Oregon Collage

We are constantly amazed by the beauty all around us in our new home -- Hood River, Oregon. From stunning sunrises over our backyard fence, to the spectacular fall colors in the Gorge, the twin wonders of Mt Hood and Mt Adams, the soaring sea stacks along the coast, and so much more.

For those who wonder why we moved to Oregon, and what our impressions of our new home are, we offer this small collection of photos taken during our first two months here:

Press here to view all photos…

Hood River Thanksgiving

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving as Hood River residents by hosting Tom's mom, his brother Jerry (in photo at right) and his wife Rosalie. We tried a number of new recipes and all were very tasty and well-received.

On the Food Channel, Alton Brown (Good Eats) had suggested that brining a turkey produces the most flavorful and moist turkey. Since we had seen his episode on the brining process, and had heard many other chef's lauding the effects of brining, we decided to give it a try. The bottom line is we will never roast a turkey the old fashioned way again -- brining produced the best bird of all.

ALTON BROWN’S BRINED ROAST TURKEY
1 14—16 lb young turkey, frozen

FOR THE BRINE
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1 gal vegetable stock (NOT low sodium)
1 tbl black peppercorns
½ tbl allspice berries
½ tbl candied ginger
1 gal iced water

FOR THE AROMATICS
1 med red apple, sliced
½ med onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 leaves fresh sage
Canola oil

OTHER ITEMS
1 5-gal bucket with lid
1 digital meat thermometer with probe
1 electric knife for carving

INSTRUCTIONS
Note: There is no basting in this recipe for two key reasons; one, the basting liquid does not penetrate the turkey's skin and thus has no effect on the meat, and two, opening the oven to baste drops the temperature of the oven and thus requires a longer time to roast the turkey. Instead, the recipe starts with the oven at 500° for thirty minutes to brown the bird, then the temperature is reduced to 350° to complete the roasting.

(*) If the turkey has a popup device, do not remove it until the turkey is done roasting and has rested 15 minutes.

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

On the evening before the day of cooking, combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500°.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Set a timer for 30 minutes and roast on lowest level of the oven at 500°.
Remove the turkey from oven and cover just the breast with a double layer of aluminum foil.
Insert the probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350°.
Set thermometer alarm to 161°.

A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2½ hours of roasting.

Loosely cover the turkey with foil and let it rest for 15—20 minutes before carving.

Here are three of Alton Brown's videos which we found very helpful:

HOW TO BRINE A TURKEY
http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/turkey-brining-secrets/866.html

HOW TO TRUSS A TURKEY
http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/how-to-truss-a-turkey/27751.html

HOW TO CARVE A TURKEY
http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/how-to-carve-a-turkey/27752.html


CREAMY GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
3½ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
2 cups half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbl Kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled
6 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size (½" cubes).
Add potatoes to a large saucepan and cover with cold water to 1" above tops of potatoes.
Add about 2 tablespoons salt, cover and bring to a boil.
Cook until tender when poked with a skewer, 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes and put them back in the pan, off heat, to steam dry and release some moisture for 2 to 3 minutes.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Run the potatoes and the cold butter through a food mill or potato ricer or mash by hand with a potato masher.
Add the garlic-cream mixture, and Parmesan; stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.


CRANBERRY WALNUT DRESSING
2 6oz pkgs Mrs. Cubbison's Seasoned Dressing
1 cup celery, minced and sautéed
1 cup onions, minced and sautéed
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup wild rice, cooked
¾ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1½ cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place dressing mix in a large bowl.
Sauté onions and celery, and add to dressing.
Toss lightly.
Add raisins, cranberries, wild rice and nuts to the mixture.
Pour broth over the mixture and blend lightly.
Bake in a covered oven-proof casserole dish at 350° for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer for a crisper top.


GRAN MARNIER CRANBERRY RELISH
1 lb fresh cranberries
½ cup sugar
1 oz Grand Marnier liqueur
1 med orange, zested and juiced

For best results, prepare a day before serving.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor, pulse several times to breakdown the cranberries and incorporate the ingredients.
It should still be a bit chunky.

Refrigerate for 24 hours, so the flavors can marry.

Allow the cranberry relish to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

We hope you'll try these simple and tasty recipes. Enjoy.