HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth thursday in November each year and it is TODAY. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!. It is a special joyous family festival, well-commemorated to express gratitude and appreciation, a sincere thanksgiving offered to God for all His blessings, to the family, loved ones and friends for all their support. This is a holiday celebrated with lots of enthusiasm which involves family getting together from near and far, for a time of special communion and togetherness. In addition to family time, there are numerous activities and traditions which go along to make this day one of the most eventful days of the year, especially for Grandparents and Parents. Thanksgiving Dinner is usually the main event of the day and that's where the Turkey will be the center of attention.

I had better stop all these yaddy yaddy yaddy and get myself to some serious baking and cooking. But before i do that, i would like to express my thanks and appreciation to all my family, friends, readers, fellow bloggers for their support and their continuation to visit this humble blog. My greatest thanks go to Renee, who wrote so many wonderful things about me and said that i will love her forever, which i do and will love not only her but also Ashley and Alexander as well. I have enough of LOVE for all of them including the whole family.

 

With greatest gratitute, I wish you all HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Brined Pork Chop Dinner

Thanksgiving is around the corner and i have been so caught up with whatever??????? and you would not believe me when i tell you that i have not even bought 'The Turkey' - a must have for Thanksgiving.  Renee and Alexander are very optimistic that they might win a turkey AGAIN this year in their school Turkey Pokey.  They confidently told me the other day when i mentioned that i have not bought the turkey yet - they said - Popo don't buy, we MIGHT come home with one from the school's Turkey Trot.  I was so happy that they showed so much enthusiasm, i love all three of my grandchildren as they are such good kids - The chinese saying or rather my saying - "Ah po has no naughty grandchildren until they lau kei".  So, for all those people who have not bought the turkey, please do so today cos these frozen birds take awhile to thaw and the clock is ticking fast to Thanksgiving Day.  In the meantime, we all still have to dine and since the mind has been refreshed to BRINING,  i would like to share a BRINED PORK CHOP dinner which has never failed to please every member of the family including yours truly.  I have never cooked pork chops without brining since i learned how to and you too can learn about it from HERE. 


The recipe i am sharing is from Alton Brown,  the  regular recipe stated 1 cup salt but I cut it down to 3/4 cup you could even reduce the salt down to 1/2 cup but go ahead and use the 1 cup if you wish, remember kosher salt ONLY or you will not be able to eat the chops, and only brine the pork for 2 hours, NO MORE than that! If you HAVE to use table salt, use half of 3/4 cups.You can use less than 5 large thick-cut pork chops or you might be able to fit more pork chops than five, just make certain that the meat is completely covered with the brine.

BTW, when The Turkey is bought and thawed, learn how to BRINE it from HERE

Tiramisu Charlotte

Tiramisu, an Italian cake and dessert. literally means "pick me up".     It is made of ladyfingers (Italian: Savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, and flavored with liqueur and cocoa.  Tiramisu is usually made in deep dish or casserole but i have decided to make it into a Charlotte.  As this is going to be served to children, I am not in favor of raw egg yolks and have also left out the liqueur.  This is a big sacrifice but if this is going to be an adult cake, please do not leave these out, the egg yolks are ok to be left out but the liqueur bring this Charlotte to another level.

Ladyfingers

According to Wikipedia, Ladyfingers, are light and sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large finger. They are called savoiardi in Italian (meaning "from Savoy"), or in French biscuits à la cuillère or boudoirs. In the UK they may be called sponge-fingers, trifle sponges or boudoir biscuits. In Dutch, they are called lange vingers, literally translating to "long fingers". In Germany they are called Löffelbiskuit, which translates to "spoon biscuit".

Braised Beef Shank

I love this beef stew with daikon/radish.  It is a Cantonese favorite and it's usually eaten with egg noodle soup and tasted just as delicious with white rice.   I like mine with lots of beef tendon, so i cooked this dish with beef shank instead of the usual beef brisket.  Adding Daikon /radish to this stew is a must as beef and daikon/radish together is a marriage made in heaven..  Daikon/radish is bland by itself but will taste very distinct and tasty after it has soaked up those wonderful flavors of this stew. How to choose a good daikon/radish?  As with any root crop, look for one that are free of growth cracks and bruises with firm and crisp roots. It must be heavy as a light one will be dry and hollow which is not good eats.  Chu Hou Sauce is made from soybeans, garlic, ginger and sesame seeds,therefore a convenient cooking sauce for braising meats and vegetables.  It brought this stew totally to another level  and i consider this sauce as an important ingredient.