Extra Schmaltz!

For various reasons, Melanie likes ground turkey more than ground beef, and so I've been making turkey meatballs a lot. Obviously the problem with turkey is that it can be really dry since it's so lean, but one day we made a random hippy turkey burger recipe and it taught us the he secret to making ground turkey not be gross: ground mushrooms!  If you grind up the mushrooms and mix them in, they kind of cook away but keep whatever you're cooking moist and give that umami flavor that's also missing from turkey. People who don't like mushrooms won't notice their presence at all unless they're specifically looking for them. This recipe is also designed to cook up really really quickly - you can have these done in the time it takes you to boil the water for the noodles. The spices are loosely based on Lillian's meatball recipe but only use dry spices for convenience. They still come out a little dry, but especially with a wetter sauce (marinara, vodka, etc....

Clockwise from the left: young coconut juice, rice, chicken (actually turkey) salad, ripe papaya, papaya salad. Holy blazes I'm posting a recipe! Almost hard to call this one, it's so easy. However, it's a valuable use for leftover chicken or turkey, and it's served cold or room temp, so it beats the heat. 2-3 c. leftover cooked chicken, shredded 1 handful beansprouts 4-6 green onions, sliced 1 large handful cilantro or culantro , sliced 1-3 hot chilies, sliced juice of 1-2 limes, depending on size 1 Tbsp. fish sauce 1-2 tsp. salt ~1 tsp sugar I like to heat up the chicken a little so that the salad is warm, but you can make it cold if you like. In the picture I didn't have beansprouts, and it was still delicious. Just mix all the ingredients together and adjust the salt and sugar. If it isn't moist enough, add a little broth or water. It should be salty and zingy with a dominant cilantro flavor.

Wasn't sure if I should post this since it's so basic, but this is essentially the stuffing we have all known and loved. I made it last night for a crowd and it got great reviews. I put some extra work in to use fresh made turkey broth and meat bits, but if you are making this on Thanksgiving day you will probably have timing problems unless you trim the wings from the bird to make broth instead of roasting them. You can use pre-made broth and omit the meat. This is for making the stuffing from packaged bread cubes--it will need to be altered (less liquid, more spices) if you use fresh bread. I doubled the stuffing to make enough for 8 people + leftovers (the broth is enough for a double recipe). Broth: 2-4 turkey legs or wings 2 Tbsp. oil 8 c. water 2 carrots, in chunks 1 onion, washed, trimmed, and cut into quarters with skin on (skins make the broth golden) 2 ribs celery, in chunks handful of parsley stems 2 bay leaves 4-5 allspice berries 1 tbsp. black peppercorns 2 tsp. th...

This is how I used up some of my thanksgiving leftovers (weeks ago, of course), while simultaneously testing out a new kind of pastry crust I had read about: hot-water pastry. Wikipedia describes this form of pastry. In short, the process of making it is exactly the opposite of proper pie crust: melt fat in hot water and stir in flour vigorously. It's a very basic item, so use whatever recipe you find. The idea is to make a strong, moisture-resistant crust that will hold up to a gravy filling. Here is the crust, pressed into the pan: I baked this until golden brown before filling. The filling was a basic mix of chopped turkey, veggies, and a roux-based gravy. As you can see, the pastry slipped down the sides of the pan a bit. It was a pretty greasy dough, and the pan was steep. This might work best using a regular pie pan, or at least something shallower. The last step is to place the top crust and bake until golden brown (as the filling is precooked). Poke holes to prevent gravy ...

This topic keeps coming up and it can be hard to find a definitive guide when you're in the heat of the kitchen moment. I'll try to sum up the most important facts about brining. Brining is a great way to tenderize and add flavor to meat. It is more effective than marinating, which can backfire when the acid in the marinade starts denaturing the outer layer of protein on your meat, thus degrading its final texture. The 'magic' of brining was described to me this way (though I am omitting the more scienc-ey terms): Because the meat contains far less salt than the brine, the salt from the brine is inclined to more into the meat to even out the overall salinity of the brine + meat system. As the salt moves into the meat, it brings other flavors from the brine with it, such as aromatics, herbs, sugar. It also hydrates the meat so that even as liquid is lost during the cooking process, there's more liquid in the meat in the first place and the liquid is attracted to th...

This might be the first sandwich recipe on the blog. When Dan returned from a daytrip to New Jersey, he admitted that he'd had a sultry and unforgivable lunchtime affair with a Garden State native who "had more meat than I could get in my mouth". Some asshole named Vesuvio. Turns out Vesuvio is a sandwich. Our family has never been big on sandwiches, and it's a bit odd to think of a 'recipe' for one, but this is a fantastic combination of ingredients that deserves posting . The key is to use fresh, high quality bread. I recommend something like a mini ciabatta roll, which has a springy, airy texture, but without the mouth-shredding crust of some other European-style breads. Assemble: deli slices of smoked turkey roasted red peppers from a jar provolone cheese a fresh ciabatta roll Try to have a ratio of cheese:meat of about 1:5. No need to add any other kind of condiment, especially if your bread is fresh. Enjoy! PS: When I posted this I checked to see if th...