Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Easy as pie........

Roasted Root Vegetable Pie
This was amazing- very filling, sweet and savory at the same time.  Made two- and now one is in the new chest freezer to have another night!  This was served alongside Smoked Turkey, Mashed potatoes, Stuffing

The Recipe is courtesy King Aurthur Flour.  They have some lovely things o their website- I wish their flour was available in our area!

King Authur Flour's version Their tutorial is great- go read it!

My Version (Picture courtesy of Mike VandeBundt)

Savory crust

  • 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, chives)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, chilled and diced
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, as needed

Filling vegetables

  • 2 1/2 cups pearl onions (subbed diced sweet onion)
  • 1 cup peeled, diced winter squash
  • 2 cups peeled, diced rutebaga
  • 1 cup peeled diced white turnip
  • 1 cup peeled, diced parsnips
  • 1 cup diced leeks, washed and drained
  • 2 cups peeled, diced celery root (Subbed Beets)
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms (Forgot)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Potato filling binder

  • 2 medium baking potatoes
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt


Directions

1) For the crust: Whisk the flour, salt and herbs together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is the texture of granola. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together but is not soggy.
2) Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
3) To roast the vegetables for the filling. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the diced, chopped vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss all to coat. *
4) Spread the vegetables out on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 45 to 60 minutes total, stirring well every 15 minutes. The veggies are ready when they are fork tender and caramelized on the edges. Set aside to cool.
5) While the vegetables are roasting, bake or boil the potatoes until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork. Peel, drain and mash the potatoes in a large bowl.
6) Mix the warm mashed potatoes, eggs, herbs, and seasoning together, then fold in the roasted, cooled vegetables.
7) To assemble: Roll the pie crust to a 12" to 14" circle. Drape the crust into a greased 9" or 10" pie pan. Trim and flute the crust edges and place the filling in the unbaked crust.
8) At this point the pie can be well wrapped and frozen for up to 4 weeks. If you are baking now, bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until golden browned on top and the center is set.
9) If you have frozen the pie, you can bake it directly from the freezer at 350°F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Be sure to check the edge of the crust and protect it from burning with a pie shield or foil. 

* just a note- If you are adding beets to this recipe, KEEP THEM SEPARATED  from all the rest of the veggies until just before you bake the pie. Roast them separately, Store them separately and  fold them in at the last minute, to avoid purple pie.



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

more turkey sandwiches-

nothing special tonight- more turkey sandwiches-  but found this amazing tutorial on how to perfectly boil an egg!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Sunday- Planned Leftovers- Soup and Sandwiches

Autumn Chopped Salad
OK, I admit it- I don't have a panini press, but I DO have a George Foreman Grill. I love hot sandwiches in the fall and winter.The sandwich filling was inspired by this Autumn Chopped Salad I found on Pinterest






Smoked Turkey, Pear & Walnut Panini

2 C smoked Turkey, cubed
2 pears- 1 diced, 1 sliced
1 C chopped walnuts, divided (If you don't like walnuts, use whatever nut you like!)
Balsalmic vinegar, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
sliced cheese- something with some bite
softened butter
bread
  • Toss the sliced pears in a little vinegar to prevent them from oxidizing.
  • Place the turkey, half the walnuts, the cubed pear and the spices into your food processor.  Process until it forms a thick paste, scraping the work bowl several times.  add about 3Tbsp of Balsamic to the paste, and process until incorporated.
  • mix remaining walnuts into paste for texture 
  • Butter bread on one side only
  • Place slices of bread , butter side down on your hot grill, Spread with paste, top with sliced pear, cheese and second slice of bread, butter side up. close grill, and cook until crisp and golden on both sides, and the cheese is melted.
  • Serve immediately with hot soup and cold crisp salad . (Mine will be  Pacific's Cashew Carrot Ginger soup with a Romain salad with cranberry balsamic vinaigrette- what will yours be?)
Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 c fresh cranberries
1/2 c Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 c EVOO
Salt and white pepper to taste
sugar to taste
  • process the cranberries until chopped very fine.  Add Cranberries and 1 tbsp or less sugar to jar,  stir to coat, add Vinegar and mix thoroughly (I processed the sugar and cranberries together)
  •  add salt, pepper and EVOO, cover and shake until emulsified. Let sit at least 1 hour to allow flavors to combine. Keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week, in a tightly sealed jar.
  • for less "crunch" in your dressing, you can microwave your cranberries until very hot, add the vinegar, then allow to cool before you add the oil and spices.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Saturday- Planned Leftovers- Turkey Goalers


So tonight is a recipe from a promotional  Minnegasco Modern Living Center recipe book from my childhood.  Mom says it's from somewhere between 1955 and 1962.  Tonight we're pairing these with baked potatoes, but you can serve alongside leftover veg from Thanksgiving, if you have any!

Turkey Goalers

1 baseball sized sweet onion, diced small
2-3 cups diced leftover turkey, white meat, dark meat or a mixture
3/4 c mayo
3-4 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1 loaf good bread ( I prefer white for this, because it is what I grew up with)
Sliced cheese.  We always used Velveta, but now I prefer a nice colby or mild cheddar.

In a large bowl, combine the mayo, sugar and mustard.  Add milk a little at at time until it is the consistency of salad dressing. (Do not leave out the sugar- the sugar is what binds with the milk.  There should not be enough in the dressing to make it sweet)  Add diced meat and onion, toss to coat. Refrigerate about 1 hour, to allow flavors to combine.

Lay slices of bread out on a cookie sheet- about 2 per person.  Top with turkey mixture, spreading it to completely cover slices of bread, and then top that with sliced cheese.  Place under the broiler until cheese bubbles, and edges of bread begin to toast.  Serve immedieately.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Time for the Turkeybird......

It's 8:45 am and I'm headed out to the garage to start the grill.  Hopefully WITH the chimney starter. Wish me luck. pics soon.  We're smoking a 20+ lb bird for Thanksgiving this afternoon.  According to Weber, that needs 13 minutes per pound- that's 260 minutes or 4 and 1/3 hours.  Dinner is at Three, so the Bird needs to be off the Grill by 2, so it can rest and get down to MIL's place in the 2:15- 2:30 range.  Counting Backwards- that means bird on the grill at 9:30 at the latest.  Time for Coffee and a cruller, and a grand and glorious washing of pots to make room to make pie fillings. 

The Turkey rub:
  • 1-1/12 C kosher salt- Iodized Table Salt Will NOT do for this application.
  • 1T onion salt
  • 1T Garlic salt
  • 2 T Celery Salt
  • 2T paprika
  • 3T Black ground pepper
  • 1/4 c Brown sugar 
  • 1tsp Mace
  • 1tsp Nutmeg (FRESHLY ground)
The night before, Rub the turkey all over, inside and out with the salt rub.  Be generous, use it all.  Refrigerate, covered until time to grill the bird the next day. At this time, also get our smoking wood into water, if you are using big chunks.  they need to be thoroughly soaked before they go on the grill.  I'm using hickory this year, though I also was gifted some lovely apple-wood.

Build a pair of fires in your Weber kettle about 25 briquettes on each side.  Use rails or baskets to contain your fires, and place a disposable aluminum tray in between, with about 1" of water in the bottom.  Place your chunks of wood on the fires.

Back soon with pictures.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Getting ready for Thanksgiving week: Smokin' the Turkeys!

Sage, Orange, and Clove Rotisserie Turkey
Thanksgiving week, My Weber Kettle will be getting a work out.  Grilling for Tuesday night, Grilling for Thanksgiving Day, Grilling again on Friday or Saturday for family.  I'm not going to want to see any turkey for a month, after this!


I Love Weber's Big Book of Grilling.  Thank you Kevin for introducing me to it!
I'll be using the Orange Cranberry brine on page 268 on Tuesday, the Firehouse turkey paste on Thursday, and the hickory smoked legs rub on Friday.  I need to see If Kevin will loan me his rotisserie.



First job? Make certain I have enough Fridge space for three birds!  Second- Find and clean out a cooler big enough to transport said birds to their destinations, and get a roasting rack for the birds.