Christmas 2018

Christmas Eve we did a late night simple savoury snack of a bacon sandwich and apple slices because we had visited the local pub, earlier, and had a few drinks and nibbles there while meeting and greeting friends.

Christmas Day started with fresh fruit, eggnog muffins, coffee and a round of Bucks Fizz that kept us going until mid afternoon. 

Christmas Day dinner was more traditional then ever this year. Our late afternoon dinner was turkey, roasted vegetables (potato, carrots, brussel sprouts, and parsnips), stuffing, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, pickled walnuts and a lovely garlic chutney. 

Boxing Day we did our usual get together of close friends and shared an array of cheeses, meats, olives, dried fruit, my baking, of course, a vegan frittata and a minced beef Wellington, unfortunately not shown, as there was no room on the table. So that remained in the kitchen where guests could served themselves or we could serve them. We also had a wonderful mulled wine to enjoy and warm up to. As usual everyone left with a nice selection of my baking. It was a great afternoon... evening for all. 

... and of course no Christmas, of ours, may be complete without another tradition; that sees us throughout the year...  our Fortnum and Mason order. Last year, I forgot to post about our annual order... I may still have the photo somewhere. That being said, this year, I remembered and thought it would be appropriate to share within the Christmas/Holiday post. We ordered plenty of chutney's, sauces, preserves, biscuits, savouries, tea, coffee, Turkish Delight and a Single Malt Whisky Dundee cake to share and enjoy.     

Leftovers #37 ~ Turkey Taco Pizza

I always find that there are a few leftovers when having made tacos. So this time we decided to make a taco pizza. Once the pizza dough was shaped a mixture of refried beans and salsa was slathered on top; then the leftover seasoned ground turkey was sprinkled over top. Any leftover veggies were placed on top of that. Then a generous helping of grated Tex Mex cheese; then into the oven to bake. Once baked and removed from the oven chopped lettuce and crushed tortilla chips were added. Delicious and very filling with a combination of flavours that work well together in a taco and in a pizza.   

- JD 

Leftovers #30 ~ Turkey Strudel

I can say that this is the last of the leftover turkey posts. I believe I have featured this recipe before however thought it was worth another post. Spicy and flavourful however the combination of curry and cheese work so well together. The vegetables may be substituted for others and the meat may also be substituted for tofu, chickpeas or chicken.  

Turkey Vegetable Strudel 
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1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, coarsely grated
1 cup of cauliflower florets, chopped into small pieces
1 medium potato, diced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 tablespoons mild curry paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2/3 cup of water
1 cup cooked or leftover turkey, diced
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons cream or light buttermilk
2 ounces (50g) Old Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
8 sheets of filo pastry
sesame seeds to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC/Gas 5 and prepare an baking tray lined parchment paper. 

In a bit of oil, sauté the onions, carrots, peas, cauliflower, and potato over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the thyme water and curry paste and continue to cook, uncovered, for about another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the turkey; stir to incorporate everything together.  

Allow the mixture to cool. Once cool, then mix in the egg, cream and cheese. Chill until ready to fill and roll.

Melt the butter and lay out four sheets of filo pastry, slightly overlapping them to form a large rectangle. Brush with butter and fit the other four sheets on top. Brush again.

Spoon the cooled filling along the long edge, then roll up the pastry. Tucking in the sides, the best you can, as you go. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and brush with the remaining butter and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden a crisp. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. 


Wednesday, the middle of the week, and I hope everyone is having a good one so far. 
- JD 

Leftovers #29 ~ Turkey Coronation with Jacket Potatoes

There is Coronation Chicken however I decided to make Coronation Turkey; as I was still on a roll with the turkey leftovers. Just make it the same way as you would do with chicken. It  was quite flavourful and is a dish I would make again. The leftover turkey was diced and tossed with sliced celery, sliced almonds, chopped cranberries, diced red onion, lime zest and freshly squeezed lime juice from one lime and about 2 tablespoons of curry powder. Then about 3/4 cup of light sour cream and 3 tablespoons of light mayonnaise was added to hold everything deliciously together. The Coronation Turkey was then served over jacket potatoes and topped with some onion jam. Spinach and arugula leaves were the tossed salad of choice.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We did as there was plenty of sunshine to go around. - JD  

Leftovers #28 ~ Turkey Hot Opens

I pondered for a bit as to what I would make with all the leftover turkey. Hot Opens were a given and that is exactly what we had the following night. They are an easy way to make a quick delicious meal to feed the masses. All you need are some slices of bread and gravy. Place the leftover meat on top of the bread and pour gravy over top. That's it! I did steam some carrots to round out the meal however mushy peas and mashed potatoes were plenty; which made this a leftover meal of epic proportions. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Easter Dinner

Not the typical Easter dinner however it was a modest holiday feast of sorts. Turkey is traditionally reserved for Christmas and Thanksgiving however I decided to change things up a bit and cook up an Easter dinner from our claimed grocery points, which was a free turkey. Seasoned turkey and creamy mashed potatoes with lashings of gravy, thick mushy peas and homemade cranberry orange sauce. All with the added bonus of leftovers, plenty of leftovers, to be had and made into other delicious dishes this week. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend, we did! - JD    

Wild Turkey

This cookbook seems very fitting seeing how turkey may be the choice meal around Christmas time. In Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge after coming to his senses new the importance of a large bird amongst other things. Some might see the turkey as the cumbersome edible table centre piece of Christmas past. While organic, meatless, and gluten - free become Christmas present and future. How ever you set the holiday table and which ever holiday feast you provide, one does not have to be visited by three ghosts to make one giddy as a school girl or boy to know that turkey is the essential Christmas dinner staple. 

This is the only cookbook I have completely dedicated to turkey. Which is fine. It offers 10 chapters and the one chapter that will be most useful come December 26th will be Chapter 9 - Leftovers and Surprises. Of course there are the usual recipes that have been turkeyfied... Turkey Sloppy Joes, Turkey a la King, Turkey Chili, Turkey Goulash, Turkey Gumbo, Teriyaki Turkey and even Turkey Tacos. 

All those recipes aside the recipe I wanted to share with you... well the two recipes I wanted to share with you are the Turkey Walnut Stew and the Cranberry Orange Relish. 

Turkey Walnut Stew

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1 breast of turkey

1 medium onion, minced

1/4 cup butter

3 cups chicken or turkey stock (or water with bouillon cubes)

2 cups English walnuts

juice of 3 lemons

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Nuts are an excellent thickener. However feel free to use other nuts. Hickory nuts would be great. 

Grind the walnuts in the meat grinder or mortar and pestle. Cut the turkey breast into bite-size chunks. Sprinkle these with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a skillet, and sauté the turkey pieces on both sides until lightly browned, then drain. Sauté the chopped onion for 3-4 minutes, then stir in the ground walnuts. Add the chicken or turkey stock, lemon juice, cinnamon, and a little salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring as you go. Reduce the heat, simmer, and stir for 10 minutes. Add the turkey pieces to the skillet of contents, cover, and simmer on very low heat for 40 minutes, stirring from time to time. Serve hot over fluffy rice. 

Cranberry Orange Sauce

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16 ounces fresh or fresh-frozen cranberries

2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup blanched almonds, slivered

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

Using a fine mesh, grate 2 teaspoons of orange peel from the outside, avoiding the inner white pith, which is bitter. Mix all the ingredients except the almonds in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the cranberries pop open. Remove from heat and skim the scum off the surface with a spoon. Stir in the almonds, pour into a serving container, and refrigerate until time to eat.

I am going to add a third recipe to share from the Wild Turkey cookbook and it is a basting  sauce in case you are looking for something different this holiday season.

Lemon Butter Basting Sauce 

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1/2 cup butter

juice of 4 lemons

1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke*

1 tablespoon white-wine Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tablespoon salt

* Liquid Smoke is sold in a bottle at most grocery shops in the spice/baking aisle.

Melt butter in a sauce pan, and stir in the other ingredients.

Mix well but do not boil. Use to baste broiled or grilled turkey breast meat. 

Hope everyone is doing well. My finger is much better and I managed to get more Christmas baking done. Today, I will be jetting around E-town spreading holiday cheer as I share my holiday baking. - JW 

Leftovers #14 ~ Turkey Poutine

With all the hot turkey opens, turkey sandwiches, and turkey curry soup I made turkey poutine. Fairly simple and a great way to use up the last staggering bits of turkey.

I took ready made chips, french fries, and cooked them according to the package. I baked them for a few extra minutes so that the chips became crispy. When cooked I removed the chips from the baking sheet by placing them on a plate. I then covered the baking sheet with parchment paper, being careful because it is hot. The chips were placed back onto the baking sheet and were dressed with the leftover turkey, then gravy, and finally cheese. The chips were placed back into the oven until the cheese was nicely melted. Remove the turkey poutine from the oven and serve immediately.  

You can always make your own chips however if you want to save time use ready made, low sodium, low fat chips like I did. Do not have cheese curds then use whatever cheese you may have on hand. This is one dish where you can be as creative as you like. Adding different toppings and dressing the chips how you like.   
  

Hope everyone had a good weekend, we did! - JW  

Tomato and Cheese Macaroni Bake

My mum used to make this dish for us very often. As simple as this is, this was one of my favourite meals. Simple equals comfort. For all my North American followers you might remember a product called Hamburger Helper. That alone conjures up all sorts of images... the talking and ever so helpful kitchen glove... the spoon twirling around the skillet... the enduring family sitting at kitchen table and all served up with a catchy tune. Graze the grocery aisles and you will see that Hamburger Helper is still being sold today. Pick up a box and read the nutritional label and feel how fast your jaw will drop open. Worse than a carnival ride. The salt content is astounding! The only thing you are getting is shear convenience. And that is more than enough to place it back on the store shelf and walk away. 

I guess one could say that this was my mums answer to Hamburger Helper or a no fuss lasagne. This recipe is easy, fast and has low to no salt! All you need are the following: 

2 cans of 796ml of low or no salt diced tomatoes

1 package of ground turkey **or ground beef or ground chicken or veggie soy ground

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

pepper

a pinch of salt 

whatever fresh herbs you want to add

and approximately 2-3 cups of elbow macaroni 

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese  

*when cooking pasta I tend to eyeball it or cook what feels right. This may not be your method and possibly for good reason. I do tend to cook more pasta then needed. However any leftovers never go unused in our house. The suggested 2-3 cups of macaroni are uncooked. 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Sauté the onion and garlic with a bit of olive oil in a larger pan. Then add the ground turkey. Sauté together until the meat is cooked. You may add the herbs at this time. When the meat is cooked add the tomatoes. Stir and heat through. 

Meanwhile in a large saucepan, boil water. Add the macaroni to the boiling water and follow the cooking directions on the package. Stirring occasionally to make sure the pasta does not stick together. You want to cook the pasta until almost done. You don't want to over cook the pasta because there will be liquid from the diced tomatoes which will get soaked up by the pasta. When the pasta is cooked. Drain the water slowly and add the pasta to the tomato and meat mixture. Stir to coat. 

Pour the now macaroni mixture into a large casserole baking dish. Cover with grated cheese of you choice. I used a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan. Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven until cheese has melted. Serve immediately. 

Note: When I made this dish I made it in advance to save time. I stored it in the refrigerator until dinner time. It kept well. Therefore I had to warm it up a bit first before topping it with the cheese.

Enjoy your weekend everyone! - JW    

Turkey Pie

I finally served up one of my turkey pies I made with leftover turkey. The pastry I made was light and flaky. The filling moist and tender. It made for a delicious dinner served with a kale salad. Stay warm this weekend and hopefully I will be over this cold soon! 

- JW  

Turkey Leek Burger

Once I get a craving for a burger I can not replace it. This burger was in part inspired by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. A food ode to him one might say. I took extra lean ground turkey and added some chopped leeks, a bit of oatmeal, an egg, sage, salt, pepper and a couple of good shots of Scottish whisky. Mixed it all up in a bowl. Shaped the mixture into five patties. Grilled them in a pan until golden brown and cooked all the way through.

This is how I plated it. With a simple kale salad and dressed the burger with Fortnum's Piccadilly Piccalilli. Moist, flavourful and it satisfied the craving  just nicely!  

Leftovers #2 - Turkey Pies

And what to do with turkey leftovers. I made two turkey pies. One with a standard white sauce gravy and the other with a curry gravy. I can only say that they smelt delicious because for now they are resting in the freezer waiting for a rainy day. - JW   

Christmas Eats 2012

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed an English fry up for dinner. Eggs, baked beans, sausages, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fried bread. The eggs I mixed up as if I were making scrabbled eggs... added some seasoning and then pour the mixture into buttered muffin tins. A very traditional way to start the holiday. 

On Christmas Day we started with a round of Bucks fizz and then for brunch I made scones. Classic and candied. Jam and sweet butter were on hand. All were enjoyed by everyone!

Christmas dinner was turkey with oven roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips. A side of kale salad and the rounds of Bucks fizz were still flowing! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas as I did!  

Recipes For Health ~ Asthma and Eczema

This is the other book I found at the University Book Sale. Asthma and eczema seem to be a running theme throughout my household so I guess I felt compelled to add this to my cookbook collection. The subtitle states that there are "Over 150 easy and delicious recipes for those allergic to cow's milk". What is the correlation between asthma, eczema and cow's milk? Or all diary products for that matter. And what about being lactose intolerant? Perhaps these are questions I should ask my doctor. I guess I just wish the book went into more detail about what links cow's milk to asthma and eczema. My son has asthma and isn't allergic to cow's milk. My daughter has eczema and isn't allergic to cow's milk. And I am lactose intolerant and do not suffer from asthma or eczema. 

The main focus of this cookbook is to serve delicious food milk free. There are 11 chapters which cover everyday recipes from appetizers, soups, fish and main courses, meat and main courses, vegetarian main courses, vegetables, salads, desserts and cakes, biscuits and snacks. Recipes are marked with and "E" for free range eggs and a "W" for wheat-free recipes. The majority of these recipes can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Seeing how we are headed into the Christmas season. And turkey leftovers will be bountiful, I will leave you with a recipe that I am going to try. - JW

Turkey and Broccoli Bake  

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285g / 10 oz broccoli

225g / 9 oz cooked turkey

85g / 3 oz feta cheese

115g / 4 oz / 1 and 1/3 cups mushrooms, sliced

oil for frying

55g / 2 oz / 1/4 cup margarine

55g / 2 oz / 1/2 cup flour

3 ml / 1/2 tsp dry mustard

710 ml / 1 1/4 pints / 3 1/4 cups goat's or sheep's milk or unsweetened soy milk

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

85g / 3 oz / 3/4 cup  homemade dried breadcrumbs 

1) Preheat oven to 375ºF/ 190ºC / Gas mark 5 and lightly grease a 9 x 12 x 2 inch / 23x31x5cm shallow casserole.

2) Cut broccoli into florets and slice the stems into pieces of similar size. Cook it until it is barely tender.

3) Shred the turkey into strips, grate the cheese in a handgrater. Reserve.

4) Sauté the sliced mushrooms in a little oil.

5) melt the margarine in a saucepan, stir in the flour and mustard, and whisk in the milk. Cook over medium low heat, stirring all the time, until the sauce boils and thickens.

6) Add the seasoning and grated cheese to the sauce. Stir.

7) Distribute the cooked broccoli all over the base of the casserole.

8) Spread the turkey and mushrooms over the broccoli.

9) Cover with the cheese sauce.

10) Top with the dried breadcrumbs.

11) Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce is bubbling.  

   

The other night I made chili. Turkey chili and served it over a bed of saffron rice. I had to ask myself why haven't I done this sooner. Very tasty and I highly recommend serving chili this way. - JW