It's horrible, I think. <shudder>
My dressings vary but usually close to piffka's italian one. I have to be controlled, I have been know to add hot italian sausage...
I have brined turkeys. It works great. The way I did it was to make the brine with very cold water, submerge the bird, and added ice and covered the brining tub (I used a large canner), and left it overnight. It worked perfectly, and the birds always turn out tender and very juicy. I'll go look for the brining solution recipe and come back and post it. It's a San Francisco Chronicle thing.
It's easier to post a link. If you feel you must dissolve the salt and extract spice flavor using hot water, use only a small portion of the total liquid, let it cool, and then add it to cold water to dillute:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ffile=/chronicle/archive/1998/03/25/FD107260.DTL
And one more thing, I hate that green bean/soup/onion ring dish. BLECH!
Just put the dried onion rings out as a snack. They're pretty tasty.
I had the green bean/onion ring thing for the first time a couple of years ago at a Passover seder. I loved it! I was fighting a couple of other people off so I could get another sample of it. Love it!
I wouldn't serve it for Thanksgiving/Christmas cuz it's not 'traditional', but mmmmmm.
Light brining does wonders for pork as well.
ok, my family has gotten the T-Day menu started over the last few days. There will be a turkey with chipotle (and another kind of) stuffing. My mother is bringing her pumpkin soup which she says is an adaption of my recipe but it soooo isn't. There will be garlic mashed potatoes. I'm making a low-fat creamed spinach, polenta or corn bread (will decide later) and some type of beet dish (maybe pickled). I think there will be another green vegie and prolly cranberry sauce though I doubt I'll make that again this year.
There may be tiramisu, chocolate-soy pie apple cobbler for dessert.
littlek, wrap up the beets individually in foil and roast them at about 400 degrees until a skewer pierces them without resistance, about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on size and age. Chill, skin, cube, and toss with a nice vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar, a splash of balsamic, olive oil, and chopped fresh tarragon. Always a winner. Keep the dressing slightly on the acidic side.
is there any way to thin-slice and pickle without cooking them?
Sure, but cooking them first is less work. If you have a slicer, I would still roast them as above, slice them thin, then arrange them on a platter and drizzle the dressing all over them. It goes well with crumbled goat cheese, and it can be called 'beet carpaccio'. The cheese is optional.
I hate pickled beets. They are much tastier roasted in foil, then tossed or marinated with a sprightly dressing.
But I'm pining for the bright red color and aiming for a sorta crisp texture. Is that attainable?
The colour yes, but not the crispiness. They would have to be sliced very thin, or they will be too fibrous.
You could try a very fine julienne, and make up a nice dressing.
Ah well, then I will take your advice. Maybe I'll shred a bit of beet and add it to onion slivers for the bright red. Add the onion to the sliced cooked beets and then the dressing.
Cooked or raw, beets will always be bright red, and colour everything around them, except for yellow beets, and other non-red beets.
We have what passes for our family reunion on Thanksgiving and we have the traditional turkey etc, followed by much football and drinking into the night......later on, in honor of their nobility, I try to eat an Indian..... :wink:
ok. But speaking of the other types of beets, I was just looking at some. Could be neat to mix red and yellow.
The red will turn the yellow red. You must choose one or the other. However, a nice collection of yellow, candy-stripe and other non-red beets also makes a nice combination.
