Office Hack: Iced Coffee

I have been made fun of today by many people. I had four coffee cups on my desk at work. Mostly because I leave them there from the prior day and rush to leave so they never get thrown out. So today there was leftover coffee in a Timmy's carafe from a meeting. It had gone cold and there was no microwave, so I thought to myself 'what is the best way to make use of this without all this good coffee going to waste?' The answer? Iced coffee.

Now I had no idea how this would turn out, but I had the theory in my head. If I had time, If I was home and tried this, I would have taken the coffee out and swirled it around every 15-20 minutes to maintain some fluidity. Like the same principles when forking through a granita. Here I would have to leave it to freeze. Why not test it out?

I mixed the coffee with milk and Splenda in a coffee cup and popped on a lid. We (I and my workmate) made four cups, his with cream and sugar. I assume that would turn out more slushee (like a icecap) and mine more icy and liquid. When I took them out the following day, this is how they appeared:

Frozen rock solid with a 'mound' in the middle. Wha......?

After a while of melting, this is how they appeared:

Yummy iced coffee with a icy ball of coffee in the middle.

Leftovers: Turkey Tetrazzini

When I was living at your grandparents, grandma would get creative with leftovers to the point that we never knew we were eating the same Thanksgiving  turkey every day. Something about this dish is so comforting. In the chill of mid-October, after a long day of school, especially if I had orchestra practice, it was one of those dinners that made you so happy to be home.

Since I've made it for both of you, this is the highlight of your Thanksgivings. You like seeing the bird, you like the Thanksgiving meal with family, but what you love eating is Turkey Tetrazzini. In fact, there was once a time when you both finished off the entire pot in two days!

As with most popular pasta dishes, Tetrazzini has an origin story. American, actually, circa 1910 from the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where Italian opera star, Luisa Tetrazzini was 'a long-time resident' (according to Wikipedia). There are many versions of the dish, but to me, if it's not made with turkey, it's not worth making. Mom never would have made the original full fat version, so hers, while comforting, is also much healthier. 

Immediately after cooking. Also works with chicken.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Cooked Turkey		3 cups, coarsely shredded
Button Mushrooms		2 cups, quartered
Green Peas		1/3 cup
Broad Egg Noodles		1 pkg
Turkey Stock		2 cups
Water		0.5L, boiled
Sour Cream		1/2 cup
All Purpose Flour		4 tbsp
Parmesan Cheese		1/4 cup (freshly grated)
Garlic		5 cloves, minced
Black Pepper		1 tbsp (ground)
Sea Salt		1 tsp
Canola Oil		2 tbsp
Parsley		for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour canola oil into pot on med-high heat
2. Sauté garlic until translucent
3. Add Button Mushrooms and saute until they brown and reduce in size
4. Add flour and stir until flour is well mixed, translucent, and has begun to barely sizzle
5. Add water slowly and whisk, adding only enough until the sauce has the consistency of thick béchamel 
6. Whisk in turkey stock and black pepper
7. Allow the sauce to comes to a boil
8. Add shredded turkey, green peas to the sauce, stir, and reduce heat to low
9. Prepare egg noodles, cook to slightly underdone, remove from heat (else they will just suck up all the sauce), and set aside until the sauce is finished
10. Here is where you can add the egg noodles directly to the pot of sauce, or, if you prefer, plate the noodles and sauce on the plate - our family prefers the one pot sauced noodles (see picture)
11. Stir in a dollop of sour cream immediately prior to serving, and garnish with parsley (or as you call it, Alistair, leaves)