Happy Thanksgiving, Don't leave the turkey to inexperienced cooks!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I was scheduled to work and after much hassle and back and forth discussion with management: "yes you can have it off, no you can't, everyone else in the depart. is off" etc. I decided I just wasn't going to work that day. Sorry to disappoint any shoppers but my parents are very old and this could very well be their last Thanksgiving.
Because of the possibility of me not being able to cook the dinner my Dad decided to buy and cook the turkey.
When I arrived at the house to work on the side dishes it should have dawned on me that I didn't smell any turkey cooking. After messing around for about an hour I heard my Dad telling my Mom he was going to put the turkey in. I thought he was talking about putting the convection probe in and that it had already been cooking. No! he was just putting it in the oven and said it would cook in one and a half hours at 325 degrees. It was an 18 lb. turkey! I was shocked to say the least but my daughter agreed with him and said they had checked and double checked and it would be done when it reached 180 degrees and that would only take one and a half hours.
Well they took it out at the prescribed time and I tried to convince them that it was not done even though it was nice and brown. The drumstick did not move easily when wiggled, the meat did not feel soft and done when pressed and the juices were very bloody when pierced in the joint. They insisted it would be done after it set for awhile and the recipe said it was normal for the juice to be pink.
Needless to say it was not done when my brother carved it and it had to be put back in a 425 degree oven and cooked for another 30 minutes. By that time the side dishes where getting cold and it was getting late. We had to eat the outer parts of the turkey that was done. What a hassle. My Dad belatedly determined he had put the prob in the drumstick instead of the inner thigh causing it to turn the oven off way to soon plus not even be in the turned on oven nearly long enough.
By next year I am sure this will just be a humorous memory but today it wasn't very funny.

Scan from: Good Food Magazine Nov. 1973

Nursery Rhyme Pumpkin Pie

I found this ad for the famous Libbey's pumpkin pie in a 1979 Family Circle Christmas Helper special issue. It reminds me of the nursery rhyme Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater.

I tried several times but I just couldn't get a very good scan of it. The colors are really very rich and warm . The text at the top is "Remember the aroma, the melt-in-your- mouth taste of homemade pumpkin pie? Now's the perfect time of year to share that warm memory with your family. And here's the perfect recipe:"

At the bottom there is an offer for a free plastic stand cookbook holder. Only 50 cents postage and three Libby's, Pet or Pet-Ritz product labels.

This is the recipe in case someone doesn't have it. I am sure it has probably been posted several thousand times by other bloggers.

Preheat oven and cookie sheet to 375 degrees. Remove one Pet-Ritz Deep Dish pie crust shell from freezer. Meanwhile, mix filling ingredients in order given.

Two eggs, slightly beaten

One can (16 oz.) Libby's Solid Pack Pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon.

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

One Tall can (13 fl. oz.) Pet Evaporated Milk

Recrimp edges of pie shell to stand 1/2" above the rim. Pout about half the filling into pie shell; place on preheated cookie sheet near center of oven. Pour remaining filling into pie shell.

Bake for 70 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Garnish with whipped cream and walnuts if desired.

I have made this recipe before and it does produce a very yummy pie. Now days I just buy a frozen pie or even a ready to serve one.

Apple Recipes from Tehachapi California

This little self-published book from 1979 was well used as many pages are full of stains. I presume the recipes on those pages must have been good because it looks like more than one time use stains :).

There is some history of the area also. In 1876 a Bakersfield nursery man filled "some large orders of fruit trees to be planted in the valley." Large quantities of trees were shipped to Tehachapi from Fresno nurseries in 1890. In the 1920's all the region's fruit was shipped from the railroad depot to New York and other Eastern markets. By the 30's there was a large drop off in production but the industry was revitalized in the 50's.

The names and addresses of seven apples growers are given in the book and a number of them provided recipes for the book.

I have noticed a lot of no sugar added pies at grocery store recently. This is the book's Natural Apple Pie recipe:

Natural Apple Pie

1 pastry shell and top crust

5 cups raw apple slices

1 6-oz. can frozen apple juice concentrate (undiluted)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon rum or rum or vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

2 tablespoon margarine

Mix cornstarch and some of the apple juice. Heat other juice in pan and add cornstarch mixture. Cook until thick. Pour over apples. Mix. Put apple mixture into unbaked crust (9"). Dot with butter or margarine and sprinkle on spices. Cover with top crust. Drizzle with honey, if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

This recipe is from one of the stained pages:

Autumn Apple Bread

1/4 cup shortening

2/3 cups sugar

2 eggs, well-beaten

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups grated raw apple

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add alternately with grated apple to egg mixture. Stir in lemon peel and nuts. Batter will be stiff. Fill pans about three-quarters full. Bake in greased and floured loaf pans, 8x5x2-inches, at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Do not slice until cold.

This recipe is for a rather different applesauce cake. I would make in in a bundt pan though.

Choco-Applesauce Cake

2-1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 squares semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup canned chocolate syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups applesauce homemade or purchased

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Grease and flour a 10-inch angel food cake pan. Sift flour and baking soda together. Melt chocolate in small pan over low heat and stir in chocolate syrup, vanilla and almond extracts. Cool. Cream together butter or margarine and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time. Add cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, in quarters, and add applesauce alternately. Fold in walnuts and turn into pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 35 minutes (or until straw in center comes out clean). Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out on wire rack to completely cool.

Today is Guy Fawkes Day

Today my calendar notes it is Guy Fawkes Day. On this day in 1605 a traitor was discovered in the basement of Parliament with thirty six barrels of gunpowder. Just the other day I bought a used nursery rhyme book for my collection and flipping through it I noticed the gunpowder plot rhyme above.
Not many Americans may be familiar with Guy Fawkes Day, but you may have seen the movie V for Vendetta. The main character wears a Guy Fawkes mask and recites the rhyme, he also wanted to blow up Parliament. In Britain the day is remembered by bonfires and fireworks. There is lots of information about the day on the net. One of the sites featured recipes to serve today: Guy Fawkes Day recipes and information.
Some of the news sites said today would be rainy and windy over there but hopefully there were areas that could have outdoor celebrations. I also noticed some of the firework displays were on the weekend instead of today. Here is San Diego we frequently have the public holiday parades and celebrations on the nearest weekend. I guess that is a common practice nowadays. I recently found out that I will have to work on Thanksgiving, but I don't think my family would want to put off the celebration to the weekend. We are thinking of buying one of the pre-cooked dinners that are available now. But that is a subject for another post.