Dear, Bobby,
Sorry it been awhile, but the life of a doctor can get hectic...... No not really. Had some of the boys from back home in Darien, Ill in for a little golf vacation. A little golf is what we played, alot of beer is what we drank and hanging out at this great house on the intercostal of Fort. lauderdale is where we hung out at.
It was great to see everyone, to laugh, BS and just enjoy the company of some of the best men I know. It also took a few days to recover....
I had them to the house one afternoon for a little BBQ after golf, but I'll give details of that later. As for now, its A TURKEY THROWDOWN!
My cousin Eddie, my cousin Gina's husband Jeff and I have been going round and round about who makes the best turkey. Well to take a page from your TV show, we decided that today would would each bring our turkey, prepared in our way and serve them all at the same time,
Eddie- Deep Fry Turkey
Jeff - Smoked Turkey on the grill
Dave- Brined, roasted Turkey
Now I know your thinking, Dave , how come your not grilling? Well its Jeff's grill and frankly, I think a brined Turkey is more succulent, the tastes for it are more subtle than the overwhelming smokiness that comes from a Turkey smoked on the grill. As for a deep-fried Turkey, its about as subtle as a sledge hammer; drop in boiling oil, have a beer, remove turkey .
As for my turkey it will have been brined in a medley of salt and spices for about 18 hours, enough to let the flavor and salt get in, but not enough to be overwhelmed with salt. After rinsing it off, patting it dry, letting it stand for an hour, I will slather it in extra-virgin olive oil, caressing it lovingly with my hands both over and under the skin, adding pepper and the placing it BREAST SIDE DOWN at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, before lowering the temperature to 325. At about 1 1/2 hours I will take it out for basting, pop it back in for another 45, then baste and "flip the bird" on its back for the final cooking time.
The ladies behind the men have graciously added side dishes to the party and some Williams Selyem Pinot Noir will be served to properly lubricate the judges and chefs.
We will then label the turkey served with a colored toothpick for each type of bird and the judges will be blind to the tasting. They will take the toothpick from the turkey they like the best and place in a bowl, the toothpicks will be counted and I will be the winner...... I mean the winner will be determined.
Depending on the help, the wine and the day, may do some spot blogging as we go and if I can figure out the whole picture and video thing, will get those on too.
Hears to my fellow competitors and what looks to be a great day
Dave
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Got pictures on facebook- Got quesadillas and getting good at them
Dear Bobby,
Before I go further, I wanted to let everyone know who wants to see what I'm doing, I got pictures posted on my Facebook page--- http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home. I think you can copy and paste, or if not, just type in David Mendez and I'll friend ya.
Sorry that it has been awhile, but there's been work, a tropical storm (well not really, but we are new to So. Florida so may have overreacted a bit). The first part of your book concentrates on drinks, dips , flatbreads and so that is where I have been. I'm getting pretty good at making a quesadilla, and learning how you mix and match tastes so as to add variety to this basic preparation. My Pesto was good, but hot. The most recent dinner was Sliced Steak, watercress and blue cheese quesadillas. Got to combine two skills, one was keeping track of cooking a steak by touch and getting everything ready at the same time. Getting everything put together to serve takes a little preparation and timing-- kind of like dancing.
The pictures look good and if I can figure out a way to get them on the blog then even better.
Got the boys coming to town for a little golf vacation, so cooking will take a back seat. Making a couple of sandwiches, but not Bobby Flay style.... hope you don't mind.
Gonna try a couple more flatbreads, one's that feature feta cheese and then give a try at making pizza dough. Should be interesting
Dave
Before I go further, I wanted to let everyone know who wants to see what I'm doing, I got pictures posted on my Facebook page--- http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home. I think you can copy and paste, or if not, just type in David Mendez and I'll friend ya.
Sorry that it has been awhile, but there's been work, a tropical storm (well not really, but we are new to So. Florida so may have overreacted a bit). The first part of your book concentrates on drinks, dips , flatbreads and so that is where I have been. I'm getting pretty good at making a quesadilla, and learning how you mix and match tastes so as to add variety to this basic preparation. My Pesto was good, but hot. The most recent dinner was Sliced Steak, watercress and blue cheese quesadillas. Got to combine two skills, one was keeping track of cooking a steak by touch and getting everything ready at the same time. Getting everything put together to serve takes a little preparation and timing-- kind of like dancing.
The pictures look good and if I can figure out a way to get them on the blog then even better.
Got the boys coming to town for a little golf vacation, so cooking will take a back seat. Making a couple of sandwiches, but not Bobby Flay style.... hope you don't mind.
Gonna try a couple more flatbreads, one's that feature feta cheese and then give a try at making pizza dough. Should be interesting
Dave
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