Turkey Gumbo

Firstly, happy new year!  C left for Aspen the day after thanksgiving to take ski lessons, so he missed out on the best part of Thanksgiving: the leftovers. So while Miss F and I visited Aspen, we had a second turkey feast, C style. Pop n serve rolls, log cranberry sauce from a can, and copious amounts of gravy. Since there were only three of us eating the turkey, I had a ton of meat leftover. My friend Erica was telling me about the turkey gumbo that her family made with leftovers. And it took me back in time, because I used to make turkey gumbo every year after Thanksgiving, but it has been at least 10 years since I have done it. The roux takes nearly an hour to make, but it is worth it. I set my laptop next to the stove top and caught up on my internet browsing (Pinterest!) This recipe is adapted from Emeril Lagasse.

Turkey Gumbo

¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup flour
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
6 cups chicken or turkey broth
2 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne
Creole spice
2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat
Steamed rice, for serving

In a large soup pot slowly heat oil and flour together over low heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes a nutty brown color and is very fragrant; be careful not to burn. Add onions, pepper and celery and cook, stirring, 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add broth, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt, cayenne and Creole spice to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add turkey and simmer 30 minutes more. Adjust seasonings and serve with hot steamed rice.

Pin It Now!

Turkey Talk

Now that we have all stuffed ourselves silly for Thanksgiving, it is time to get through all those leftovers lurking in the refrigerator. I am happy with a straight plate of leftovers once or twice, but after that, I am over it. My most favorite thing to make is Cranberry Barbecue Sauce using leftover cranberry sauce, even the canned stuff will work. I like to serve it on turkey on a bun.  I also love turkey chowder and turkey pasta, both are easy whole meals in one dish.  Serve either with any leftover diner rolls you have, maybe add a green salad to try to get a little healthy post Thanksgiving.  And of course, there is the traditional Turkey Tetrazzini.  It wouldn't be leftovers without it.  Also consider using your turkey in enchiladas, pot pie or empanadas. This year, I want to try and make gnocchi using leftover mashed potatoes, I will let you know how it goes.

Pin It Now!

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

This sauce is the perfect thing for turkey leftovers. I personally don't like cranberry sauce, but I love it in this barbecue sauce. It has a nice vinegary kick that works perfectly with the sweetness and tartness of the cranberries. I served these sandwiches on brioche buns, which are by far my most favorite sandwich roll ever.  I also added sliced pickles on my sandwich, which worked great.  I had intended to try and make sweet potato tots instead of spicy sweet potato wedges with it, but processing the sweet potatoes was a bit challenging....so I gave up.  I think I need to attempt them with regular potatoes first.

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cranberry sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce
½ teaspoon salt

Whisk together all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes to thicken. Serve with leftover turkey on brioche buns.

Pin It Now!

Truffle Butter Turkey

My friend Courtney raved about this turkey recipe. It wasn't so much a recipe, as it was an idea of adding truffle butter to the turkey. I love turkey, I love truffles, I certainly love butter. This was a no brainer. Truffle butter turkey was happening. I always buy an extra turkey around the holidays to store in the freezer to have a Sunday in the winter. The gravy was amazing, the truffle flavor was present, but not overpowering. I always stuff my turkey, no matter what Alton Brown says, I think it is the only way to go. Stuffing from the bird is a thing of beauty. And it is all the more beautiful flavored with truffles.  This recipe is a combination of my family recipe for drunken turkey, with the addition of truffle butter and some Martha Stewart gravy thrown in for good measure.

Truffle Butter Turkey

Turkey:
1 whole fresh turkey
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
1 3 ounce container truffle butter
1 cup chicken or turkey stock.

Gravy:
Pan drippings
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup flour
4 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 tablespoons butter
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Let turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Combine butter, wine and whole bay leaves in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425 with rack in the lowest position. Rinse inside and outside of turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Tuck wings under turkey. Season cavity with salt and pepper and fill cavity with stuffing. Using your fingers to gently pull the skin from the turkey, spread the truffle butter between the turkey skin and the meat. Pour stock in the bottom roasting pan.

Place turkey, legs first, into oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then baste with wine butter mixture. Reduce temperature to 350 and roast, basting with wine butter mixture every 30 minutes for 2 ½ hours. Add more stock to pan if necessary to prevent pan drippings from burning. Roast until skin is golden brown and thickest part of thigh registers 165 on a meat thermometer. Transfer turkey to a rimmed baking sheet, reserving pan juices and roasting pan, let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Pour reserved pan juices into a gravy separator and let stand 10 minutes. Pour or spoon off fat.
Place reserved roasting pan on 2 burners over medium heat. Add wine and bring to a gentle simmer, scraping brown bits with a wooden spoon. Whisk flour and stock in a large bowl until combined. Add defatted pan juices, whisking to combine, then pour into roasting pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter. Strain through a sieve and discard solids. Season with salt and pepper.

Pin It Now!

Smoked Turkey Pasta

Once again, I had a smoked turkey to use up the week before Thanksgiving...can you ever really be sick of turkey? Of course you can. Which is why this dish can easily be frozen in a casserole dish and reheated when the turkey craving sets in again. After I made this, the remaining smoked turkey meat was banished to the freezer. When it gets cold in February for a week or so, I will defrost it to make more Smoked Turkey Chowder.

Smoked Turkey Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, diced
1 ½ cups dry white wine
2 cups half and half
3 cups smoked turkey, shredded
1 teaspoon parsley
¾ pound linguine or pasta of your choice
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and sauté 1 minute. Add mushrooms and bell pepper and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add white wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup whipping cream and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup whipping cream, smoked turkey and parsley; simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Add pasta to sauce in pot and toss to coat. Add cheese and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Pin It Now!

Smoked Turkey Chowder

This recipe is loosely based on the recipe I use for Chicken Corn Chowder.  The flavors of this chowder were fantastic.  I am not sure how much had to do with the flavor of the smoked turkey from Greenberg Smoked Turkey in Tyler, Texas, but I do know this was a winner.  And it would be equally fantastic with leftover turkey, which I am sure we all have a ton of.  I forgot to sprinkle the bacon on top, but it didn't even need it.  The bacon flavor came through beautifully in the broth.

Smoked Turkey Chowder

3 slices bacon, chopped
½ small white onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
¼ cup white wine
½ teaspoon dried sage
2 cups chicken broth
2 to 3 small russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 ½ cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 to 2 cups smoked turkey meat (any leftover turkey meat will work)
1 cup half and half

Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pan. Add onions and carrots; sauté until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the sage, broth and potato, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover pan, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add corn and simmer for 5 minutes more. Add turkey and half and half and bring to simmer, about 2 minutes. Season chowder to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with cooked bacon and serve.

Pin It Now!

Pasta Pie

When I first saw this recipe on Noble Pig, I knew I had to try it. The key should have been not to try it on a weeknight when I got home a little late from work with a whining C and Miss F hovering around the kitchen like two starving vultures. I am not sure whether this was a resounding success or not. Next time I will double the sauce recipe (which I included in this recipe here), because a lot of my pasta was sauceless and I would have like some extra. C said next time to just bake the pasta "normally", I am guessing like baked ziti. He has no appreciation for "pretty" food and at this point was irritated that the food had to be photographed at all, since he had been ready to eat for hours.

Pasta Pie
printable recipe

1 pound rigatoni
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground turkey
½ onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cans (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes
Butter, for pan
Salt
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone. One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, basil and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.

Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.

Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Stuffing the meat into the holes is a weirdly satisfying task. Enough said.

Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.

Pin It Now!

Chicken (Turkey) Tetrazzini

On of my most favorite clips from The Soup is the "chicken tetrazzini" clip from the Maury show. It is high-larious. I wonder if I can seduce men with my chicken (turkey) tetrazzini. Makes me laugh every time I see it...









Herbed Turkey Tetrazzini

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms
1 red pepper, sliced (I used green because it is what I had)
1/4 cup each flour & butter
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried whole tarragon
1/8 tsp pepper
1 dash of ground nutmeg
2-1/2 cups cooked spaghetti
1-1/2 cups turkey, cooked/chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese divided
chopped parsley
lemon slice halves
red pepper strips

Saute onion, red pepper and mushrooms in butter in a large, heavy
saucepan until just tender. Add flour, stirring well. Cook
one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and
chicken broth; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly,
until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in parsley,
tarragon, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in spaghetti, turkey,
and half of the cheese, mixing well.

Pour into a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole bake at 350 for
20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top and
bake an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley, lemon
slices, and pepper strips.

Pin It Now!