Barbecue Melt to End it All

 

And, I'm done! See?!

 

I finally finished the last of the turkey. Twenty pounds of bird, five days, one girl.  The basic math is that I ate four pounds of it a day, but turkeys are between 25% and 33% bone (5 to 7lbs), and the thighmeat, wings, and some of the breastmeat went into the soup (maybe another 5lbs).  Accounting for moisture loss, all in all, I may have eaten six pounds of turkey over the past week. 

 

Wow. 

 

Last night was a quiet ending to this gluttonous, monotonous little project; I didn't even make a turkey cake to celebrate. 

 

Here's what I did make: 

 

Barbecue Melt

 

1 lb cooked turkey, shredded*

1 onion, sliced

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

sandwich bread

sliced American cheese

 

* if using raw meat, boil it in water until cooked through and falling apart, about 30 minutes.  Drain and save until step 3.

 

1. Cook the sliced onion in 1T hot oil until tender.

 

2. Combine the BBQ sauce, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard and liquid smoke in a bowl.  Add to the onions.  Simmer for 3 minutes.

 

3. Stir in the turkey.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

 

4. Load meat onto bread, top with cheese.

 

 

Thanksgiving (and its leftovers) is only 48 short days away.  Gobble gobble! 

 

Grumble grumble. 

 

But for tonight: PIZZA!



 

Turkey, You Are Jamaican Me Crazy!

Who has two thumbs and is getting pretty tired of eating turkey? 

This gal!

Day 4.  Ugg.

This stubborn little experiment of waste-not-want-not reminds me of this redundant, albeit hilarious, Family Feud game:

As random as it is for this gentleman to take turkey to the beach, it's not a bad idea to bring the beach to my turkey.  Vacations refresh the soul, and, after multiple days of turkey, my palate could use some refreshment.

 

This is the view from my sister's honeymoon in Jamaica.  I can almost hear the reggae above the soft crash of waves, almost feel the light salty breezes.  I can almost taste the Red Stripe beer, but wait, there is another lingering flavor...oh, right.  It's everlasting turkey. 

 

It is only a photograph after all.  I am still here, far from the beach, and close to giving up this tiresome venture.  Jamaican Jerk Sauce, take me away! 



Jamaican Jerk Turkey Pasta

1lb cooked turkey, chopped*
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Sauce - my version from Jamaica is really spicy, use your own judgement depending on what your sauce tastes like
1/2 pound fettuccine
*If using raw meat, cook through and then add in step 3.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Saute the onions, green peppers, and grape tomatoes until soft.  Slightly crush the tomatoes so they release their juices.

3. Add Jerk Sauce and meat and heat through.

4. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

5. Siphon off 1 cup of pasta water before draining, and add it to the vegetables and meat. 

6. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot without rinsing.

7.  Toss the pasta with the veggies and meat and serve.

 

 

Here is the turkey that is still left.  Fork, too.  Too.  Much.  Turkey. 

 



 

Once, Twice, Three Times the Turkey

Day 3. 

I had my first taste of curry in my early twenties.  I hated it.  My husband cooked dinner, and because this was romantic (and rare) I grinned and bared it, giving the curry dish lots of insincere compliments. 

Next month he made dinner again.  And can you guess what he made?  My self-proclaimed favorite: Curry! 

Serves me right.

Surprisingly, though, the second time I actually liked it a little bit.  The more often I ate it, the more it grew on me.  And now...well, now I'm borderline obsessed with curry, and below is my favorite recipe.  We usually make it with scallops, but it works with poultry too. 

There are lots of options when it comes to curry powder -- red, yellow, green, sweet etc.  Curry is simply a mix of twenty or so different spices, rather than a spice unto itself like pepper.  The ingredients usually include turmeric, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  They vary in heat, so buy it in small quantities until you find one you like best. 

This recipe also calls for coconut milk, but if you don't like coconut (and are, therefore, against all things good and holy), feel free to use regular milk.

Coconut Curry Turkey

1lb cooked turkey, chopped into bite-sized pieces*
1 T butter
1 T curry powder
1 T all purpose flour
2 scallions, chopped (from last night's bunch, bonus!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk (shake the can first)
2 tomatoes, chopped

* If using raw meat or fish, cook it in and extra 1 T of butter first and then set aside until step 5.

1. Melt the butter in the pan.

2. Combine the curry powder, flour, and scallions in a small bowl.

3. When the bubbles in the pan subside, stir the spice mixture into the butter. Cook for one minute.

4. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and coconut milk, cook until thick and bubbly.

5. Add the turkey (or other meat) to the pan and heat through.

6. Stir in the tomatoes.  Serve with rice.

So add curry to the list of culinary delights that my husband has introduced me to, including hard shell crabs, raw oysters and clams, and everything Korean. 

Here is how much turkey is left, with the obligatory fork for scale.  Man, that's a lot of bird.  (Have I mentioned that yet??)

Turkey 2.0

With visions of crusty bread and snowy Saturdays dancing in my head, I packed two containers of soup into the freezer.  There was still enough soup leftover to fill a quart container, so my husband ate some late last night when he got home, and my daughter and I will eat some for lunch today. 

I have a lot more turkey to eat. 

For dinner last night I made Lemon Turkey.  This dish is usually prepared with chicken, and tastes just like you ordered it off a Chinese restaurant menu. 

My recipe calls for Lemon Curd, which is like a jelly but creamier.  I can usually find it jarred in the baking aisle of the grocery store, near the canned fruit pie filling.  Last night I made only enough Lemon Turkey for one, but doubled the recipe here.

Lemon Turkey

1lb cooked turkey breast, sliced into strips*
1/4 cup lemon curd
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 scallions, chopped
zest of one lemon

1. Place meat into a pan on medium heat to warm through
*If you are using raw chicken or turkey, slice it into bite-sized pieces, dredge them in flour, and cook them through first

2. Combine curd, vinegar, broth, in a bowl. Pour over meat.

3. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

4. Stir in the scallions.

5. Garnish with lemon zest, serve with broccoli and rice.

And here is how much I have left to eat, with a fork for scale...

Yeah, it's a lot.  I'll let you know tomorrow what I do with it today!

You Turkey! Day One

I have had a frozen turkey in my freezer for, well, too long.  At first I had every intention of donating it, but months went by and I never seemed to find the time to drop it off.  I could desperately use the freezer space, so it is time to put up or shut up.  Yesterday morning I woke up early, set with determination, and roasted it to eat ourselves.

Now, my husband is so busy at the office that he is working through weekends and dinners for the foreseeable future, and the kids don't usually eat poultry unless it is in nugget form.  This leaves 20 pounds of bird just for me. 

That's a lot of bird. 

And so begins my week of turkey dinners for one. 

Hopefully, with a few varied recipes, I can mix it up enough to keep things interesting.

Day 1:
It turns out I'm not actually in this alone.  I remembered one thing  that the kids will actually eat: soup.  By the spoonful, by the bowlful, by the quart, they adore chicken noodle soup.  Turkey is close enough. I can make this work.

After the turkey was finished roasting yesterday, and fragrancing my house with the luscious smells of a happy Thanksgiving, I cut the breast meat and drumsticks off to save for later meals, and threw the carcass into the slow cooker pot.  I had to run out -- according to the kids, it was mandatory that we spend the gorgeous fall afternoon on a hayride leaving promptly at 1:15pm -- so I placed the meat-stuffed crock pot into the fridge. 

This morning, I covered the meaty bones with water, added one chopped onion, two peeled and chopped carrots, two chopped celery stalks, and one bay leaf.  I set the slow cooker to high and will leave it until the the vegetables are tender, the meat falls right off the ribs and thighs, and the bones release their flavor making an authentic and savory broth.

There is sure to be some skimming of fat involved in today's process, and I will have to fish out all the bones, and maybe dice or shred some of the bigger pieces of meat, but basically this turkey meal is making itself.  Later I will cook the noodles and store them separately, since they get mushy if added too soon and heat up easily when added to hot soup right before serving. 

On the menu for the rest of the week:
Lemon Turkey
Coconut Curry
And a few other things up my sleeve.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's recipe!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar

Saturday is officially the start of Autumn, but I couldn't help getting a head start on fall flavors when I saw this gorgeous stalk of Brussels sprouts in the produce section of my local grocery store. 

I know, I know, not everyone likes Brussels sprouts.  And it is true, they taste mostly like sour cabbage when they are boiled, but when roasted, their sugars caramelize allowing a natural nuttiness to shine through.  Add a little balsamic vinegar to finish them off and Brussels sprouts are suddenly a hit, even with people who swear they aren't fans. 

Taking the sprouts off the stalk is easy, just pull down.  My four year old loved helping with this part -- permissible destruction, yes please!  I notched an X in the bottom and blanched them quickly in boiling water while the oven was preheating.

Then I cut them in half, tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and put them on a baking sheet.  425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until they start to burn.  Yes, that is right, I said burn.  Don't let them char, but a little (or a lot) of dark brown is good. 

While the sprouts were roasting, I poured 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into a saucepan and let it boil down by half, concentrating the sweetness and taking off a little of the bite.  Finally, I tossed the sprouts with the reduced vinegar after they came out of the oven, darkening them further.

Paired with this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese I found on Pintrest, it was a great meal.  (Though I tweaked the Mac and Cheese recipe by using whole milk and adding 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.)  My kids even ate the Brussels sprouts, with help from my trusty friend Ranch Dressing.

 

 

Enjoy!

Bee Bim Bop

I try to take my kids to the library once a week.  I usually bring whatever book I am reading, settle in on a couch and give the kids free reign to play with the train table and pick out books.  I was pleasantly surprised when my daughter toddled over with the book Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park.  

Bee-Bim Bop is a popular Korean dish consisting of rice, marinated beef, and vegetables, and this story combines adorable repetitive rhymes about cooking a meal from a child's point of view, with a kid-friendly recipe in the back.  Right up our alley.

Korean food is not as mainstream as other Asian cuisines, but it is just as good.  I am a more recent devotee, my husband has been eating Korean food since he was quite young. 

Thirty years ago, my father-in-law was studying Tae Kwon Do, the national sport of South Korea, and the friends he made at the do-jang led to a deep appreciation of Korean culture.  A love of Korean cuisine blossomed from there, and his young family, which included my husband, started eating it about as often as most American families eat Italian food. Along with spaghetti and meatballs, dishes like bulgogi, kalbi, and kimchee simply became part of their regular dinner rotation.

My first experience with Korean food came when I met my husband, and I was hooked. 

On him, and on Korean food.

Bulgogi (marinated and barbecued beef), Bibim Nengmyun (cold noodles in a chili paste), and kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage) are my favorites and we tend to order and make these dishes over and over.  Until our daughter randomly picked out Bee-bim Bop, we had never had this dish, but we were certainly excited to try.   

Here's how Linda Sue Park says to make it, with a few minor changes from me:

Ingredients
2 cups white rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, chopped
5 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb beef (sirloin tip) cut very thin
2 carrots, chopped julienne
1 can chopped spinach, drained
1 can Asian bean sprouts, drained
4 eggs
vegetable oil for frying
chili paste (optional)

Cook rice according to instructions on bag.

Meanwhile, for marinade, combine garlic, scallions, soy sauce, sugar, oil, sesame seeds, pepper in bowl.  Add meat to bowl, mix and massage for three minutes.

Whisk eggs together, pour a little oil into the pan and heat until hot.  Add enough egg to thinly cover the bottom.  Let egg sit until cooked through, flip in one piece, cook through on other side.  Finish off eggs in this manner, making and stacking pancakes.  Set eggs aside.  When cool, roll up the stack and slice into thin ribbons.

In the same pan, stir fry the carrots, spinach and bean sprouts over high heat until tender. Set aside.

Reheat the same pan over high heat, then add the meat and marinade in all at once.  Stir and spread out the meat, then let it sit for 3 minutes.  Stir until meat is brown and slightly caramelized.

To assemble, place the rice in a bowl, top with vegetables, egg strips, meat and juices, and chili paste (if desired), then mix the heck out of it!  Enjoy!

Hurry, Mama, hurry, Gotta chop chop chop, Hungry - very hungry for some Bee Bim Bop!