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Handy
Tips From
The Message Tree
TIPS
: for cooking your Thanksgiving
Turkey
By:The
Message Tree Staff
Preparing a
Thanksgiving turkey feast is no simple
chore -- at least not for first-timers --
but the best way to prevent food
contamination is easy to remember. Wash
anything that comes in contact with the
raw turkey, including your hands, and cook
the bird thoroughly. Probably the hardest
part in preparing the turkey, is making
sure to remove the neck, giblets, gizzard
and liver from the body cavity.
STUFFING
Stuffing, or
dressing -- another holiday staple -- can
become contaminated if it is prepared
inside the bird and insufficiently heated.
To avoid that, cook the stuffing on the
stove and place it inside the turkey once
the bird is done.
Those who insist on
cooking their stuffing inside the turkey
must ensure that its temperature reaches
165 degrees at the center. Don't pack the
stuffing inside the body cavity; place it
loosely, "While the turkey is roasting in
the oven, the stuffing is going to
expand."
More tips:
Never defrost a
turkey at room temperature, but keep it in
the refrigerator several days before
roasting. Salmonella bacteria multiply
rapidly in warmer environments. Allow 24
hours of defrosting time for each 5 pounds
of turkey.
Turkey can be
defrosted in cold water, but it should be
wrapped in leakproof plastic and the water
changed every 30 minutes.
Fresh turkeys should
be purchased one or two days before
cooking.
To avoid
contamination, don't let raw turkey touch
other foods, and thoroughly wash
everything it comes in contact with,
including hands.
Use a meat
thermometer and cook the turkey until it
reaches 170 degrees in the breast and 180
degrees in the thigh to ensure all
bacteria are killed.
Insert it into the
thickest part of the thigh,But you don't
want it to touch the bone.
Leftover turkey
should be refrigerated or frozen within
two hours and consumed within four
days.
Measuring
Peanutbutter,butter or Shortening
Use a 4-cup liquid
measureing cup to measure all your butter
and shortening. Fill the measuring cup up
with 2 cups of water first. Then, spoon in
what you are measuring. It floats and
doesn't "mess up" your measuring cup! When
you have the correct measurement, pick the
"blob" up and put into your recipe. Pour
out the water in the drain! Easy clean
up!!! I learned this from my Mother when I
was a little girl.. It has been very
helpful!
Or you can: When
measuring peanut butter in a cup, spray it
first with a vegetable spray...the peanut
butter will not stick.
Even Sized Cookies
Every Time
Use an ice-cream
scoop (the kind with the handle you
squeeze together) to measure your dough.
Just pack your dough into your scoop, and
squeeze on parchment or prepared cookie
sheets (for easy clean up and no stick
everytime!). Flatten each cookie with the
bottom of a glass to keep thickness of
cookies all the same!
VOLUME OF PAN
SIZES
4 to 5 cups = 8"
layer cake pan,
9" pie pan 6 cups = 10" pie pan,
8 or 9" layer cake pan,
8 1/2 x 5/8" loaf pan 8 cups = 8 x 8"
square,
11 x 7" pan, 9 x 5 x 3' loaf pan 10 cups =
9 x 9 x 2" square,
11 3/4 x 7 1/2" pan,
15 x 10" jelly roll pan, 10 x 2" round
layer pan 12 cups = 8 1/2 x 13 1/2" glass
baking pan
15-16 cups = 9 x 13" metal baking pan or
similar springform pan
19 cups = 14 x 10 1/2" roasting pan
25 cups = 11 x 17" oblong pan
SPECIALTY PANS 7 1/2 cups 6 x 4" charlotte
mold 6-8 cups 7" bundt pan 6 cups 7 x 5
1/2 x 2" melon mold 9 cups 9 x 3 1/2"
bundt pan 12 cups 9 x 3 1/2" angel pan 12
cups 10 x 3 1/2" bundt pan 18 cups 10 x 4
angel pan 12 cups 8 x 3" springform pan
12-14 cups 9 x 3" springform pan
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