it`s christmas at metairie sunrise - The Rotary Club of Metairie Sunrise

Metairie, Louisiana
December 22, 2011
Volume , Week XI
IT’S CHRISTMAS AT METAIRIE SUNRISE
YES, again it is Christmas at Metarie Sunrise! What a glorious day to start
off this Holiday Weekend: To start with, at our meeting on 22 December, we will play
‘Dirty Santa Claus.’ You know the drill, you bring a gift in the price category of $20,
and in the exchange you will take home someone’s original idea for a gift, perhaps
something that person would like to have for themselves. Let’s have a large turnout.
As I understand it, we may have a few guests who are coming who are willing to play!
CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD: With
over 34,000 Rotary clubs located in over 200 countries, irrespective of one’s religion,
Rotary celebrates the ‘spirit’ of Christmas’ with good will towards all men…and
women! Let’s look at ‘Service Above Self’ and particularly at ‘the Four Way
Test’….The embodiment of what Rotary stands for is good will towards all men, and
did I not include women who floats most of our boats?
In exploring the wealth of our clubs around the world one finds efforts to provide
for those who can not, to have the gathering of toys and food for those who don’t. In
Iceland they sell ‘Christmas Seals’ much in the way at Easter that we sell ‘Easter Seals.’
One will find concerts, taking care of shut ins,. And while we think about it, as this was
not planned,…..Why not hit your pantry and bring some food stuffs to our meeting
tomorrow. No, its not too late……On the Westbank we do a collection of food that goes
to ‘Churches of Algiers.’ Or perhaps we can deliver to the Second Harvest. Whatever the
quantity, the content will be welcome! And the timing is not that important either. We
can do it again at our last meeting of the year, next week! You can pack my trunk and I
am willing to deliver this week, perhaps someone else will step up to the plate next week.
A special wish on this Christmas is to bring vitality and growth to Metaire
Sunrise in the coming year. We are in our 28th year, (May 23, 1985 date of installation),
and nothing could be better than for each of us to bring to Metairie Sunrise a new
member or two during this Rotary Year! Look around at the uniqueness that we have
with members who are scattered about Greater New Orleans, and what about that
member a bit to the east of us, Bob Goldwasser in Jerulseum?
THIS AFTERNOON, 22 DECEMBER,
THE
NYRFNTP PERFORMS IN A GIG AT ST.
ANTHONEY’S NURSING HOME:
Organized by the
Queen…That’s Jackie for short, the NYFNTP will perform a short 30 minute rendition
of praised numbers and holiday favorites. We will report the outcome and several
pictures next week!
PREPARING THE CHRISTMAS FEAST….OR
CAN IT EVER BE BETTER THAN THIS? On returning
home each afternoon I listen to WWL generally catching up as to what Bobby Herbert is
telling us about the Who Dat Nation or what the Saints will be doing on a Sunday
afternoon or, this case, Monday night in the Dome. But in between we will hear a
commercial for the Silver Slipper Casino on the beach in Hancock County, Mississippi.
The message from John is to enjoy their Jubilee Buffet and leave the cooking and
preparation to them. While that may be a good idea for most dining options, but not
necessarily for Christmas when it is best to gather the clan and enjoy the Christmas table
within one’s home.. So what can we do?
I want to share with you a few things t hat I have learned. When Ray Hymel, the
Jambalaya King and DGE of 6840 brought me to the Belle Chasse Club in the mid to
late eighties, he taught me everything I know about Cajun / Creole Cooking, the first
thing he shared with me, now mind you, I come from the Land of the Bland…..”You take
a bath in water, but you cook with chicken stock!” Let’s see what I have learned.
SELECTING A PIECE OF BEEF: Check the advertisements that come out in
the Times Picayune for Winn-Dixie and for Rouse’s each Wednesday. This week it is
standing rib roast and the difference is $1.00 between these two stores….but at Rouse’s
the lesser cost is labeled “Select” while at Winn-Dixie it is labeled “Choice! There are
three choices in the selection of beef…”Select,” the lesser costly and tougher meat,
then “choice” which is the general standard found of quality found in most grocery
stores, a more tender piece of meat, and finally ‘Prime,” the higher quality beef found
in the best steak houses or quality restaurants like Ruth Criss or Commanders etc. So you
marvel of just how good Prime is when you are served when you go out to dine. But can
one find Prime? Yes you can……Whole Foods, sometimes qt Langensteins but also at
the Butcher Block on the Belle Chasse Hwy in Gretna. The cost at the Butcher Block is
$10.00 a pound, but is it worth it? It is a case of your giving your very best to that which
will be served at your table. The choice is yours, but it is good to know the differences!
AND WHAT ABOUT HAM: You can go to Sam’s Club and they have two
spiral cut hams with a glaze to apply. Your choice. Or you can select a ham, trim the fat
and then cut lines across the ham and insert cloves into the ham about 1 ½ inches apart.
You can then create your own glaze of ½ Coco Cola and ½ honey basting the ham every
20 minutes or so. When the temperature is 165 degrees the ham is done!
AS TO TURKEY: We have deep fried, which I will not go into as you know that
in deep frying the turkey after injecting a marinade and frying the turkey at ten minutes
per pound, that the juices are sealed in and result is marvelous! But you have other
options. There is the plastic bag that Reynolds puts out. Or you can put the turkey stuffed
or not in a rack and place an aluminum cover over the turkey, and be sure to place your
meat thermometer in the thigh, not the breast and let the temperature rise to 180 degrees.
But I have a kitchen tested method in which I , personally, have prepared
hundreds, yes, I said hundreds of turkeys over fifty or more years by cooking the turkey,
okay roasting the turkey in a brown paper bag. What, but won’t it catch on fire? NO
NO No! This is how it goes: Set your temperature for the oven at 350 degrees. First you
wash the turkey. For flavor, rather than holding stuffing, I will place a few carrots, onions
and apples in the cavity. Then I cover the bird with olive oil. Add to the exterior salt,
pepper, paprika or perhaps Seasonall cutting back on the salt. I then insert the meat
thermometer so that in opening the oven and opening up the bag you can read the
thermometer. I then carefully place the turkey into the brown paper bag crumping up the
ends and hold with a clothes pin. Then place the turkey in the bag onto a rack within the
roasting pan. Now what is so good about a brown paper bag? Just how does it work
to end up with a brown crust and with the juices sealed in? An envelope of hot air
surrounds the turkey much like in a convention oven. And the cooking or roasting time is
slightly quicker. What does that guy say in the sale of a new set on nines?…..Your going
to like the way you look. …..I guarantee it!” The result is the same on the taste of the
turkey you put on your table, your going to like the way it tastes, ……I guarantee it!
Perhaps some of this info may be of value, but whatever….May you and yours
have the very best Christmas ever!
DON’T FORGET TO BEING THERE ALONG WITH YOUR
GIFT READY TO PLAY ‘DIRTY SANTA CLAUS!’
So again…… until we meet following a thousand sunsets, and that’s a promise
and that’s a fact!........ Merry Christmas!
Vaughn