Archive for November, 2008

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

This isn’t a stand-alone dish. Spicy cranberry sauce is is purely one of those condiments/sides which are perfect with or chicken (especially Thanksgiving). I’ve had a number of good comments about it over the years, particularly “I don’t usually like cranberry sauce, but this is good”. The heat, the salt and the sweet is what makes this work.

1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 stick butter
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tsp salt

Over low heat combine ingredients and stir infrequently until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, serve warm.

I’ve added clove, nutmeg and allspice in the past–you might try these sparingly to bring an even more savory flavor to the dish. Careful though, those spices can easily overpower the taste as it simmers and reduces.

If you prefer fresh cranberries (or even reconsituting dried), that is a perfectly good option. That is a boil and add sugar process to taste, it’s really rather simple. I’m not overwhelmed by the results as being vastly superior to what you find in a can though, so it’s up to you.

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Turducken in Time for Thanksgiving

Turducken--all done!

Here’s a very interesting dish for Thanksgiving, one I made last year and which turned out excellently. It’s a John Madden favorite (among others)–definitely not my idea, but I’ve adapted the recipe to be my own. It truly follows Edison’s idiom of 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Really, aside from the truly formidable preparatory labor, this delicious all-in-wonder is no more difficult than baking and basting. It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy, but it is a crowd-pleasing treat.

Here’s the overview. You’re making a chicken inside a duck inside a . But–no, it doesn’t stop there! You’ll add layers of dressings and meats between each layer of bird, creating rings of succulent flavors and textures, and making an artery-clogging mess of your body all the while. Such is the excess and indulgence of the Holiday season?

Click here for the full recipe!

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Camping Link Round-up

Camping Links
I’m working through my list of bookmarks at work (having had a fatal crash of the system recently). So while I’m at it, here are a few links I find useful in the realm.

Primitive Arts

Camping and Survival

Gear

Knives

Of course, there’s Amazon. I really like the ability to read ratings and reviews on many of the items they offer. I also find suggestions via the user-created lists, and price-watch to find the best deals. I’ve got nothing but praise for the convenience Amazon offers, and I’ve bought quite a lot of camping gear from them (although I sometimes check things out in retail stores or YouTube to learn more detail). On that topic, a really excellent YouTube resource I’ve found is Nutnfancy: he does an excellent job reviewing gear (especially knives, and his multi-segment discussion of camping in the backcountry is superb). Give him a watch it’s well worth your time.

Feel free to leave comments with suggestions for more links, or with any feedback for the ones I’ve jotted down!

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