Traps (Photo provided by John Byer)

When buying cooked lobster, make sure that they are a bright “red-orange” colour, have a fresh aroma and that the tail section will spring back into a curled position after being straightened out.  For the most part, lobster is sold as either canners or markets, in accordance with the size.

Canners weigh between 1/2 and 3/4 pounds (250-375 g) while markets weigh over 3/4 pound (375 g).  Lobster is also sold in as cold pack (meat, frozen in cans) and hot pack (meat, heat processed in cans).

How to Store Lobster

Live lobster should never be placed in fresh water or on ice. Under ideal cool, damp storage conditions, lobster can live out of water for up to 36 hours.  They can be stored in your refrigerator for several hours by placing them in a large container covered with damp newspaper or seaweed. Cooked lobster in the shell can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if placed in a tightly covered container. Shucked lobster meat can be refrigerated for 2-3 days. Live lobster should never be frozen but cooked lobster freezes well. For best results, the cooked meat should be removed from the shell and placed in plastic containers, glass bottles or freezer bags.

How to Prepare Lobster

Lobster should be cooked either in clean seawater or salted fresh water (add 2 Tbsp. salt to each quart/litre of fresh water). Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the lobster and bring it to a boil.  Grasp the lobster firmly by the back just behind the claws and plunge it head first into the boiling water. Cover, return the water to a boil and then lower the heat to a bubbly simmer.

Cook no more than two to four lobsters at a time, so there will be room for the water to cover and boil around them. Once completed they can be served hot or chilled quickly by being dipped in cold water.  It is important to cool the lobster quickly so that they do not remain in the temperature range in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

How to Serve Lobster

There are two methods for serving lobster in the shell. The shell can be broken apart using lobster crackers and the meat then picked out (and dipped in clarifed butter), or the lobster can be cut in half down the centre and the claws cut open with a large heavy knife.

All of the lobster is edible except for the shell, the small stomach (hard sac) behind the head and the dark vein, running down the back of the tail. The green material in the body is the liver or tomally. This is excellent eating, as is the red material, or roe, which is found in the body of the female lobster (I tend to avoid this but everyone around me always eats it).

Some other fun stuff

1. Jenna at eatliverun updated her sidebar and added her weekly training plan.
2. Clumbsy Cookie is all about cookies – check this idea out!
3. Matt creates a killer Homemade Chicken stock.
4. Angela at OhSheGlows is all about the green monsters and has a page dedicated to it.

I hope you have a great Wednesday!  I will see you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Wednesday everybody!  So I have been blogging about 3 months now…. crazy I know and I have had a lot of people ask me about food photography.  I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about just that… FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY.  This is very much an art in itself.  I consider myself very much an amateur at this but I really enjoy it.

I have spoken to numerous photographers getting tips as well as reading manuals and articles on how to take amazing food photography.

For all the people out there like myself, I have put together a list of top tips on what I do to try and take great pictures.  I hope these help you the next time you flip open the lens and take a shot of your meal.

Food Photography Tips

1. Stabilize your camera. Use a tripod, or prop your camera on a high-back chair to help reduce the photo’s blurriness.  This will eliminate the camera shake, you can also use a timer on the camera to be sure.



2. Try to cut foods in somewhat geometric shapes for a more professional presentation. I also like to use the stacking technique depending on the dish.
3. Arrange items on plate in a manner that showcases the strengths of a dish and its high-value ingredients.  I get this from obsessively watching the food network.
4. Garnish the dish to enhance the color. Adding chopped parsley or chives gives spaghetti green specks that bring out the red color of the sauce. Adding a lemon wedge to a piece of fish kicks it up and gives it some zest. Or, consider ladling a sauce on the plate underneath the food, or over the items on the plate.
5. Place your dish in a setting which will enhance the dish’s overall appearance. Place the dish on a flat-colored background, such as a uni-colored table cloth or table surface.  I myself like to use a white background and a white table cloth and normally my white square plate. If taking a picture from a side-angle, make sure the picture’s background will not distort the food in the foreground.
6. Use as much natural light as possible. A camera flash will actually distort food pictures more often than it will enhance them. Try moving your dish into a well-lit area and have a portable lamp close at hand to prop above the dish.  Old school zesty has a five bulb light overhead shining 300 watts of crisp light. My photographer friend said that food can never really have too much lighting just be careful of shadows.



7. Carefully choose the best angle for taking the picture. Examine the shape and features of your dish, to determine whether it looks best from overhead or from a side angle. Often, taking straight on shots of a dish doesn’t highlight the dish’s more appealing features.
8. Zoom in so the dish fills as much of the picture as possible. Because I am an amateur I also like to use he macro setting for close ups as opposed to the manual focus.
9. Work Quickly: food only looks really appealing for a short period of time. Ice cream melts. Veggies droop. Lettuce wilts. So you need to work fast. Even with the best-case scenario, you won’t have more than 10-15 minutes from the moment the food exits the pan or fridge to get your shot. Being well prepared really helps, and having a helper there to plate and dress is invaluable. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different angles, settings, and garnishes nonetheless.
10. Remember: practice makes perfect.

Here are some food sites that focus on amazing food pictures:

1. Food Gawker
2. Taste Spotting
3. Photo Grazing

I hope everyone found these tips useful and will try some of them out in the future.  I would like to ask everyone, what is their best technique they found when taking pictures.  Share your techniques and we can add to the list.

Keep smiling and have a great Wednesday!

zesty

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