Somewhat Chinese Smoked Turkey Noodle Soup

With the leftover Thanksgiving smoked turkey I made some stock and used it to invent a soup.

I simmered together:

• broth from smoked turkey
• onions
• garlic
• ginger
• five spice powder
  
• soy sauce

After a while I added:

• carrots

After ten more minutes I added:

• green onions
• soba noodles, partially precooked
• spinach
• sesame oil

And I served it just like that. Leftover turkey meat would have been good, but we didn't have any.

Smoked Turkey, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Lawson and I invented this dish several years ago after Thanksgiving, and now we make it every year. It's a product of our particular Thanksgiving, which usually involves a turkey smoked by Lawson's brother; we always have a bag full of leftover smoked turkey meat.

We call it Signature Dish. I take no pictures of it because it is a casserole. Instead, here are pictures of the cat trying to help me fix my speaker cabinet:


***Signature Dish***
First, you have to make a batch of classic Southwestern red chile sauce.

At the same time, you have to roast two whole sweet potatoes at 400 degrees until they soften and collapse a bit.

Then you compile the following:

Layer 1
black beans
roasted sweet potatoes, peels removed and innards gently sliced

Layer 2
a few cups smoked turkey meat
a cup of sour cream
several green onions, chopped

You will also need:
corn tortillas
a little bit of cheese for the top

Get out a pan, grease it lightly with olive oil, and pour some sauce in the bottom. Add a layer of corn tortillas. Add more sauce. Then add the beans and the sweet potatoes, evenly distributing them. More tortillas. More sauce. Then carefully spread/dab the turkey filling on for the second layer. More tortillas. More sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Here, I made you a picture. s=sauce, t=tortilla, c=cheese.

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|________pan_______|

It's more than the sum of its parts, this dish. We actually smoked a chicken once just so we could make it.

If I were trying to be fancy, I might make individual plates of stacked enchiladas, New Mexican style, but it's so good left over that I prefer to make a big cafeteria-looking pan full.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful turkey this year, a free-range bird from Sprouts weighing just under 19 pounds. I soaked it in a light brine overnight, stuffed it traditionally with bread stuffing, and rubbed it all over with my usual paste of salt, paprika, and olive oil. I roasted it at 325 degrees for five hours. It was really dark brown and much more done than usual--falling apart, actually, so it didn't carve too neatly, but it had so much flavor. Yum.

Another highlight of the meal was the trio of pies Kathy brought: pecan, pumpkin, and apple crumb.

Looking back, we had a completely conventional menu. I did my sweet potato chunks with butter and maple syrup. I mixed my advance gravy with the turkey pan juices and a little more flour and water and the final product was great. We had eleven people but I seem to have cooked enough for twenty-two. Look at my refrigerator:

Advance Gravy

I read a brilliant idea this week in the New York Times. The writer suggested roasting some cheap turkey parts and making a batch of stock and gravy a few days before Thanksgiving--the point is to take the pressure off when the turkey comes out of the oven and you have a houseful of people. That way if the pan drippings are not suitable, or you just can't handle it along with everything else, there will still be gravy. And even if you manage to achieve perfect on-the-spot pan gravy, you will have extra to go with the leftovers.

I was fascinated by the Louisiana woman quoted: she cooks her roux for an hour! In another article, lost to me now, a woman confessed that she measured her roux-stirring time in glasses of wine (one hour = three glasses of wine at 20 minutes each).

Well, I went this idea one better and made roasted turkey dog food. I roasted two drumsticks and two thighs (cost--about $3) until they were a medium brown. I deglazed the pan (Emily was unaware of this step), then simmered everything with water until I had a rich stock. I picked the rather used-up turkey off the bones for dog food and saved the very lovely broth to make gravy tomorrow.

Emily's dog food for the week consisted of turkey, rice from a take-out Indian meal, and one Mexican grey squash. She seems to like it a lot.

And, yesterday we ate some of Dad's fresh lima beans. Neither of us had eaten fresh ones before, and they are worth all that trouble.

What Happened to this Turkey?

It's easy to be daunted by a recipe that begins: "Disjoint a 12-pound turkey and brown the pieces in lard." All you need to disjoint a turkey is a big old sharp knife and maybe some poultry shears, but let's be honest--the process is gross no matter how you slice it.

I made the browning easier by doing it in a 450 degree oven, then poured on some water and finished poaching the turkey by covering it with foil and continuing to bake at 300 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. It's aromatic and delicious.

It's cooling now. Next I'll take the meat off the bones, then make broth with the carcass. Tomorrow this deconstructed turkey will become Turkey Mole for Christmas dinner.

Turkey Chowder and Dilly Casserole Bread

I find I'm using this blog to record old family favorites more during the winter and holiday season. This soup is the first and best thing we make with leftover turkey and broth. Grandma discovered it and many other great things in Casserole Treasury by Lousene Rousseau Brunner. My copy is dated 1964. I saw one at an used book sale last month.

The bread is a sort of seventies recipe that's very satisfying. The batter bread format is so forgiving. I substitute freely and it's always good--not exactly European-style artisan bread, but it has its place.

Hearty Turkey Chowder

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder

Melt butter in large saucepan and sauté onion until transparent. Add curry powder and cook 2 minutes longer.

3 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery

Add broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

1 cup diced cooked turkey
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk

Add turkey, oregano, and parsley. Continue to simmer about 10 minutes longer, or until vegetables are just tender.

Stir in evaporated milk and cook until heated through. Do not boil.

Dilly Casserole Bread

1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter

Heat together until butter melts. Place in large mixing bowl.

1 cup flour (I use whole wheat, but any mixture of white or whole wheat is fine)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed, or 2 tablespoons fresh
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 egg

Add next 8 ingredients to mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 3 minutes. (I use a bread machine for all this. After the first rise I put the batter in a greased casserole.)

1-1/2 cups flour

Beat in remaining flour. Cover bowl and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Stir down. Place dough in greased 2-quart casserole and let rise again, covered, for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes.

Portuguese Turkey

I have been promising to post this. Eva, I don't think this would do well for goose, because goose is already fatty; this suits the blander character of turkey. Don't you think "Purity" is an odd brand name for sausage?

Marinate a 12-to-14- pound turkey for 1 to 3 days in a mixture of:

2 cups vinegar

2 cups water

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon pepper

2 dried red peppers, crushed

To cook turkey, stuff and roast at 325 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. Baste as desired with a mixture of melted butter and white vermouth.

Portuguese Stuffing

1/2 pound Portuguese sausage, diced

4 slices bacon

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 carrot, grated

1/4 cup chopped parsley

8 to 12 cups coarse bread crumbs

Fry sausage and bacon in large skillet. Add onions, celery, parsley, and carrot and cook until tender. Add bread crumbs and fry until lightly browned. Remove from heat and season with:

Salt

Pepper

2 teaspoons dried sage

Poultry seasoning or a mixture of marjoram, thyme, rosemary (total 1 to 2 teaspoons dried, more if fresh)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Mix thoroughly, then moisten as desired with turkey broth. Use less broth if you are going to put the stuffing inside the turkey, more if you are going to bake it in a casserole.

Pie for Breakfast

I never have room for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day; fortunately it makes an excellent breakfast the next morning. Here is the menu from yesterday's meal for six:

Tapenade* with Crackers

Cherry Tomatoes, Green Onions, and Radishes from Dad's Garden

Black olives from Raymond's tree which he cured himself!

Champagne

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Portuguese-Style Turkey with Linguisa Stuffing and Pan Gravy

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic

Sweet Potatoes from your recipe--very popular yesterday

Chunky Applesauce

Port Wine Cranberry Sauce

Scalloped Corn

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

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Pumpkin Pie

Mince Pie

*This is James McNair's recipe. It was a perfect appetizer because it was sharply flavorful rather than rich and bland. Easy to make ahead, too.

Tapenade

1 cup pitted Kalamata olives

1/2 cup basil leaves

3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Chop first 5 ingredients in food processor, then add olive oil and lemon juice to make a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Turkey

Thanksgiving turkey probably involves more advice, worry, clucking, and carrying on than any other meal in our culture. It's not that hard to roast a turkey! An added plus is that the Thanksgiving feast is so excessive that you don't have to cook for several days after.

My very simplest and best method for turkey is to brine lightly for 2 or 3 hours (soak in a solution of cold water with 1/4 cup of salt*); drain turkey and then rub all over with a mixture of olive oil, paprika, and salt. Stuff if desired. Place breast-side-up in a turkey roaster or baking pan. Pour 1 cup white wine or vermouth around it, and then bake at 325 or 350 for whatever the label says. I usually have a 12-pound turkey, stuffed, and it takes about 3 1/2 hours. It's not done until the dark thigh meat is done. Usually I cover the turkey for the first half, but it depends on the pan available, the oven, the company, etc.

Stuffing

12 cups dry bread crumbs (don't buy seasoned bread crumbs. Save old bread in the freezer for the month leading up to Thanksgiving and break it up in the food processor).

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter

Cook the onion in the butter in large Dutch oven. Add bread crumbs and cook a little to toast lightly. Then add:

2 teaspoons dried sage
A little each of thyme, rosemary, and marjoram
A small handful of finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Chicken or turkey broth to taste--our family likes very dry stuffing, so we just add a half cup or so. It will get wetter if it's cooked inside the turkey.

It's important not to overseason at this point. The flavors will develop as the turkey juices soak in.

You can also cook the stuffing in a casserole (30 to 45 minutes in medium oven), in which case you can be freer with the amounts of seasonings and broth. I usually put some inside the turkey cavity and the rest in a casserole.

Gravy

It's good to boil the turkey neck, onion skins, and any other spare parts for a couple of hours ahead of time to make broth. You can use it in both the stuffing and the gravy.

Once the turkey is done, remove it to a platter and let rest a little before carving, while you make the gravy. Assess your roasting pan: is there still some fat and liquid in there? If there's a lot, pour it off into a blender, add about a third or half that amount in flour, and blend. Put back in roasting pan and cook the paste (roux) until it's not raw anymore. You can make it as dark as you want the gravy to be. Then gradually add the broth, stirring constantly, until you have gravy. You could use about 5 cups of broth per cup of flour, I suppose, though I never really measure. Boil gently and stir. Season with salt and pepper. If it's too thin, boil more to concentrate. If it's way too bland, add some chicken bouillon granules. If it tastes "flat," add just a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

If your roasting pan has baked dry, you can put in a quart of water and boil it up to get the flavorful broth out of there. Pour off, make a roux using 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup flour, and use some of the broth you just created to make gravy.

Whenever you get gravy that's not as smooth as you like, puree it in the blender. No one has to know.

*Brining is easily accomplished in an ice chest. Throw in some ice cubes to keep everything cold. And--here's a great thing I discovered once when the turkey got done a whole hour ahead of everything else: preheat the ice chest with hot water, then drain. Put the cooked turkey in and it will stay very hot for a long time while everything finishes cooking.

Tomato Toast

Here is this morning’s version of Tomato Toast, a breakfast I make almost weekly with whatever is in the house. Today’s layers: whole wheat toast, Brie, sliced tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and Parmesan—all broiled until melty and brown.

Last night we had a simple meal of salmon, baked potatoes, and home-grown Swiss chard with garlic and jalapenos, followed by fresh strawberries and a piece of dark chocolate. Fresh wild fish is getting more rare and expensive every day. I have concerns about farmed fish and I don't know where to get any accurate information about safety--everything on the web about it seems to be written either by industry advocates or fringe food alarmists.

Tonight I’m going to experiment with a rolled, boned, and stuffed turkey breast. The stuffing will have bread and spinach, and I think it’s roasted on a bed of vegetables which are then used to make gravy. I’ll let you know how it is.

Lucky dog Emily will also get a turkey meal tonight. I’m sort of enjoying making dog food, since she so obviously relishes it. Bon appetit, Emily.