THE PERFECT TURKEY

With thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought I would share some of my tips & tricks for cooking a perfectly moist and golden brown turkey.

I have been helping my mom cook the turkey for years, and for the past couple of years I have been cooking it on my own at my moms and my dads. It is something I really care about, because who wants to eat dry meat?!

Cooking a delicious turkey is not always easy, and it definitely requires a close eye, a thermometer and lots of butter!

EMMA'S EATERY TURKEY TIPS

1. Also rub the bird down with butter before you roast it (you can either use melted butter, or soft butter). Make sure to lift up the skin above the breasts gently in order to put a few knobs of butter. Smooth them around with your fingers.

2. Always season your turkey! Lots of fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt does the trick. I never season the outside with anything else but good old S&P.

3. Try bringing your turkey. This is the first year that I am going to brine my turkey - and I am already so excited. With my first dinner tomorrow, I already started the brining process this morning. Make sure to give it a good 12-24 hours of bring time. For a good recipe brine check out Michael Smith's HERE.

4. The Brown Paper Bag. This is the best trick I have learned my mom and grandmother. In order to get that perfectly crisp and golden brown skin, we cover the turkey with a brown paper bag that has been smeared all over with butter. This is foolproof and will ensure your guests have the best looking turkey!

5. How much time per pound? I like to cook my turkey for about 12 minutes per pound. We generally get a 12lb turkey, so about 2 hours and 20 minutes is perfect. Remember the turkey will always cook a little bit more once you take it out! You want the temperature to be around 160-165. Always test with a meat thermometer, and make sure you test not only the breast but the thigh as well. The thigh cooks slower than the breast, so you have to make sure that is also done!

6. REST YOUR BIRD! Don't let all those beautiful turkey juices escape. It is vital to rest your turkey for a good 20 minutes before carving it up. The rest time allows the juices to settle down and re absorb into the turkey meat.

7. Carving, who gets to carve the turkey?! In order to maximize your yield of turkey meat, I recommend cutting the breast as a whole completely off the bird and then slicing from there. Its much cleaner and you keep way more meat!

HAPPY TURKEY COOKING!

THANKSGIVING: CARROT SOUP

Soup season is finally really here! Now, if only it would stop jumping up into the 20's and stay with that cool crisp fall air I love!

Soup has got to be my favourite part about the fall and winter, and I eat it constantly. In our first day of classes at George Brown, our nutrition teacher asked us - if we had to go to a desert island what would we bring? The typical answers of chips, pizza (and this is chef school?) and finally my answer which was of course soup. (This answer was also in the middle of January, might have been Ontario fruit had I answered in the summer!!)

Soups are just the perfect start to a meal, the perfect meal all wrapped up in one bowl, and so easy to change up on a daily basis. Soups are also great for emptying out the fridge and using up those vegetables that are almost at their due date. Be creative with soup, mix and match flavours and try something different this fall/winter!

The soup I am making for my lunch today is a delicious carrot soup that is sweetened up with a bit of evaporated milk. A really great trick I learned from Trish Magwood and this recipe. The soup is beyond simple and I think will come to be a staple in your house!

This soup would be a great starter for thanksgiving - savoury with a hint of sweet, the perfect thanksgiving orange colour, and something to warm you up if you are spending the weekend up north.

Carrot Soup in a Mug by Trish Magwood
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 lb carrots, chopped (about 3 cups)
3 cups chicken stock
1 can evaporated milk
salt and pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large heavy soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and cook another 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are soft, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove fromt he heat, using a hand blender puree until very smooth. Stir in evaporated milk. Season to taste and serve with chopped parsley

YOUR TURKEY TABLE

Thanksgiving is almost here! I am gearing up for a big and turkey filled week, as I am making three FULL thanksgiving dinners this year!

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times of year, not only for cooking - as it marks the start of the best fall flavours, but also for decorations!

I love having my dining room table set the week or two leading up to thanksgiving. Not necessarily with the plates and cutlery, but decorated with mini gourds and pumpkins, a table runner, some festive flowers and a few candles.

I am going to share my favourite decorations that will be sure to make your table look the most festive!

Multi coloured gourds....scatter them all down the centre of the table

 Wheat sheafs & thanksgiving inspired flower arrangements

Leaf printed linens and dried leaf covered candle holders (Both DIY - thank you Martha Stewart!!)

FALL FLAVOURS

The weather is finally cooling off, and the leaves are changing which can only mean one thing - FALL!  Fall is by far my favourite season, and after a summer filled with fresh produce, I am looking forward to getting down to business with my oven and roasting off some great root vegetables.

Here are my top 5 flavours for cooking this fall:

1. PUMPKIN: such a classic I know, but it never gets old. There are so many ways to reinvent the use of pumpkins (not just for pumpkin pie). A for a quick tip, save the seeds - they make the best snack. Season them up with a little salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon and olive oil. Roast at 400 for 5-7 minutes and you will be in heaven!

2. NUTMEG: when I went to culinary school at George Brown, I used more nutmeg than I could have imagined. We used it in SO many dishes - and because of that, I definitely have a new found appreciation for nutmeg. Put a dash in your pies, in your cream sauce or a cheese sauce. It will just brighten up any dish with its earthy nutty flavour.

3. CAULIFLOWER: a versatile veg that I love raw or cooked, cauliflower is one of my favourite side dishes. Roasted, au gratin, pureed into a soup - this is one of my all-time favourite vegetables. Looking forward to try this recipe by Martha Stewart for thanksgiving dinner!

4. CHESTNUTS: This is definitely not an ingredient you see often, but Jamie Oliver has sparked my love affair with chestnuts. Use them in a salad chopped up (you can buy them already ready to go), on top of a beef carpaccio for a winter dinner, chestnut soup - and one of my personal favourites crumbled up with some sage for a savoury scone!

5. TURNIPS: One of our favourite family side dishes at Thanksgiving is a turnip, sweet potato, parsnip & carrot puree. I also love turnips, because when I worked at BUCA, I was in charge of pickling vegetables to go with our charcuterie board. Turnips are great, pickled, roasted, in a soup or in a hash with some sweet potatoes and carrots. The opportunities are endless!

SCALLOPS

Finishing off with my seafood themed posts is one all about scallops. It took me a long time to learn to love scallops, and I don't quite know why. I think I always thought they would taste super fishy,but after lots of taste testing off the plates of others, I have come to the conclusion that they are just delectable.

When cooked well, scallops have a seared crisp and golden brown exterior with a butter soft texture on the inside. I always cook mine so that they more on the "medium rare" side instead of hard and firm. They taste much nicer this way! My grandfather always complains, because he says that no one ever asks you how you like your fish cooked, but they always ask about the meat! And it is true, over cooked fish or seafood is just unpleasant. So next time you are at a restaurant and ordering a beautiful piece of fish make sure to specify how you like it! A little pink on the centre is always the best (and completley safe)!

Last weekend for a dinner party that I catered, one of the menu appetizer options I was offereing was a seared scallop with a mango, peach & jalapeno salsa. Garnished with some cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, this appetizer was a perfect light and refreshing bite that said goodbye to summer with a bang!

DRESS FOR SUCCESS: AN EMMA'S EATERY EVENT

I spent a good decade of my life roaming the halls at my junior and high school, Branksome Hall!

I am now officially an alumnae and this Thursday I have the pleasure of catering one of the alumnae events called "Dress for Success."

The event features Christina McDowell, an image consultant and National spokesperson for Holt Renfrew...and not only that, there will be a $1,000 shopping spree at Holt Renfrew to be won!

EMMA'S EATERY will be catering the event and will feature:

Fresh salad rolls: mango, red pepper, basil, mint & cucumber

Mini sandwiches: brie, homemade cranberry chutney & turkey

Mini beef sandwich: beef tenderloin, homemade bernaise sauce & caramelized onions

A mixed crudite platter: curried sour cream dip & green goddess dip

Roasted shrimp: jalapeño & cilantro mayo or homemade cocktail sauce dip

Hope to see many of you Branksome alum there! Going to be a great (and delicious) night!!

LOBSTER

Having just spent the past few days on the sea in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I am on a bit of a seafood kick!

Yesterday was mussels and today is lobster. Lobsters have a beautifully creamy and luxurious meat and are obviously so popular when you live on an ocean. You really do see it everywhere, and coming from Ontario, it made me wish that we had such fresh lobster readily available all the time in Toronto! On the menus this week I saw lobster in a variety of forms, not just the traditional whole lobster with butter. One of the best lobster dishes I discovered as it is my sister's favourite is a lobster stuffed ravioli, in a parmesan fonduta with a lobster cream throughout, so decadent and so rich.

The other favourite dish of the trip which is so popular along the eastern seaboard was the famous lobster roll. I had one for lunch at it was truly spectacular! I have never had a true lobster roll before, so I knew that this trip was the chance to try it. A traditional lobster roll is done on a white hot dog type bun, grilled and sometimes seasoned with a garlic butter. It is stuffed with a soft and rich lobster salad, generally complete with scallions and celery. This roll also had a lemony mayo as the mayo base which I really enjoyed, a nice twist on a classic simple mayo dressing.

Lobster out east are known as the "King of Seafood." They are a great source of protein and are found all across the Canadian Atlantic. Lobster are harvested in cold icy salt water, in traps, attached to lines and hauled in by hand. The lobster industry ensures that harvesting and processing methods are conducted in an ecologically responsible manner, which is great for those of us concerned with sustainability! A quite note, for those of you nervous or who feel off put by putting a live lobster into a boiling hot water - do not worry - they do not feel pain as they have a decentralized nervous system!

MOULES

Mussels are one of the things I miss the most about living on the east coast. Out east, they serve the freshest mussels EVERYWHERE! Each restaurant has their own twist on the broth or sauce, and one of my favourite broths of all time was a curry & cilantro combo that I had in the town where I went to university. I really miss fresh mussels, living on a coast means one is definitely spoiled when it comes to the quality of fresh seafood!

Mussels are a classic French dish. Moules Mariniere, are mussels that are seasoned and cooked with white white, garlic, shallots, thyme and butter. Does it get any better? I am going to share with you a great recipe for making these mussels. These are great on their own as a main course with a warm crusty piece of French bread, or mixed in to some pasta for dinner.

Mussels are a great dish to eat as they are cheap and quick - perfect for someone in a hurry! One thing about mussels - when you cook them, they should open up and create a V with their shells. If they remain closed do not eat them!

Moules Mariniere 
Serves 2 as an appetizer, 1 for dinner, or 2 with pasta

Ingredients:
1 lb mussels (de-bear if necessary and keep refrigerated until use)
5 shallots, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1 handful of fresh thyme on the stem
1 1/2 cup white wine
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup cream (optional)

Directions:
- In a saucepan that has a lid that will close and be able to fit over all of the mussels, add the butter and olive oil and sweat the garlic, shallots and thyme over medium heat until translucent.
- Add in the white wine, salt and pepper
- Place the mussels on top
- Close the lid and let cook for around 5-7 minutes, or until the mussel shells have opened
- If you are adding the cream, do so once the mussels have cooked, stir in the cream and serve

HOMEMADE BAGELS

The finished product, cinnamon & sugar bagels

This weekend I made bagels! I read another blog called Cupcakes & Cashmere, and last week the writer shared a recipe to make bagels. The pictures of the bagel process looked so neat, and I knew I just had to try them out! The recipe seemed easy enough, not too many ingredients and the steps seemed straightforward.

on the left: forming the bagel dough balls, on the right: the formed bagels with the holes

I forgot to buy sesame or poppy seeds to dust the top with, so instead I just mixed up some cinnamon and sugar and sprinkled that on the top of the bagels. (Toppings for the bagel could be whatever you like, garlic, onions, cheese etc. The possibilities are endless) I think next time I would boil them a bit longer to really get that chewy bagel inside. Otherwise, they were a total hit! My ten year old sister just loved them, warm, not even toasted with a bit of lovely butter.

Find the recipe HERE

Happy baking! This is a great Saturday or Sunday morning treat for the family or a friend!

on the left: the bagels once out of the water, on the right: boiling the bagels

BAKED FRUIT

After a great day in Niagara at the Food Festival, watching Trish Magwood present three dishes to a crowd, I thought I would share another of the three recipes.

This dish is great as we approach fall and winter for those still lusting after the beautiful summer fruits. By baking the fruit, you are able to get away with having products that are not 100% ripe or seasonal. This dish is also great if you have a bunch of fruits left over with knicks or bruises that you don't necessarily want to eat raw, bake them up and all the impurities will vanish. Serve with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and you will be sure to impress you family or friends!

I find its best to bake this in a shallow baking dish, oval ones are also really pretty.

Note: if your peaches, plums etc are quite hard, don't add in the blueberries or raspberries until the last ten minutes of baking

Baked Fruit with Raspberry Wine courtesy of Trish Magwood

Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 lb (1 kg) mixed fresh fruits, (figs, peaches nectarines, apricots, plums)
1 qt blueberries
1 qt raspberries
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup raspberry dessert wine (try Ontario's Southbrook Farms or Henry of Pellam's late harvest ice wine)
2 tbsp lavender honey (or honey of your choice)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Generously butter a 10 inch oval baking dish
Quater figs, cut peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums into wedges
Loosely arrange fruit, cut side up, in a baking dish, slight overlapping, scatter mixed berries on top
Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds on fruits
Drizzle with raspberry dessert wine and honey; sprinkle with cinnamon
Bake until fruits are plum and tender (about 20 min)