Thanksgiving Trial Run

So Thanksgiving is definitely coming up.

There are a few things I want to try this year, but Lil' Sis and Bro are sticklers for tradition.  So I'm gonna try out these recipes ahead of time, just to be sure.

In lieu of stuffing, savory bread pudding. Cranberry-Pecan bread pudding, to be exact.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of turkey.  Chicken is so much juicier and more flavorful, and duck is even more so.  Game hens are adorable.  Turkey is just... massive and unwieldy and difficult to fry.  I've become rather disillusioned with whole roast turkey over the years.

I will be making Zuni-style roast chicken tomorrow night.  What makes a roast chicken Zuni roast chicken?  You need a small chicken, no bigger than 3.5lbs, you need to season it at least a day in advance, and roast it first at a high temperature before finishing it off at a lower temperature.

I'm cooking using these recipes; here, and here, and here.  My bird is thoroughly dried and seasoned.  I've got salt, black and white pepper, as well as a little garlic powder on the skin, and tiny bundles of sage, rosemary and thyme under the skin.  We'll see how it turns out tomorrow.

Bacon Fat -- tasty but bad for you

So save the fat when you cook bacon, because the stuff you cook in it will taste awesome.  Let it be said that bacon is not the healthiest of fats to consume.  But once in a while, use it for a special occasion.  It will knock your socks off!

My recommendation for collecting this precious stuff - cook your bacon in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil, with the edges folded up so the runny grease stays put.  Then, when the bacon is cooked, remove the strips with tongs to a folded wad of paper towels to blot off the excess fat.  Then simply pick up the foil and pour off the grease into a small cup, cover with cling wrap, and refrigerate.

What to do?  Cook eggs in it.  Or you can do what my mother did last night, and fried up Yukon Gold potatoes with rosemary.  Delish.