Top Holiday Food Countdown: List of Crap #77

[Johnny Unusual]

 

Number 6

Gingerbread

(72 points, 4 of 10 lists. Top Vote #3 Goflyblind & Quantum Vagina)

Holiday  Christmas

Gingerbread is a sweet food-product flavored with ginger and typically using honey or molasses (treacle) rather than just sugar. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. The different types likely share a common origin.

Originally, the term gingerbread (from Latin zingiber via Old French gingebras) referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (literally "spice bread") or the German term Lebkuchen orPfefferkuchen (pepperbread, literally: pepper cake). The term Lebkuchen is unspecified in the German language. It can mean Leben (life) or Laib (loaf), while the last term comes from the wide range of spices used in this product.

Gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis (Gregory Makar) (Grégoire de Nicopolis). He left Nicopolis Pompeii, to live in Bondaroy (France), near the town of Pithiviers. He stayed there 7 years, and taught the Gingerbread cooking to French priests and Christians. He died in 999.
 
During the 13th century, it was brought to Sweden by German immigrants. In 15th century Germany, a gingerbread guild controlled production (worst World of Warcraft expansion ever). Early references from the Vadstena Abbey show how the Swedish nuns were baking gingerbread to ease indigestion in 1444. It was the custom to bake white biscuits and paint them as window decorations.

The first documented trade of gingerbread biscuits dates to the 17th century, where they were sold in monasteries, pharmacies and town square farmers' markets. In Medieval England gingerbread was thought to have medicinal properties. One hundred years later the town of Market Drayton in Shropshire, UK became known for its gingerbread, as is proudly displayed on their town's welcome sign. The first recorded mention of gingerbread being baked in the town dates back to 1793; however, it was probably made earlier, as ginger was stocked in high street businesses from the 1640s. Gingerbread became widely available in the 18th century.

Holiday Recipe
Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Glaze

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gingerbread-Cake-with-Lemon-Glaze/?prop24=hn_slide1_Gingerbread-Cake-with-Lemon-Glaze&evt19=1

Ingredients 
Original recipe makes 1 cake
•   
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
•   
2 teaspoons ground ginger
•   
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
•   
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•   
3/4 teaspoon salt
•   
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
•   
1/2 cup white sugar
•   
1/2 cup dark molasses
•   
1/2 cup vegetable oil
•   
1 egg, beaten
•   
1/2 cup boiling water
•   
•   
1 cup powdered sugar
•   
1/4 cup lemon juice
•   
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions
1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.   Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
3.   Whisk flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and Chinese five-spice powder in a bowl.
4.   Stir sugar, molasses, oil, and egg into flour mixture until just combined.
5.   Pour in boiling water and whisk until the batter is smooth and shiny, about 1 minute.
6.   Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Tap pan gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
7.   Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
8.   Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
9.   Pour lemon juice mixture over cake while cake is still hot. Spread the mixture around with a spatula to ensure even distribution. Let cake cool completely before serving.

 Gingerbread Trivia
In Switzerland, a gingerbread confection known as "biber" is typically a three-quarter inch thick rectangular gingerbread cake with a marzipan filling. Biber are famously from the cantons of Appenzell or St. Gallen and respective biber are artfully adorned with images of the Appenzell bear or the St. Gallen cathedral by engraving or icing.

[Johnny Unusual]

 

Number 5

Stuffing

      

(99 points, 7 of 10 lists. Top Vote #5 Thrifty Version II)

Holiday Thanksgiving, Christmas

While cooking, stuffing or filling (specifically for poultry) is an edible substance or mixture, often a starch, used to fill a cavity in another food item. Many foods may be stuffed, including meats, vegetables, and egg.

Turkey stuffing usually consists of bread crumbs or cubes, dried bread, with onion, celery, salt, pepper, and other spices and herbs such as summer savoury, sage, or a mixture like poultry seasoning. Croutons are sometimes used.

It is not known when stuffings were first used. The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius '"De Re Coquinaria", which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig, and dormouse. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (an oldcereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.
 
Names for stuffing include 'farce' (~1390), 'stuffing' (1538), 'forcemeat' (1688), and 'dressing'. After about 1880, the term stuffing was replaced by dressing in Victorian English.

Holiday Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/neelys-holiday-cornbread-stuffing-recipe/index.html
Ingredients
3/4 pounds bacon, cut into chunks
2 large onions, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 cups chopped pecans
2 (16-ounce) bags dried corn bread stuffing mix
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Turn heat down and add onions and celery; saute until tender, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme and sage and saute until fragrant. Stir in pecans.

In a large bowl, add the cornbread mix, bacon and vegetables, and stir in the chicken broth. Add to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole dish. Add butter slices to the top of the casserole and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes then remove foil and cook until top is crisp, about 15 more minutes.



 Stuffing Trivia   
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that cooking animals with a body cavity filled with stuffing can present potential food safety issues. These can occur because when the meat reaches a safe temperature, the stuffing inside can still harbor bacteria (and if the meat is cooked until the stuffing reaches a safe temperature, the meat may be overcooked). For turkeys, for instance, the USDA recommends cooking stuffing/dressing separately from the bird and not buying pre-stuffed birds (stuffing is never recommended for turkeys to be grilled, smoked, fried, or microwaved).

You don't even care, do you?

[Johnny Unusual]

 

Number 4

Eggnog

      

(106 points, 6 of 10 lists. Top Vote #1 Cole Stratton & Goflyblind)

Holiday Christmas

Eggnog, or egg nog, is a sweetened dairy-based beverage traditionally made with milk and/or cream, sugar, and whipped eggs (which gives it a frothy texture). Sweet spirits such as brandy, rum or bourbon are often added. The finished serving is often garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

It was also known as the egg milk punch.
 
Eggnog is traditionally consumed throughout the Anglosphere around Christmas. Eggnog may be added as a flavoring to food or drinks such as coffeeand tea. Eggnog as a custard can also be used as an ice cream base.

The origins, etymology, and the ingredients used to make the original eggnog drink are debated. Eggnog may have originated in East Anglia, England; or it may have simply developed from posset, a medieval European beverage made with hot milk.[3] The "nog" part of its name may stem from the word noggin, a Middle Englishterm for a small, carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol.[3] However, the British drink was also called an Egg Flip, from the practice of "flipping" (rapidly pouring) the mixture between two pitchers to mix it.

One very early example: Isaac Weld, Junior, in his book Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the years 1795, 1796, and 1797 (published in 1800) wrote: "The American travellers, before they pursued their journey, took a hearty draught each, according to custom, of egg-nog, a mixture composed of new milk, eggs, rum, and sugar, beat up together;..."

In Britain, the drink was popular mainly among the aristocracy.[3] Those who could get milk and eggs mixed it with brandy, Madeira or sherry to make a drink similar to modern alcoholic egg nog. The drink is described in Cold Comfort Farm (chapter 21) as a Hell's Angel, made with an egg, two ounces of brandy, a teaspoonful of cream, and some chips of ice, where it is served as breakfast.

The drink crossed the Atlantic to the English colonies during the 18th century. Since brandy and wine were heavily taxed, rum from the Triangular Tradewith the Caribbean was a cost-effective substitute. The inexpensive liquor, coupled with plentiful farm and dairy products, helped the drink become very popular in America. When the supply of rum to the newly founded United States was reduced as a consequence of the American Revolutionary War, Americans turned to domestic whiskey, and eventually bourbon in particular, as a substitute

Holiday Recipe
http://www.grouprecipes.com/2921/wonderful-eggnog.html

Ingredients
________________________________________
•   8 eggs
•   1 cup granulated sugar
•   2 cups heavy whipping cream
•   1-cup light rum
•   1-cup brandy
•   1-teaspoon vanilla
•   2 tablespoons powdered sugar
•   1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
How to make it
________________________________________
•   Separate egg whites and yolks.
•   Place yolks in large mixing bowl and whites in small mixing bowl.
•   Beat yolks at medium speed then gradually add granulated sugar.
•   Speed may be increased to bring to fluffy texture, mix thoroughly.
•   Set aside.
•   Clean and dry beaters and then beat whites until they form stiff peaks.
•   Set aside.
•   Clean and dry beaters and beat whipping cream, adding the powdered sugar and vanilla.
•   When at a thick consistency set aside.
•   Place yolks and sugar mixture under beaters and bring back to frothy consistency.
•   Slowly add the cup of rum and cup of brandy.
•   Fold in egg whites and whipping cream.
•   Do not beat more than necessary.
•   Remove from bowl and pour into serving glasses.
•   Top with freshly ground nutmeg.

 Eggnog Trivia   
The Eggnog Riot occurred at the United States Military Academy on 23–25 December 1826. Whiskey was smuggled into the barracks to make eggnog for a Christmas Day party. The incident resulted in the court-martialing of twenty cadets and one enlisted soldier.

[Johnny Unusual]

 

Number 3

Ham

      

(110 points, 7 of 10 lists. Top Vote #2 CJones)

Holiday Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's

Ham is a processed pork foodstuff, which undergoes preservation through curing, smoking, or salting. Ham was traditionally made only from the hind leg of swine, and referred to that specific cut of pork. Ham is made around the world, including a number of regional specialties, although the term now has wider usage and can also be used to refer to meat which has been through a process of re-forming.

The precise nature of meat termed 'ham' is controlled, often by statute, in a number of areas, including the United States and European Union, meaning that only products meeting a certain set of criteria can be called ham. In addition, there are numerous ham products which have specific geographical naming protection, such as Prosciutto di Parma in Europe, and Smithfield ham in the US.

Ham is also often colloquially used to mean any sliced (or re-formed) preserved meat, regardless of the animal it is made from, although this is usually qualified with the species of animal as with turkey ham.

Ham has a number of definitions, and its meaning has evolved over time. Ham was originally the cut of pork deriving from the hind legs of swine, which was then often preserved through processes such as curing, smoking, or salting. Cooked leg of pork is called gammon.

Because of the preservation process, ham is a compound foodstuff or ingredient, being made up of the original meat, as well as the remnants of the preserving agent(s), such as salt, but it is still recognised as a food in its own right.
 
In many countries the term is now protected by statute, with a specific definition. For instance, in the United States, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) says that "the word “ham,” without any prefix indicating the species of animal from which derived, shall be used in labeling only in connection with the hind legs of swine".

In addition to the main categories, some processing choices can affect legal labeling. For instance, in the United State, a 'smoked' ham must have been smoked by hanging over burning wood chips in a smokehouse or an atomized spray of liquid smoke such that the product appearance is equivalent; a "hickory-smoked" ham must have been smoked using only hickory. However, injecting "smoke flavor" is not legal grounds for claiming the ham was "smoked"; these are labeled "smoke flavor added". Hams can only be labeled "honey-cured" if honey was at least 50% of the sweetener used, is at least 3% of the formula, and has a discernible effect on flavor. So-called "lean" and "extra lean" hams must adhere to maximum levels of fat and cholesterol per 100 grams of product.

Ham which is re-formed from smaller pieces in to a larger block also has to be labeled in many jurisdictions.

Holiday Recipe
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/mustard-baked-ham-recipe

Ingredients
 
U.S.   
Metric   Conversion chart

•   1 (10- to 12-pound) precooked bone-in smoked ham
•   1 1/2 tablespoon(s) whole cloves
•   1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar
•   3 tablespoon(s) whole-grain mustard
•   1 teaspoon(s) finely chopped fresh thyme
•   1/2 teaspoon(s) finely chopped fresh rosemary
•   1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
•   1 cup(s) orange juice
________________________________________
Directions
1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trim all but 1/3 inch fat from ham. Score ham in a diamond pattern. Place in a medium roasting pan and stud with a clove at each scored intersection. Combine remaining ingredients, except orange juice, and pat seasoning over baked ham.
2.   Pour orange juice in roasting pan, then place ham on low rack in oven. Bake until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F (allow 10 to 12 minutes per pound), basting with pan liquid every 20 minutes. Tent with aluminum foil if glaze begins to burn. Remove ham and let rest for 15 minutes. Transfer to large cutting board to slice.

 Ham Trivia   
The word "ham" is derived from the Old English ham or hom meaning the hollow or bend of the knee, from a Germanic base where it meant 'crooked'. It gained the meaning of the leg of an animal around the 15th century.  So if someone uses the word pork ham, don't look at them like they are a dummy, just look at them like they are a weirdo.

[Johnny Unusual]

 

Number 2

Pumpkin Pie

(127 points 7 of 10 lists, Top Vote #2 Thrifty Version II)

Holiday  Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie is a traditional sweet dessert, often eaten during the fall and early winter, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States and Canada. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time and featured also at Halloween.

The pie consists of a pumpkin-based custard, ranging in color from orange to brown, baked in a single pie shell, rarely with a top crust. The pie is generally flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

This pie is often made from canned pumpkin or packaged pumpkin pie filling (spices included), usually from varieties of Cucurbita moschata.

The pumpkin is native to the continent of North America. The oldest evidence, pumpkin-related seeds dating between 7000 and 5500 BCE, has been found in Mexico. The pumpkin was an early export to France; from there it was introduced to Tudor England, and the flesh of the “pompion” was quickly accepted as pie filler. During the seventeenth century, pumpkin pie recipes could be found in English cookbooks, such as Hannah Woolley's The Gentlewoman's Companion, which was published in 1675. The recipes did not appear in American cookbooks until the early nineteenth century. Pumpkin pie did not become a common addition to the Thanksgiving dinner until the early nineteenth century. The Pilgrims brought the pumpkin pie back to New England, while the English method of cooking the pumpkin took a different course. In the 19th century, the English pumpkin pie was prepared by stuffing the pumpkin with apples, spices, and sugar and then baking it whole.

Many companies produce seasonal pumpkin pie-flavored products such as ice cream, coffee, cheesecake, pancakes, candy, and beer. Many breweries produce a seasonal pumpkin ale, and the pumpkin spice latte is one of the most popular seasonal items sold during the autumn months at Starbucks. Throughout much of the United States it is traditional to serve pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner. Commercially made pumpkin pie mix is made from Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata ('Libbey Select' uses the Select Dickinson Pumpkin variety of C. moschata for its canned pumpkins).

Holiday Recipe
http://www.food.com/recipe/best-ever-pumpkin-pie-28758
Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin
1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (9 inch) pie crusts, unbaked
Directions:

1
Combine pumpkin and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes.
2
Pour into prepared piecrust.
3
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
4
Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 50 additional minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
5
Cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Pie Trivia
According to the Pumpkin Nook, the pie that made the Guinness World Book of Records weighed a whopping 3,699 pounds after it was baked by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in New Bremen, Ohio in 2010.
The unveiling of the monster pumpkin pie attracted a crowd of thousands. The finished pie spanned 20 feet. The ingredients used to make it included 1,212 pounds of pumpkins, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 7 pounds of salt, 233 dozen eggs, 525 pounds of sugar, and 14.5 pounds of cinnamon.
The 2010 pumpkin broke the 2005 Guinness record of 2,020 pounds, also set by the New Bremen bakers. Weighing either one of them proved to be quite a task.

[Johnny Unusual]

Number 1

Turkey

( 133 Points, 10 of 10 lists, Top Vote #1 Johnny Unusual)

Holiday Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day

Both fresh and frozen turkeys are used for cooking; as with most foods, fresh turkeys are generally preferred, although they cost more. Around holiday seasons, high demand for fresh turkeys often makes them difficult to purchase without ordering in advance. For the frozen variety, the large size of the turkeys typically used for consumption makes defrosting them a major endeavor: a typically sized turkey will take several days to properly defrost.

Turkeys are usually baked or roasted in an oven for several hours, often while the cook prepares the remainder of the meal. Sometimes, a turkey is brined before roasting to enhance flavor and moisture content. This is necessary because the dark meat requires a higher temperature to denature all of the myoglobin pigment than the white meat (very low in myoglobin), so that fully cooking the dark meat tends to dry out the breast. Brining makes it possible to fully cook the dark meat without drying the breast meat. Turkeys are sometimes decorated with turkey frills prior to serving.

In some areas, particularly the American South, they may also be deep fried in hot oil (often peanut oil) for 30 to 45 minutes by using a turkey fryer. Deep frying turkey has become something of a fad, with hazardous consequences for those unprepared to safely handle the large quantities of hot oil required.

Holiday Recipe
Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/honey-brined-smoked-turkey-recipe2/index.html
Ingredients
1 gallon hot water
1 pound kosher salt
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 pound honey
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1 (15 to 20-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
Vegetable oil, for rubbing turkey

Directions
Combine the hot water and the salt in a 54-quart cooler. Stir until the salt dissolves. Stir in the vegetable broth and the honey. Add the ice and stir. Place the turkey in the brine, breast side up, and cover with cooler lid.. Brine overnight, up to 12 hours.

Remove the turkey from the brine and dry thoroughly. Rub the bird thoroughly with the vegetable oil.

Heat the grill to 400 degrees F.

Using a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil, build a smoke bomb. Place a cup of hickory wood chips in the center of the foil and gather up the edges, making a small pouch. Leave the pouch open at the top. Set this directly on the charcoal or on the metal bar over the gas flame. Set the turkey over indirect heat, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast meat, and set the alarm for 160 degrees F. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour check the bird; if the skin is golden brown, cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking. Also, after 1 hour, replace wood chips with second cup.

Once the bird reaches 160 degrees F, remove from grill, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 1 hour. Carve and serve.

Turkey Trivia
In 1947, the first Presidential pardon was ceremoniously given to a turkey.  If you knew what crimes the turkey had committed, you would understand what a travesty this is.

[Thrifty Version II]

I'm disappointed that wassail didn't make the list

[Darth Geek]

Good job on the list, Johnny.

Here's my list I submitted:

1. Peppermint Stick Ice Cream
2. Turkey
3. Chocolate Easter Bunny
4. Ham (preferably Virginia Spiral Cut Ham)
5. Getrude Hawk Dark Chocolate raspberry santa Smidgens
6. Mississippi Mud Cake
7. Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange
8. Starburst Jellybeans
9. Peppermint candycane brownies (I don't know the recipe, unfortunately)
10. Chocolate Pie
11. Terry's Chocolate KeyLime
12. Peppermint Candy Canes
13. Gingerbread men
14. Shamrock Shake
15. Cadbury Chocolate Eggs (I like them MUCH better than the regular cream eggs)
16. Hershey's Kisses Dark Chocolate with Mint Truffle
17. Chocolate Cocoa

[Bob]

Key Lime is my favorite pie. 

[LucasM]

Number 1

Turkey

Turkey Trivia
In 1947, the first Presidential pardon was ceremoniously given to a turkey.  If you knew what crimes the turkey had committed, you would understand what a travesty this is.

'Like'd for the trivia.


With frying turkeys, if one is interested in Alton Brown's Turkey Frying Rig, click on those words in this sentence and a PDF of item list and assembly instructions will be opened or downloaded (depending how you have your browser set to treat PDF files).  And yes, it is serious.  His turkey frying segment [<4 mins] from one of his turkey episodes is here: <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/u5a7gJ0_Fds" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/u5a7gJ0_Fds</a>
Unfortunately, the person posting that cut out the fire-safety segment of that show.  Never, EVER, fry a turkey inside the house or within 10-15 feet of a house (or flammable yard items).

[Bob]

Or on your wooden deck!

[Darth Geek]

Never, EVER, fry a turkey inside the house or within 10-15 feet of a house (or flammable yard items).

You mean, like...grass?!

[LucasM]

Never, EVER, fry a turkey inside the house or within 10-15 feet of a house (or flammable yard items).

You mean, like...grass?!

If it's really dry, yes.  But most grass is moist enough where you'd have time to use your handy fire extinguisher (which he comments on being an essential part of the set-up for frying a turkey, and the only uni-tasker he allows in his kitchen).

[Johnny Unusual]

BTW, I want to thank everyone for participating and for being patient with my constant lateness.

Here's my list:

1.   Turkey
2.   Mashed Potatoes
3.   Green Bean Casserole
4.   Tourtière
5.   Terry’s Chocolate Orange
6.   Pumpkin Pie
7.   Hot Chocolate
8.   Gravy
9.   Gumdrop Cake
10.   Stuffing/Dressing
11.   Apple Cider
12.   Fudge
13.   Satsumas (Christmas Oranges)
14.   Roast Duck
15.   Mandarin Salad
16.   Ham
17.   Cadbury’s Creme Eggs
18.   Peeps
19.   Gingerbread Men
20.   Butter Tart
21.   Chocolate Eggs
22.   Candy Cane
23.   Shortbread
24.   Gumdrops
25.   Chicken Bones

Compound will be starting the annual "Rifftrax we want to see" list real soon.