I've had one of those past couple days that was not the greatest. I mean, it didn't suck per se; I still have my health, but there's someone in my immediate family that doesn't even have that. It's kind of surreal at this point, but at the same time very real. It's one of those things that 'never happens to you', but in the end it happens to everyone. We should kind of expect it, but we're never ready for it. We're never really ready to hear that someone's got a 6% chance of living through the next 12 months. We're never going to have the flexibility to work it into our schedules. There's never a good time to die. But we all know it's coming. So we just take our lumps, and we know that the things that really matter will always be there.
Responding to death by saying "That's tragic" is simply releasing vocal filler into the air. And the next time somebody says that within earshot of myself, I will stab them with their own sword and say "No. That's tragic." I mean, I don't expect people to express sympathy or empathy, because I don't even know how to express it. I don't expect people to say shit really, because I don't even know what to say yet; still processing. But I can't just not say anything; I'm not going to pretend it's not happening. So when I say "My Mom is dying" don't feel obligated to utter the traditional "I'm so sorry for you." I know what people are feeling when I tell them that. So just give me a hug, and then go home and give your family a hug.
In the extended entry is her recipe for turkey stock. I, of course, took liberties with it and made it my own. Cuz nothing's ever good enough for me when it comes to food.
Ingredients:
Turkey carcass - don't clean the bones off. Leave some of the meat and soft tissue on the bones, it'll help give the stock strong flavor and consistency. Don't use the skin though. Every good southern man knows the skin is a delicacy, and should be baked until crispy and served during the Thanksgiving football games. I prefer a nice Belgian white with turkey, but I suppose any October brew with a slightly harvesty taste to it will compliment well.
One onion, quartered. I prefer white, but I suppose you could use yellow. Red even, if you're feeling froggy.
Two stalks of celery. I can usually fit these in the stockpot by just chopping them in half. Don't cut them up small, just big enough to fit into the pot.
Two carrots, peeled. These don't usually have to be cut to fit into your standard 8 or 12 quart stockpot, so just chuck 'em on in.
Two bay leaves
Two cloves of garlic. Leave these whole.
Make sure you use a big stockpot. I use an 8 qt, but 12 will be good too. Toss in all the ingredients, along with enough cold water to cover them up. When they all get topped off by the water, I usually stick a steamer basket down on them because my stock pot came with some. I set it on there, and press a little bit. It helps keep the ingredients under the water.
Cook it on high heat until it starts to simmer. When it does so, turn the heat down just so it maintains that simmer. You want it to bubble kind of like a spring or a pool jet - not a rolling boil like a hot tub or anything. Just a nice hot simmer that'll bring the elastins out of the bones. Let this sucker run for four to six hours, however long you feel. I tend to think the longer the better, but I don't know shit. Add hot water (I usually heat it up in the microwave) as needed, don't let it get below your steamer pan.
After your sick and tired of having to stay at home and watch the stupid pot, grab a colander or seive (really picky SOB's use cheesecloth, but if you have a penis, just stick with the colander) and run the entire mixture through it to get the solids out of it. Now that the stock is in a new pot, stick the pot in an ice bath. I have no clue why Mom said to do this, but she said good stock is a labor intensive process, but that if I took the time to make good stock, it would all be worth it. After it cools to the touch in this bath (she said cool as cold tap water) stick the pot in the fridge overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the top, and package the stock in a container of your choice. Some people put it in one big container, others like to package it up in smaller recipe-size containers.
Stock that's made with less water will be more potent than broth. If your stock is gelatinous (as in, you can hold it in your hands) then it will be slightly more potent, whereas stock that's less viscous should be used more like broth.
If you burn, cut, or otherwise maim yourself whilst following this recipe, it's your own ass.
Surreal as fuck. Did you really make turkey stock by using an ice bath?
SKimming the fat off?Thats just WRONG!!
Actually....if you do...you can use it for frying.Its yummy.:-)
Youngest - Yeah. Strain the stock from the stockpot into another pot, and set this pot in a sink full of ice.
I feel for you shank. That's not meant as a meaningless platitude, that's the real thing. My dad is in the same boat right now. Terminal illness with a bad prognosis, and lately various complications have made the bad even worse. And even though I understand that sooner or later these things would happen and I'd have to face them, I'm not ready to let go of my dad. Who is?
And yet, life has to go on. We have to continue to go about our normal routine, take care of our families, and even entertain ourselves. And enjoy the moments of happiness while we can, because we don't know how long those moments will last. Or how many more moments of happiness we'll get. Or how much sadness is just around the corner.
Your mother is a *very* wise woman, and her stock uses basically the recipe that goes back to whenever recipes were first written down (1400's?)...so it wouldn't be a stretch to say it's an old family recipe :)
You start with cold water because some of the flavoring dissolves only in cold water. You cook it because other flavorings dissolve in hot water. You might also want to throw a few (like, three or four) peppercorns in there, as well as a few sprigs of parsley, for the true traditional 1400's-era recipe. OTOH, it's bad juju if you screw around too much with your mother's recipe.
Youngster, the ice bath cools it down quickly to help minimize bacterial growth (bacteria love yummy things too). Shank's mother's temperature of tap-water cold is a pretty good indicator; the health department would tell you it should be below 45 degrees F.
My only quibbling point would be with discarding the fat. There's a good amount of flavor in there, and if you use the stock for a sauce, the fat will add creaminess to the sauce.
*hug*
*hug*
*beer*
I'd hug you because I am THAT secure in my masculinity.
But first you've got to promise not to grab my ass.