A Cuban is a sandwich that I think just about everybody would like.  In essence it’s a ham and cheese with roasted pork and pickles added.  What’s not to like about that?

This sandwich is a great use of leftover pork roast, bbq pork shoulder, or whole hog.  If you really want a Cuban and don’t have any these leftovers, most grocers carry smoked pork chops which works well also.

Click here to see how to make a Cuban.

What to do with all the turkey? I have a few simple ideas for you. Especially if you are one of the few who actually has to go to work on Black Friday (ugh!). At least you’ll have a quick and easy lunch to pack.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup: Bring a carton of chicken broth to a simmer. Add shredded turkey, leftover diced vegetables, and cooked egg noodles. If you like, add a pinch of dried thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until heated through and serve.

BBQ Turkey

BBQ Turkey: Shred leftover turkey (white and dark meat work well) and add your favorite BBQ sauce. Combine and serve hot or cold on a bun. No buns? Use a leftover dinner roll!

Turkey Salad: Dice white turkey meat and add just enough mayonnaise to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with diced apples and chopped walnuts, or mix the fruit and nuts right into the turkey salad. Serve with pita bread, or leftover dinner rolls.

Make a lovely Cobb salad. Fresh Romaine lettuce topped with leftover ham and items from the relish tray. We never have any deviled eggs left, but if you did you could use one here in place of the hard boiled.

A few other ideas:

Bean soup with leftover ham

Quesadillas made with leftover meat and/or veggies

Roll-ups: flour tortilla topped with salad dressing and leftover meat and veggies rolled up and secured with a toothpick.

If you have your own favorite way of recycling the turkey dinner, let us know. We love hearing from you!

Anybody who's capable of drawing this can make a brine.

Brining seems to have appeared on the radar screen of food media in recent years, and yet still remains a mystery for a lot of people.  What exactly is brining?

According to Wikipedia:

In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which meat is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking.

Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked, via the process of denaturation. The brine surrounding the cells has a higher concentration of salt than the fluid within the cells, but the cell fluid has a higher concentration of other solutes. This leads salt ions to enter the cell via diffusion, whilst the solutes in the cells cannot diffuse through the cell membranes into the brine. The increased salinity of the cell fluid causes the cell to absorb water from the brine via osmosis. The salt introduced into the cell also denatures its proteins. The proteins coagulate, forming a matrix which traps water molecules and holds them during cooking. This prevents the meat from drying out, or dehydrating.

Bottom line is this: you brine something to make it wetter. Anyone that has eaten sawdust turkey knows this is a good thing.

Virtually every brine recipe also has sugar in it for flavor. Many also use fluids other than water and add other spices.

A general rule of thumb is:

For every 1 gallon of liquid, add:

1/2 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon spices

A lot of turkey brine recipes use 2 gallons of liquid (half water, half vegetable broth), brown sugar, a good amount of black pepper, and a smidge of allspice.  However, I encourage you not to be hemmed in by this.  Use your imagination; just try to keep the ratios as mentioned above. The key here is making sure all the salt, sugar, spices, etc are completely dissolved.  My recommendation: heat.

Take a quarter of your liquid (if some of your liquid isn’t water, use that liquid here) and heat it in a sauce pan. Put the salt, sugar, and spices in the liquid and heat until dissolved. Place in your brining container (more on that in a bit), add the remainder of your liquid, and allow to cool completely before putting in your turkey.

Here’s a handy tip:  roughly 8 pounds of ice is equivalent to 1 gallon of water.  If you can substitute ice for some water, you can cool down your brining solution very quickly.

As for the container:

1. I don’t know how big your turkey is

2. I don’t know how big your fridge is

3. I don’t know what containers you have

So, I can’t tell you exactly which container will work for you. Just keep this in mind:  You need to be able to get your turkey and brine in the container, and you have to get that container into your fridge.  Also, it is a really good if the container seals. Trust me on this one.

Good luck brining!

This recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.  The five spice powder and pistachios really add an interesting twist to this dish.  This makes a wonderful side dish at a holiday meal.

Click here to see Asian Butternut Squash.

Cherry Pie

Cherry pie has a special place in our family. It is even requested in lieu of birthday cake. The only problem is getting my hands on fresh sour cherries to fulfill this birthday wish. Even frozen sour cherries are hard to find. So, I often resort to canned cherries, and have been experimenting with the best pie filling recipes. This pie has a thick, flavorful filling and a light and flaky crust. The crust recipe is from Melissa D’Arabian’s potato-bacon torte. I’ve made it many times, and it has been consistently perfect. It’s my new go-to pie crust recipe.

Hope you try the Cherry Pie. If you do, be sure to leave a comment and let us know how you liked it.

Everyone knows at least one morning person who likes nothing more than rising with the sun and throwing together a grand breakfast for everybody.  I am not that guy.  That’s what I love about this recipe.  Virtually all the work is done the night before.  In the morning all you have to do is get a cup of coffee, throw a couple of things in the waffle batter, and plug in the waffle maker.

Interestingly, this recipe is directly from the Waring instruction manual.  I probably only tried it because of my aversion to getting up early.  I am glad I did though.  This makes great waffles.  As a side note, this recipe is designed for a Belgian-style waffle maker, due to the yeast rise. Belgian waffle makers make thick waffles with deep pockets.

After you make these waffles, leave a comment to let us know what you think.