Tormented Kitchen

Guacamole! I accidentally figured this out one weekend. No more packets of guac seasoning for me! It goes very well on chips or as a topping for Quesadillas or other Mexican foods. And it's a winner with the picky eater (Eric), so it may be a hit for other picky kiddos. Ingredients 2 ripe avocados 1/3 cup salsa (you choose the hotness) squirt of lemon juice Method 1. Peel, then chop or mash avocado (I like mine with small chunks). 2. Stir in the salsa and lemon juice. 3. Eat!

Let me tell you, I have been making this exact schnitzel recipe for years now. Justin and I have taste-tested many iterations to come up with this particular formula. And then one day recently, we went to lunch with Justin's mom to the nearby Olive Garden. Justin ordered their Pork Milanese. We looked at it. We tasted it. We sat there slack-jawed because it was exactly *EXACTLY* (No I'm not exaggerating) the same as I make it. Crazy huh? Usually if I want to recreate a restaurant recipe, I google it on the Internet. So anyone who loves OG's breaded pork cutlet, give this a try. PS Sorry, I have not tried to clone their ravioli that comes with the pork cutlet. Ingredients 6 cutlets of lean pork or venison, about ¼" thick 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. poultry seasoning 1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs 1/3 cup flour ½ cup butter or margarine 2 lemons, cut in wedges 3 T. chopped fresh parsley Method 1. Pound meat with a malle...

One more gem for the Holiday Cooking Guide, Justin's Thanksgiving meal isn't complete without some kind of cranberry side dish. This cranberry-based mousse is nice alone, like a dessert, or smeared on your turkey. Justin's mom even likes it on her turkey sandwich. (I'll take plain cranberry jelly for that!) And on the topic of Justin's mom, I got this recipe from her. She usually makes it with sugar-free gelatin and sugar-free juice. I happen to get horrible headaches from too much artificial sweetener, so I went for the regular, full-sugar versions. But if you are trying to shave a few calories, go for the sugar-free stuff. It's tasty either way. Ingredients 1 6 oz. box raspberry gelatin 2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice 1 can cranberry jelly (not the whole fruit kind) 1 pint whipping cream Method 1. Bring the cran-raz juice to a boil. 2. Dissovle the raspberry gelatin in the hot cran-raz juice. 3. Add the cranberry jelly and mash and mix it in. It doesn...

Another addition to the Holiday cooking guide: Gravy has to be the best part of the Thanksgiving meal. I mean, you can pour it on the meat, the mashed potatoes, the dressing, or sop it up with a roll. I have never really tried to describe how to make gravy before so I have put a lot of thought into this. Have you heard of a roux before? That is a fancy French cooking term for cooking flour with fat that becomes the binder for gravies and sauces. Basically, to make roux-based gravy, there is a magic ratio of 1 Tablespoon fat (butter, oil, pan drippings) mixed with 1 Tablespoon flour and thinned with 1 cup of liquid (stock, broth, or milk). You can make sauce using other thickeners like corn starch or egg. But if you are looking for a certain texture, the way to go is probably using a flour roux. I have read lots of cookbooks and lots of websites and lots more cookbooks. I have been cooking since I was little kid, so gravy was one of the first things I learned. It's really easy, ...

Another recipe from the Holiday cooking guide, my mom's recipe for Turkey Dressing has been one of my all-time favorites. I suppose you could stuff the bird with this, but I don't like squishy stuffing, so we always make it in a separate pan. It gets nice and toasty this way. I just have to say here that I don't like it when people get all fancy with their dressing/stuffing. Cornbread. Rice. Sausage. Mushrooms. YUCK. Just give me some good turkey giblet dressing. Especially if I can drench it with turkey gravy. And now I have to admit one more thing. I don't always use ALL the giblets. I have a dog, and she appreciates a little holiday dinner too so I normally use just the neck meat in the dressing, then give Sitka the chopped up heart and gizzards. (I also boil the liver separately so she can have turkey liver sauce for another meal. No, she is not a spoiled dog. Really!) But if you are in love with using the heart and gizzards in your dressing, go for it....

Kringle! This is a family tradition. My family is a little short on traditions, so the few I can grasp, I hold on tight. My mom's family is Czech, and we have lost many of the Czech traditions. I think this particular recipe is not Czech, per se, but it is in the same family as kolache or rugelach. Kringle is a type of pastry, like a Danish. The shape is what makes it stand out. You can honestly make any shape you want, wreaths, twists, whatever, but "Kringle" means "knot" from what I remember. Whatever language it is, it's tasty. Ingredients For the dough 4 tsp active dry yeast 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup warm water 1/2 cup milk 1 tsp. salt 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) 2 eggs, slightly beaten 4 cups AP flour For the filling 1 cup almond paste 1 stick butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar For the topping 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water 3 T. slivered blanched almonds, divided extra white sugar for sprinkling Method 1. Proof your yeast in the warm water with 1 ...

Continuing the Holiday cooking guide, I present Turkey Stock. Useful for making incredible Turkey Gravy and Turkey Dressing (or Stuffing, if you prefer it by another name). By the way, the recipe below works equally well with chicken parts to make chicken stock. Ingredients giblets from one turkey (minus the liver) 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped 1 small onion, roughly chopped about 1 quart water salt and pepper to taste Method 1. Place neck, heart, and gizzard in a 2-quart saucepan. Do not use the liver because it will make your stock cloudy and gritty. 2. Add carrot, onion, and celery to the pot. Cover it all with the water. 3. Bring pot a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer about 1 hour. 4. Remove neck, heart, and gizzard. Reserve for dressing recipe. 5. Strain liquid into a large measuring cup. Discard vegetables.