Jackhammers and other things...

It seems the only "free time" I've had the past few weeks has been in the middle of the night.  

Life here is fine but its been a bit jumbled.  And this week doesn't look to be much better since a jackhammer will be coming into my life.  Don't worry!  I don't have to operate it.  I am going to have to hear it though as it will be in the house... tearing up a bathroom floor.  

I meant to be back last weekend -- the one right after Thanksgiving -- as I wanted to tell you about my turkey experiment.  Tyler Florence, the very cute chef who is now a regular contributor to House Beautiful magazine, had a recipe for a split-breast turkey in the November issue.  It looked interesting and since we were making a small-ish, 12.6 lb. turkey, I decided to give it a whirl.  Since I hadn't boned a whole chicken in... okay, forever, I wasn't exactly sure how difficult it would be to remove the backbone and split the breastbone.  With a good pair of kitchen shears and a big chef's knife, it was actually very easy.  

The rest is just as simple -- whole heads of garlic, bunches of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary, butter and/or olive oil, salt and pepper.  And a turkey, of course.  

Here is the recipe -- Tyler Florence's Split-Roast Turkey Buried in Herbs 

I had already started removing herbs when it occurred to me to take a picture.  Several things about making the turkey this way surprised me.  First - my turkey was roasted and at the proper temperature in less than the 1 hour, 15 minutes recommended cooking time.  And like Martha's Perfect Roast Chicken, it smelled amazing within 5 minutes of being in the oven.  Yes, I'm sure it was the garlic.  Second - the flavor was terrific, even better than expected or hoped for.  And the turkey was very moist.  I had wondered if it might dry out a bit more roasting it this way but it didn't, and the leftovers were still moist the next day.  Third - I loved the extra space in the oven!  Since the turkey didn't rise above the top edge of the roasting pan, I was able to put other dishes on the oven rack above the turkey with space to spare.  That meant only having to use one oven.  Fourth - I wondered whether all the garlic would overpower the pan drippings but that wasn't a problem either.  The flavor was very subtle, to the point that I didn't really notice it when the drippings were added to the gravy.  

Just so you know, I didn't make Tyler's gravy recipe.  Williams-Sonoma Turkey Gravy is the house gravy here.  It's easy.  It's fast.  And it's really, really good.  It just needs a bit of pan drippings.  

The one challenge was carving the two halves.  I wasn't sure where to start but then decided to remove the wing and thigh, then the drumstick.  I removed the entire breast as one piece and then cut it crosswise ala Ina/Barefoot Contessa to make thick slices instead of long thin ones.  It was so good, I'm going to make this again at Christmas.  

In true Thanksgiving weekend tradition, I did some shopping.  Online, of course.  While out shopping a few weeks ago, I bought a beautiful candle by Simpatico-Home and KHall Designs.  The candles have amazingly good scents and come in old-fashioned hobnail glasses that can be re-used and re-cycled.  Being a curious sort of girl, I wanted to see what other scents might be availble so I went online and found the company website.  The candles are also available at Anthropologie.

This is the Christmas scent -- No. 29 Reindeer.  The red of the real glass is so much prettier up close and in person.  And it smells really, really good.  When the candle is gone, I think that glass is going to wind up in my sewing room...  

And, yes, the other thing I got to do over the Thanksgiving was some sewing.  I made this -- Lori Smith - From My Heart to Your Hands -- Quaint Quilts #1. 

Some sweet and generous friends gifted me with a beautiful kit for this quilt -- titled Beth's Medallion -- last year and it has been sitting on my sewing table taunting me ever since.  I was in the mood to make something small, and something different, so I prepped my fabrics and started cutting.  Then I started rooting through my fat quarter and scraps because well... I just had to make a few tiny changes to the kit.  Less rust, more red.  And some green.  And more black.  And really... two background fabrics?  That just isn't "me", not when I have so many beautiful background fabrics that I could add.  I also changed the direction of a couple of the rows of half-triangle squares.  

I'm thinking making all the changes says more about me than anything else.  I'm hoping my friends won't mind.  I really did love the kit and all the leftover pieces are going to be part of the back.    

I also made some progress on the stars for the Scrappy Stars Block of the Week I was "supposed" to be making this past summer.

Is it just me, or do those neat little stacks of trimmed half-triangle squares look a little scary?  These pieces are now in finished stars, meaning that I only need 12 more stars and I can finish my quilt top.  

Once the quilt kit was out of the way, the next thing on the "to do" stack were some Primitive Gatherings' wool pincushion kits.  

As with the quilt, each little pincushion has some little thing that I decided to do differently.  Seriously.  I think it's a psychological issue.  

But lest you think every one of my little projects has gone well... I wish.  I get these visions of Martha-like invincibility, only to come crashing back to earth.  For example... while on a recent trip to The Container Store ~ one of the most fun places to shop at Christmas ~ I found these interesting little "candy wrappers".

They are made of thick wool felt and measure about 5" wide x 6" long.  The little diamond cut-outs are what let the ends be gathered tightly.  Pretty cute, right?

This shouldn't be too hard to reproduce... right?  Wrong.  At least it wasn't that easy for me.  Regular felt from Michael's or JoAnn's was too thin.  Not a problem, I can fuse two layers together!  That should work... and it did.  But cutting those diamonds was a little trickier than I would have thought, especially for someone who didn't have a super-sharp Exacto-like blade.  After about a dozen prototypes that looked like they had been on the wrong end of a weed-whacker, I decided that there was a reason why Twinkle Brands could sell three of these for $13.00.  They were worth it.  And the felt was thicker.  

But they still needed a little "something".

Before I forget, I wish I could take credit for the genius "overnight oatmeal" recipe but it isn't mine.  I first read about it here -- Overnight Oatmeal by The Bitten Word.  I think I was looking for the recipe for the Barefoot Contessa's crock pot oatmeal -- good, but not what I want to have for breakfast on a daily basis.  A few months ago, while trying to double-check the amounts, I looked online for the recipe and found this variation -- Overnight Steel Cut Oats by Eggs on Sunday.  

In fact, I should put out the can of oatmeal so I remember to make it tonight.  Tomorrow morning will be busy and with that jackhammer in the house, I'm pretty sure that we'll be getting breakfast on-the-fly this week.  

What?  You're wondering what the jackhammer is for?  My Mom's bathroom is getting a remodel.  Because she's not quite as spry as she used to be, getting into the bathtub has become increasingly difficult so I've wanted to have it torn out and replaced with a walk-in shower.  But trying to find the time to call a contractor, make plans, and then schedule the work has been a challenge.  That's when the Gods decided to put it on the schedule for me.  The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my Mom woke to find water on the floor of her bathroom, the result of a leaky seal in the pipe going into the toilet.  Since the toilet is an old wall-mounted model, I knew that if it needed to be replaced, I would have it replaced with a floor-mounted model.  That means digging up the floor - the foundation - to run a new drain line.  So as long as we were tearing up the floor anyway... it was time to do everything else.  So this past week has meant coordinating with the contractor and his people, then making trips to go choose paint colors, fixtures and lights.

And did I mention that my Mom was in the hospital all week getting a video EEG?  It's a strange world when you're actually hoping someone will have a seizure.  Lucky Mom.  She spent the whole week with 21 electrodes/whatevers stuck to her head and a video-camera trained on her 24/7.  There was also a sleep-deprivation component to the test so starting at Noon on Wednesday, my Mom wasn't allowed to sleep until 4:00 am on Thursday morning.  Because I'm trying to be a good daughter -- and maybe finesse my way onto that "Nice" list somebody is keeping -- I hung out at the hospital until after 1:00 am.  Did my Mom cooperate with a seizure?  Not until Friday afternoon.  A small one, but it was enough to make the doctors happy.  

As for Rosie, she's been a sweetheart through all the disruptions.  She's enjoying the attention from the contractors and she's ecstatic that my Mom came home today.  

I'm hoping this week will be better -- more quiet and a little less hectic -- but I doubt that is going to happen.  My Mom's got appointments and then there is that jackhammer.  

It's going to be a noisy week.    

Comments

[Townmouse - Kristine]

Thanks for the recipe link Carrie. Your turkey looks delicious. I've bookmarked that recipe for Christmas.

[kathie]

I just may have to make that for christmas too it looks delicious!
ok those pin cushions are just adorable, went to PG website and didn't find the kits or patterns, hmmmm
maybe I need another cup of coffee!
LOVE your little quilt oh just beautiful....
hopefully you will have a nice new bathroom in just a few days and everything can get back to normal at your house! Glad Mom is back home.
aren't you looking forward to 2012?
Kathie

[Auntie Pami]

What are you going to do when they are 'hammering? It's pretty loud. Rosie may not like it either. It should only be for a short time though, right? Wish I were there. You guys could come over. I have an extra machine or two. My Mom and your Mom would have a nice time swapping stories. Take care. By the way, your turkey looks better. Mmmm.

[Jocelyn]

The recipe sounds absolutely delicious. I think I'll try it with chicken. Oh and we had a little disruption too. We are trying to get our old house ready for the market, and wouldn't you know that a leak surfaced in the kitchen, warranting us to tear out all the lower cabinets, replace the pipes, water heater etc, etc, you know the domino effect. Anywho..... it's been interesting to say the least. Hope your Mom will get a good report and meds to help the seizures.

[shelley]

You are a busy girl! I wish for all to go well .... quickly, easily, and everything back to "normal"! I have a great cranberry chutney recipe that I have been making for quite a few years that would be delish with your roasted turkey! We have split turkeys and put them on the grill in the summer, too. (and) speaking of garlic, have you tried the recipe for roasted chicken that uses 40 cloves of garlic? (that is not a typo) The garlic is buttery sweet!

[Archie the wonder dog]

I hope things get back to normal soon and that you either have somewhere to go when the jackhammer is going or that you all have ear defenders - I'm sure Rosie would look very cute in a pair!!

[Sandy]

Well, you have been a busy bee! I had never seen that way of making turkey! You learn something new every day.
As to the gravy... that is my favorite too! I love their dressing too. It is yummy.
I hope your Jackhammer days are numbered and that your Mom stays well away from the hospital! Happy holidays!

[Sandie~ call me crazy]

Your turkey looks wonderful! And so do your projects! I hope the jackhammer days are few. Good luck with the remodeling.

[Sinta]

I am copying that recipe... I really think turkey needs to be served more than once or twice a year! I am so sorry to hear that your mom is vacationing at club Kaiser... well, that's what I call it anyway. She must just be mierable with all those camera things and dodads.
The jackhammer reminds me of a sotry... of when I was trying to prepare for my wedding reception at home... the hubs was working out of town, I had a ton of guests coming and a pipe broke... I know you get the picture... then imagine trying to bake my own wedding cake (with Martha)while that is going on! I was in tears!

[Elizabeth E.]

There's a million things I love about your blog, but first up (because I should be grading English research papers instead of reading blogs) is that you spell everything correctly!! That makes my heart thump with joy. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my teachery heart.

You have a lot going on--hope your Mom is going to get the help she needs now that you have a seizure on tape. And good luck with the bathroom--we did ours last year (hated it while we were doing it) but so very glad it is done now. You amaze me to get some sewing done while all this is going on.
Thanks for posting all your fun projects for us to see--soon I'll be joining you in creativity (after I get those papers graded)!

Elizabeth
P.S. Your turkey looks delish!

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawl4Fn4W8Ls4ptrIO-5DDJPf7AbNjtQePVc]

How do you find time to sew with all that going on? Luckily bathrooms are small and maybe it will be a quick remodel?? Your projects look great. I'm going to have to check out those candles. I love red and those look so Christmasy. Glad your Mom is home. Hope all continues to go well with her.
Diane

[Mary D]

As always, I hope your Mom is doing well. Such a challenging time, but you are, for sure, on the nice list and I can tell you from personal experience it is something you will never ever regret having done!
So, about that jackhammering thing--been there done that in a bathroom--ours was a lovely Eucalyptus root that traveled from the neighbor's yard into our middle of the house bathroom. The plumber guys took extreme delight in showing me the exposed sewer as well as the root. Ewwww!
This too shall pass!

[L. Rudd]

Fun pictures of your projects, from cooking to sewing!
Best wishes for your remodel and especially your Mom.

[Susan]

Thanks for sharing the yummy looking recipe! And your projects look great! Hope all goes well with the bathroom.

[Gerri]

Always a full plate for you, Carrie (no pun intended)! Good luck with your remodel. I wish your Mom the best. Give Rosie a pat on the head from Maggie.

[Julie Warner]

This is such a busy time of year isn't it? I love those pin cushions. I wonder if it would be cheating to make one for myself and stick it in my stocking. Would Santa mind?

[Ulla's Quilt World]

Hi! Greetings from Finland! Your quilts are so fantastic! It's so nice to find other quilters all around the world! www.quiltworld2.blogspot.com
Yours, Ulla

[Terry]

Hi from Ireland..now I am absolutely starving and can't wait for Christmas day.

[חלונות אלומיניום]

I determined to provide it a try. Since I had not boned. I exactly sure how challenging it would be to eliminate the spine and divided the breastbone. With a couple of cooking area shears and a big wedding party blade, it was actually very simple.

[Dwane Zelinsky]

Oh, a lot of things happened back then. How were you able to handle everything, especially that leak that came from the bathroom? You probably breathed a sigh of relief after you got help from your contractor. Are they still your contractor now?