Sara helped with this one

x `e`56`ae14a` AW `

Thanks SJ

I'm learning bit by bit...thanks for your help Samuel. I now see the little link thingy in the tool bar. Betcha that would have linked April's blog address into the last blog instead of me writing out the address, but I'm not sure. Somebody want to sell me a vowel cuz I'd like to buy one!

Happy Halloween

I hope that you will all soon be posting pictures of my cute, adorable grandbabies in their Halloween costumes! Holly sent me a picture this morning of Nora and Sara to my cell phone-thank you very much! You should check out Aidan's skunk costume too. Cute! www.noahandapril.blogspot.com or you can link to it from Nora's blog. Haha, "Nora's Mom" got tagged by April.

Pretty Please

Can one of the remaining Roseners, East or West, bring me some Vince's when they come up to St. George? Please. I'm having cravings and it's only 9am. I'll give you the money for it when you come up. I know it sounds silly, but I am so very serious.

Time Stamps

I just realized that the time stamps at the bottom are all California time. That makes me feel better about Laura blogging at 5 am.

(Although yes, it really is 2:23 am in Utah right now and I'm still awake and going strong.)

If only I was smarter...

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm smart. But, let's face it, out of the four Rosener children, I'm probably last on the list. Oh well. I'm usually quite content with my mediocrity.

Mom mentioned her confusion at not knowing right away who was writing each post. I've fixed that problem, but not in the way I really wanted to. Hopefully the solution I could come up with will suffice.

And I wasn't a fan of the plain gray background. So I changed it. But I don't know that I'm a fan of this blue one either since the blues don't quite match what we already have going on. Sadness. If someone has a better background image, feel free to change it. (Or send me the image and I will change it.)

Hope all is well with the rest of you and maybe one day I can be smart. (Which makes me wonder why we didn't put Danny in charge of fixing these things.)

--------------

Ha ha. Just changed the background to orange. I know you all love it. Go ahead, tell me how much you love it. (Okay, if you hate it, I'll change it.) Sorry you missed the blue, since I doubt any of you are up at the time I'm typing this.

----------------
If you don't behave, I'll revoke your admin privileges!---sjr

What makes a mother proud

She found the stash. I guess you never know what they're watching, huh! Enjoy and don't be disturbed. I was very proud of her.

Possibilities

If people want, I can set it up so that new posts, comments, or both are emailed to you when they are posted...

Look what I did!

Happy Halloween everyone (okay, I'm two days early)! What a scary face this is! I'm so glad this witchy-girl was able to turn back into my nice sweet child after she got her stash of candy! Did Nora finally decide if she was going to be Cinderella or a witch? And what did you decide for Sara?

Geez, those are huge glasses Lar. Sorry. Karen, you can see that Laura doesn't have the ridiculous tori that you and I have. How is that fair?

Yikes, is this how it's done?

Okay kids, I have no idea what I'm doing thinking I can actually blog, but since you're all related and can't officially kick me out of the family if I screw this up...we'll give it a shot. I do have one suggestion- tell me what you think- maybe it's unnecessary though- at the beginning of the blog, maybe the blogger should type their initials so we know who is writing (not that hard to scroll down to the end of it though so it's not that big of a deal) right at the start instead of reading down a ways to figure it out. Gosh, I'm away from the computer for such a short time and when I come back there's so much going on!
Our plans for going to St G will be on Friday, so we will have plenty of time for the grocery shopping. I still don't know if Bud is coming at that same time or if he will stay in SLC until Tuesday. I guess it depends on how busy he is.
I don't mind taking on the turkey prep, but you've all got to realize that I don't do fancy. So if you want something more than kosher salt and butter on your bird, someone else will have to join in.
You can't kick me out if I screw up the blog, right?

Green Beans and More

I think it's easier to post a new one instead of do comments, because I forget to read comments or once I've read them, I don't check back later to see if someone else has commented. So I'm making a new post.
Green Beans: Nick and I have tried the green bean recipe from that packet of recipes I sent and it's delicious. I highly recommend it.
Has anyone brined a turkey? Everything I've read says it helps it to stay moister (is that right?). That and stuffing between the skin and meat with some kind of butter and herb mixture (like Samuel's fantastic roasted chicken). Cook's illustrated has a recipe for just turkey breast (I know Nick and his dad prefer dark meat, but I don't know about our side of the family) that looks pretty good. Here it is.

For brine:
3/4 c kosher salt
4 qts cold water

Brine turkey by dissolving kosher salt in cold water in large container; submerge turkey breast in brine, cover it with plastick rap, and refrigerate it for three to six hours. Rinse the turkey breast under cold water and dry it thoroughly with paper towels.

For turkey breast
4 T unsalted butter, softened
3/4 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 whole bone-in, skin-on turkey breast (6 to 7 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and patted dry with paper towels.
1 cup water

1. Adjusts oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix butter, salt and pepper in medium bowl with rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Carefully separate turkey skin from meat over breast; avoid breaking skin.
2. Work butter mixture under skin on both sides of breast and rub skin of turkey to evenly distribute butter over breast. Spray V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set inside large roasting pan. Place turkey in rack with skin side facing up; pour water into roasting pan.
3. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to roast turkey until thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees on instant-read thremometer, about 1 hour longer. Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve.
Serves 8-10

All-Purpose Gravy

INGREDIENTS
1 small carrot , peeled and chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
1 small rib celery , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
1 small onion , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
5 whole black peppercorns
Table salt and ground black pepper

1. In food processor, pulse carrot until broken into rough 1/4-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. Add celery and onion; pulse until all vegetables are broken into 1/8-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses.
2. Heat butter in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and well browned, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add broths; bring to boil, skimming off any foam that forms on surface. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 3 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer into clean saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve hot.


Or, if we need the oven space, Nick and I have tried this slow-cooker recipe for turkey that gives you veggies at the same time. It's really different tasting and yummy. It's from our All-Clad recipe booklet that came with our slow-cooker.

TUNISIAN SPICED TURKEY BREAST with root vegetables Serves 6

2 T flour
1 t chipotle chili powder
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 turkey breast, skin removed (But I think you could leave the skin on and put the seasonings with some butter under the skin like the other recipe. Also, we just used a whole breast, though maybe we cut it in half. I don't remember).
1 T olive oil
2 med red onions, peeled and quartered
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into quarters

Combine seasonings in a plastic storage bag. Add the turkey and shake well to coat both sides. Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Sear the turkey breast on both sides, until nicely browned. Put the onions, carrots and garlic cloves in the bottome of slow cooker. Place the turkey over the vegetables and tuck the squash around the turkey breast. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours (3.5-4 on high). Remove the turkey and allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing. Spoon the pan juices over the turkey and surround with the roasted vegetables. Peel the garlic cloves and remove the skin from the squash before serving, if desired.

Now that I think of it, perhaps leaving the skin on would be weird and soggy in a slow cooker. I don't know for sure.

A creative title

Do you have to give each post a title, because that seems like too much pressure to me to capture the essence of my post in a title. Isn't that the beauty of gmail, that you get to keep the same title on your emails forever. I think blog posts should be the same.
Nick and I have reached a compromise on Christmas. I can basically go nuts as long as I don't procrastinate and wait until the week before Christmas to want to buy everyone I know a gift. So we have to decide on everything before November 1. This year Nick and I are each making a present for every family. So I intend to give them to you guys at Thanksgiving-pre. Nick's present I will buy for you when we are in St. George and finish putting it together for him, because it would be too heavy to travel with.
As for recipes, would you like me to post it all here?
When are Mom, Karen, and I going down to S.G.? I'm guessing Friday? Maybe early Sat? If we had all the grocery list together by then, we could go shopping Sat morning??
Is Danny reading this?

Imagine the Tree

Mom and I went shopping Saturday to buy the grandkids' Christmas presents. (I know this would seem beyond early considering it's not even Halloween yet, but I think by now we're quite used to celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now Mom's birthday, all at the same time.) To keep us in the mood, Mom played Josh Groban's new Christmas CD.

I hope everyone likes what we got them (aka Nora, Sara and Agnes -- Caleb tasted most of his presents while in the store still). I'm sure Mom's still open to suggestions for her kids, if there was something in particular you wanted.

I don't know what the rest of you are planning, but I will NOT be giving anyone Christmas presents at this juncture. I'm still trying to plan our Halloween party right now. Then there will be my brilliant Thanksgiving contribution to stew over. I'm not that great of a multi-tasker to be doing three holidays in one.

If you really want to though, know that I do accept gifts any time of year and for any occasion. :P

The giant turkey in the room

So, after a ferocious flurry of email, what have we really decided about Thanksgiving dinner? Who is making what? The East Chino Roseners are coming up around the time of Sara's first nap on Saturday and will be in Sta. Clara some time that afternoon. Once I figure out what we're contributing to the meal, I'll post/email a shopping list for the ingredients I need.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update
Everyone else in the house was asleep and I had finished my book but didn't want to start the new one, so I made a list of who had requested which categories from the aforementioned flurry of email. Our categorical menu so far: 

Turkey: (unclaimed, will probably be a joint effort)

Stuffing: Laura

Rolls: Holly

Potatoes: Unclaimed, (but I might take them and do a Parmesan gratin with them. The only problem is that the recipe takes 1 hour in the oven, which might be crowded)

Sweet Potatoes: Mom

Veg 1: Unclaimed

Veg 2: Unclaimed

Fruity something: Unclaimed (Cranberry fluff?)

Dessert 1: Laura (Cranberry apple pie?)

Dessert 2: Bud (banana pie)

Anything else?  I was thinking about doing a mashed root vegetable instead of mashed potatoes, but realize that I might be accused of heresy/sacrilege, and maybe a sauteed green bean with garlic and red pepper flake. 

The kick-off post

So I, (Samuel) was talking to Scott Knecht today at church and he mentioned his daughter Rachel's blog. When I got home, I googled her (strange how quickly that became a verb) and found her blog. Linked to her blog was her family's blog where they all contribute and post things of interest that affect the whole family. Holly and I thought that our family would have quite the interesting little meeting of the minds on our own family blog. Unfortunately, the address: dysfunctionjunction.blogspot.com had been taken by some broad who hasn't posted in like 5 years, so we got eventherapywouldnthelp.blogspot.com. The other name I considered was scatteredandhappyaboutit... Anyway, let's make this the place to chat about stuff of interest to the family (as opposed to the mass appeal of our personal blogs). Sarcasm is welcome, because, face it, that's what we do best! The design/look/etc. of the blog are totally up for discussion, I just had to pick one to get things started. I invited Mom, Karen, Laura, Danny to be authors, if in-laws (other than Holly who is already in,) want to post, send their addresses to my new gmail: rosielips@gmail.com (Curse whoever took samandholly@gmail.com!) and I'll add them as authors too.