Respect the Bird!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. A day dedicated to football, family, food, and giving thanks. Somehow this great American feast has avoided all the corporate commercialism that’s tainted the rest of our holidays.

However, while Thanksgiving itself has remained relatively pure, each year it seems the Christmas shopping season overlaps T-day a little more. We all grumble, but no one does anything about it. Well, that was until Doug Matthews came along.

Last November, Doug wrote a blog post on Allrecipes.com entitled, “Respect the Bird.” There he made his case for taking back Thanksgiving from Madison Avenue, and the response from the community was overwhelming. A subsequent national survey found that 82 percent of home cooks think Christmas is marketed too early, which results in the Thanksgiving holiday getting less attention than it deserves.

Do you agree with Doug? I certainly do, and favor any movement that will help keep that insidious Christmas music out of the stores for a few more days. To aid the cause, my friends at Allrecipes have created a dedicated site, RespectTheBird.com, where you can show your support for this movement by taking the Respect the Bird Pledge.

I hope you head over to take a look, and as always, enjoy…a Santa-free Thanksgiving!
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Respect the Bird!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. A day dedicated to football, family, food, and giving thanks. Somehow this great American feast has avoided all the corporate commercialism that’s tainted the rest of our holidays.

However, while Thanksgiving itself has remained relatively pure, each year it seems the Christmas shopping season overlaps T-day a little more. We all grumble, but no one does anything about it. Well, that was until Doug Matthews came along.

Last November, Doug wrote a blog post on Allrecipes.com entitled, “Respect the Bird.” There he made his case for taking back Thanksgiving from Madison Avenue, and the response from the community was overwhelming. A subsequent national survey found that 82 percent of home cooks think Christmas is marketed too early, which results in the Thanksgiving holiday getting less attention than it deserves.

Do you agree with Doug? I certainly do, and favor any movement that will help keep that insidious Christmas music out of the stores for a few more days. To aid the cause, my friends at Allrecipes have created a dedicated site, RespectTheBird.com, where you can show your support for this movement by taking the Respect the Bird Pledge.

I hope you head over to take a look, and as always, enjoy…a Santa-free Thanksgiving!
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Slow Cooker Braised Pork Shoulder Roast with Apple Butter Sauce – Reducing the Need for Roux

Man, I’ve been making a lot of rouxs lately (which you’ll be seeing in all their buttery glory in a series of upcoming holiday videos), but for this apple cider braised pork roast, I wanted to keep things a little lighter and decided to use a classic reduction.

We’ve done dozens of similar style sauces, but most of those were traditional pan sauces, where the skillet is deglazed with some kind of flavorful liquid, which is reduced down, and finally finished with butter.

This is basically the same technique; except here we’re reducing the braising liquid from the slow cooker while our pork rests. By the way, I keep saying “cider” because it sounds and looks better in print, but I actually used apple juice. Both work very well, but a just-pressed, unfiltered cider would be my official recommendation.

One thing to remember about these types of reduction sauces is that a little goes a long way. You’re taking an already flavorful liquid and reducing down to maybe 25% of its original volume. This is also the reason you shouldn’t season it until the end. After the cold butter is whisked into the sauce, and your herb of choice has been added, give it a taste and adjust for salt then.

Since we’re using a relatively small amount of braising liquid for this big a hunk of meat, I decided to use the slow cooker. You can certainly do this on the stovetop, over very low heat, or in a slow (275 degrees F.) oven, but neither is quite as convenient. Regardless of your cooking method, I hope you give this delicious pork shoulder a try soon. Enjoy!
 


Ingredients:
4-5 pound pork shoulder roast (boneless or bone-in work fine)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
a couple shallots or yellow onion, sliced
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups apple cider or juice
4 peeled garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
cayenne to taste
1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small cubes
1 tbsp fresh herb – parsley, sage, thyme, etc.

View the complete recipe

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Slow Cooker Braised Pork Shoulder Roast with Apple Butter Sauce – Reducing the Need for Roux

Man, I’ve been making a lot of rouxs lately (which you’ll be seeing in all their buttery glory in a series of upcoming holiday videos), but for this apple cider braised pork roast, I wanted to keep things a little lighter and decided to use a classic reduction.

We’ve done dozens of similar style sauces, but most of those were traditional pan sauces, where the skillet is deglazed with some kind of flavorful liquid, which is reduced down, and finally finished with butter.

This is basically the same technique; except here we’re reducing the braising liquid from the slow cooker while our pork rests. By the way, I keep saying “cider” because it sounds and looks better in print, but I actually used apple juice. Both work very well, but a just-pressed, unfiltered cider would be my official recommendation.

One thing to remember about these types of reduction sauces is that a little goes a long way. You’re taking an already flavorful liquid and reducing down to maybe 25% of its original volume. This is also the reason you shouldn’t season it until the end. After the cold butter is whisked into the sauce, and your herb of choice has been added, give it a taste and adjust for salt then.

Since we’re using a relatively small amount of braising liquid for this big a hunk of meat, I decided to use the slow cooker. You can certainly do this on the stovetop, over very low heat, or in a slow (275 degrees F.) oven, but neither is quite as convenient. Regardless of your cooking method, I hope you give this delicious pork shoulder a try soon. Enjoy!
 


Ingredients:
4-5 pound pork shoulder roast (boneless or bone-in work fine)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
a couple shallots or yellow onion, sliced
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups apple cider or juice
4 peeled garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
cayenne to taste
1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small cubes
1 tbsp fresh herb – parsley, sage, thyme, etc.
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Jamie Oliver's Parents’ Spicy Butternut Squash Soup… Because I Have Gas Problems

I had a lovely apple-braised pork shoulder recipe all set to post today, but was unable to finish it off because PG&E turned off the gas line to do repairs on our street. So, stay tuned for that tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s a great butternut squash soup video from Trevor and Sally Oliver, parents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s one of my favorites, and not only are his parents adorable, but you can see where he gets some of his skills from. Enjoy!

This video was originally posted on Thisisbrandculture's YouTube Channel, February 22, 2011.

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Jamie Oliver's Parents’ Spicy Butternut Squash Soup… Because I Have Gas Problems

I had a lovely apple-braised pork shoulder recipe all set to post today, but was unable to finish it off because PG&E turned off the gas line to do repairs on our street. So, stay tuned for that tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s a great butternut squash soup video from Trevor and Sally Oliver, parents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s one of my favorites, and not only are his parents adorable, but you can see where he gets some of his skills from. Enjoy!

This video was originally posted on Thisisbrandculture's YouTube Channel, February 22, 2011.

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Riding High at the California Olive Ranch

Michele and I were invited to tour the California Olive Ranch this week, where we got a firsthand look into how olive oil is produced. The ranch is the largest producer in California, and uses state-of-the-art equipment and technology to produce extra virgin olive oil that’s cold pressed within a few hours of picking.

I was shocked to learn that only two percent of the olive oil purchased in the United States is made domestically, but thanks to producers like California Olive Ranch that number is sure to be going up. The oils are reasonably priced, and tend to be more on the buttery/fruity side, than their more intense and peppery European counterparts.

The ranch plants three varieties of olives that were selected especially for the high-density planting method they employ; Arbequina and Arbosana from Spain, and Koroneiki from Greece. The trees are much more shrub-like than one would expect, but perfectly suited for the ranch’s unique harvesting methods.

It would have been cool enough just to watch how these olives are harvested, but when we were actually invited to climb up on the Oxbo picking rig, the tour went to a whole other level…literally, like 20 feet off the ground. I was amazed at how quickly the large bin next to the picker was filled with fruit. Luckily the machine has a large storage unit inside which holds the olives until another bin is brought into position.

After a loud, dusty, but nonetheless thrilling ride though the fields, we headed into the mill where we saw the rest of the process, as the olives were turned into oil in a remarkably short amount of time. The tour ended with a tasting, where I enjoyed everything I sampled, especially their Miller's Blend. We also got to taste some bright green, just-pressed olive oil, which was a rare and special treat for sure.

By the way, we were joined on the trip by Amy Sherman from Cooking with Amy, Chrystal Baker from The Duo Dishes, Aleta Watson from The Skillet Chronicles, and Jane Bonacci from The Heritage Cook. I invite you to check out their blogs for what I’m sure will be more great coverage.

Here’s a short video with some of the sights and sounds from our tour. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into what I found to be quite a fascinating experience. A sincere thank you to Kirsten Wanket, Mike Forbes, and the rest of the California Olive Ranch team for all their hospitality. Enjoy!




Disclosure: This is not a paid endorsement, or sponsored post, however, the California Olive Ranch did take us out for a lovely dinner after the tour, and provided us with overnight hotel accommodations.
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Published by : Death Of Notes

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