I live in South Africa and we have hot Christmas' here. We usually have a cold dinner, but last year my daughter and I decided to have a turkey. We followed advice from one of Oprah's guests and marinated the turkey in bourbon, the inside as well as the outside. (To make sure it is tender and juicy, they said.) We even wrapped it in strips of bacon to make definitely sure. The meat was absolutely so tender that it fell of the bones when we took it out of the oven, BUT!!!!!  It was so dry that no one enjoyed it!!  Nearly nothing of the bird was eaten!   I suppose they must be used to the tradition of cold gammon and tongue. But everyone went for the pork and tongue and the bird stayed like that and went to the hungry on street.   

I know I need very much more experience in cooking a turkey and even with a whole book of recipes and advice and tips, I feel I am still a novice and I need someone to help me. I want to do a turkey again this year and I need a lot of help before then.   Thanks in advance,

I've eaten two really outstanding turkeys and lots of good, bad and indifferent over the years.  One of the best was a fairly expensive, large Butterball brand, pre-stuffed with a cornbread stuffing that my Uncle Theo bought.  It was water-injected, and my mother baked it covered in heavy-duty aluminum foil.  The other I just got a taste of.  It was baked by my late oldest daughter's great-grandmother, Florence Brewer.  We stopped by to visit her when I was first going out with her grandson, and we nibbled on the turkey leftovers.  She had roasted it in an old-fashioned speckled navy and white roasting pan, covered.  I didn't know her well enough to ask how she seasoned it, but it was GREAT!

Whatever recipe you use, you have to keep the moisture in.  It helps if the turkey is water injected to begin with.  In addition, it's best to bake it either in a covered roasting pan or well-sealed in aluminum foil, punctured a time or two for a small steam hole.   Rub the seasoning under the skin and inside the cavity, including the salt.  Salt on the outside only brings the moisture out of the turkey.  Stuffing it with bread stuffing (wheat or corn) also helps maintain the mosture.  I like to dry mine off well when seasoned and stuffed, and rub with unsalted butter.

Another method in frequent use is a bake-in bag, a special product that resists heat, either plastic or foil.  I have no idea, of course, if that is available in South Africa.

I have a bet going with a friend - my mother who worked for the Los Angeles Times years ago and she was told by the food critic there that the FDA will approve ketchup (katsup) with a maximum 20% worm content. I'm not making a joke about this. Do you know if this is true, or simply an old urband legend? Thanks for your time.

I think that you can safely say you lost this one.  The FDA mostly protects against contamination of stored or processed foods, and limits the amount that naturally occurs in the field or grove.  Hopefully not too many picky eaters will be even pickier to think they've been eating insects!   It is impossible to process food that is free of insects.  On some foods the limit is in insect parts, such as flour, I quote the FDA:  For instance, the permissible level of certain  insect fragments in 50 grams, or about two cups, of flour is 75 parts. (This is the uppermost level at which fragments pose no health hazard in the product.)    In other cases, processed fruits or vegetables can have certain centimeters of insect damage.  I cannot find the exact numbers for ketchup.  (It also allows an average of 30 or more insect fragments and one or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of Peanut Butter.  I've even found an entire beetle in a can of green beans in more than one occasion, and just tossed the beetle.

When the Caribbean fruit fly first reached Florida, it happened we had a nursery license to sell crotons, palms and a few other plants.  We also had quite a few fruit trees including a peach, guava, loquats and Suriname cherries that hosted the larvae.  In addition, the papaya wasp larvae got the papayas.  Whenever the inspector came by we had interesting conversations about insect contamination.  Being a "farm girl" I knew all along we were eating some insects, so it didn't disgust me.

 The peaches were a total loss unless individually bagged while still green; the worms made them unwholesome before they were ripe enough to eat.   The cherries were okay as long as they weren't too ripe.  The loquats were pretty badly hit, and we ended up cutting both it and the peach tree down.  

Guavas are a popular staple in many tropical countries, in the form of guava paste or gel, as well as preserved guava shells and puree for flavoring desserts.  The guavas had to be picked while just ripe enough to taste good, but before the worms got big enough to deteriorate the fruit.  What the inspector did at his home, and we did,  was to pick a cherry or guava, crack it open, and if we didn't see any worms or deterioration we ate it.  (We didn't look really hard, just for anything obvious.)

Tomatoes sometimes have worms, but by the time they are ripe enough to process, any worms would be starting to damage the quality of the fruit.  This would make the ketchup unwholesome.  The food critic was either trying to gross out your mother, or mistook parts per million, or pieces per gallon, or some such measurement which would be within reasonable limits and still preserve quality.  The only allowable place worms could come from would be those occurring naturally in the tomato, and 20% (one-fifth) worms and the tomato would be seriously rotten already.

If you find insects in flour, pasta or other grain product, check for overall deterioration of the product and severity of infestation.  If it's minor, sift or otherwise remove any larger insects and put the product in a waterproof container in the freezer for 48 hours.  I always told my kids "It's just protein!"   If there's a severe infestation or the product looks or smells off, toss it, and check anything else that was in the same cupboard and seal, freeze, etc.

On the other hand, if a product has been damaged by rodents or mold, I highly recommend you dispose of it entirely, as these are disease-causing agents, unlike most minor insect infestation.

By the way, genetically engineered foods are being produced that kill off insects.  I personally feel that if they kill bugs, they can't be good for people.  I'd far rather eat a small amount of insect protein than play Russian roulette with genetically altered crops.

Thank you so much for the in-depth answer on the worms in katsup. I lost the bet, but got an education.. 

With all the talk about hydrogenated this and trans-fat that, is this so-called cholesterol lowering butter okay? I only use 1 Tablespoon per day.

A study has just been released that seems to confirm something that I have long suspected.  It appears there may be a link between higher consumption of hydrogenated fat and trans-fat, and the incident of Alzheimer's disease.  I'm personally convinced that there's something in the environment or diet that is causing this scourge, because I truly believe it was almost non-existent until the past three decades.  There has already been a link established for higher incident of heart and blood vessel disease.  It's extremely hard to avoid these products - they are present in crackers, cookies, peanut butter, bread, and almost any other product containing fat.  This prolific use is for convenience, taste and economic benefits, from manufacture through to the consumer.  

The respected Dr. Weil has stated that he would prefer a little butter now and then to a hydrogenated product.  Olive oil is one of your best choices of fat, and has many health benefits as well.  And for a solid shortening, I personally don't think you can do better than Smart Balance.  We use "lite" for table use, and the solid kind for cooking that absolutely must have solid shortening to work.  Olive oil works for most everything else.  A diet high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, Omega 3 and fiber, plus regular exercise and keeping one's weight in check, is the best defense against bad cholesterol, and probably just as important, towards promoting good cholesterol. 

Hello, I'm looking for a certain recipe have been for some time.  It's made with Oreo cookies and vanilla ice cream.  If you have it could you please email it to me I'd greatly appreciate it.  Thankyou very much.   

Sorry, you're asking the wrong recipe site.  I don't do Oreo cookies recipes although I occasionally submit to a desire for ice cream.  

 In reply to Sam – Try http://cooks.com    Had several recipes for Oreo Ice cream cake – hope that’s what he was looking for.

When you get there, put the word Oreo in the search box, and you'll get enough Oreo cookie recipes to clog your arteries for months to come.

Oreo cookie dessert....... yummy and easy.... crush Oreos for bottom of 9x 13 pan.  Top with slices of vanilla ice cream.... freeze for a little..... then pour hot fudge or caramel or both on top.  Then peanuts and top with cool whip.  Garnish with cherries and nuts.   Freeze.....great summertime dessert.

I'm broadminded enough to publish this, although I'd be broad-beamed too if I ate many.  (This isn't from you, ChefAl, is it?)  Luisi, this is NOT going into my recipe section, but I'll put it on the forum for Sam and others.  I can easily eat a quart or more of good quality ice cream in a sitting, which is why I don't have it in the house (at least hardly ever).  But this combo is over the top, a cardiac physician's dream come true.

Hi----  I was reading your web page and wondered how many jars (how many oz) of Mince filling would it take to fill one of the frozen 9" pie shells we get in the supermarket.  I am not looking for a larger size pie as there are only two of us.  Thank you for your help.   

I've got a better question:  why don't the number of hot dogs in a package match the number of buns available in packages?  Ever?

The only thing I can figure out is that by making sizes irregular like that, they can trick you into buying more.   I have yet to buy a pie filling that actually fills the size pie crust called for - not too much, not too little.

My best advice is to get the smallest bottle and the smallest pie shells.  Make one pie and seal the other shell back up and stick it in your freezer.  If the bottle doesn't quite fill the shell, you can cut away some of the crust to make a shallower pie.  Keep in mind it will bake quicker.  If you have some left over, seal in a Tupperware container or a zipper freezer bag, labeled, and make another pie for the end of year  holidays.  If there isn't enough for a whole pie, bake what you have, cool, and top with vanilla pudding to fill the shell.

Since there's just hubby and I (and several cats and dogs) in our "empty nest" I use my freezer more than ever.

Can you tell us where we can purchase Brown Round Grain Pudding rice, have tried all main superstores and  health shops. It is a recipe we found in the Hays Diet Book.  We live in South East England - Essex.   Many thanks.

I would have no idea.   My own recipe for Brown Rice Pudding "grinds" the rice after cooking.  You might try adapting the recipe you like to the way I cook mine.

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