TracyFood

Liveblogging ATK, 5 April 2008 5 April 2008 2:27 pm

Posted by Tracy in : America's Test Kitchen, cooking, geekery , trackback

Here I go again… it was fun last week, okay?

2 PM: Roasting a turkey without brining, differences between heirloom & supermarket turkeys, inexpensive roasting pans, green beans (with Bridget! yay!)

2:01 PM: Okay, so I’m a little less enthused by the content of this episode but Bridget’s back! Yay!

2:02 PM: Chris gives his intro: what if we do brine without salt?

Bridget Lancaster is so awesome.

2:03 PM: Aha, the salt goes under the skin. I totally skipped over even reading this recipe when it appeared in the magazine back in the day.

2:04 PM: Chris totally envies the massage Bridget’s giving that turkey. Ha!

2:05 PM: Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt 4-EVAH! Yay!

2:05 PM: I think what I love about Bridget is how she just exudes competence.

2:06 PM: Tasting lab with Jack! Today’s question is: are there any turkeys with taste? Kosher birds, frozen supermarket birds, brine-injected, and mail-order heritage turkeys. Of course, I have a soft spot for the happy free-range birds. They used a very basic brine-and-roast.

2:08 PM: Heirloom birds have more fat? I am way into that.

2:09 PM: Jack says there were very few “awful” turkeys, but some had more personality than others… some people want boring turkeys. Maybe they’ve learned boring-ass turkey from too much supermarket nastiness. Chris is all about flavor, and the kosher bird wins. Yay!

2:11 PM: Oh man, rinsing under the skin? Yuck. Peter says turducken makes him unafraid of weird bird techniques. Woo, Bridget just name-checked Harold McGee! Yay! And now they are icing the turkey breast so the light meat doesn’t cook too fast. Crazy. (I do vaguely remember this from the magazine, but holy crap. Turkey with bags of ice inside? Yeesh.)

2:12 PM: Equipment corner with Adam. Chris considers the price of roasting pans an indicator of the health of the U.S. economy. Today’s goal is to try to find a good pan for less than $100 (the price of their current favorite, a Calphalon). Goals: good handles, sturdy, not freaking hinged, because what the crap… stovetop performance is a plus, too, so maybe weight is good (the old favorite was the heaviest pan).

2:15 PM: Adam said “roastathon.” Hee. And nothing really held up to the Calphalon. Second-place went to a Cuisinart, and “best buy” is a KitchenAid for infrequent roasters, which describes me well.

2:16 PM: Back to Bridget. She’s wrapping the roasting rack with tinfoil. Pretty cunning.

2:17 PM: Bridget: “You’ve never fought over tail in your life?” Chris: “Uh, no. It just came naturally.” I’m pretty sure that’s dirty, y’all.

Also, Bridget can rotate a turkey like a champ. They had to go for voiceover to speed this mess up, but oh well. It’s still Bridget rocking out, so yay.

2:18 PM: What to do with crappy green beans? (I vote for eating them in season, myself, but hey.)

2:19 PM: Bridget’s knifework makes my heart go pitty-pat. Take that, red onion! And mmm, roasted veggies. Tracy likey. And vinaigrette? Yay!

2:20 PM: Balsamic vinegar and honey, where have I hheard that idea before? But any excuse to watch Bridget chop garlic and thyme, dudes. Yummity yum. So basically what we’re doing here is a roasted version of the garlicky green beans that inspired me to write a love letter back in the day.

2:21 PM: Bridget gets Chris to carve the turkey, and he’s so in his element, it’s adorable. I get a very strong “I’m letting you carve the turkey because you’re a boy but goddamn hurry up so I can eat it” vibe from Bridget. Awww.

2:22 PM: Toasted chopped walnut on the beans, of course.

2:23 PM: And… served! Chris likes the texture, Bridget tells him to eat his veggies. Awww.

2:24 PM: Recap. Bridget’s all, “yeah, yeah, shut up — eating.” She’s my favorite, except when Julia’s on. They both rule.

Aaand that’s the episode. Nothing that’s going to make me cook like last week’s episode did (penne alla vodka was a big hit) but I still like to watch.