Thanksgiving - Success

Obviously, live updates of Thanksgiving didn't happen. There were too many things to do to post while cooking, and playing games with the family took priority over writing the blog (sorry!). Overall, Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. It was nice to host and to visit with my wife's family. (I did miss my family of course. I can’t wait to see you all in 3 weeks or so.) It was also good to spend some time giving thanks to God for all He has given us. I hope to continue that through the Christmas season.

As for the food, the menu was very successful. Here are some of the highlights:

I thought the turkey was great. I stuffed it with some aromatics (apple, orange, onion, rosemary, sage, and a cinnamon stick) and rubbed it with some homemade sage, apple, and truffle butter. Overall, the 14 pound turkey was moist and perfectly done in about 2 hours, and cooking it at 500 degrees for the first 30 minutes gave it a great color on the skin. To make sure I didn't overcook it, I bought a thermometer probe, recommended by Alton Brown, that allows you to read the temperature with the oven closed. It worked pretty well, though I think I should have put it in after I dropped the oven temperature to 350, because at first it seemed to be giving a falsely high reading.





The potatoes were pretty good, but they needed some more truffle oil to really get the full effect of the french fries I had at Rouge. I was scared of overdoing it, since we ate truffle pizza the night before at Stella Pizzeria in Philly (more on that later). They also needed a bit more salt since I made so many potatoes. I need to make them again to get the dish right. (I also made up a quick sage and rosemary gravy, which was a really good pairing for the potatoes.)

The deconstructed green bean bundles (green beans, bacon, brown sugar, and garlic powder) were excellent, and much easier than green bean bundles. I could create this version on any weekday night. The apple pie, as usual, was awesome, because I copied my mom's version (which is undoubtedly the best I've ever had).



But, for me, the highlight was the cranberry sauce. It was sweet and tangy, with a good hint of the bourbon flavor. And, most importantly, it worked great for leftover turkey sandwiches (bread, turkey, stuffing, and cranberries). I basically doubled this Bobby Flay recipe and added some Grand Marnier for a little orange flavor. I've made homemade cranberry sauce before, but this is the best I've ever had.

So, I would call Thanksgiving an overwhelming success, considering all the food, the family, and the fun. The calorie count, of course, was not good, especially since I’ve been eating leftovers all weekend (no one needs to eat mashed potatoes every day for lunch). The football game on Saturday did not burn off enough calories (though I sure am sore). So, I guess I need to hit the gym several times this week.

I hope all the readers of Philly Foodie had an excellent Thanksgiving. I look forward to sharing my Christmas season with you. To good food . . .

Thanksgiving - Introduction

I love Thanksgiving, and not just for the Turkey and football. I think I like it because it is a unique American holiday, with deep historical, political, and religious roots. I also believe it is important to take some time and reflect on all that we have. I'm sure that some of my love of Thanksgiving comes from my dad, who absolutely loves Thanksgiving for all these reasons and more (Thanks for instilling that in me, Dad). So, before Thanksgiving passes and you move to Christmas shopping, take some time to reflect on what you are thankful for. This will put you in the company of many Americans both past and present, and it makes an excellent family tradition.

Now that I have pontificated about the merits of Thanksgiving, let's move onto food, which is a huge bonus of contemporary American Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is like the Super Bowl of cooking (which makes it a good time to start a food blog...I'm cunning like that). I am hosting Thanksgiving again this year and have a pretty extensive menu planned. I'll give you the highlights of the menu now, and I'll try to give you updates tomorrow.

The main components of the menu are:

Turkey (brined and covered with sage butter)
Truffle-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (inspired by the outstanding french fries at Rouge in Philadelphia, which I had last week - the burger is also excellent there)
Classic Stuffing (Mrs. Real Job insists on the classic kind)
Deconstructed Green Bean Bundles
Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
7-Layer Salad
Apple Pie

If I can give one tip, brine the turkey the night before. It's a very important step for a moist turkey. Here's mine, brining in a cooler because my stock pot wasn't big enough. (As a side note, I used my friend's cooler . . . he's out of town and won't know until he gets salmonella.) To good food . . .

Candied Bacon - Part 2

Sorry readers, for the gap in blog posts. You'd think I wouldn't have blog-burnout after only one day. But, academic and family responsibilities got in the way. That did not, however, keep me from all things food.

First, congratulations to Philadelphia chef Jose Garces, winner of The Next Iron Chef. I hadn't watched much of the show until the finale, but Garces is an excellent chef. I've been to three of his restaurants (Amada, Distrito, and Village Whiskey) and have been impressed by all of them. Distrito is one of my favorite two restaurants in Philly for its tapas style Mexican street food. In fact, it looked like he made two dishes right off the Distrito menu in his final Iron Chef competition - one of the huaraches and the carnitas taco.

Second, I was in downtown Philadelphia yesterday (Rittenhouse Square) and stumbled upon (not literally) DiBruno Bros. gourmet grocery store (I went to the 18th and Chestnut location, but they have several). I had never been there before, but it is awesome. You must go if you are downtown, as they have an extensive collection of cheeses, meats, olive oil, and prepared food. I picked up some truffle butter and truffle honey for the Thanksgiving extravaganza I am preparing (more on that later).

Third, I ate breakfast at Parc with my wife and my mother-in-law (which is why I was in Rittenhouse). This was my second breakfast meal there in the past 2 months, because I took my mom there for brunch in October. (I really need to go back for dinner). The food and atmosphere are great. In fact, I've never been to Paris, but I expect it to look like Parc, complete with naked ladies in the men's bathroom. As for the food, I would recommend the brunch menu over the breakfast menu. For brunch I had the steak and eggs, which were spectacular. For some reason, though, it's not on the regular breakfast menu. Disappointing. I did have the breakfast sausage this time, though, and it was awesome. (You'll soon learn that sausage is one of my favorite foods. . . . Go ahead, get the jokes out now!).

Well, on to the issue at hand. When I left you last, I said I think I had developed a good way to present the candied bacon. Well, I'm back to ease your suspense . . . candied bacon pretzel rods! My wife (need to give her a blog nickname . . . "Mrs. Real Job"?) had the good idea to wrap them around pretzel rods. I thought this was a great idea, as it would enhance the salty/sweet flavor and provide a convenient way to present them. I really like how they turned out, both in presentation and in taste, though some of my friends give them mixed reviews.

Here's what they looked like. The trick is to cook the candied bacon about 2/3 of the way and then wrap them around the pretzels. Finish cooking until the bacon is crispy and just let dry on a drying rack. (You may have to adjust the bacon to make sure it stays tight and sticks to the pretzel). Anyway, let me know your thoughts.





Okay, well, that's the scoop on candied bacon. I think it was a very successful kitchen experiment. It's not that hard, and it elicits fun reactions from friends and family.

I now must move on to Thanksgiving. I'm going to have the first post later today, and then I'll try to keep you updated tomorrow with the results of the feast. To good food . . .

Candied Bacon

Last January my wife and I (yes, I'm married...Now you can rest assured that I'm not using this blog to pick up ladies) ate dinner for our Anniversary at James. James is very acclaimed in Philadelphia, and I highly recommend it for an excellent, intimate dinner. It doesn't seem to get tons of press, but it is outstanding. Anyway, last year James gained a bit of a reputation for a dessert involving candied bacon. The candied bacon dish doesn't seem to be on the menu at the moment, but it was really good. It was a sweet, salty, and smoky combination that I'd never had before, and it was also a very creative idea, which made it fun to try.

After a long week of traveling and meetings, I was looking to make something I'd never done before, without getting cooking burnout before the much anticipated Thanksgiving cook-fest (or should it be feast). Somehow, candied bacon came to mind. (I think my mind was jogged after telling some friends about James on Friday night).

I did a bit of Internet (do we still capitalize Internet?) research and found out that candied bacon seemed to be pretty easy. Just combine brown sugar and bacon and bake. Here's a look at what I did:

I used slices of center cut bacon (regular thickness), placing them in a Pyrex pan covered in tin foil.



I covered each slice with light brown sugar and then placed it in a 400 degree oven. After about 10 minutes I turned them over, cooking for another 8-10 minutes. You want them to be crispy (not chewy!) when dry.





I then placed the pieces of bacon on my drying rack (a great new purchase, by the way) and let them cool for 20 minutes or so.



The candied bacon turned out great, and it was pretty easy to make. Even my wife, a timid meat eater, loved it. As expected, the whole idea of candied bacon does not sound appetizing to many (I told some of my friends at church this morning, and the response was very mixed). Nonetheless, I recommend you try it. It would be a great party treat. In fact, I think I developed a great way to serve it more elegantly. (No, it's not yet bacon ice cream, though I hope that happens soon). I'll leave you with the suspense for now. I'll be back soon with an update. To good food . . .

Welcome!

This is my first blog and my inaugural blog post. So, I guess it's necessary to introduce my blog and my perspective. As I say in the description, this blog is about my food and my life. I'll briefly try to introduce both. Here goes.

I'm currently a PhD Candidate (so the title, at least until I finish this dissertation, is a bit ambitious), who loves all things food, and, as you will soon be able to tell, is not afraid of using the occasional parentheses. I really enjoy going to new restaurants, expanding my palate, and creating (or recreating) dishes in my apartment kitchen. I love all kinds of food, from street food to five course dinners, and I'm not afraid to try to recreate what I eat in restaurants at home.

I'm trying to establish a career in academia (not as easy as you might think), and this blog may serve as a creative distraction from my days and nights of reading, researching, and teaching American politics. (I know some of you may say that my life is full of distractions, but at least this distraction will involve writing. It should also serve as a way to share my food exploits to all my readers.) So, as I write this blog, you can expect it to come from two perspectives. First, I'm not a professional chef or food critic. I'm just a regular guy who likes good food and is willing to take adventures in the kitchen. Second, this blog will be very Philadelphia-centric. I'm a Philly transplant (originally from the Midwest), and I really enjoy the cuisine that it offers. So, I'll likely take much of my inspiration from the City of Brotherly Love.

If you've read this far, you must find this somewhat interesting (unless we're related, in which case you are expected to read this far). Hopefully you come back for more food and fun. Please feel free to comment or contact me, as it could make this all more interesting. To Good Food . . .