So what comes after a turkey feast but the inevitable turkey soup? Here is a very simple version, and it got that turkey carcass out of the fridge.
After most of the turkey meat has been devoured and you are left with just the skin and bones, don't throw it away. Throw it in a stockpot instead, and squeeze the last remaining flavor from it by adding about a gallon and a half of water and boiling it for oh, about an hour. Let it cool, remove the bones and discard. Then strain the remaining broth to remove all solid matters from it. Now you have turkey broth that you can either freeze and use later, or make turkey soup with. To make soup, just add any vegetables you like, I added a couple of cupfuls of frozen mixed vegetables, and any pasta you have on hand. I used fucilli in this case. You can also throw in whatever turkey meat you have left (I didn't have much as you can see), and in ten minutes, or when the pasta is tender the way you want it, soup is on!
Santos of the Scent of Green Banana blog has been wandering in L.A. at Third and Fairfax and she has been so making me hungry! One of the things she reminded me of? La Brea bread! Hhmmm, this goes so well with soup.
We were a bit leery about having turkey again, and had actually considered having fish or quail, but one, I couldn't find quail, and The Clone does not eat fish, and I would have had to fix another meat dish for her. So, back to turkey we were. I wanted to try something new, and since I was off on Wednesday anyway, I thought I would try brining the turkey. The result was wonderful! I think this is the best turkey we've ever had, it was moist, and most of all the meat was flavored all the way through. Here is the brine I used, combined from several recipes I used for reference:
1 1/2 cup Kosher salt (don't use ordinary table salt)
1 1/2 cup Brown sugar
10 whole cloves
3 teaspoons peppercorns
2 oranges, quartered
3 teaspoons dried Thyme
3 teaspoons dried Basil
1 1/2 gallons of water
Combine all ingredients in a stock pot, bring mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Allow brine to cool completely.
Rinse turkey under cool running water, inside and out (remove giblets from cavity). Pat turkey dry with paper towels, then immerse turkey in cooled brine. Turkey should be completely submerged in liquid. My pot wasnt big enough, so the tips of the legs were sticking out a bit, but it still turned out ok.
Cover the pot and refrierate for 8-10 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove turkey, rinse, pat dry, and roast as usual.
The girls aren't too crazy about stuffing, and I still had a bit of stuffing in the freezer from our trial run, so we had this instead. It was pretty good!
2 1/2 cups of Wild Rice Blend (mixture of American Basmati, Wild Rice, Brown Rice, and Red Rice)
6 oz. Crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a pan and sautee the onions and garlic until fragrant. Add the musrooms and cook until they are just starting to brown. Add the rice blend and stir to coat rice with oil. Add the chicken broth and cook at medium heat and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, then lower heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until you are ready to serve.
This is a very easy vegetable dish, and it is ideal for children. At least, my girls like beans and carrots. I had made the greens a little spicier this time, so I had to make a milder vegetable.
1 lb. Green Beans, cut into half length
2 large carrots, cut up
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
Heat olive oil in a pan and sautee garlic and onion. When onions are translucent, add the green beans and carrots and stir. Add water, salt and pepper and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
The Clone loves corn, and this recipe is even better when freshly shucked corn is available. For this version though, I used canned corn since the fresh are nowhere to be found anymore.
1 (15 1/4 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4 oz.) can cream-style corn
1 (8 oz) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl stir together all the ingredients and pour into a greased casserole dish. I used a square 9 x 9 inch glass dish. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until golden brown.
The original recipe calls for cheese to be melted on top, but we are not too keen on cheesy toppings, and I was afraid it would overpower the taste of the corn, so I left it out.
Sweet potato pie is a Southern staple during Thanksgiving. My husband's family is not too much into pumpkin pies, but sweet potato pies are a must. It's just not Thanksgiving without them. My mother-in-law, Dot, made the best sweet potato pie, not too sweet, not overly spiced. Like most good cooks though, she didn't have a recipe; she just cooked by feel. When it felt right, then it was time to put it in the oven. This is one of of her recipes that I cajoled her into sharing with me. For some reason that I find strange, many Southern cooks don't like to share their recipes. So one occasion when she was making these, I watched her and approximated the proportions. She was so funny, because once in a while I'd catch her shield the bowl and throw something in there. I'd say, "Now what did you just put in there, Mom?" and she would say nonchanlantly, "Oh, nothing, I was just tasting it" and smile. She says that is her secret, she tastes as she goes along, and stops adding ingredients when she feels and tastes it to be right. This recipe comes very close to her pies, but I think there is just something special that moms and grandmas add to their cooking that makes it special and reminds you just of them. I hope my daughters will someday look back and think the same way about the foods we've shared.
2 Deep Dish Pie Crusts (I used the ready-made, store-bought stuff, but if you want to make your own from scratch, Manang Kusinera has a very good recipe and step by step method of making pie crust on her blog.
4 Large sweet potatoes
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, softened not melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 tablespoons flour
Bake the sweet potatoes for one hour in a 350 degrees F oven. You can also microwave or boil them, I just prefer baking them. Just make sure you leave them whole, don't peel and slice them yet as they would absorb too much liquid. Cool after baking, and peel, then mash.
In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients until they are well blended. Momma Dot used to mix hers by hand, but she says that she discovered, when you mix with an electric mixer, the beaters pick up the stringy strands and give a much smoother pie. Just don't scrape the beaters after mixing, although it may seem the frugal thing to do. You'll see what I mean when you clean the beaters. Divide the batter into the crusts. At this point, you can freeze the pies to bake at a later time.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. Cool before serving.
Here is my version of the Pumpkin Flan, thanks to Drstel for the idea. If you want to see step by step instructions, go here. For the final product and original recipe, go here.
I didn't have a 2 quart dish as the recipe recommended, I had a 1 1/2 pint round oven safe dish, so I used that but I ended up having some left over batter. So I put it in another, smaller dish, and that is what I unmolded and photographed. Plus, we got to sample before dinner. This is simply delicious, and very easy to make.
I actually wanted to make chicken stirfry with fermented black beans, like the one CeliaK made, but when I went to go cook, I realized I didn't have any black beans, so I cooked it anyway and just pretended like it had 'tausi'. Well, another improvisation, but it still worked.
1 whole chicken, cut up chinese style into bite sized pieces
1 onion sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch length
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in about 1/8 cup of water
Heat oil in wok or large skillet. Add garlic and ginger and stirfry until fragrant, then add onions and stirfry for another minute. Add chicken pieces and stirfry for a few minutes more. Add 1 cup of water, and cover to simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. When the chicken is tender, the liquid will probably have reduced to about 1/4 of a cup. At this point, add the oyster sauce and hoisin sauce and stir. Then add the asparagus and red bell peppers and stir fry for a couple of minutes until they are cooked through but not soft. They will render some liquid, you can thicken any liquid left in the pan with the cornstarch mixture. Adjust the seasonings to your taste, and serve.
This is my lola's favorite dish. Not a week goes by that she doesn't cook 'dinengdeng', a typical ilokano dish, at least once.
My dinengdeng recipe.
Sassy posted several versions of her Mango Royale on her site that I have been meaning to try but I either did not have the time or the correct ingredients on hand. With the recent disappointing election results though, we have been on a sweet binge at our house to offset the bitterness of another four years with Dumbya. Drstel who has been also feeling down posted several delectations on her food blog. Thanks to PurpleGirl who researched the recipe to adapt to ingredients available in the U.S., the work got even easier for me.
We couldn't make up our mind whether to use peaches or mandarin oranges, so we decided to use both. It was delicious! Here is our version, with some minor changes.
1 18 oz. can of Mandarin Oranges
1 18 oz. can of Sliced Peaches
1 Graham Cracker Crust (pre-made)
1 Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream
1 8 oz. bar of Cream Cheese
1 can of Condensed Milk
Mix the cream cheese and condensed milk until well blended. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the cream cheese is blended and incorporated, add half of the whipping cream and mix well. In another bowl, whip the remaining half of whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks. Slowly fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and pour into the graham cracker crust. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to set. In the meantime, drain the canned fruits to remove some of the moisture. Arrange the fruits on top of the pie and return to the refrigerator to set.
The fruit arranging was Jade's job. We couldn't wait long enough to allow the pie to fully set though, so when we cut the first piece below, it wasn't fully set yet, but it was royally divine!
I have tried the no-bake cheesecake recipes before using Jell-O flavorings, but the result was not as good, and it had that "instant jello" after taste. This version is so much better, and the best part? No baking!
I saw this recipe for bulgogi which is Korean barbeque on PurpleGirl's blog sometime ago and I've been wanting to try it for sometime, but haven't found the right cut of meat until recently. However, by this time, the weather has turned cool, and it just is not conducive to cooking outside anymore. Plus, as usual, I didn't have a whole lot of time to get dinner on the table, so this is my version of the Koreal style barbecue, stovetop. I used a pressure cooker to hasten the cooking time even more. 
You will need, 2 pounds of beef short ribs, cut for kalbi which is beef short rib sliced across the ribs, about a fourth of an inch thick. A bit unusual to find in the regular grocery store, but I lucked out and found a pack. First, I rinsed the slices to remove any grit from the sawing of the bones, and spread the slices on a baking sheet. Take 4 tablespoons of brown sugar and sprinkle or rub onto the slices and marinade for 10 minutes while getting the rest of the ingredients ready. Mix in a small bowl:
4 garlic cloves crushed and minced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup water
Layer the ribs in the pressure cooker and pour the ingredients above over the meat. Seal, and pressure cook for 35 minutes. After the meat is tender but not falling apart, lay them on an ovenproof dish and put in a 400 degree F oven to caramelize, about 15 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, take the remaining liquid in the pressure cooker and cook additionally until it is reduced to half and has thickened. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the sauce over, and sprinkle with chopped green onions. Serve over steamed rice.
Jade made this soup last Sunday, Halloween. It was so good after being out in the cold night air. She said she saw it on the food channel one day, and it looked interesting to her so she wanted to try making it. I was so busy last Sunday that I didn't really get a chance to help her other than yelling to her where things are in the kitchen. We had to leave before she could finish the soup, so she left instructions for her dad to drizzle the eggs and keep the soup warm.
MEATBALLS:
1 onion grated or finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 lg. Egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed and torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound of Ground Beef
1/2 pound of Ground Pork
Freshly ground black pepper
SOUP:
12 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped or escarole would be a good substitute
(she used spinach since I couldn't find curly endive or escarole in the market)
2 lg. Eggs
2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make meatballs, stir all the ingredients together. Shape the mixture into 1 inch diameter balls and place on a baking sheet.
In a stock pot, bring the broth to a boil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and spinach (or curly endive if you have it) and simmer until they are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Whisk the eggs and Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion and gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin strands of egg (dad was not too successful doing this, they came out in lumps, but the flavor was still good).
For the first time, our local grocery store actually carried some local NC shrimps with the heads on at a reasonable price so I thought I would try out the drunken shrimp recipe that I have been drooling at from Sassy's and TingAling's previous posts. However, I didn't get around to cooking right away, and before you know it, hubs and I had finished the wine I was going to use. Ah well, I had to come up with another recipe. I always love things cooked in coconut milk, and that we didn't drink, so I decided to use that instead. I also still have an abundance of kamote tops so I threw in a handful of those too, and it actually came out pretty well.
2 lbs. of shrimps with shell and heads on
2 handfuls of kamote tops (sweet potato tops)
2 tablespoons of oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cup of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in a skillet and saute the garlic and ginger until they start to brown at the edges then add the sliced onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk and let it come to a boil. When it is boiling, add the shrimp, oyster sauce and kamote tops and cook for a few minutes until the shrimp changes to the reddish color and the kamote is tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings, and serve.
Here's another simple recipe, great for nights when you only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. While the rice is cooking, get these ready:
3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut up for stirfry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons of canola oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon of Oyster Sauce
1 lb. of chinese snow peas, ends removed
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4/c water
In a bowl, mix the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar. Let marinate while you fix the rest of the ingredients. Heat your wok or pot to high heat, or until the oil is just at the smoking point. Add the ginger and garlic and sautee until fragrant. Add the onions, and stir, then add the chicken mixture, including the marinade. Stir fry until the chicken changes to a whitish color. Add the oyster sauce and snow peas, and stir just until the snow peas change to a bright green color. Add salt and pepper to taste and the cornstarch mixture to thicken any liquid rendered, and you're done! Dinner in 30 minutes.
