"The New and Improved Smoked Turkey, Gravy, and Dressing"

Do not baste the bird, it softens the skin.  Do not tie off the legs/wings.  Doing so closes off certain area to the heat and yields uneven cooking.  Rub every crook and cranny. 

The Smoker:  Clean, and use any flavor of wood pellets, except hickory and mesquite.  They are too heavy and will over power your bird's taste.  In 2013 I used NW apple wood pellets.  When ready, open the lid and start on lowest setting for 5 - 7 minutes.  After it has started, put the bird in for an hour to an hour and a half for the smoke, then ramp up the temp to 325 degrees. Remove when the deep meat reaches 165 degrees.   

Brine:  Purchase packet in the grocery store when you pick-up your bird.  Follow the directions.  The packet even comes with a large sealable plastic bag.  How long should the bird be brined?  One hour for each pound of bird, breast down.  Then let it sit quietly in the fridge for 24 hours prior to the cook.

Gravy:  Prepare the gravy one hour prior to putting the bird on the smoker.  

Ingredients for Gravy - 

• 3-4 cups water, or chicken stock, or wine, any combination thereof
• 1 cup apple juice
• 2 - 3 cups yellow onions, ends removed, skin on, quartered
• 2 medium carrots peeled 2" lengths, or baby carrots
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 tbl dried sage leaves, crumbled
• 1 tbl dried thyme
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2-3 tbl olive oil
• No Salt
• the Pope's nose (tail)
• heart, gizzard, excess skin and fat, neck and juices

Procedure -

Put sliced yellow onions, chopped celery and carrots, and herbs, along with 4 or 5 tbls of olive oil in roasting pan, heat in oven at 425 degrees for one hour, or until the onions turn a nice golden brown.  

Once done, pour into a bowl and spoon off the grease on top, then put into the blender and puree to a gravy consistency.  At that point, as my friend "Joe from Oly," says, "Toss in some salt and pepper to taste, then start praising God that he put Joe on earth to be your friend."

Bring the gravy to a boil to reduce and thicken, if needed.  It is rich enough that you can add more stock, or broth, to make more.

Place the bird, breast up, on a roasting rack set it in the roasting pan with the onions, carrots, etc., at 325 degrees. Add 3 or 4 cups of chicken broth (not organic!), apple juice, and optionally, chopped innards from the bird, and put it in the oven/smoker. Replenish liquid with chicken broth as needed throughout the cooking process.

Wet Rub (Simon & Garfunkel):

Ingredients:

• 1 tbl dried crused parsley
• 2 tbls dried crushed sage
• 1 tbl dried crushed rosemary
• 1 tbl dried crushed thyme
• 1 tbl dried crushed oregano
• 1 tbl dried crushed basil
• 1 tbl dried crushed bay leaf
• 1 tbl ground black pepper
• 1 tbl sugar
• 10 tbl vegetabl or olive oil
• 2 1/2 tbl table salt

Procedure: 

Mix dry ingredients first, add the oil, mix.  Separate the skin from the muscle on the bird and slide the rub in between.  Save some for the exterior of the skin. 

Bird Aromatics:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, quartered, skin on
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 large springs fresh sage, or thyme
• peel of one orange
• orange chunks

Procedure: 

Place ingredients in body cavity, but use care not to plug the airways in the cavity. 

"Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme"

In the never-ending quest for "something new and different" on our dinner plates, I found this one at Simply Recipes and gave it a try.  The lady I live with has a very conservative, and midwest I might add, pallette, so I figured she would only give it a cursory try.  She liked it.

photo taken with my android phone

 

"Kentucky Pecan Pie"

 

Who doesn't like pecan pie during the holidays?  When I was a little guy, we had a friend, Mrs. Creewal (sp), who loved making pies and since she and her husband were good friends of my mom and dad, she made pies for us.  Back then, my dad and I loved her chocolate pie; but just as good - was the pecan.

My wife has a couple of pecan pie recipes, so we took some ideas from them, especially the "Kentucky Pecan Pie" recipe, and brought a few in from the web, and here is our new recipe.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Ingredients:

1.5 C White Corn Syrup
1.5 C Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tube Melted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
5 eggs, slighty beaten
1 1/4 C chopped pecans
1 Pillsbury Pie Crust

Procedure:

Combine syrup, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla
Mix well
Add eggs, continue mixing.
Pour into 9" unbaked pie shell.
Position whole pecans in a pattern over the top.
Bake at 375degrees for 20 mins.
Place foil around pan to protect dough edges
Continue baking for another 20 - 25 mins.

Let cool and serve.

"Pan-Fried Cajun Catfish and Tartar Sauce"

We found the recipe in the Food Section of our local newspaper and decided since it looked quick, easy, and tasty to give it a try.  To the fish and tartar we added a glop of coleslaw and a glass, or two, of some chardonnay and had a spendid time at dinner.

Makes 4 servings.  Prep time: 10 minutes.  Cooking time: less than 20 mins.

Ingredients:

4    6 ounce catfish fillets, or something close (we used two 8oz fillets)

2     tsps Cajun seasoning

1/8  tsp coarse salt

1/2  cup low-fat mayonnaise, or Miracle Whip

1     tbs sweet pickle relish

1     tbs minced onion

1     tbs rinsed capers

1     tsp hot pepper sauce

1/4  tsp dried oregano

Instructions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium high.  Sprinkle fish evenly with Cajun seasoning and salt.  Add 2, or 3, fillets to pan; cook 4 minutes per side or until opaque throughout. Remove from skillet; keep warm.  If you have more fillets, wipe the skillet clean with paper towels; repeat procedures.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, relish, onion, capers (we didn't have capers - and we're not sure, but we don't think we missed them), pepper sauce and oregano;  mix well.  Serve with fish.

Per serving: 219 calories, 28 grams protein, 7 grams fat (29 percent of cals from fat), 1.2 grams saturated fat, 10 grams carbohydrate, 22 milligrams cholesterol, 511 milligrams sodium, no fiber.

"Pecan Smoked Canadian Bacon and Pineapple"

I'm becoming convinced that home-made pizza is far superior to any pizza not made at home.

This recipe came from Pillsbury. It calls for using their Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust, but I used the bulk pizza dough I purchased from a local grocer. It is much better, and is a cinch to prepare as it has nothing but flour, yeast and water as ingredients as opposed to all those "other things" you find in packaged foods.


Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 C all purpose flour, or pizza flour
• 2 1/4 tsps dry yeast
• 1 C water
• 1 can pineapple shunks in unsweetened jujice, well drained on paper towels.
• Canadian bacon, or pepperoni - enough to cover the pizza.
• 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2 C chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 C shredded Cheddar cheese (2oz)
• 1/2 C shredded mozzerella

Directions:

One hour prior to cooking the pizza, mix the flour, yeast and water. Let sit for an hour, then remove approximately 1/3rd of the dough ball prior to spreading it on either a cookie sheet, or in our case, a baker's stone. We could cut the recipe, but it much easier not to and then to remove this third. It makes good "elephant ears," for a dessert.

Heat the oven, or smoker, to 425 degrees. I used Pecan pellets for the smoke.

Spray the stone with Pam, and spread the dough to the edges. I like to turn the edges up in order to hold whatever melted cheese that may accumulate.

Top the dough with provolone cheese, cutting to fit. Arrange Canadian bacon or pepperoni, pineapple, onion and bell pepper over provolone cheese to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese, then mozzerella.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the crust turns a deep golden brown.

Cut into 8 servings and serve.

"Mushroom and Onion Pizza"

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I love mushrooms and have been wanting to create a mushroom pizza since I learned the basics of making pizza. This one was a lot of fun to put together, and I would argue it may be one of the best pizzas, if not the best, I have ever eaten.

Ingredients:

• salt and pepper 
• 2 tbsp rosemary, fresh, chopped 
• 2 tbsp thyme, fresh, chopped (2 or 3 stems with leaves stripped) 
• 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 
• 2 onions, large size, cut into rings 
• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped 
• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese 
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar 
• 4 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms 
• 3 1/2 C pizza flour 
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 C water

Directions:

Make the pizza dough by adding the flour, yeast, salt, and water, mix, and let sit for one hour.

In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat, add garlic, mushrooms and stir for 1 minute.

Cut onion slices to get onion rings, and in another skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat, add onion rings and stir-fry until golden brown (10-12 minutes), then add balsamic vinegar and cook for another minute.

Add salt and pepper.

Spread the dough on a lightly floured surface. I use a baker's stone, but a pizza pan will work equally well. Add mushrooms and caramelized onions, sprinkle rosemary then mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Heat oven/smoker to 425-450F bake/cook pizza for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and add the fresh thyme across the top.

Slice and serve immediately.