I was, as we all know, craving my annual post-Thanksgiving dinner turkey sandwich well before the holiday actually arrived (http://kitchen-loulou.blogspot.com/2010/11/building-perfect-turkey-sandwich.html). As delicious as this tradition is, there’s so much more to be had from what’s left after the big show. Yes, there were a couple of rounds of turkey sandwiches (if we’re being completely honest, and I think we should be, I could eat another one right now and be oh-so- happy about it).
Beyond sandwich perfection, there was turkey tortilla soup, turkey bacon bagels for breakfast and the remainder of the mashed potatoes topped a delicious shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight. Never one to miss a great culinary opportunity, yesterday I tossed the turkey carcass into a stock pot, then added onions, garlic, carrots, celery, dill, parsley, thyme, salt, black peppercorns and water. Voila, four hours later I had six quarts of turkey stock, ready to be chilled. I used the Barefoot Contessa’s chicken stock recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-stock-recipe/index.html)
with two minor adjustments, in lieu of three-five pound chicken carcasses, I used one 15 pound turkey carcass. I also omitted the parsnips because I couldn’t think of what else I would do with the rest of package. (The remnants of all the other ingredients are things I will use in other recipes.) After a night in the refrigerator the stock was ready to be skimmed of fat, packaged into quart size containers and tucked into the freezer. It makes me smile when I open the freezer just to see those containers of liquid gold all lined up on the shelf. The possibilities for deliciousness are endless.
And, before I forget, in the spirit of full disclosure, there was also the matter of the leftover sweet potatoes. Here’s the problem, my older daughter by association makes the best sweet potatoes I have ever had in my life. Ever. And I do love sweet potatoes and I do love Georgia not only for making them so incredibly delicious, but also for humoring me when I ask her to make them every Thanksgiving. Really, I can’t help myself. Oh, yes, I’m supposed to be confessing here…I warmed up the leftover sweet potatoes on Saturday and ate all of them, all by myself…without remorse. Have I mentioned they’re that good?
And that, friends, family and fellow cooks, pretty much sums it up. Now that we’ve
taken stock of Thanksgiving 2010, let the Christmas cooking begin!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Building The Perfect Turkey Sandwich
I love Thanksgiving. I love planning for it, thinking about it, shopping for it and cooking for it. I love every bite of the meal and every morsel of dessert, but most of all, I love the turkey sandwich that comes later.
A sandwich may sound like a simple thing, but a proper post-Thanksgiving dinner turkey sandwich, Lou Lou style, is tantamount to a small, delicious construction project. There must be two pieces of super fresh white bread; yes, you’ve heard this from me before (http://kitchen-loulou.blogspot.com/2010/07/simple-pleasuresan-egg-sandwich.html). Once in a while I’ll shift to sunflower bread, but there’s nothing like that squishy fresh white bread as a base for the extravaganza to come. Next is a thin layer of butter to create a nice barrier, followed by a generous slathering of mayonnaise on both sides of the bread (really, spread it on like you mean it, you can’t be prissy about it!) Then, the turkey reprise, a nice thick stack (or two) of white meat sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper is what’s needed. Topping that is a hefty handful of double sausage stuffing. This is where the eye hand coordination thing becomes essential, you have to wrestle that stuffing into place and coax it into staying there until you can top it with a couple of thin slices of jellied cranberry sauce. As soon as the cranberry sauce is settled quickly put on the top piece of squishy white bread and gently press down (and by gently press down I mean smash it on good and hold on tight.) Keep one hand on the sandwich while you get a good sharp knife and cut it on the diagonal.
And there you have it, my version of the perfect turkey sandwich. That’s all I need, no chips, no pickles, no other condiments. The perfect turkey sandwich with a lovely beverage and my Thanksgiving Day festivities are complete. If, like me, you can’t get enough, another sandwich will surely be built for Friday’s breakfast.
You’ve heard my method, now what about you guys? What’s your blueprint for building the perfect turkey sandwich?
A sandwich may sound like a simple thing, but a proper post-Thanksgiving dinner turkey sandwich, Lou Lou style, is tantamount to a small, delicious construction project. There must be two pieces of super fresh white bread; yes, you’ve heard this from me before (http://kitchen-loulou.blogspot.com/2010/07/simple-pleasuresan-egg-sandwich.html). Once in a while I’ll shift to sunflower bread, but there’s nothing like that squishy fresh white bread as a base for the extravaganza to come. Next is a thin layer of butter to create a nice barrier, followed by a generous slathering of mayonnaise on both sides of the bread (really, spread it on like you mean it, you can’t be prissy about it!) Then, the turkey reprise, a nice thick stack (or two) of white meat sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper is what’s needed. Topping that is a hefty handful of double sausage stuffing. This is where the eye hand coordination thing becomes essential, you have to wrestle that stuffing into place and coax it into staying there until you can top it with a couple of thin slices of jellied cranberry sauce. As soon as the cranberry sauce is settled quickly put on the top piece of squishy white bread and gently press down (and by gently press down I mean smash it on good and hold on tight.) Keep one hand on the sandwich while you get a good sharp knife and cut it on the diagonal.
And there you have it, my version of the perfect turkey sandwich. That’s all I need, no chips, no pickles, no other condiments. The perfect turkey sandwich with a lovely beverage and my Thanksgiving Day festivities are complete. If, like me, you can’t get enough, another sandwich will surely be built for Friday’s breakfast.
You’ve heard my method, now what about you guys? What’s your blueprint for building the perfect turkey sandwich?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Dusting Off My Bread Machine
Truth be told, my bread machine has every right to harbor ill feelings toward me. Abandonment. Neglect. Alienation of affection. I am guilty of all these and more. I suspect I’m not the only one, but I won’t put anyone on the spot by asking for a show of hands or naming names.
Remember when you would put your ingredients or mix in the bread machine first thing in the morning and when you came at the end of a long day you would have a fresh loaf of bread waiting for you? You could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen before you even opened your front door. Really, who needs a welcome mat when there’s the smell of fresh bread in the air?
And, remember when you would fire up the bread machine at bedtime and smell the aroma of rising and baking bread throughout the night? Didn’t you sleep a little better knowing there would be fresh bread waiting for you in the morning?
I know there’s a school of thought that decries bread machines as a cheat, not the authentic bread baking experience. I understand that and I enjoyed making bread from scratch, but if it comes down to having freshly baked bread or not, I’ll gladly take the cheaters path with the bread machine.
Forgive my rambling, but this brings me back to my original thought…why did we retire our bread machines in the first place? Why was baking bread a trend? Really, we always need bread. Bread never goes out of style (okay, maybe it fell from grace during the height of the no carb craze, but really, bread is forever). Think of the faces of your love ones when you offer them freshly baked bread. There’s a lot of love in a loaf, my friends.
That’s it, its official. This weekend I’m dusting off my bread machine, making amends and putting it back into service. I don’t know about your grocer, but my preferred neighborhood supermarket stocks just two bread machine mixes these days. However, thank you World Wide Web, there are other options. For one, check out the selection at The Baker’s Catalogue:
http://search.kingarthurflour.com/search.jsp?N=0&rt=p&Ntt=bread+machine+mixes
Give your bread machine another try. When the dust settles, you’ll be glad you did.
Remember when you would put your ingredients or mix in the bread machine first thing in the morning and when you came at the end of a long day you would have a fresh loaf of bread waiting for you? You could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen before you even opened your front door. Really, who needs a welcome mat when there’s the smell of fresh bread in the air?
And, remember when you would fire up the bread machine at bedtime and smell the aroma of rising and baking bread throughout the night? Didn’t you sleep a little better knowing there would be fresh bread waiting for you in the morning?
I know there’s a school of thought that decries bread machines as a cheat, not the authentic bread baking experience. I understand that and I enjoyed making bread from scratch, but if it comes down to having freshly baked bread or not, I’ll gladly take the cheaters path with the bread machine.
Forgive my rambling, but this brings me back to my original thought…why did we retire our bread machines in the first place? Why was baking bread a trend? Really, we always need bread. Bread never goes out of style (okay, maybe it fell from grace during the height of the no carb craze, but really, bread is forever). Think of the faces of your love ones when you offer them freshly baked bread. There’s a lot of love in a loaf, my friends.
That’s it, its official. This weekend I’m dusting off my bread machine, making amends and putting it back into service. I don’t know about your grocer, but my preferred neighborhood supermarket stocks just two bread machine mixes these days. However, thank you World Wide Web, there are other options. For one, check out the selection at The Baker’s Catalogue:
http://search.kingarthurflour.com/search.jsp?N=0&rt=p&Ntt=bread+machine+mixes
Give your bread machine another try. When the dust settles, you’ll be glad you did.
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