With a Little Time and Patience

After yesterday's post on making Puffed Pastry, this post will be a snap.

But you'll need yesterday's recipe before starting this one today, so get started!

Pic of my TV screen - the savory pies

This recipe idea started when I was watching a show called "City Bakes," where Paul Hollywood visits various cities around the world and samples their pastries and breads. In the episode where he visits St. Petersburg, Russia, Paul visits a little pastry shop with an impressive array of abundantly decorated savory pies. These just blew me away. They were so beautiful, they took my breath away. Watching with my sister-in-law, who was manning the remote, I had to ask her to STOP, PAUSE, so I could take pics of the TV screen. I wanted to be able to refer to something, when I attempted to recreate one of these pies. And I absolutely planned to recreate one! 

Free Form Puff Pastry Turkey Pie

The first part was making a puffed pastry (see yesterday's blog post for that recipe). While the recipe on the TV show did not absolutely specify a puffed pastry, it certainly looked like it had many hallmarks of one. So, my plan was to make a slightly enriched version of a puffed pastry. I made that and got it in the fridge to rest for the night.
 

Slice of the Pie

What struck me the most about the pies on "City Bakes" was their ornateness. They were so overwhelmingly beautiful. That said, it is in no way necessary to spend time in that much decoration. The pie could easily be made using a good pie pastry, either in the same manner as with this recipe (below) or as a rustic Galette. But, having made a puffed pastry for croissants a few months back, I felt a little more prepared to attempt something like this, in all its ornate glory.

And "glory," it certainly was. In every way, this pie was just stellar. The ornate decorations came out beautifully, over top of the pastry case itself, which was also stellar; the bottom just as nicely browned and as crispy as the top, puffed beautifully and with such an enchantingly lovely golden brown. 

The next part was the filling for this pie. The filling came out just an absolute delight of flavors. I used leftover turkey breast for the filling meat, but in this recipe, chicken - even just a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket - would do. My mixture was inspired, if I do say so myself, because it had all the flavor I had hoped for.

I have been trying to get some good greens and other vegetables into our food, things my husband has never been wont to eat in past. Kale, not having huge flavor, per se, is easy to cut into a very fine chiffonade and slip into soups or other foods such as this turkey mixture. A chiffonade is easily accomplished by stacking leaves and rolling them, cigar-like, then slicing across the "cigar" very finely. Basil in chiffonade is lovely over a tomato salad or tomato soup. Kale, while usually found curly, is a little more challenging to roll and slice this way, but it can still be accomplished, and the little "threads" of kale all but disappear in the mix.

Hot Pepper Mustard Relish

Since I have many jars of my Hot Pepper Mustard Relish on my pantry shelf, and since it tastes so wonderfully good, I have been using it in recipes, to marked success. While not noticeable as such, it does lend a great under-note. I know not everyone will have this amazing condiment on their shelves, so I will say that if you are one of those who has not yet had the pleasure of trying this mustard relish, I would substitute about 2 tablespoons of honey mustard mixed with 4 tablespoons of sweet pickle relish, or even Chow Chow, if you have it. The piquancy of the mustard, along with the sweetness of the pickle relish, should approximate the type of flavors very well. Let me say that if I had no Hot Pepper Mustard Relish at hand, this is what I would use to substitute.

Free-Form Puff Pastry Turkey Pie

Free Form Puff Pastry Turkey Pie

One 8 x 12-inch pie

1 recipe Puffed Pastry Dough

FILLING:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 cups finely chopped leftover turkey 
     or chicken
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
4 ounces Chevre goat cheese, crumbled
2 cups kale in fine chiffonade, no stems
¼ cup minced parsley
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, 
     minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
⅓ cup Hot Pepper Mustard Relish
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, 
    for egg wash

The day before, make the Puffed Pastry recipe. You will need about half the recipe, so use the other half of the dough and make some croissants - you won't be sorry. If not making your own Puffed Pastry, simply thaw a box of store-bought puff pastry sheets. 

MAKE THE FILLING:  Heat a skillet over low heat and add in the butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add the chopped onion and the first ½-teaspoon salt. Stir to coat the onion pieces and allow the onion to cook, very slowly, stirring occasionally, until beautifully golden brown and caramelized. This can take nearly an hour, depending on how low your burner will go. Add in the garlic and stir for 3 minutes more. 

While onion is caramelizing, place the chopped turkey in a mixing bowl, along with the hard boiled eggs. Add in the onion and garlic, once done, and add in all the remaining ingredients except the egg wash. Stir the mixture to evenly distribute the ingredients. Set aside.
 

Free Form Puff Pastry Turkey Pie. Before and after baking.

MAKE THE PIE: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Cut off about half of the Puffed Pastry and roll out to fairly thin, about one-sixteenth of an inch. Cut a piece for the base of the pie about 8 x 12-inches. Set this onto the baking sheet lined with parchment. Cut another rectangle, just slightly larger, about 9 x 13-inches. Pour the filling mixture onto the base piece of pastry, pressing into a mound down the middle of the pastry, leaving plenty of edge space clear. Brush the free edges with some of the egg wash. Place the larger rectangle over top of the filling, smoothing the edges to match with the bottom crust and pressing any air out of the center. Press down on the edges to seal them together. Brush the entire top of the crust with egg wash.

Free Form Puff Pastry Turkey Pie - before baking

Cutting decorative strips

With any scraps from the pastry, cut out the decorations. For flowers, if you have small flower shaped cutters, use those, or other small shapes, such as leaves, etc. For the jagged edged designs, use oddly shaped bits, up to 8 inches long and up to an inch wide and slice into the sides at about ¼-inch intervals. Set the jagged edged pieces here and there, curling them or just curving them, overlapping them where needed. Set flower pieces wherever desired. Decorate as much or as little as desired. For the edges around the pie, slice inwards at ½- to ¾-inch intervals. With the tip of a knife and a finger, give each "tab" a twist so the top of the tab is now the bottom. This is entirely free-form design. There is no right or wrong way. When satisfied, brush the top with egg wash again.

Bake the pie in the center of the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Using a spatula (or two) slide the pie onto a decorative plate or tray to serve.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

An Idea for Leftover Turkey or Chicken

I realize that not everyone has leftover turkey in September. I did happen to bake a turkey breast recently, and even with just the breast, there were leftovers. Plenty of them, really. 

I have a very old cookbook, "Better Homes and Gardens Favorite Ways with Chicken, Turkey, Duck and Game Birds," copyright 1967. Long title, but the part that is biggest and boldest is just "Favorite Ways with Chicken." Chicken and turkey can be interchanged in a recipe, so this book has been very handy over the years. The difficulty lay in the fact that when I began learning to cook, I was in Guatemala, where many of the things called for just did not exist. Like canned soup. If anyone is fond of reaching for a can of soup to make a sauce or gravy, not having them is a distinct disadvantage. 
 

Turkey Crepe Casserole

When I went to Guatemala, I was just 20 years old. Just barely out of teenage, and still very full of myself, with all the pride and hubris only a teenager can have. It is only later, when one looks back on her life that this becomes very apparent. And yet, without all that, I may never have managed to learn all that I did. I learned, not just to cook things I knew of from home, but new foods, some I'd never heard of prior to my time there. I went about learning all I possibly could. I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove I was a good housewife and mother. Learn the language, so I could understand and be understood. I applied myself diligently, although sometimes kicking and screaming.

So, when looking through this cookbook, I found the idea of making crepes quite interesting. I didn't generally have access to turkey, but chicken? Yes, of course. And then I ran into the problem of canned soup. I did know that a creamed soup straight from the can was thick, and had to be diluted. So, I felt I could create a similar product by making a roux and adding less liquid to keep it thick. The liquid would have to be well flavored, to be able to flavor the casserole. At that time I did use bouillon cubes. The ones most commonly available in Guatemala were "Maggi" brand. As it turned out, this approach worked out well, and I have made the recipe the same ever since. Except I don't use bouillon cubes anymore, because of the amount of salt and MSG. Instead, these days I use either a chicken "base" or a chicken demi-glace for the chicken flavor I am looking for. 

Back at that time in Guatemala, I kept milk in the house, as I had growing kids, and I did eat cereal. These days, I don't keep milk in the house, as we don't drink it, nor do we eat cereal (except for me and oatmeal, but no milk there either). What I do keep is either heavy cream or evaporated milk, and usually both, in case of need, such as this. So when mixing milk into some of the faux "can of soup" mixture, I either dilute the cream or the evaporated milk with half water and use that. 

Ultimately, the recipe is fantastic, making use of some leftover cooked chicken or turkey, albeit in very small portion. It is delicious, and with a salad and some green beans alongside, a very nice and satisfying meal indeed, whether as a dinner or as a brunch.

Turkey (or Chicken) Crepe Casserole

Turkey Crepe Casserole

Serving size 2 - 3 crepes

CREPES:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1 cup finely diced cooked turkey or chicken
1 (9 - 10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
¼ cup Panko crumbs
¼ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely minced shallot

CHICKEN BECHAMEL:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon chicken "base" or chicken demi-glace
1¼ cup hot water
-----
1 cup milk
½ cup sliced almonds

Make Crepes: Beat egg, milk, melted butter and flour, either with a whisk or a blender, until smooth. Do not over beat. Heat a small (7 to 10-inch) nonstick skillet. Lightly grease the skillet (nonstick cooking spray works well). Pour in 2 tablespoons of the batter and lift the pan, swirling the batter to as large a circle possible. Set pan on heat and allow the top of the crepe to become dry, similarly to a pancake. Remove the crepe to a plate and repeat this procedure, 2 tablespoons at a time, until you have 12 crepes, lightly browned on the bottoms but not the top. Set them aside.
 

Making Crepes

Make the Filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Make the Bechamel: Mix together the hot water and the chicken "base" or demiglace, stirring until dissolved together. Set aside to cool while beginning the sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour, salt and white pepper until smooth. Add in the chicken base mixture, stirring, until the mixture is thick. Pour half of this thickened mixture into the Filling mixture, as a binder, stirring to incorporate.

To the remainder of the bechamel, add the last cup of milk and stir well. Set aside.
 

Filling crepes and arranging in casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 9 x 13-inch casserole, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Set one crepe, unbrowned side upwards. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling onto one end of the crepe and roll up. Set into the casserole, then repeat with the remaining crepes and filling. 

Once filled, pour the remaining bechamel mixture over top of the crepes. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, until bubbling. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Now for the Uses of Leftover Turkey

Once Thanksgiving passes, or Christmas, or any time there is a whole turkey involved, you will likely have leftovers. One is constantly looking for a new way to use them up. Aside from the meal involved with Thanksgiving, which is a personal favorite among meals, I love the leftovers best. There are always ways to use leftover turkey. And the best thing is that even though though many of these recipes specifically call for turkey, they can also be made with leftover chicken, or even a rotisserie chicken, making the whole thing much faster.

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Butter Dumplings

Turkey soup is a tradition in many families. Mine was not one of them. I once tried using the picked-over carcass to make a soup, to please my husband. Truly, I could not see what the fuss was about. I thought the soup was completely bland. I have made stock many a time over the years, using raw parts of whichever animal was available at the time. I also have, on occasion, roasted beef soup bones before making the stock, and that was great. I think what was missing from that soup made with a picked-over turkey carcass was pan drippings. That is what really makes the flavor pop. If your pan drippings from the turkey all went towards making stellar gravy, then one is just, sadly, out of luck on that score.

So, it was with some trepidation that I made a Turkey Vegetable Soup a couple of days ago, with one whole leg/thigh portion of our turkey from last week. I also thought to make dumplings for the soup, just because I haven't made dumplings for a very long time. 

The first thing I did was remove the skin from the leg and thigh, insofar as it was possible. I did this because while our turkey tasted perfectly seasoned, I did have a reaction to the salt. I realize that most of the salt was absorbed into the turkey before roasting, but there was still salt on the skin, so the skin came off, despite the possible addition of flavor to the soup. My husband likes soups that have heft to them. Either a creamed soup, or a soup with so many things in it that a spoon nearly stands up on its own. I really love vegetable soups, adding in anything at all that I have on hand. This soup was not much different. I had less vegetables on hand than I do at some times, but I had enough. My turkey was a smaller one, at 13 pounds, and after cooking the whole leg and thigh in the soup, I had close to 4 cups of turkey meat. If you had a very large bird, calculate accordingly.

Ultimately, the results were stunningly good. Here is what I did:

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Butter Dumplings

Turkey Vegetable Soup

Makes about 10 cups

2 - 3 tablespoons butter or oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 cups)
2 - 3 carrots, scrubbed and diced (1 1/2 cups)
2 - 3 stalks celery, cubed (1 cup)
1 large parsnip, peeled, diced (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole leg and thigh of a roasted turkey, approximately 3½ to 4 cups meat worth
8 cups turkey or chicken stock, or water
1 large potato, peeled, cubed (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
½ teaspoon saffron threads, optional
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch parsley
1 small bunch cilantro
3 cups diced cabbage
2 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash
1 cup frozen peas

Sweated vegetables, turkey leg & thigh, and soup ready to cook

In a large soup pot, melt the butter and add in the onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery and parsnip. Sweat the vegetables (cook without browning) for about 10 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and stir for another 2 or 3 minutes. Set the turkey parts on top of the vegetables and add in the stock or water. Add the potato, saffron threads if using, pepper and bay leaf. Using kitchen twine, tie the small bunches of parsley and cilantro together (for easy removal later) and add to the pot. Bring to boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for at least an hour, until the meat falls easily from the bone. Remove the turkey from the pot to a plate to cool.

Turkey removed to cool, soup so far, squash & cabbage added in

Add the cabbage and squash to the pot, cover and continue to cook while working with the turkey meat. Once cool enough to handle, remove all meat from bones, discarding the bones, tendons and skin, if remaining. Cut the meat into small bits and return them to the pot. Taste the soup for seasoning. My turkey was salted enough that I only needed to add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the large pot. If using a salted stock, be careful to taste before adding more salt. Allow the soup to cook for another half hour, or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and the tied bundle of parsley and cilantro and discard. Add in the frozen peas and cook only until the peas are warmed through, 5 or so minutes.

meat removed from bones, the meat cubed, then added back to soup

The dumplings idea sort of stayed in my head after watching The Chew, where Michael Symon was making his "Pap's" turkey soup with ham and dumplings. I have a recipe I used to make in past, but my dumpling dough was far thinner than the one Michael Symon made. I made a decision to update my dumpling recipe. The dumplings can be made with two spoons, or doing it as Michael Symon did, sliding portions off a board. I did make my dumplings much smaller. I hate having to try and cut something in a very hot liquid. Method to my madness. The chives idea looked pretty when Michael Symon made his dumplings, and since I still had a little bit of fresh chives still growing in my sun room, I used them. Finely minced scallion or even shallot would work also. The dumpling batter can be made earlier in the day, to cook later.

Butter & Chive Dumplings

¾ cup all-purpose flour (3.4 ounces)
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

Mix dumpling dough, spread on small board, paring knife to portion

Place the first three dry ingredients into a small bowl. Add the soft butter and rub the butter into the dry ingredients using fingers, or sliging the whole mixture across palms, until it has become flaky looking. Add in the beaten eggs and stir to combine. Add the chives and stir.

Either dampen or lightly oil a small cutting board or other flat surface with no edge or lip. Place the dumpling batter on this surface and smooth out to about 1/4 inch thick. Moisten the top or spray with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or until the soup is ready.

Heat a pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Begin sliding bits of the dumpling dough into the water. I used two 4-inch paring knives. I slid one small length of dough about 1/2 x 2-inches on one knife, then used the second knife to cut that bit in half, dropping the two smaller pieces into the water. You can make them larger if desired. The dumplings are cooked once they rise to the surface of the water. Remove them with a slotted spoon to the pot of soup. Repeat until all the dumpling dough is used. and added to the soup pot.

A most delicious Turkey Vegetable Soup with Butter & Chive Dumplings

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Report on How All my Dishes Came Out

Our Thanksgiving Feast 2014 (held yesterday)

Rich Turkey Gravy (roux method)

My husband, his sister and I celebrated our Thanksgiving yesterday, the day AFTER Thanksgiving. This past week I have been describing the dishes I planned to make, or had made as I went along. I made the Cran-Cherry Relish with Port earliest, on November 21st, since cranberry relish will last for quite a while once made.  I made a decision regarding what I intended to do with my turkey, i.e. butterfly a smaller bird, "dry brine" or "salt rub" on it, and I planned to rub an herbed butter under the skin before roasting. I described all this in my post of November 24th. I went into  my method for making a simple, delicious turkey stock in preparation for my Rich Turkey Gravy to come on November 25th. In the November 26th post, I went into the making of my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole, which is an old recipe and always wonderful, as well as my plans for a recipe of Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts and also how I planned to make my Riced Potatoes with Boursin and Chives.

As well as these preparations, I also created a recipe for a Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie, which came out unbelievably good. The smell of it while baking was certainly a precursor of the flavors to come! I used my recipe for Spicier Pumpkin Pie for our pumpkin pie.

The Results

Cran-Cherry Relish with Ruby Port

Cran-Cherry Orange Relish with Port

I hadn't tasted the Cran-Cherry Relish with Port, except for licking the spoon after it was made and stored in the fridge. This was a most amazing recipe. I have always loved my Cranberry Orange Relish, but this new recipe truly topped even that old favorite. Oh, my was it good!

Rich Turkey Gravy

The gravy was made using the roux method, described in my post titled, Two Methods to Make Great Turkey Gravy. It turned out excellently, although there were almost no pan juices from the turkey, to give that extra boost of flavor.

Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts

Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts

My Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts was good. To me, it was no better than my original "Better Than Mom's Stuffing" recipe. Considering the cost of the jar of chestnuts from Williams Sonoma, it was not worth that much. My sister-in-law, who loves chestnuts, was quite enamored of this version of my stuffing, and also said that the cornbread in the mix gave it just that tiny bit of crunch. She felt it was a keeper. I may keep the cornbread part, but spending over $18 for the chestnuts - when, to me, their flavor was undetectable  - was not worth that price. Period. I love chestnuts also, but I would much rather use them in something with less other flavors vying for attention. If you should want to try this new version of stuffing, go to the original recipe for Better Than Mom's Stuffing, use only a 1-lb loaf of sandwich bread and substitute 8 ounces of cornbread for the rest. The chestnuts are up to you. Or use regular pecans or walnuts as the recipe states. Those are the only differences in my newer recipe. 

Riced Potatoes with Boursin & Chives

Riced Potatoes with Boursin & Chives

I love my riced potatoes no matter how I choose to prepare them. Most often made with cream cheese, we are perfectly content with them. I often add chopped scallions if they are in my vegetable drawer. Sometimes I sub a 4-ounce log of goat Chevre for the cream cheese. I have, on occasion, mixed the riced potatoes with Boursin cheese in past. It is pricier than buying cream cheese or even the goat cheese, so it is generally reserved for special occasions. It is always wonderfully good, and these potatoes were no different.

Roasted Salt-Rubbed Butterflied Turkey

The Dry-Brined or Salt-Rubbed Turkey

My review of the butterflied and salt rubbed turkey are mixed. If you choose to salt rub your turkey, keep these thoughts in mind:

• Once the turkey has been salt rubbed and left to set, the skin cannot be loosened to insert an herbed butter or other flavoring underneath. To add an herbed butter under the skin, this must be done prior to the salt rub.
• The salt on the turkey will cause various things to happen: 1) the skin contracts and dries, giving an exceptionally crispy skin once roasted. 2) the salt will cause the juices to stay locked inside the turkey while roasting, leaving almost no pan drippings. 3) You will need an alternate to pan drippings for basting purposes. 4) If you have a salt sensitivity, while the turkey is perfectly seasoned (in other words, it is perfectly salted, without tasting salty), it can make you as exceedingly thirsty as if you ate a really salty ham.

Our turkey, sliced and served

As for the first point, I had already made a very flavorful herbed butter I intended to place underneath the skin before roasting. This was the first time I made a salt rubbed turkey, so it was a surprise, how much the skin contracted. I could not loosen the skin at all without tearing. Instead, I used the herbed butter to baste the turkey while roasting.

I always use the pan drippings from the turkey to add into the stock I've made previously. This gives the stock that extra "roasted turkey" flavor, making an already flavorful stock exceptional. With less than a quarter of a cup of pan drippings to add, there was no real boost to flavor. While my gravy was great, it could have been even better.

As to the last point, I do happen to be very salt-sensitive. After dinner I was drinking water like there was no tomorrow. This truly surprised me, because although I knew how much salt was applied to the turkey (3 tablespoons - which is not that bad, considering the bird was 13 pounds), it did not taste salt-y at all. It just tasted absolutely, perfectly seasoned. It was also pretty juicy, easy to cut and eat. It was really, fantastically - GOOD. 

As I bought a turkey that was between 12 to 14 pounds and butterflied (or spatchcocked) the turkey, it roasted in 90 minutes. This was a real plus. The whole salt-rubbed, butterflied turkey was delicious. I say this with no reservation.

My recommendations on this matter? 

If you do not have a salt sensitivity and do not need the pan juices, this method is highly recommended. On the plus side, this method is for you if:

• you love crispy skin
• you love perfectly seasoned turkey all the way through
• you want a turkey that roasts quickly (butterflied)
• you love a turkey that stays moist
• you have no real salt sensitivity

The Pies

Spicier Pumpkin Pie with Galeux D'Eysines Pumpkin

I used the Galeux D'Eysines French heirloom pumpkin puree in my Spicier Pumpkin Pie for our Thanksgiving. The Galeux D'Eysines pumpkin, once roasted, was one of the wetter types I have used. It exuded massive amounts of liquid while baking, and once I removed the squash meat from the skin, I set it into a colander for a further few hours to drip. This left me with a total of about 3 cups of pumpkin puree from this whole pumpkin. In comparison, the Jarrahdale blue squash, set in a colander after removing the flesh from the skin, exuded little liquid, and yielded about 12 cups of pureed squash. I have used the Jarrahdale squash for the past 3 years to make my pies, and it has a wonderfully silky texture, great for pie. The Galeux D'Eysines pumpkin was also one of the most silky-smooth textured of the various squash or pumpkins I have used and yielded a most beautiful and exceptionally tasty pumpkin pie. It also had the brightest orange flesh inside of any squash or pumpkin I have used, yielding a really beautifully colored pie. 

The Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie was heavenly. Absolutely one of the best flavored pecan pies you could ever want! I will post that recipe next time. 

I hope everyone had a most wonderfully, blessedly happy Thanksgiving holiday. I sure did!

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Plans for my Holiday Turkey

This blog is a continuation on the Musing on Thanksgiving theme. I am planning quite a few new ways to do things for this Thanksgiving, but as I have yet to make these dishes, I cannot exactly tell everyone how to do them. I can, however, tell you what I am planning to do!

To Spatchcock a Turkey?

In the Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit magazine, they showed an option to "spatchcock" a turkey. This is otherwise known as "butterflying", but I suppose the word spatchcock would garner immediate attention, like, "What the heck is spatchcock?" Since there were photos to accompany the recipe, of course this was easy to see. The magazine said this method was really only viable with a smaller bird, in the 12 to 14-pound range, max. A larger one would be very difficult to handle. I would tend to agree with this. Still, around these parts, in the last 3 years, I had ever yet to see a turkey under approximately 20 pounds. Lots of large, extended families around here, I guess. And I am not averse to making a large turkey, generally, because I just love turkey leftovers. 

Still, just on the off-chance, when I went grocery shopping last week, I stopped at Kessler's, our local grocery, only to find that small turkeys were ALL there were in the frozen bins! I was shocked and surprised, but gratified at this turn of events. The only problem was that for some unknown reason, there were no weights shown on the turkey package, so everyone had to lift these birds up into the hanging scale to find out what they weighed. After about the fourth time lifting one into the scale, my arm was already sore! The first two I weighed were about 11 pounds. Not bad, but geez, there would be NO leftovers that way! I ended up with one right about 13 pounds, so that is what I will be working with, come turkey day.

How to Spatchcock or Butterfly a Turkey

Legs splayed outwards or legs tucked up and inwards

The idea is to turn the turkey breast-side down. Using poultry shears along each side of the backbone to remove it. The backbone can be added to the stock pot to make a nice rich stock for the gravy, later on. Once the backbone has been removed, one is to score (with a sharp knife) to either side of the breast bone (or keel bone), thus making it easier to flatten the turkey. The turkey is now flipped over, skin side up. Using both hands, press on the breast bone with firm force, until there is a crack as the bones give way, making the bird lie flat.

I have butterflied a chicken on a couple of occasions, using this same method, so I do not anticipate any great difficulty, except for the fact that this is much larger than a 3 1/2 pound chicken! When I made the chicken this way, the recipe stated to twist the leg quarters up and inward towards the breast, so they didn't just stick out all over. Bon Appetit's recipe does not say anything about this, and even shows a photo with the legs splayed outwards (as shown on the left, above). It seems this would make it awkward to roast, especially if the roaster is not large enough to accommodate the legs this way. My plan is to attempt to twist the legs up and in a bit (as shown right, above). I have no idea yet how easy or difficult this might be. I will report!

Next Day: The Deed is Done

I brought in the turkey, which was thoroughly thawed. I got out my trusty Poultry Shears and bit the bullet. It does certainly take some hand strength to cut through the bones up and down the backbone, which was now set aside with the other ingredients for the stock. Once that was done, I tried to "score" the breastbone from the inside, in the attempt to make flattening the breast a bit easier. This step was more difficult than I anticipated. Once I turned the turkey skin-side-up and pressed down on the breastbone, it did crack, but terribly lopsided. Oh well. At least it is flat enough. 

Today I also decided to Dry-Brine my Turkey once I had accomplished the butterflying part. Some recipe say to dry brine for only 8 hours, and some up to 4 days. I opted for the 4 day method, mainly because this gives me leave to get the stock made well ahead also. The dry brine is also made with a large portion of salt, though not as much as a wet brine. Here is the recipe I used:

Dry Brine for a 12 - 14 Pound Turkey

3 tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 bay leaf, vein removed
1½ teaspoons dry whole sage, rubbed
1½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon allspice berries

Spatchcocked turkey, left   |   Rubbed with Dry Brine, right

Set the salt and sugar in a small bowl. In the well of a small grinder used only for spices, crumble the bay leaf and add in the sage, thyme peppercorns and allspice berries. Grind finely and add to the salt and sugar. Mix well. Use to rub all over a smaller turkey, inside and out. Set the turkey on a pan in the refrigerator, uncovered, for up to 4 days before roasting.
Since the dry brine has a good bit of salt, I took the salt out of my Herbed Butter recipe. This is what I am going to make for my compound butter this year:

Herbed Butter - for a Dry-Brined Turkey

Herbed Butter for Turkey

Enough for one large turkey

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon capers, minced
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced

Have the butter at room temperature, soft enough to mix with the herbs. Add in the sage and thyme leaves with the Dijon mustard and minced capers and garlic. Mix well; set aside.

Use this mixture to rub under the skin of the turkey before roasting.

 The goal in making the turkey this way is not to bring that gloriously browned whole bird to the table, which I have never done in any case. The goal is getting the bird done in record time, and making it easy to carve. The oven is preheated to 400 degrees to start. A bed of vegetables (celery, carrots, onion quarters, whole garlic heads, cut in half) and the turkey goes in set on top of this bed of vegetables. A half cup of water is poured into the pan and the whole thing goes into the oven for 30 minutes at this high temperature. Then the heat is lowered to 350 degrees for another hour, basting with melted butter or oil every 20 minutes. A meat thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh should register 165 degrees.  The bird is tented with foil for 30 minutes before carving. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.