turkey

August 21, 2009

Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

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Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

I wonder how many variations of the meatball exist. Of course, physiotherapy there’s the traditional meatball with marinara that’s ladled over spaghetti – a classic. There are meatballs made of beef, neuropathologist pork, advice veal, lamb, chicken and turkey. Even meatballs made without any meat at all. You can have them fried, braised, steamed, baked, poached and probably confit-ed and sous-vided too, though I’ve yet to see that.

Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

I found a recipe for baked Chicken meatballs in last month’s Gourmet that promised to be super moist and delicious. Thinking they’d make a great weeknight meal, I immediately bookmarked it. I started out with the best intentions of following the recipe to a T. I swear I did. But of course I didn’t. Anyhow, these meatballs are really quite tasty – moist and flavorful and they hold their shape well. Everything I want out of a meatball and everything you should want too.

November 18, 2008

Our Thanksgiving Menu & Two Pie Recipes

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Carrot Pumpkin Soup
Pie recipes are from last year and I can’t seem to find any photos…will update the post with pie pictures next week!

Thanksgiving is 10 days away. Menus are finalized, hepatitis grocery shopping is in full force. Thanksgiving recipe testing is complete! And so, here’s the final menu and recipes for Pupmkin Mascarpone Pie with a Gingersnap Crust and a Crunchy Apple Pie.

Carrot Pupmkin Soup with Crushed Hazelnuts
…flavored with smoked paprika, shallots and sherry vinegar.

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade
…filled with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, toasted pecans and fresh cranberries. Wrapped in peppered bacon and basted in pear jam.

Corn-bread and Chorizo Stuffing from Gourmet
…Olive oil instead of vegetable oil, fresh tarragon instead of dried oregano, chicken stock instead of broth, and probably some dried fruit (apricots?) soaked in brandy.

Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego from Food & Wine
…Probably remove the rosemary (my mom’s not a fan) and replace half and half with whole milk. Maybe add some caramelized shallots too.

Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Leeks and Chestnuts
…Halved and roasted butternut squash, stuffed with wild mushroom and leeks, sauteed in butter and tossed with chestnuts. Sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs and baked until slightly browned.

Pumpkin Walnut bread, Banana Pecan bread, Lemon Poppy bread

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie with Gingersnap Crust (Recipe below)

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie (Recipe below)

November 14, 2008

Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade

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Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade

Some people might say there’s something missing at our Thanksgiving table. They might say that the conspicuous absence of a large, help roasted bird means that it’s not Thanksgiving at all. But my family would disagree. I don’t remember the last time my mom roasted a whole turkey. They’re difficult to carve, easily dry out and everyone fights for the white meat. My mom tried a Turkey Roulade one year, and we haven’t looked back since.

Usually, we make a prosciutto and sage-stuffed turkey breast, wrapped in peppered bacon and basted with pear jam. It’s absolutely delicious. The bacon and jam keep the turkey nice and juicy, and the pepper is a perfect contrast to the sweet jam. My mom’s been doing this turkey for years, and we decided to change it up a little this year. We picked our filling ingredients and I volunteered to make a test turkey.

Instead of prosciutto and sage, I stuffed it with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, cranberries and chopped toasted pecans. I still wrapped it in bacon — how could I not wrap it in bacon? — but I did skip the pear jam and I couldn’t find peppered bacon.

The new filling was a definite success. It was rich, tart and sweet without being overpowering. I had skipped the pear jam because I thought the filling would be too sweet, but the sweetness actually mellowed out while the turkey roasted and the bacon didn’t caramelize as well as I’d hoped, so the pear jam will be back on Thanksgiving day. I also missed the spicy kick from the peppered bacon to counteract the rich filling, so I’ll redouble my efforts to find before the big day.

It’s not a traditional turkey, but it’s delicious, easy to slice, easy to serve. I already can’t wait to hit up the leftovers in my fridge!