Saving Disasters

It's 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving, you've got a house full of guests and you burned the turkey! Don’t panic, there are ways to save this and other common Thanksgiving disasters. Turkey Tips • Problem: Turkey still frozen on Thanksgiving morning? What went wrong: You may have underestimated how long it would take to thaw the turkey in the refrigerator – about 5 hours for each pound. Or you may have waited until the last minute to do your shopping… What to do: You can speed up the thawing process by placing the wrapped, frozen turkey in your kitchen sink and covering it with cold running water. Drain and refill the water every half hour. The turkey will thaw at the rate of about a half hour for each pound. • Problem: The turkey begins to burn while it's roasting. What went wrong: It could be that your oven needs to be calibrated and that you’ve been roasting it at a much higher temperature than you thought. (Note: purchase an oven thermometer.) Or you may be relying on one of those "pop-ups" to tell you when the turkey is done, which aren't as reliable as a meat thermometer inserted into the turkey. What to do: Flip the bird over immediately and continue to cook. When you carve the turkey, begin by removing any blackened skin and about half an inch of the meat below any burnt area. You can then layer slices of the meat on individual dinner plates (outside the view of your guests), ladle gravy spiced with a little cayenne pepper on top and call it your special "Cajun Smoked Turkey." • Problem: The turkey meat is dry. What went wrong: You may not have basted the turkey enough during cooking. Trussing may also have been the culprit. Trussing is really only required to help keep stuffing in the bird. Trussing an unstuffed bird will lead to less air circulation in the cavity, the dark meat will take longer to cook and the breast meat has a better chance of drying out. What to do: Cover your turkey slices with extra gravy. Leftover dry meat is perfect for BBQ, stews or turkey salads. Good Gravy • Problem: Your gravy turns out lumpy. What went wrong: The flour may not have been fully dissolved in liquid before you added it to the pan drippings or the gravy may have cooked at too high of a temperature. What to do: Pour the gravy through a mesh strainer into a new pan and heat gently, stirring constantly; serve immediately. • Problem: Your gravy burns. What went wrong: The simple answer... IT BURNED! More than likely you were distracted. Most mistakes happen right before dinner is served when you are trying to pull everything together and are feeling stressed. What to do: Quickly transfer the gravy to another pan without touching or scraping the blackened bottom. Most of the burnt flavor should stay with the pan. Potatoes to Brag About • Problem: Your mashed potatoes turn out sticky and glue-like. What went wrong: The potatoes were either overcooked or got overworked, possibly because you used an electric hand mixer. What to do: Adding more milk or butter may not thin out sticky potatoes. Try forming into patties, chilling for about an hour and then frying until golden brown. You can also spoon the potatoes into a casserole dish, top with butter and cheddar cheese, bake and serve as a mashed potatoes casserole. Roll Call • Problem: You burned your dinner rolls. What to do: Slice off the burned tops and add a dab of butter on each roll. If the bottoms burned, simply remove the burnt part, flip them over, top with butter and serve. Build a Better Pie • Problem: Your pie crust turns out soggy. What went wrong: The crust wasn't pre-baked and the filling turned the crust mushy. For fruit pies, try tossing the fruit in flour to help prevent a soggy crust. What to do: Scoop servings of the pie into individual dessert bowls and top with whipped cream. • Problem: Your pie dough falls apart. What went wrong: There's not enough water in your dough. What to do: Incorporate enough water to get the dough wet, sprinkle with some flour and let stand for about 15 minutes. The dough should then roll out fine. • Problem: Your cheesecake cracks. What went wrong: Either too much air got incorporated into the batter or the cheesecake was baked at too high of a temperature causing the top to set before all of the steam had escaped. What to do: Simply cover the cheesecake with cherries or other fruit or chocolate sauce. • Problem: You burn your pumpkin pie. What to do: Short of traveling back in time, there's not much you can do to save a burnt pie. If you're prone to burning pies, our recommendation is to keep a couple frozen pies on hand just in case.