Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! It’s incredible that it’s already the start of 2023. As the year progresses, I hope to increase my creativity, cooking techniques, skills, and learn more about the passions which drive me.
A new year calls for a new series, wouldn’t you say? I want to start possibly drafting my dinner thoughts before I begin cooking. Often, my dinner takes up most of my daydreaming throughout the afternoon, so putting pen to paper helps me discover what I’m truly craving.
This is the start of my new series: Dinner Diaries. No, it’s not always going to be dinner. I love baking and trying new dishes, so this will be a place for me to experiment and share notes for everyone to follow along as well. Not enough people share their mistakes and future changes they’d make to meals. This will be a safe place to do so. Without further ado, here is the first entry:
Roasted Poultry
Turkey Thighs
It was about two weeks after Thanksgiving and decided to do a proper grocery trip since the excitement of holiday dishes. At Whole Foods, I found SUPER discounted Turkey Thighs and knew it would be the perfect bargain to experiment with.
I wanted to use a seasoned butter to coat the thighs before roasting. The compound butter combined:
- Butter
- Roasted Garlic
- Salt, Pepper
- Mustard
- Orange Juice
- Mayo
Also, I’ve seen a lot of recipes on social media using with grain mustard, so decided to use that as inspiration for the rub. I don’t despise the taste, so decided to try it out and expand my palate. This rub was inspired by using different methods of combining fats (mayo, butter) and flavors (orange juice, mustard).
It’ll go into the over roast it @ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-60 mins. Broil at the end for crispy skin.
Curry Spatchcock Cornish Hen
A few nights later, I decided to make a small Cornish hen I bought discounted at a local Gaints’ grocery store. This poultry bird is the perfect size for two to share. For this night’s rub, I went pretty basic and only combined curry spices, butter, rosemary, and garlic to spread over the top and bottom of the bird. Don’t forget to get that rub under the skin too!
After marinating for about an hour, I threw it in the oven for about 45 minutes to 60 minutes at 400 F, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
Both of the dishes had sides of vegetables and starches, mostly made up of carrots or left over broccoli I had in the fridge.
Recommendations
Here are some quick points I’d like to fix the next time I think about making a meal such as these:
- Cook a bit longer with higher heat to get a really crispy skin – place poultry on cooking rack and allow juices to drip. Bast bird as needed.
- Measure your water correctly for the rice.
- Rubs need a bigger boost of flavor. Fixing the cook on the meat may help.
I hope this serves as inspiration for someone reading! This is definitely a series I can see myself continuing. It allows me to share my experiences of cooking without the heavy editing of YouTube videos or the overwhelming amount of content on Instagram.
Thanks for reading (and don’t forget to subscribe!).