Turkey Roasting Times...

Never fear - an outline for cooking your turkey is here!!

I highly suggest brining the turkey for 12-18 hours before cooking it - this helps the turkey to retain moisture and also adds flavor to the bird. This is what I did last night (cooking today)

Heat 2 gallons water
add 2 cups kosher salt, 1.5 cups sugar (I only had 1/2 cup white sugar so the other 1 cup was brown - opps!), 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves, 1+ tablespoons whole black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon dried coriander, 1 tablespoon dried sage
Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.

I washed the turkey and put it in a lobster pot. I let the brine cool and then poured it over turkey - then I added an additional 2 gallons of cold water (and then just enough more to cover turkey)...Let sit covered in fridge for 12-18 hours. - Viola!

Wt of Bird ~ Roasting Time (Unstuffed) ~ Time(Stuffed)
10-18 pounds ~ 3-3.5 hours ~ 3.75-4.5 hours
18-22 pounds ~ 3.5-4 hours ~ 4.5-5 hours
22-24 pounds ~ 4-4.5 hours ~ 5-5.5 hours
24-29 pounds ~ 4.5-5 hours ~ 5.5-6.25 hours

over 29 lbs - get your head examined - that bird is wayyyyy to big!

Hot apple cider

1 gallon organic cider
3-4 slices of orange
2 slices of lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
4-5 whole cloves
1 teaspoon star anise
1 shot spiced rum and/or applejack (optional)

Mix together in a pot - simmer for 15 minutes - strain and serve - YUM!

Are antibiotics making you fat?

More and more research is coming out these days about the effects of antibiotics on our overall well being. While it is important to remember that antibiotics are needed for many infections, most Americans run to quickly to the doctor for a prescription to fix every sniffle that comes their way. All of this mass murder in your system is wreaking havoc on your long term health and on your waist line.

Ranchers and chicken farmers have known for decades that if they give their livestock low doses of antibiotics, not only do they not have to worry about wide spread disease ravishing their close-quartered animals, but the animals will also fatten up quicker and be ready for the feed lot sooner which means faster turnover for producers and more money in their pockets for heavier animals. The same thing is happening to humans with overuse of antibiotics, except for the fact that we aren't selling each other to feed lots, instead we are paying more in health care costs and for bigger clothing articles.

When you take an antibiotic, it not only kills the bacterial infection, but also all the beneficial bacteria in your GI tract. These bacteria make it possible for you digest food; absorb nutrients like calcium, B vitamins and essential fatty acids; and to produce other essential nutrients like Vitamin K which clots your blood to keep you from bleeding out when you acquire a huge bruise after running into the corner of a table piss-ass drunk; not to mention with out all those good gut bacteria you also have a hard time with bowel movements.

So how is this making you fat you ask? Well that is what researchers are working on but the thought is that it has something to do with the absorption of nutrients through your gut wall. Certain bacteria and fructans (onions, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, Rye, barley, asparagus, chocolate, agave, leeks, yicama) can help to increase satiety quicker during meals, reduce the expression of genes which respond to short-chain fatty acids in adipose (fat) tissue, and make the mucosal barrier lining your intestines stronger against stuff (read calories/fat etc) crossing it, thus there is less development of fat mass so that people are better able to maintain weight.

If you wipe out the good bacteria in your gut, you run the risk of recolonizing your intestines with bacteria that are not as beneficial. Further studies are looking to be done to see which bacteria and in what proportions they are needed to help people maintain/lose weight and have more productive inner workings. So next time before you get an Rx to wipe out all living things in your body, think about just how sick you are, it might not be worth taking antibiotics for every illness.

Butternut Squash Soup

Its soup season people - come on in and warm up!

1/2 cup small diced vidalia onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup peeled, chopped apple (Macintosh is a good one or Granny Smith)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 pound peeled, diced potatoes (use red potatoes)
1 pound peeled, seeded, diced butternut squash
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 cup fat free milk or soy milk
salt and pepper

1. Saute onion in olive oil until very soft and translucent. Add apple, thyme, nutmeg, ginger, and cook 3-4 minutes more.
2. Add broth, potato, squash and bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are very soft (approx. 25 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Remove from heat and blend in pot with hand immersion blender (or cool slightly and use regular blender - but be careful you can get some killer burns with the regular blender).
4. Stir in milk, reheat if necessary but do not boil.

Serve topped with some pinenuts (pignola nuts) and a grating of Romano cheese and a nice crusty loaf of bread for cleaning up the bowl :)

November Lix Fix

Flavors are in for the JP Licks November Lix Fix! I am pretty excited for the Factor X yogurt flavor - Cranberry Blood Orange :)

Pumpkin Custard
Wild Turkey Bourbon (this doesn't seem like a good idea to me! ahahaha)
Carrot Cake
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Sugar Free Vanilla
Peanut butter Ripple (YES PLEASE!!! and my obsession with peanut butter continues)
Cranberry Orange Sorbet
Pumpkin Lactose Free
Vermont Maple Low Fat Yogurt
Triple Berry Sorbet

The new toppings: Dried cranberries, frosted animal cookies or cheesecake bites

You had better make a few laps around the outdoor mall while eating your Licks treat this month :)

Hey there cupcake

If you are looking for a yum-tastic treat for your November gatherings try these Pumpkin cupcakes with Maple-cream cheese frosting. Another NYC-Ivy discovery, the recipe itself needs to be credited to Ina Garten, but delicious these puppies are! You could make a substitution or two for some healthier attributes like using grapeola instead of vegetable oil for fish-free omega-3s, and fat free cream cheese in the frosting but I would for sure still use real butter as it is much better for you then margarine.

Makes 10 cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar,
1/2 cup vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup maple syrup
Maple Frosting (recipe follows)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins and bake for 20 min, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Maple Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Maple extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring , maple syrup and vanilla extract.
2. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.