Thursday, November 19, 2009

turkey talk




the turkey talks have begun. the bird itself was ordered weeks ago from our local vendor at our farmer's market. this will be our 5th turkey from Smith Meadows Farm and each has been a grass fed, organic, sustainable delight. the difference every year is the style of cooking. some years we have my partner's family recipe. the bird is stuffed with a mixture of raisins traditionally soaked in rum, mixed with sliced almonds, fresh orange juice, paprika ,salt and pepper. since i don't drink, we soak our raisins in apple cider. this is served with bowls of braised red cabbage, piles of rich mashed potatoes and my friend anne's brussel sprouts with bacon and raisins in a sweet sour sauce. OMG. some years we cook a bolivian turkey, a recipe from my work hermanas. you brine the turkey tuesday night before bed. the next night, wednesday, after making one million centerpieces, you rinse off the brine, cut the turkey in half, and marinate it overnight in a mixture of olive oil, parsley, cilantro if you like, finely minced garlic, shallots, hot and sweet red peppers, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice. maybe a little cumin also. OMG, again. so we're talkin. aside, i have searched through every folder for photos of said turkeys, to no avail. so, i give you turkey's flag. oops, again, the german turkey dressing also gets chopped apples!

5 comments:

  1. Great turkey info here. Hope you can post a topic about turkey marinades too here because I've been searching this topic so far. I wanna try this in my turkey recipe here. Thanks!

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  2. Oh boy - both versions sound fabulous!! I only did the dinner once (remember the million dishes for only 4 people?), and I brined in citrus fruits & brown sugar. Sublime. Have deep-fried them with B's family, before that got trendy enough stupid people started burning their houses down...gotta know what you're doing. Not sure how Marita's doing hers, though. Making the sweet breads (the usual suspects), and Tony has requested my hummus. B's doing "something" on Friday, and that day Scott's duty is turning leftovers into a culinary masterpiece luncheon. Mary's making the pies (thank God), and bunches of apps. There won't be enough, I'm sure. Wait, is this my blog or yours?!!!

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  3. Oh, and one day I will crash your dinner. Promise, not threat!!

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  4. gwen, let's face it, it's OUR blog! your dinner to be sounds like enuf even for you. and you would be welcome any old holiday. maybe you'll make
    an extra loaf of cranberry bread.....

    red hot, i will post a marinade as soon as we come to an agreement on which country we're eating this year! how do you usually cook your bird?

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  5. The most importantly delicious aspect of the 'German Turkey' is that it is draped in bacon which as it sizzles to a crisp soaks up juices. omg.

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