Stir Crazy

As the holiday season swings into high gear we can find ourselves overwhelmed with all that has to be done. 

Shopping, decorating, visiting, parties, baking, exams and more it can leave little time for other things.

This is a fast meal that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes.  You can use beef if you wish but I chose ground turkey to keep it lean and light. 

Leftovers can be tucked into a wrap for lunch the next day.

Spicy Moroccan Stir Fry

• 1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
• 1 large carrot and yellow pepper cut into thin pieces
• 1 small onion diced 
• 1/2 cup of peas
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp each of ginger, coriander, cumin and cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup of chicken broth

In a skillet heat a bit of oil and brown the chicken until crumbly.

Add the vegetables and spices and mix well.

Add the broth and bring to a low boil reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve over hot couscous.

Wine Suggestion: Gewurztraminer

Cheers!

Turkey Time

My favorite holiday is only days away.
Thanksgiving.
The holiday that celebrates family, food and the fall harvest.

This is a bit of a twist on the usual run of the mill roasted turkey.
I brined and smoked this bird to take it up a notch.

Brining is a method of placing the turkey in a salt water bath that is centuries old. It makes the proteins in the meat change their pattern which traps the moisture to create the ultimate juicy turkey.
To finish it off I brushed on a Bourbon Glaze that created a very tasty crispy skin.
A Spicy Apple Gravy to serve along side and simple cranberry salsa completes this dish
There may seem to be a lot of steps to this dish but it is well worth every minute.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Smoked and Brined Turkey with Bourbon Glaze , Spicy Apple Gravy and Cranberry Salsa

Brine and Turkey

• 1 turkey 10 to 25 pounds
• 4 cups of kosher salt (or 2 of table salt)
• 2 gallons of water

In a large vessel such as a cooler or deep roasting pan combine the salt and water. Mix well.
submerge the thawed turkey . If not covered make more salt water until covered.
place in a cool place or in a fridge overnight.

~
Preheat the grill to 400F

Remove turkey from the brine and rinse well. Remove as much water as you can so that it is as dry as possible.
Stuff as desired.
Brush with oil and place on a grill that has a prepared smoker box or smoker packet as described here.

Bourbon Glaze

• 3/4 cup of Bourbon
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1 tsp chili powder

Combine in bowl and brush on turkey during the last half of roasting time.

~
Roast until turkey is cooked through.

The temperature of the thermometer inserted into stuffing should read 165F and in the turkey thigh 180F when the turkey is fully cooked.
Remove turkey from pan to a platter and remove stuffing to a serving dish and carve turkey as desired.

~

Spicy Apple Gravy

• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup of apple cider or apple juice
  
• 2 tsp of oil
• 4 tbsp of flour

In a pot heat the oil and add the flour.
Stir until it thickens. (this is called a roux)
Add the remaining ingredients while stirring.
Simmer and stir until desired thickness.

Cranberry Salsa

• 1 can of cranberry sauce
• 1 tbsp of honey
• tbsp of minced white onion
• 2 tsp of minced jalapeno pepper
• 2 tbsp minced parsley
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 tsp cracked peppercorn
• 2 tbsp tequila
• 1 tsp each of orange and lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve.


Wine Suggestion: Riesling

Cheers!

Unexpected

As I have said before turkey is one of the leanest most nutritious meats around and
throughout the year there are often sales on turkeys better than Christmas or Thanksgiving.

So why wait until those times to enjoy turkey? Next time you see great sale on turkeys, stock up! Not only is it good for you but very economical as leftovers can provide days worth of meals. Switch it up by changing the usual ingredients for something unexpected.
I have given the traditional turkey a southern flair by glazing it with a spicy honey mixture and kicking up the stuffing a notch by adding a couple different ingredients.

So have fun cooking turkey by adding your own ethnic flair and don't pass up on all the great benefits of this great meat.

Spicy Glazed Turkey with Southern Style Stuffing

• 1 thawed 7 to 12 pound turkey
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground chili's
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp water
• ~ olive oil
  

Stuffing

• 1 loaf of bread diced
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1/2 a red bell pepper diced
• one green onion sliced
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup cooked bacon, prosciutto or other smoky type meat.
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
  
• 2 cups chicken broth.
• 3 tbs butter

Heat oven to 325F
In a frying pan melt the butter and cook the yellow onion and red pepper until soft add the spices, green onion and meat. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Place bread in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and broth and mix well. Set aside to cool.

~
Prepare stuffing as above and let cool. Meanwhile, In a bowl mix spices, honey, garlic and water until well blended.
Remove neck and giblets from turkey. Rinse inner and outer cavities of the turkey and pat dry with paper towel. Stuff turkey and brush outer skin with olive oil.
Cover and place in the oven. Cook 3- to 31/2 hours
After the first 2 hours remove the cover and brush with the honey spice mixture. The temperature of the thermometer inserted into stuffing should read 165F and in the turkey thigh 180F when the turkey is fully cooked.
Remove turkey from pan to a platter and remove stuffing to a serving dish and carve turkey as desired. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners on the stove. Heat the drippings scraping the bits of turkey off the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock.
Heat to boiling. In a small jar mix 1/4 cup each of flour and water and shake until smooth.
Pour water flour mixture slowly into the hot broth , stirring well until thickened to desired consistency.
Season with sage , thyme, salt and pepper or whatever you prefer to taste. At this point you may use a gravy separator to remove any fat for a lighter gravy if you wish. Strain gravy into a gravy boat and serve along side the turkey.


Wine Suggestion: Vidal

Cheers!

Lighten Up!

At this time of year a lot of you may be giving up on your New Years weight loss resolutions. That is not hard to do in the middle of a cold dreary winter when all you want to do is eat carb rich hearty comfort foods and are perhaps fighting those nasty viruses going around.

I have previously mentioned how much I adore making pasta sauce.
There is a bit of a twist to this one. Here I given the traditional ground beef style a healthy makeover.
I have replaced beef with extra lean ground turkey which is much lower in fat and higher in protein and regular canned tomatoes with the salt free.
I also have added red chilies which boost the metabolism, lots of fresh garlic and oregano which all strengthen the immune system, anchovy fillets which contain Omega fatty acid rich fish oil and fresh tomatoes to add extra Lypocene.
Replace the white pasta with whole wheat for extra fibre and complex carbohydrates.

Finally pour a glass of heart healthy red wine and add a slice of whole grain high fibre baguette.

There you have it, great tasting comfort food that is good for you.

Healthy Pasta Sauce

• ~olive oil
• 1 pound of extra lean ground turkey
• 1 onion diced
• 1 red pepper diced
• 4 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1 can of unsalted tomatoes
• 2 tbsp each of basil and oregano
• 1 dried hot chili minced
• 5 anchovy fillets sliced
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• pepper and sea salt to taste
• whole wheat pasta of choice

In a large deep pan heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook until softened. Add the ground turkey and cook until brown.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile cook pasta according to package.
Ladle sauce over hot pasta and serve.

Wine Suggestion: Syrah

Cheers!

Better Late then Never

I finally have got around to cooking my turkey.

We celebrated Christmas and New Years out of town this year so my turkey sat patiently in the freezer and waited.
We had the luxury of wallowing in the leftovers for a week, turkey sandwiches piled high with lots of mayonnaise and black pepper, hot turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy all ending with a hearty turkey soup. It was total heaven!
I will be posting the homemade turkey stock and soup next.

Turkeys are not all that difficult to cook although many people will think otherwise. White turkey meat is one of the leanest meats you can eat as well as being extremely high in protein.

You can vary the stuffing ingredients as some prefer a drier stuffing to the rather moist one I have created here. I have left amounts out on some ingredients as much will depend on how big your turkey actually is and personal taste preference in seasonings.

Roast Turkey with Red Onion and Apple Stuffing with Pan Gravy.

• 1 turkey thawed rinsed and dried with giblets removed.
• 4 tbsp of butter
  
• 1 red onion diced
• 2 celery ribs diced
• 2 apples peeled and diced
• sage ,thyme, poultry seasoning and parsley to taste ( I use around a tablespoon of each)
  
• 1 loaf of day old bread
• salt and pepper
  
• chicken broth to moisten stuffing
  

Preheat oven to 325F Place turkey in a large roasting pan.
You can place the giblets alongside if you wish.
In a frying pan melt the butter and cook the onion and celery until softened.
Add the seasonings and mix well.
Cut up the day old bread into cubes and place in a large bowl.
Add the apples and broth and mix well.
Stuff cavity of turkey and tail end if you wish.
Rub a little poultry seasoning and black pepper over the skin.
Cover and place in the oven. Cook according to the following chart.
Roast turkey weight and cooking chart:
10 – 12 lb (4.5 – 5.5 kg) 3-1/2 – 3-3/4 hours
12 – 16 lb (5.5 – 7 kg) 3-3/4 – 4 hours
16 – 22 lb (7 – 10 kg) 4 – 4-1/2 hours
20 – 25 lb (10 – 12 kg) 4-1/2 – 5-1/2 hours

After the first hour remove the cover and begin basting the turkey every half hour. The temperature of the thermometer inserted into stuffing should read 165F and in the turkey thigh 180F when the turkey is fully cooked.
Remove turkey from pan to a platter and remove stuffing to a serving dish and carve turkey as desired. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners on the stove. Heat the drippings scraping the bits of turkey off the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock.
Heat to boiling. In a small jar mix 1/4 cup each of flour and water and shake until smooth.
Pour water flour mixture slowly into the hot broth , stirring well until thickened to desired consistency.
Season with sage , thyme, salt and pepper to taste. At this point you may use a gravy separator to remove any fat for a lighter gravy if you wish. Strain gravy into a gravy boat and serve along side the turkey.


Wine Suggestion: Riesling

Cheers!