Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • E2

2E ednesday November 1 6, 2 01 6 ampa ay imes eciding what kind of turkey to buy is not as easy as it was once. As with most food products, there are i tely more choices when it comes to choosing the star of your Thanksgiving table: organic, na tural, heritage not to ention fresh or frozen. ere is a quick guide to some of the de itions you should know Los Angeles Times he Ta ste section column is always authored by food editor Michelle Stark, except when she her honeymoon! So happily filling in for my colleague and friend until she returns. When planning this section, we wanted to foc us on flexibility something we deal with daily in our kitchens, but being flexible can be ven more challenging for special occasions when people ha ve beloved expectations. I ha ve certainly felt that pressure.

One Thanksgiving taught me the folly of that. About six years ago, when my son was in la school and couldn come here for the holida I decided to visit him. said but only if I didn cook; we would dine out. Ann Arbor charming downtown was an easy walk from his apartment even with freezing winds, and we strolled around looking for a restaurant. ot a single one was open.

ven the bodegas were closed. We hit the back streets and found one lone restaurant open for business. It was the $7 .9 5 In dian Buf fet. The spread wasn huge, perhaps six steam-tr ay items including cu rried chicken, vegetables, the spinach and cheese dish called saag paneer rice and naan. Colin was almost paralyzed with embarrassment, and wouldn stop apologizing.

Finally I said, ha ve had many Thanksgivings together all wonderful, but they ha ve all been so similar his is the one I will always cherish as unique. I looked around at the other diners in the small room, 20 or so. They were a mix of ages and ethnicities. I began softly singing We Gather To gether the hymn our family always sings on Thanksgiving Colin started laughing and then others started joining in on the song It became a merr meal after that, trading stories about ourselves, much lifting of water glasses in toasts. as it my best Thanksgiving meal? No.

as it a great hanksgiving? es. I shared it with dear people and, mos important, one of those I love most in the world. This we ek ecipe In tribute to that hanksgiving memor here a urr recipe, though it hai not I ndian. he most important components are the green urr paste and unsweetened coconut milk. I ha ve made the sauce using just those ingredients with a splash of soy or fish sauce.

The Asian ingredients are av ail- able in most supermarkets but the urr paste fla vor aries by brand; some are blander than others so you may need to adjust amounts accordingly If you can ind ish sauce or can abide its funkiness, substitute soy sauce (though it won give you as much depth of fla vor). If I ha ve the time, I like to azz up the basic soup with more ingredients, and here that version. emon and lime peel are substituted for harder-to-find kaf ir lime lea ves and fresh lemongrass. Optional: se leftover Thanksgiving turkey or poach chicken, seafood, vegetables or tofu in the soup, and ser ve with rice or noodles. Contact Lennie Bennett at tampabay fo our searchable restaurant database EASY Thai Green Curr and Coconut Soup 1 (14-ounce) can unsw eetened coconut ilk (not coconut cream 1 teaspoons green curr pas te or ore to tas te 1 cup lo -sodium chick en tock or broth 1-inch st rip lemon peel 1-inch st rip lime peel 1-inch knob of fresh ginger peeled, thinly sliced and lightly smashed 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 teaspoons light bro wn sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice Gar nish: Small hot red pepper sliced Roas ted, salted peanuts cup chopped cilant ro 2 tablespoons chopped basil Bits of crisped skin from lef ov er Thanksgiving poult ry (optional) In a medium saucepan, whisk cup of the coconut milk with the curry paste.

Stir in remaining coconut milk, stock, lemon and lime peels, ginger, fish sauce (or soy sauce) and light brown sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by one- quarter, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove the peels and ginger and discard. Stir in the lime juice and herbs if using. aste and add more fish or soy sauce if needed.

Can be stored in the refrigerator or several days. Add protein and rice if desired, add garnishes and serve. Serves 2 generously. Source: Food and Wine a gazine No nt ra di tional, ye totall sa tisfyin gues co lumn Lennie ennet Product Hostess Deep Fried Twinkies Dole ineapple Dippers Je ll-O impl ood anilla Bean Li ttle Debbie Eggnog Cak Ro lls comments Judges agreed they liked deep-fried, oven- warmed winkies better than the traditional cream-filled treats. But all of them decided they probably were too dangerous to buy.

really surprised me, said one judge. taste like a day at the fair. Another said she would likely sprinkle them with powdered sugar and into total sugar shock. The same judge said she would buy them as a novelty or guests. not to love about tiny bites of frozen pineapple covered in dark chocolate? Our judges find anything.

They raved about the fun size of the treat, the blend of flavors in the tart pineapple and the slightly bitter chocolate. are very fresh tasting and very appealing to the eye, said one taster. love, love, love Another dge said, surprise because the pineapple is so cold and the chocolate so delicate. He said this treat would be a per fect afternoon pick- me-up. This new Jell-O option made with no artificial flavors, dyes or preservatives wow our panelists.

They liked the smooth texture of the vanilla pudding but the treat left them wanting more. would add extra vanilla flavoring, said one judge, even though flecks of vanilla bean were obvious in the pudding. tastes good and clean, she said. just needs something. Another said, might make a decent luncheon dessert, but not ready or prime time.

A couple of judges suggested topping the dessert with fresh fruit or whipped crea to add some pizzazz. After sharing our favorite childhood snack treats from Little Debbie, judges bit into these cake rolls with great anticipation. Sadly, they were disappointed. sugar and flour with sugary stripes on it, said one judge. no egg and no nog.

Another echoed his comments saying, egg, no nog and no room in my pantry. She suggested the cake roll like bomb shelter ood discovered a century later. The egg-nog lover on our panel detected plenty of eggnog flavor in these cakes, however, and said they would be a good lunch box treat. ould they buy? wo of the our judges said yes. All our judges said yes.

One of the our judges said yes. One of the our judges said yes. Shopping inf orma tion $3.98 or a 17.03-ounce box from almart. $4.39 or a box of six 1.6-ounce pouches from Winn-Dixie. $1.49 or a 3.4-ounce pouch from Publix.

$1.88 or a 13.17 -ounc box of six rolls from almart. ANELISTS Jeff Jensen, public inf ormation officer or the city of reasure Island; ayne Conery, retired restaurant manager; Kay Hodnett, personal chef; and Julie Overton, cook and bartender. A ll oods were tasted blind. END UG GESTIONS FOR RO DUC TESTIN TO: Ta te section, ampa Bay Times, P.O. Box 1121, St.

etersburg, FL 3 373 1 or email them to ease put TES SUGGES TION in the subject line. To read past Choice columns, go to ampabay tetes Ser ving size One cake One pouch One of our servings One roll Calories 220 80 100 260 Fa 16g 300mg 6g 85mg 18g 360mg 27g 140mg 32g 3g 8g 1g 23g 0g 39g 1g NUTRITION AL INFORMA ION Admit edly the arketing gurus had us at fried winkies. But we decided it ould be fun to tr several of the new foods being advertised on freezer shelves and aisle end caps at ost local grocer tores. We ven found a few healthier treats to make it look ood. Ka hy Saunder Times correspondent Ta st Choice New re at talk turkey types iStockphoto Fr ee-r ang This is a legal definition at requires that the birds be raised having access to the outdoors.

a bit of wiggle room. They necessarily need to have access to pasture or grass, just the outdoors, which can mean dirt or gravel. Fr esh: Legally, it means that a turkey has not been chilled below 26 degrees. Practically speaking, though, a 26-degree turkey is still about as soft as a bowling ball. Fr ozen: This means that the turkey has been chilled to 0 degrees.

It should be noted that this necessarily mean an inferior bird. Properly frozen, stored and defrosted, it can be excellent. Keep in mind that a 12- to 14-pound turkey will take three to our days to thaw. ha the bird in its wrapping in the refrigerator, placing it on a tray or pan to contain any liquid that may drip from the bird. To thaw more quickly, submerge the bird in cold water and soak 6 to 8 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes.

Har d- deep-chilled: An intermediate step that means the turkey has been chilled to between 0 and 26 degrees. Hen: This is a female bird and they usually come in at less than 16 pounds. Heritag This is probably the hottest category among ood lovers, but it is not legally regulated. Basically, it means anything but the standard turkey breed, which is the Broad-Breasted White. Heritage birds tend to be leaner, with less meat, which means they feed as many people and will dry out if not cooked carefully.

They also have a gamier flavor, which is appreciated by some but not everyone. Ko sher: urkeys that have been slaughtered and cleaned in accordance with kosher law Note that while they have been briefly salted to draw out any remaining blood, this is not the same as brining. There is lots of confusion about this, but koshering requires salting fo only one hour bef ore rinsing, which is not at all the same as brining or several days. Na tur al: Basically no added ingredients and only minimal processing no injecting flavors or brining. Or ganic: Tu keys that have been raised without hormones and steroids and have been processed without preservatives.

In addition, they have been fed only organic feed and have ready access the outdoors. Pa stur ed: This is a nonregulated definition at is kind of like free-range-plus, as the birds have ad access to grass. elf -basting These are the familiar supermarket turkey that have been i jected with flavor solution or brine to keep them from drying out. To This is a male turkey, which usually means it weighs more than 18 pounds..