"cook" news and stories

Christmas is officially over, but the holiday season culminates with New Year's Eve and there is plenty of time for celebrating up to that point. And by celebrating, we mean drinking. Now, we don't have any problems with drinking here at Slashfood and quite like the occasional glass of wine or a cocktail, but we don't advocate drinking and cooking - and neither do fire officials. Many fires each year are started by careless cooks who have had a few too many before deciding to whip up a stir fry or other heat-intensive dish that requires a more than a little bit of attention. Since your reactions can be slowed by alcohol, you might be more easily distracted that usual and a situation might get out of hand before you have a chance to take action.

Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and try to hold off on the second (or third or fourth) drink until after dinner is served.

This isn't exactly trailer-park cooking (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that), but it's closer than you're going to come with books like the Chez Panisse Café or The Pleasures of Slow Food. White Trash Gatherings: From-scratch Cooking for Down-home Entertaining is about cooking with family and putting family first, although the book will help you put some good eats on the table while you're doing that. It is the very definition of unfussy, although it does include some craft-y ideas for napkin rings, tablesettings and such, like "Obscenely Large Fake Ice Cream Centerpieces". The recipes are homey and perfect for "potlucking" or just having fun, regardless of the fact that they are unlikely to show up on the menu at a four-star restaurant. Be sure to try Maw Maw's West Virginia Funeral Cake, Tater Tot Casserole and Porcupine Balls. There are full-color photos to liven up the book, as well.

Even if you don't end up cooking anything from White Trash Gatherings, it would make a funny gift for a gourmet friend that is hard to buy for because they already have all the "high class" cookbooks they could want.

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Should a holiday turkey be roasted for a longer time at a lower temperature or for a shorter time at a higher one? According to Robert L. Wolke , author of What Einstein Told His Cook 2, the Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science, one method isn't necessarily better, although the method of using a higher temperature is quite popular at the moment.

A turkey needs to reach an internal temperature of 165F in the thigh meat before it can be considered done. To achieve this, the bird must be cooked at a temperature greater than 165F for long enough to cook it through. The lower the temperature, the longer the time. A common temperature is about 325F, which results in a time of "about 20 minutes per pound." By increasing the temperature to 475F, roasting might take only 2 hours. Time, clearly, is a factor in choosing the latter method. Other advantages include getting a crisper skin and, according to many proponents of the faster method, a moister bird. In the end, it's a flavor and time preference as long as you check the meat with a thermometer to ensure that it really is done.

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Since we were talking about the best apples to use in making pies last week, it put me in the mood to make one myself. I love making pies because, even though there is some prep work involved, the procedure is very straightforward. Also, I really enjoy making homemade pie crust. It's fun to get your fingers dirty and a flaky, homemade crust is better than one you can buy at the store - especially because you can taste the work that went into making it.

If you've never made a homemade pie before, winter is the perfect time to start and apple is the best kind to start with. Not only are the apples easy to work with, but the fact that the weather is colder makes it easier to handle the dough for the crust. In summer, you need to work faster to keep the butter from melting as you work it in to the flour. After the jump, you'll find a photo-heavy, step-by-step guide to making both the crust and the whole pie. I make my crusts with a combination of shortening (non-hydrogenated, for those who are concerned) and butter. The combination of butter, which adds flavor and some leavening, and shortening, which adds tenderness and flakiness will produce the best crusts. I use a 3-1 ratio, so not much shortening is needed.

The USDA has some comprehensive food safety guidelines to help you cook your Thanksgiving turkey. While some cookbooks, and probably some chefs, might tell you that cooking times and temperatures should be changed to produce a moister bird, at least you'll get a safe bird from using the USDA's guide. First things first, you need to completely defrost your turkey before beginning. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper as it thaws and try to keep it as cool as possible. It should either be defrosted by being submerged in cold water or on a tray in the refrigerator.

Frozen turkey thawing timetable
Weight In refrigerator In cold water
4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days 2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days 10 to 12 hours

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