Dining, Recipes

Cheesy garlicky mashed potatoes

I neglected to post my turkey roasting experience this year, but needless to say, this year the turkey went without much drama. I did add a new ingredient to unify the Thanksgiving meal, and it made a much bigger impact on my gravy and mashed potatoes than the turkey itself. The star ingredient: Swanson’s Chicken Broth with Roasted Garlic.

I attempted to use 5 cans Chicken Broth to brine the turkey, but the flavor got too diluted when I added about 6 quarts of water during the brining process. Therefore the 1.5 cups of garlic salt and 1 cup of brown sugar I added was unable to fully flavor the turkey during the nearly 24 hours that it sat in the fridge.

However, the Roasted Garlic broth added an entirely new dimension to mashed potatoes. I emptied 4 cans into a pot, brought it to a boil, and added slices of red, skin-on potatoes. After they softened, I drained and reserved the broth. I then placed the potatoes in a metal mixing bowl and proceeded to mash them over a low heat. I added butter, chopped rosemary, and shredded cheddar, making sure the cheddar melted into the mash. The result: a fantastic cheesy garlicky mashed potatoes dish.

The reserved broth went promptly into the gravy. Granted, I had to supplement the gravy with more regular chicken broth. I made this year’s gravy with a flour base (unlike previous years in which I used cornstarch as a thickener). My whisk saw plenty of kitchen action this year as I made a roux-based gravy that thickened nicely over low-medium heat. I threw in some mushrooms, eggs, and turkey giblets that resulted in the thickest gravy I’ve ever made. Now if I could only learn the secret to cooking up a translucent gravy…

Bites and Finds

Diet Coke with Lime

So I’ve been imbibing Diet Coke with Lime for about two years now. The cafeteria at work dispenses my health-conscious drink of choice on a daily basis…$1.19 total. I have a bottle cap collection to measure how much of the liquid I consume, stuffed in a plastic bag and stowed away in a drawer in my cubicle. On those days when the supply of Diet Coke w/ Lime is threatened to be yanked by changes in distributors, I simply fall back to regular Coke or just plain water. The cafeteria manager tells me it’s a popular drink and the regulars let them know immediately when stock is gone. But that doesn’t stop me from missing it when I fail to have my daily fix. And most fast food chains don’t list Diet Coke w/ Lime on their menus, so I usually have to order the rather-flat tasting Diet Coke that comes with those combo/value meals.

So anyway, I’ve been off the soda drinks for about two weeks when I decide it’s back to the limey flavor of DCwL. I saunter over to the refrigerated section of the cafeteria and beheld TWO different-labeled DCwLs. First one I spotted was the classic green-ribboned metallic labeling of the 20oz bottled Diet Coke with Lime that I consumed for my daily libations. The one right next to it featured a cleaner, brighter, decidedly lime-greener label. I figure, what the hey, and grabbed the new label and checked out at the register.

The moment I popped off the cap, an intense lime flavor hit my tongue and I began to wonder…did Coca Cola reinvent the recipe of this newly-dressed Diet Coke with Lime? Or had I been away too long from the DCwL that my tastebuds merely forgot the flavor? But no, I had a 2-Liter of Diet Coke (old label) sitting in my icebox at home that I had sampled earlier this week. This new label DCwL had a much stronger lime flavor that hit front and center, not like the subtle back-of-the-throat approach of the old label DCwL. Quickly I scoured the net for any tidbits of information that might suggest a profile change of the drink…but so far, nothing.

I’ll be rushing home tonight to try out the old label drink and see if I’m just imagining all this. But just in case, the new-label bottle I had was stamped: FEB0408 BSC05262.

Ye Olde Garden

The 300

The number 300 marks the quantity of bulbs buried into the garden this past Sunday. Fifty narcissi went into the middle bed, and the remainder into the side yard; all of the allium made it into the middle bed, while Muscari and dwarf irises got portioned out to each bed. It took some effort to prep both beds to receive the bulbs, including hubby’s attempt at leaf-blowing with my air compressor. Both hubby and I are sore from the weekend’s dirt digging, but hopefully we can look forward to an interesting show come spring. I still require some topsoil to increase the depth of the existing beds.

Note that we also planted 2 nandinas in the middle bed to hopefully provide some background. I transplanted the remainder of an artemisia and an agapanthus in the middle bed, but I’m skeptical of their survivability.

You know that your work isn’t complete when an industrious canine comes over to dig up all your hard work. I promptly laid down a cover of wire on the affected areas. We could use more fencing to deter the pups from entering and wreaking havoc in the flower beds.

Ye Olde Garden

Fall gardening and bulb orders

Well, despite the hurt it put on my pocketbook, I went ahead and purchased another slew of bulbs for the early-late spring show. My Brent and Becky’s order went through Tuesday afternoon. I should be expecting 100 each of Dwarf Irises and White Thalia Narcissi as well as 50 each of Muscari botryoides ‘Album’ and Allium caeruleum. This order, totalling $120.75, should be arriving Nov 13, according to UPS tracking.

Hubby made me very happy yesterday–he proceeded to apply the garden staples I bought last weekend to the weedmats he laid down around the back flowerbeds. He also began erecting the bent-out-of-shape wire fencing to keep the dogs out of the beds. Now all I have to do is clean up around the areas and cut down any old left-over lily stalks. Sadly, I am still finding uprooted lily bulbs everywhere I look. The upside: I installed some planter rings around 4-6 salvias in the beds.

More poop scoopin’ to do, as well as tidying up the other beds, front and side. Me wonders if DH will get to applying that pre-emergent on the lawn. Stay tuned!!