Cooking Really IS for Engineers
November 27th, 2008One-Oven Blues Get me Down
People who only have one oven should be shot and put out of their misery. I am juggling potatoes and dressing and a turkey, trying to get everything done at roughly the same time without burning or undercooking anything. Not easy.
My turkey pan has some kind of rack in it that holds the bird off the bottom. I had to remove it in order to have vertical clearance for the turkey plus two dishes of dressing. That meant the dressing was on the bottom rack, next to the heat. I had to take them out and put a hollow baking sheet under them to keep the bottom of the dressing from being burnt.
I have a mound of delicious garlic mashed potatoes in another dish. It’s at about 90 degrees now. I’ll have no choice but to nuke it. My sister made a sweet potato dish that will have to be warmed up somehow. And I haven’t even discussed rolls or gravy.
It will work. You wait and see. I will MAKE it work. I always have.
November 27th, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Grill it! Turkey, dressing, pie, beans, all better on the grill!
November 27th, 2008 at 7:22 PM
Happy Thanksgiving, Steve!
November 27th, 2008 at 7:54 PM
As I recall, back when I was youth, they did it all in one pan. But that is as I recall, and I just remeber the pan coming out of the oven, so I’ve no clue as to how to acutally make it happen.
November 27th, 2008 at 11:59 PM
This is why, when we saw the Aroma Roaster Oven for sale on HSN we bought it. It’s like a crock-pot but it roasts & browns, so I always cook the turkey, ham or brisket in it, while keeping the oven free for other things.
When we get around to building our house I will definately put in the double ovens.
November 28th, 2008 at 12:27 AM
Cuisinart it all together like the astronauts would.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:58 AM
Wife asked me what I wanted for our v. quiet TG this year: filet mignon and lobster. So the wee baked potato was all alone in the great big oven. Asparagus boiled in brown sugar. Homemade cranberries (great w/lobster btw). Fresh bread (ahhhh). I can only hope your blessing was as succulent.
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From me and mine, to you and yours: Thanksgiving.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:43 AM
It’s obviously no good for some things, but for warming stuff, the microwave is your friend. We got a new microwave a while back because we figured that our much-used, 35-year-old one should be replaced — not that there was anything wrong with it. Got one with an “inverter” circuit. Its low power settings provide continuous, low power, instead of full power switched on and off repeatedly.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:14 AM
I hope your day went well. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone behaved relatively well in my crew.
November 28th, 2008 at 9:06 AM
So, what happened to the hogonator? I have always used my BBQ grill as a second oven for warming up and even cooking the side dishes (using a covered roasting pan).
November 28th, 2008 at 9:13 AM
I should have used it.
November 28th, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Another suggestion for next time: coolers. Even those cheap styrofoam jobs will keep a casserole full of stuffing warm for a couple of hours. You can pack the empty space with towels if you can put some kind of lid on the dish.
You can actually buy things like this from catering supply houses, meant to hold racks and racks of food for hours. They’re crazy expensive, mostly because they’re build like Samsonite in order to protect your food if it happens to fall down a flight of stairs or something.
November 28th, 2008 at 9:37 AM
“Asparagus boiled in brown sugar.”
Details, please.
November 28th, 2008 at 12:30 PM
I use my Weber propane grill as an outside oven. It is more accurate than my inside oven. BTW it is hooked up to the house natural gas line (re-jetted of course) so I never run out of fuel. I also have an Occidental propane stove outside (circa 1930) with three burners and an oven, still working on that. These work great in weather too hot to cook inside or when the power goes out.
November 28th, 2008 at 2:20 PM
{i}gatorgrater Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 9:37 am
“Asparagus boiled in brown sugar.”
Details, please.{/i}
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Does sound good!