Turkey Talk

I do love Christmas. Yes, I know it’s only September…..but David Jones‘ Christmas Shop opened in the last week of August, and for me that’s the “Christmas time is here” green light! And yes, I’ve done some present shopping already, but that’s cos’ I am a super nerd and do it all year round, with a permanent gift ideas list on my computer.

I spent last Christmas in Melbourne with family, but at the last minute before I flew East, I picked up a Coles brand frozen turkey breast roll on special, thinking it might be good if I have the opportunity to host a late Christmas dinner (or Christmas in July even). Said dinner never eventuated, and this week I have been trying to whittle away at what’s in my freezer, in order to give a it a darn good de-frosting.

I found the turkey and one morning this week before work, suddenly thought omg I wonder if I could cook this in the crockpot, from frozen? These breast roll things are cookable from frozen, in the oven, so I thought why not try it in the crockpot. I looked up a few websites and forums, and opinion is divided about whether you should or shouldn’t do this – but I figured I would just give it a go and if it wasn’t cooked properly I would just throw it away – I really did need to use this turkey up after so long (although the use by date is next Feb, which seems a long time to me – 14 months from date of purchase).

I removed the plastic wrapping and placed foil over the top of the turkey’s foil tray. I then placed it in the crockpot with 2 cups of water in the bottom. The turkey was a 1kg sized one (not huge but remember it’s all meat, no bone or waste, so does actually go a long way) and I cooked it on LOW for 9 hours. When I came home from work, I took it out and let it rest for 20 minutes, and it was perfect! Possibly it was even overcooked a bit, but because of the way it was cooked, it was not dry at all and really was melt-in-your-mouth stuff.

I am really glad I now know this works well, as it is always good to have lots of alternative cooking options at Christmas when everyone is sooooo busy, and the oven is often in use for other things.

Happy Early Christmas Fooding!

Party Nibbles 1

I made a batch of mountain bread rollups on Christmas Day – these little savoury bites always go down well and you can put whatever fillings in you like. In this case I made some with smoked salmon, some with asparagus, and some with both.

These are quite suitable for making the day before and then just slicing up when you are ready to serve – always a plus at party time.

There aren’t really proper quantities here – just make as many as you like. I usually keep going ’til I’ve run out of cream cheese.

Rollups

lavash/mountain bread (you could also use thin tortillas, but you get a fair bit of wastage by the time you trim them into a rectangle/square shape)

cream cheese (I use low-fat)

smoked salmon

fresh asparagus spears (I prefer to use them raw, for a bit of crunch, but if you prefer you can blanch them in the microwave for 1 minute per bunch)

cracked pepper, to taste

Spread each sheet of bread thickly with cream cheese. Lay fillings on the lower half, topped with cracked pepper and then carefully roll the bread up as tightly as you can.

Wrap the “log” in cling wrap and refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight). Thinly slice and arrange on a plate to serve.

Other filling ideas: grated carrot, thin slices of ham or turkey, shredded lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, canned tuna, cucumber (skip things like avocado, tomato etc as they will just go soggy or discoloured by the time you slice them up).

Happy Summer Fooding!

Polenta-Topped Turkey (or Chicken!) Bake

This is supposed to be made with turkey, but I could only find turkey mince or drumsticks last week, so made it with chicken breast fillets instead. I don’t think it makes any difference to the taste really, so use whichever you prefer.

The topping used here makes a wonderful crust and could be used to top any casserole type dish, instead of the regular kind of dumpling or scone topping.

Polenta-Topped Turkey Bake

1 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion, sliced

600 gms turkey breast (or chicken), cut into 3 cm cubes

4 small carrots, peeled & diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

410 gm can cream of asparagus soup

Topping:

3/4 cup plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup polenta

pinch of salt

2 tsp baking powder

60 gms butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup milk

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and turkey until the meat is browned and the onion softened.

Mix in the carrots, peas, thyme and soup. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the turkey mixture into a deep pie/baking dish, and spoon the topping over it evenly. Bake in a 190C oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is cooked and golden.

To make the topping:

Mix flour, polenta, salt and baking powder together. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and milk together and stir into flour mixture until well combined.

Serves 6

Happy Fooding!

Getting Stuffed!

Well today is moving day, for me. And all I’ve eaten over the last 3 days has been leftovers, sandwiches, muesli and oven-roasted bought trays of vegetables. So nothing exciting to report, and tonight when I am left alone with my still-packed boxes and am exhausted, my dinner will consist of a home-delivered Crust pizza and a bottle of champagne all to myself. I’m working tomorrow and the next day, and will have no Internet connection at home for a few more days, apart from my iphone, so my next posting might be a tad delayed due to technical difficulties and sheer exhaustion!

But in the interests of being well-organised with my blog, as they say on cooking shows, “here’s one I prepared earlier”…..

I LOVE stuffing! No one makes it like my ex-mother-in-law, who always used to have to make a whole extra batch when I was coming over, so that I could take it home. I love it sliced and eaten cold on sandwiches, and these days I don’t bother actually stuffing a chicken/turkey with it – I just make it separately – because why wait for a roast in order to make a batch, when you can just make and enjoy it any old time.

This is my ex-MIL’s recipe, with my addition of pine nuts, because pine nuts are one of life’s great joys and you should be eaten on or in as many dishes as possible!

Phyl’s Stuffing

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs (of course you can use any kind of bread, doesn’t have to be white)

1 box packaged stuffing mix (if you can’t find any, use 200 gms more breadcrumbs mixed with dried herbs of your choice)

2 springs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

~ 1/2 cup pine nuts (optional)

1 egg, beaten

cracked pepper, to taste

milk

Boil the onion in a little water for 10 minutes or until soft; drain and add to breadcrumbs, stuffing mix, herbs, pine nuts, egg and pepper. Mix well, then add enough milk to make a quite moist (but not runny) consistency.

Use as desired: either stuff a chicken/turkey with it, OR form into a log and wrap in lightly greased piece of foil to bake (about 45 mins at 180C), OR spoon into greased patty pan tins and bake for about 30 mins at 180C.

Happy Fooding!

Chicken Meatballs

Here is a super easy meatball dish…..I make the meatballs in the morning, because not being browned they hold together much better when cooking, after being refrigerated for a while.  Then it is really simple to just throw the sauce ingredients in, add the balls and simmer away. Perfect with rice and a big dollop of Greek yoghurt on the top to serve.

Chicken Meatball Neopolitana

700 gms chicken or turkey mince

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp dried thyme

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, basil or coriander (any fresh herbs will do)

3/4 cup chicken stock

2 x 400 gm cans diced tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Combine mince, breadcrumbs, egg, thyme and herbs, and mix well in a bowl.

Shape meat mixture into balls and set aside in the fridge for a couple of hours (or more).

Place chicken stock, tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt and garlic in a wok or wide-based saucepan, and bring to the boil.

Add meatballs and simmer for 15 minutes (covered) or until cooked through.

Serves 4.

Happy Fooding!

A BBQ Where There’s a Butcher Involved

In fact, the butcher was the host! Our friends Phil & Jodie held a housewarming bbq just after Christmas (this was where I discovered the luscious pear & feta platter), and as Phil is a butcher, the meat was absolutely divine. We had a smoked “turkey ham”, sliced and eaten cold, and it was sooooooo delicious, just melted in your mouth.

As well Phil had made his own creation, a version of a turducken and I am probably getting this wrong but I think it was pork inside chicken inside turkey. Actually Phil reads this so he will hopefully comment and correct me if I have mucked this up – whatever the combination, it was superb. Phil makes these only to order as they take several weeks to produce.

As well as the usual suspects like marinated chicken wings, we also had this large butterflied piece of lamb –

and some specially-aged (3 months??) wagyu steak, which unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of. Luckily, my friends are all well used to me poking my camera under their noses and taking photos of their meals all the time!

Jodie insists that she never cooks, but she managed to produce yummy salads (especially the couscous one, which had dried cranberries in it) and a gorgeous couple of desserts.

Here’s a plug for Terranova Butcher, for any of you that are in the Northbridge vicinity of Perth – thanks for the great bbq, Phil!

Happy Fooding!