Yesterday we cooked the 18lb turkey.

In fact, we made an entire dinner. Kate from Ohio was visiting and JonAbad and I have had a hampering for a giant cook-off, so it only seemed natural for us to assault the turkey that had quietly been taking residence in our freezer for the past four months.

Our fatal flaw came with the gravy.

I didn’t want to follow Fanny Farmer’s advice (in retrospect… this was exceptionally stupid) so instead we just used the fat and juices that came off the turkey… added some cream and flour and poured it on top of our dinners.

it was terrible. Fatty burned residue that is still able to foil my mouth with unfortunate tastes after two teeth brushings, flossings, and flourides.

Thankfully, the rest of the dinner came out great. Including two pumpkin pies, greenbeans up the wazoo, stuffing, biscuits, mashed potatos (curtosy of the Kitchen aid), and of course tons of meat.

So, if you’re in the area and find yourself aching for some turkey, stop on by the House of Rock.

Mike D’s rockclimbing food ratings:
Deliciousness:
Turkey: 5.8+ it was a little dry since we kept it in the oven post-cooking to keep it warm
Mashed Potatos: 5.10-
Biscuits: 5.8
Gravy: 5.2-
Green Beans: 5.6

Difficulty:
Turkey: Time was the only tough part here 5.5
Mashed Potatos: Kitchen Aid? no prob. 5.5
Baking powder Biscuits: 5.7
Gravy: How the heck are you suppose to make good gravy? 5.11d
Green Beans: 5.6. we used the frozen variety.

I’m extremely excited this morning because I believe my schedule has returned to normal. Last night I put the final touches on my car and then went to a stellar guitar lesson and kung fu practice. Two things that I have not been able to devote much time to over the past few weeks. With the Acclaim back in perfect working order I will be able to start capitalizing on extracurricular activities once again.

Speaking of which, let’s talk cooking. This past Sunday Tom & Mykal entertained Mandy and I with some homemade raviolis, freshly baked bread, and delicious chai tea* and kool aids. We cooked, played Niagra (great game), and had an overall great time. While cooking we came up with an idea.

For a while now the Culinary Circle has been working independently trying to share recipes and enjoy delicious food. In March, we are going to join together to form a Culinary Squat Team and we are going to make a 5 course meal that will leave you dead or nearly dead from taste sensory overload. We don’t yet have a Name for said event. Please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments. Perhaps The First Annual Taste Sensory Overload?

Each Culinary Circle member (Theresa, Tom, Mykal, me, Jon) will be in charge of one of the 5 courses. It’s going to be at the House of Rock. we’re not yet sure of the date… but we’re thinking March. It will be of heroic proportions.

*Updated with Mykal’s spelling correction

JonAbad and I spent some time yesterday making some bread. I use the word “making” very loosly, because really… the Kitchen Aid Mixer did all the real work. We just watched.

What made this bread unique is that it was fast! it only had a single rising so the whole thing was completed in under 2 and a half hours.

We froze one of the loaves, which will likely be removed from the freezer at some point later this week.

We abolished the other loaf within a few hours.

Mike D’s rockclimbing ratings:
Deliciousness: 5.10a
Difficulty: 5.8+

I really have no recollection of what this meal was. I came home one day a few weeks/months ago and JonAbad and Jesse were making some sort of sauce stuff. It may have been a mustard something-or-other.

They were excited enough about it that I went and grabbed my camera. I’m sure that once JonAbad reads this he’ll remember what the food was.

So why am I writing about this if I don’t remember it? Because of this photo:

How awesome does JonAbad look in that shot? The culinary master looks over his work pensively. Jesse awaits his every command. JonAbad knows exactly what to do all the time… the only question is when he will reveal it to the rest of us. The color is really great too. The picture captures the warmth (not literally) of the House of Rock’s kitchen atmosphere.

I love that photograph.

I want to point out a new link in the ‘friends’ area below.

Mykal has started a culinary blog that discusses the amazingness that is cooking. Check it out.

The first thing we made with my Cobalt Blue 5Qt 325W 67 point mixing KSM150PS Kitchen Aid Electric Stand Mixer (CB5Q325W67PMKSM150PSKASM for short) was some corn bread.

It was quick and easy and required no rising. Basically, it was just cornmeal, flour, sugar, milk, oil, and egg. Perfectly blended in the CB5Q325W67PMKSM150PSKAESM.

While I’m at it, I should mention that we also made shepherds pie the other day out of a 30min Rachel Ray cookbook. The mashed potato topping led us to bumping up my new appliance to level 10. LEVEL 10. It crushed, mashed, and whipped those potatos like you’d never believe. Someone took a photo of the crust, but I don’t quite remember who. I’ll try to get my hands on it tonight.

mike d’s rockclimbing ratings:
CornBread
Deliciousness: 5.7+
Difficulty: 5.5. JonAbad and I don’t even remember making it. The Kitchen Aid did all the work.

Shepherds Pie
Deliciousness: 5.9- and filling too!
Difficulty: 5.9-

This weekend JonAbad and I made Empanaditas out of the Martha Stewart appetizer Handbook.

Oh so delicious.

empanaditas are essentially little pastries that are baked or fried. The dough is soft and flakey and they can be filled with all sorts of taste sensations from cheese, to jam, to beef. we, of course, went the meat route.

And that meat filling was a champ. it had diced tomatos, cinnamon, sugar, cumin, red pepper flakes, tomato juice, onions, and ginger in it. And it tasted delicious.

the dough was just butter, shortening, flour, salt, and water. There was an alarming amount of shortening and butter in the recipe.

The process was simple enough, and the results were top notch.

After the dough was formed, we cut it into circles and filled with the beef extrodinaire. Jon did a great job folding.

After they were all filled and sealed with some fork action, they were ready for the oven. **Note the speed action of the fork in the photo below. Oh so fast!

Ian was a fan.

The whole process took an hour or so from start to finish. While tasty, they were definintely appetizers. We made them as a meal, and it wasn’t quite filling enough. I suspect they would make a great party starter.

Mike D’s rockclimbing food ratings:

Deliciousness: 5.10a
Difficulty: 5.9-

Last year it was a Dyson. This year, it’s a KITCHEN AID.

That’s right folks, I have started a tradition of bringing in the new year with a beautiful new appliance. I’m excited for Baking in 2006. Yes, food handling will reach new levels of convenience with this 325 watt beast of a mixer.

Multiple Speeds!
Unique Mixing Action!

The House of Rock just got a little more awesome.
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And don’t worry, this won’t antiquate our other mixer.