Blog

by Meagan Price

Growing up at Culinary Crafts and working events from a young age, I learned the art of putting out fires. I don’t mean literal ones (well, sometimes literal ones), but being a full-service caterer means constantly dealing with problems on the fly, from changing a tire to repairing a bride’s dress to figuring out how to cook the entrée when the venue’s oven breaks. My childhood gave me an unshakable sense of “I can figure that out.” I’m grateful for the confidence I developed, but sometimes it got me into trouble, like it did on the year of the Miracle Turkey.

During my junior year in college, I worked as a resident advisor in the dorms at SUU . I thought of the students in my charge as “my kids” and loved surprising them with pies, cakes, and fresh-made cinnamon rolls. (When did I ever get any studying done?) As Thanksgiving approached, I worried about my residents who would be stuck in their rooms instead of visiting family, so I decided I would take it on myself to make them a full-blown Thanksgiving meal. I hadn’t done anything like that before, but I was sure I could figure it out. How hard could it be?

The Miracle Turkey

Anyone who knows me will not be shocked to hear that I went all out. Twenty pies, three types of stuffing, seven sides, and dozens of homemade rolls. The pièce de résistance was a frozen twenty-two-pound turkey.

I had never baked a turkey, and attempting it in the tiny oven in my tiny apartment was…well…probably a bit crazy, to be honest. After about forty calls to my mom and dad, three batches of burnt Stove Top, and seven hours of cooking a turkey, I finally had my first ever Thanksgiving meal! It was glorious.

None of us knew how to carve a turkey correctly, so we hacked away at it like maniacs. My dorm didn’t have a dining room, so people were lined up and down both sides of the hallway, on beds and couches, or standing in doorways with plates in hand. As more and more guests arrived, I began to worry that we would run out of food. I had planned on about forty guests, but when 150 showed up, I was freaking out! Then something strange happened. As if by magic, the meal seemed to keep multiplying itself. Somehow, we all got fed. It was the miracle of the Thanksgiving turkey.

With a few more years of experience, I realized that it shouldn’t have taken me seven hours to cook a turkey; I could have done it in one or two hours. How? You can find step-by-step directions here for how to save yourself hours in the kitchen and have your turkey come out perfect every time!

Growing up, I always loved the treats Grandma LaDawn made. Whenever my extended family got together, my grandma would always bring a tasty treat. It’s hard to choose a favorite of her desserts, but the one that brings back the most memories is her pink popcorn.

This recipe is really simple. It’s basically sugary popcorn dyed pink! Grandma would also change up the color of the popcorn for special occasions and holidays. For St. Patrick’s Day she would dye it green, and if it was your birthday you got to choose whatever color you wanted the popcorn! This recipe is such a simple treat that is perfect for any holiday or celebration.

Ingredients

• large bowl of popcorn
• 2 cups sugar
• ⅓ cup water
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• a few drops of food coloring

Directions

1. Pop the popcorn using an air popper or the stove.
2. Pour out onto a flour sack towel and allow unpopped kernels to fall to the bottom. Scoop popcorn (minus unpopped kernels) back into large bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
4. Pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn and mix until all the popcorn is coated.
5. Spread out the popcorn on wax paper and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Donuts

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
•  1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces local dark chocolate: our favorites are Ritual's Mid Mountain Blend, Amano's Dos Rios, or Solstice's Madagascar. You can pick these up from your local Harmons.

Decorations

• 12 cranberries
• 12 pretzels
• 24 candy eyes

Equipment

• donut pan
• 2 piping bags
• cooling rack

Directions

1. To make donuts: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease pan and set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together sour cream, melted butter, and sugars until combined. Stir in vanilla and one egg at a time.
4. Gently fold the flour mixture into wet ingredients and mix by hand just until combined.
5. Fill a piping bag with batter and fill donut pan 2/3 of the way full.
6. Bake for 12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove from pan.
7. To make the ganache: In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until smooth. Set aside for 15-20 minutes until ganache has cooled and thickened a bit.
8. To make the buttercream for decoration: In a mixing bowl, mix together butter and sugar, add milk and vanilla. Mix on high for 3 minutes. Put into a piping bag and cut a very small hole at the end. Set aside.
9. To assemble chocolate reindeer donuts: Dip donuts into the ganache, then place on a cooling rack until ganache sets.
10. Place eyes, and cranberry in the center as the nose.
11. Break/cut pretzels in half, length-wise for antlers.

• Extra virgin olive oils. Start with 3-6 oils. Pick premium selections. And look to achieve as much variety as possible - oils of varying itensity, of different colors, and from multiple locales.
• Wine Glasses.
• Small Plates.
• Bread. Something with a great crust. Simple breads sans any flavors or accoutrements (the bread is simply to deliver the oil, not compete or contrast with it).
• Palate Cleanser(s). We suggest fresh fruit (apples, oranges, berries, etc.) and sparkling water.

1. First, pour about a tablespoon of the first olive oil into your wineglass.
2. Swirl the olive oil in the glass.  Cup the glass in one of your hands and cover the top of the glass with the other.  Swirl gently to release aromas.  The warmth from your hands with help the aromas release as well.
3. Uncover the glass and smell the oil deeply.  Take mental notes of what you smell.  Is it peppery? Fruity?  Buttery?
4. Next, take a sip of the oil almost in a 'soup-slurping' fashion.  Allow the oil to run across the palate. Breathe in through your nose. Try to smell the oil again before swallowing.
5. As you exhale, swallow the oil and concentrate on the flavor.  Think about some general categories such as fruitiness, pungency, bitterness, earthiness, pepperyness, etc.  Write down your observations and then compare them with your fellow tasters!  You can also re-taste the oil by pouring it on a small plate and dipping the bread in the oil and seeing how that affects the taste.
6. When you are ready to move on to the next oil, cleanse your palate with plain bread, a slice of apple, and/or sparkling water.
7. Repeat the process for the oils.

Taking notes helps. Putting your impressions into words and discussing them with others will help them take form and become more specific. It also helps to recall your thoughts later on when shopping for oils for unique purposes. Below is a great card that's fun to give each guest to help them take notes.Eat well!

Raspberry Gelée

• 3 sheets gelatin (available in specialty stores)*
• 1 cup water (to soak the gelatin)
• 1¾ cups Chambord liqueur (for a no-alcohol substitute, melt equal amount of seedless raspberry jam)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 to 2 baskets of raspberries, some are for garnish

White Chocolate Panna Cotta

• 5 sheets gelatin (available in specialty stores)
• ¼ cup milk
• 4 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 3 ½ ounces chopped white chocolate

Raspberry Coulis

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup Chambord liqueur (for a no-alcohol substitute, melt equal amount of seedless raspberry jam)
• 2 tablespoons sugar

TO ASSEMBLE