Category: Cooking

Dad’s Special Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

Posted on by Jeff Cassman

Dad’s Special Thanksgiving Turkey, guaranteed to please picky children and even people who don’t generally like turkey.

Ingredients 

  • 1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup dry white wine

Instructions 

Pour yourself a glass of wine.  A full-bodied chardonnay would work with this turkey, or a Pinot Noir.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Have a responsible kid place the turkey, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.  This is a good time to say a prayer to your guardian angel for help.

Instruct a pre-adolescent child to combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice in a small bowl to make a paste.

Tell the responsible child to Loosen the skin from the meat gently with his fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Massage it gently into the skin for several minutes. This is good for angsty teenagers.  Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin..  Pour the dry white wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.  Pour yourself another glass of chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown.  Tell the … Read the rest

Sarah’s Special Keto Cauliflower Bread

Posted on by Jeff Cassman

Sarah’s Keto cauliflower bread has become a staple of my new diet.  This ‘bread’ is physically satisfying and has resulted in a rapid and dramatic reduction of my glucose readings as I’ve substituted it for bread, crackers and pasta.  It leaves me so much more full than a simple slab of meat and a bowl of rabbit food that I now go six or eight hours and still feel full.

Google requires that I now tell you that you may not like this bread, may not improve your blood sugar numbers, may not lose weight, may not feel full, might and may invest more time in preparation than I estimate below.  Some of you will even find a way to hurt yourselves in the kitchen.

After you’ve read the recipe closely and studied the process at length, scroll to the bottom for a few more helpful observations and disclaimers.

Here’s the recipe:

  • One head of cauliflower
  • Two large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar (this is critical)
  • 1/2 mozzarella
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • Pinch of salt
  • Optional seasonings.

Here’s the process, which your eight year-old daughter or 12 year-0ld son can handle on their own:

  1.  Start with your large head of cauliflower
  2. Break up the cauliflower into palm-sized portions
  3. Place the cauliflower into your food processor.  You will probably need to do half at a time.
  4. Process the cauliflower until you achieve a rice-like texture.  This is a good activity for a pre-pubescent child who likes loud noises and destroying
… Read the rest

The Best Homemade Fried Fish Recipe

Posted on by Jeff Cassman

Have you ever dreamed of making fried fish that was so good even an autistic toddler whose diet consists only of cheese hot dogs, cold ramen and frozen pizza would eat it? If so, sharpen your pencil, because I’m going to tell you how to make the best fried fish you’ve ever made (or probably eaten).

If you have six months’ advance warning, you’ll want to grow your own tilapia in a kiddie pool or 50 gallon drum in the back yard. Otherwise, go the the market or store and buy your tilapia.

Once you’ve watched your teenager whack your fish on the head with a blunt object, or had a more responsible pre-adolescent child cut it out of the bag, rinse it off with warm tap water and cut it down the middle so that the filets become asymmetrical parts. Then have your kid dry them vigorously with a paper towel, hand towel, newspaper, or one of the kids’ t-shirts.

For ladies, gay men and yankees, pour yourself a large glass of Pinot Grigio. Everyone else, pour a shot of Patron. I recommend Anejo but the recipe permits some discretion here. Sip through the following steps.

Pour vegetable oil into your deep fryer or pot. Do not succumb to the temptation to reuse oil. This is an excommunicable offense for fish. If the oil looks like sweet tea, you may use it for french fries or fried chicken on a day of the week that ends in Y but … Read the rest

Dad’s Special Pizza Sauce

Posted on by Jeff Cassman

This is Dad’s Special Pizza Sauce. Adults and children alike will love you if you get them to help in preparation.

Pour yourself a glass of wine.

It is best if you can start with tomatoes you grow in your own garden. Boil a pot of them, skin them, then mash them up (this is a good job for teenagers by the way) , then run them through the blender. Or, you can just use a 12 oz can of paste.

12 oz water(or a 12 oz can of sauce, depend upon whether you use fresh tomatoes or paste).

2 TBP garlic, minced
4 TBP honey
1 ½ tp onion poweder
½ tp oregano
½ tp marjoram
½ tp basil
½ tp pepper
¼ tp cayenne
6 tbp parm cheese
2 TBP Salt
1/2 cup chianti

Mix all of the ingredients in a large pot on the stove. Put on low to medium Heat. If it is really watery you will need to heat it for a while without the top on. If you use paste and sauce, you will not need this step.

Refill your glass.

… Read the rest