Divine Turkey Fettuccine

A quick and easy dish - great during Winter!

So the snow started falling, the temperature was dropping, and the last thing we wanted to do was to leave the comfort of the warm parsonage. With leftover baked turkey in the fridge (seems like we always have leftover turkey this time of year…) I pre-heated the oven with the goal of making a decision on what to cook  by the time the oven signaled it was at temp.  Here’s what I did:

Divine Turkey Fettuccine

8 oz. Fettuccine noodles

dash of salt

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup *

8 oz. frozen broccoli florets, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups baked turkey, chopped or shredded

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

8 oz. Colby Jack cheese, shredded

* I always use Campbell’s brand soup.  I am not compensated by them in any way; I just like their soup!

Directions:

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the box.  I add a dash of salt and a teaspoon of vegetable oil to the water before heating. The salt helps “tenderize” the noodles and the oil helps in keeping pasta “foam” from rising too much.

In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream of chicken soup. Don’t forget to add that can of water if the directions on the can call for it!

While the noodles and the soup are cooking, get a large bowl, cutting board and a sharp chef’s knife. If you don’t have a “chef’s knife,” any large knife capable of safely chopping vegetables will do.  Just make sure it is sharp. No need for an unexpected trip to the hospital…

Take the frozen broccoli florets out of the package and place them on the cutting board. Using your chef’s knife, carefully chop the florets into small bits.  You could thaw the broccoli first, but it’s easier to chop them up when they are still frozen. Put the chopped broccoli into the large bowl.

To the broccoli, add the minced garlic. Stir it in well – this way much of the garlic gets trapped in the little broccoli buds as the florets thaw.  Mmmm, tasty!

Now take your leftover turkey, placing it on the cutting board of coarse, and chop or shred it into small, tasty morsels.

Season the chopped turkey with the poultry seasoning. You can add salt and/or pepper if you like. Never hurts. Add the chopped and seasoned turkey to the broccoli. Mix with your wooden spoon! (Why “wooden” spoon? – because Chef Rudolf always insisted on using a wooden spoon – for everything!)

Now the good part…

Add the shredded Colby Jack cheese to the broccoli – turkey mixture. Like the old commercial says: “Behold,the power of cheese!”

By now, your noodles should be done cooking. If you haven’t already done so, drain the water.

Using your favorite cooking spray, grease up a large casserole dish or 11×13 glass baking dish.

- Put the noodles in the baking dish.

- Spoon the turkey/broccoli/cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Mix it into the noodles a bit if you want. It’s up to you.

- Pour the hot soup on top. It will seep down into the nooks and crannies, making for a fabulous, creamy texture!

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Uncovered.

At that point, check the top. If it’s starting to look too brown from the cheese cooking, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Continue baking for ten more minutes.

When the timer dings, you will have a great meal ready to warm you up on a cold evening!

Happy eating!

The problem is not with your set…

If all had gone according to plan, you would be seeing a photo of coriander basil spiced kielbasa, served with garlic oven-roasted potatoes and peas, corn and carrots that were sautéed in butter. The perfect comfort food for a night like tonight, where the temperature has dropped into the low 30’s (F) and the wind is kickin’ strong enough that crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel would be an experience you don’t want to remember. If only the camera had worked…

So instead, let me talk about our department holiday dinner a few night’s ago.  It was an awesome time at a well-kept secret in Norfolk, Virginia (maybe I shouldn’t mention it, then?)  Anyhow, if you find yourself in the Ghent area of Norfolk, specifically on Colley Avenue, check out Enrico’s.  It’s a family owned/operated Greek and Italian restaurant that looks kinda iffy on the outside but well worth the time to go inside.

The interior reminded one of our party of a classic bar from the thirties. Dark, rich tones; a certain earthiness. We had the back area to ourselves, cordoned off by a semi-transparent curtain that kept us separated yet still connected to the rest of the cafe. It was a nice touch that owner’s John and Maggie Tsouris decorated the elevated dining area with framed prints of Virginia Opera posters.

The menu had a little bit of Greece and a little bit more of Italy, all cooked with home recipes that I would guess have been in the Tsouris family for years. With 15 of us, we probably ordered over half the menu, including four fabulous chef’s specials.  First, however, we started our culinary adventure with appetizers. The hummas with pita and the dolmades were excellent. To be fair, not all of my dinner companions were “into” Greek food but in the end there were no appetizers left on the plates.  That should say something!

For an entree, three of us had the Souvlaki, tender pork loin grilled to medium on skewers, set on rice pilaf, surrounded by feta cheese and Greek olives. An eerie quiet descended upon our end of the table as we three lucky diners squelched our conversation in order to scarf the perfectly cooked pork. I don’t recall hearing much being said by the other dozen of us, either, so the grilled shrimp limone and all his friends must have been equally as astounding.

While not really a wine aficionado, I will say that Enrico’s wine list was just as popular as the menu. There were the obligatory bottles of Merlot (Aussie wine – Penfold as I recall) and Cabernet (Chilean.) The surprise hit, however was a Greek wine from John’s family hometown in Greece. A nice red wine, Amplelou gris red was the favorite of the night. We also noticed that, for whatever reason, there were no French wines on the list. Hmmm…no one complained.

Now, for those of you who have worked in the food service arena, you will know that no matter how good the food, the experience can be negated by poor service. Fortunately, our server matched the quality of the menu. She handled our party of 15 with a calm yet humorous demeanor. She not only knew the basic components of the four specials, she also knew how they were seasoned and cooked. This was not a $2.13 an hour “associate” who gets graded on how much flair they have pinned to their ballcap; no, our server was what we all hope for when we go out to spend our hard-earned pennies on dinner: pleasant, helpful and accurate. I heard numerous kudos being given by my companions, and I would bet those comments were not just said, they were meant.

John and Maggie Tsouris have a hit on their hands. Not too expensive, make Enrico’s Ristorante a stop on your next culinary excursion. Don’t forget to save room for dessert.  We were too full to have it!

Happy eating!  Oh yes, anyone have a good camera that needs a good home???

A Slice of Cherry Pie is a Wonderful Thing

A little bit of Internet research has brought me to one of the top 50 food blogs in the world.  I’m not sure who makes those distinctions, but I will say that “A Slice of Cherry Pie’ is a great food blog worthy of kudos, allocades and probably a huzzah or two. It’s very comprehensive and well written, by a regular person no less. Inspiring photographs are a plus; makes me wish I had Emeril’s patented “Smell-o-Vision.”

The current post involves a leftover turkey recipe that adds cranberry and cheese, similar to my Ultimate Turkey Sandwich.  Instead of my focaccia bread concept, however, Julia Parsons (the cook behind the blog) uses a puff pastry to create a classic ‘parcel’ in miniature. I will have to try it and give you an update.

To check it out yourself, go to A Slice Of Cherry Pie and see food from the UK perspective!  I have provided the link in my blog roll for your convenience.

 

The Ultimate (Leftover) Turkey Sandwich

Ultimate (Leftover) Turkey Sandwich

A variation of the turkey sandwich from the Chesapeake Bagel Shop, this is a great way to upgrade the inevitable turkey sandwich you will be making the day after Thanksgiving!   Use the focaccia bread (see previous post) for a savory, crunchy base.

For vegetarians (of all types,) as in 75 percent of my household, the sandwich is great without the turkey, too. Vegans can replace the lettuce wih bean sprouts and seasoned / baked tofu for the turkey. My wife just slapped some butter on the focaccia bread, grilled it on a skillet, then added the tomato along with a little Havarti cheese. She loved it. Everyone wins, except maybe the turkey but that argument is for someone else’s blog.

Here’s what you do:

Slice about 3 inches of focaccia bread off of the loaf.  Then slice that piece in half, lengthwise forming two planks about a half inch thick or so.

Top the base with:

- shredded lettuce

- slice or two of tomato

- a little red onion slice, spread about

- cheddar cheese

- turkey (ahem…or other meat substitute)

- two or three pieces of crispy bacon (sorry vegans, can anything really replace bacon?)

The Ultimate (Leftover) Turkey Sandwich

Then spread a little cranberry jelly (or relish, even better) on the top plank of focaccia and top off the sandwich.

Viola!  You are ready to enjoy the savory bread, coupled with the sweet taste of the cranberry and the salty taste of the bacon.

Happy eating!

Focaccia Bread so easy a dad could make it…

A few years ago, there was a great little bagel shop down by the Barnes & Noble.  Bagels and pastries baked fresh, on-site, each morning, the way it should be.  They were open through lunch, offering deli style sandwiches and nice little baked desserts.  My favorite was a mambo turkey sandwich served on focaccia bread.

The store is long gone, but the memory of the sandwich lives on.  Here is my version of their focaccia bread. Don’t know if it’s the same, but it tastes real good.  Try it!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 packet of dry yeast

1 Tbsp Rosemary

1 Tbsp Thyme

1 Tbsp pressed garlic

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix everything together, using a stand mixer on medium speed, until batter is sticky.

Put dough in a greased, 9 x 13 pan.  Cover and let rest for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Once dough has rested, poke with your finger, causing little indentations  all over the dough.

Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the dough.

Sprinkle a little more Rosemary and Thyme on top.

Bake until it starts to brown on top. Start with 30 minutes, but expect 35 to 40 for it to be done.

Once it’s done, enjoy!  (It won’t last long!)

< For a picture, check out the post entitled: The Ultimate (Leftover) Turkey Sandwich! >

New Subscription option added

WordPress has come out with a new widget – the subscription button.  It’s down on the right side, below the Food Blogs app.  Check it out.  I am still trying to post at least twice a week so this may save you some time.  Although…I appreciate it whenever you stop by!

Had camera issues last night, may need a new one; otherwise you would have been treated to the World’s Best Turkey Leftover Sandwich on homemade focaccia bread!

Coming soon, really!

Don’t get saucy with me, Bernaise!

Pickapeppa Sauce makes all the difference!

Sorry, couldn’t help it…

Tonight I used the old cook-dinner-in-shifts technique. I knew I would be short on time, having to run errands that would take me away from the stove, so I (gasp) planned ahead.

The menu:  baked chicken with BBQ sauce, baked potato and stir fried vegetables.

The chicken was simple. Free-range, non-hormone-enhanced skinless chicken breasts, lightly coated with plain breadcrumbs. A touch of salt and pepper for good measure.  Baked at 350 for about 35 minutes until they reached 185 degrees.  Play it safe – if you don’t have a digital thermometer, get one!

I baked the potatoes last night.  I used the residual heat from the oven to warm them up while I let the baked chicken rest and stir fried the veggies in a little olive oil. Again, nothing fancy.  Sometimes it pays to let the pure taste of the food do the talking!

The sauce was a little tricker.  I made a small batch, about a cup and a half worth.  Took a lot of adding ingredients in small doses until I got the taste just right.  Once I did, it was awesome!!  Here is the normal recipe I use. It makes about a dozen pints, give or take.  The recipe is adapted from Jesse’s Lip Smackin’ Sauce, which tastes suprisingly like the Bone Licking Sauce that you can get in your local supermarket.  But for fun, take a few hours and fill up some Mason jars!

Doug’s All-Purpose BBQ Sauce:

6 cloves garlic, pressed

128 oz ketchup (that would be two 64 oz cans for those who are math impaired, like me)

1/2 large Vidalia onion, chopped finely, sauteed in a bit of olive oil

4 TBsp soy sauce

6 TBsp yellow mustard

4 TBsp red wine vinegar

1/2 c. orange juice

1 TBsp lime juice

2 TBsp lemon juice

1 c. light brown sugar

6 TBsp horseradish

and the secret ingredients:  1 bottle of Pickapeppa Sauce and a can of Dr Pepper.

Put everything in a big stock pot and bring almost to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Tastes even better the next day!

As Chef Rudolf would say:  Happy eating!

Hurricane Ida – Good times if you are a (Yellow) Duck!

For those that know, I live in the Southeastern part of Virginia, Virginia Beach specifically.  Hampton Roads, as the larger area is known, took a small but big enough hit from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.  Lots of rain, flooding in the low areas and power out for almost everyone.  The kids and I made it through Friday, but then decided to traverse the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to get to the Eastern Shore.  There we have a parsonage at our disposal, complete with electricity and heat.

The trip across the bridge was adventurous to me, kinda scary for normal people.  The bridge is usually 50 or so feet above the water line, give or take 4 to 5 feet for tides.  That night, however, we could see the white caps of the waves just below the road structure, with spray at eye level. A long 18 miles just to get food and a warm place to sleep. But we made it without incident.  The good pastor, my lovely spouse, had gone to the store and bought chili fixins’, which was probably the best choice given the circumstances.

Saturday meant a trip to one of our favorite spots, the Yellow Duck Bakery Cafe.  That, with a side trip to Quail Cove Farms, meant good eating at the ol’ parsonage!  As I thought about what to blog, I remembered that I see thousands of travelers on Highway 13, most with out of state plates.  Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, all coming down 13 to get to the outer banks of North Carolina. True, not much traffic this weekend, but normally it’s like a train of cars going south on Friday, north on Sunday.  And they pass right by two of the best kept secrets around!

Beth Flynn owns the Yellow Duck Bakery Cafe – “Simply SpecQUACKular!” as she would say, which is located in Exmore, VA.  As you come down from Maryland (or up from the Beach,) just look for the signs that say “Exmore” – then look for the sign (on Hwy 13) that says “Yellow Duck Bakery.”  There’s an arrow and everything.  Once you find it, snag some locally roasted organic coffee while you look over the daily dozen variety of muffins.  They have over thirty different muffins and you will find the 12 to 16 “flavors” baked fresh that day.  I had the Mint Chocolate Chip – awesome!  We had a dozen boxed up for the trip home.

The bakery itself is a tiny little place, right out of Mayberry RFD for those that remember.  As an aside, Sheriff Taylor, aka Andy Griffith, lives on Tangier Island, up the Shore a piece and off shore a bit, Bayside, but that’s a different story.

The Yellow Duck is also the local favorite for cake.  Any occassion, but especially wedding cakes. Everything is made there on premises and it all tastes great! The ambiance is wonderful, too.  Hardwood floors, painted a minty green, with a soda case painted bright purple, the Yellow Duck has all the charm of a shop built in the sixties by one the Flower Children.  The European style tables, all 5 of them, are comfy as well as stylish.  Overall, a great rest stop for those busy traveling up and down 13. Check ‘em out at www.yellowduckcafe.com.

If you are on your way to the Outer Banks, stop by Quail Cove Farms for fresh, right off the farm organic produce. Located in Machipongo, VA it is just south of Exmore. Look to the east for signs, kinda hard to find if you don’t know where to look, but worth a visit.  They were out of Hayman potatoes, but we stocked up on russetts that were just as sweet. Be sure and pick up a copy of their sales price list and newsletter.  It has a listing of everything that they sell, as well as recipes.  November’s newsletter has sweet potato rolls and butternut squash cake recipes.  Yumm! Check out their website at www.quailcovefarms.com for more info.  You can’t go wrong AND you will be supporting the local farmers!

Pictures will be posted later.  For now, have to go to church. Don’t want to be late!

Puchero Hondureno

A while back, actually a long, long while back, I used to hang out on the northern coast of Honduras.  It’s an even longer story, but suffice to say if you want to taste (maybe experience is a better word) true Latin American food, go to the source.  Realize, however, if you enjoy our American Tex-Mex, that’s great.  I grew up on the stuff thanks to Mama Cuellar and her boys, so rest assured I am not disparaging the Lunch Special Number 7 or any of  its’ ilk.

With the first frost of the season last night, I decided that a good hot stew of some sort would be just the thing for dinner today. And after having two bowls, I think I was right.   This may not be exactly what my host family cooked up for my partners and me, but it is pretty close. Easy to make; great to eat on a cold day.

Puchero Hondureno:

8 oz. Chorizo, or any spicy sausage.

2 cans Goya black beans

1 can chopped tomatoes with green peppers and onion

1 can chopped green chiles

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 tspn minced garlic

1 Tblsp cumin

1 Tblsp apple cider vinegar

2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

In a large pot, cook the sausage, shredding into small chunks.  Drain the fat when done.

Add everything except the rice. Simmer on medium heat, reducing the liquid, but not eliminating it.  Be sure to stir often with a wooden spoon  (after a while, the mixture can start to burn and no one wants “that” flavor…)

With the stew still a bit soupy, add the cooked rice.  stir.  The rice should absorb the rest of the liquid.

The next liquid you may need will be Flor de Cana, but that’s another post for another day!

Buen Provecho!

Chicken Pesto Pizza

This was awesome!

Thank goodness I live on a street that looks dreadful enough at night that wayward Halloween characters always stay away.  Keeps the puppies from going crazy, which in turn keeps me from going crazy. Man, that’s a benefit that Carlos the Realtor never mentioned, so I guess I should buy him a coffee the next time I see him.  (Hmmm…maybe I should let him remind me of this post; it’ll show that someone actually reads this blog.)

But enough about me, let’s talk chicken pesto pizza.

I use a pizza dough recipe from Wolfgang Puck. Makes 4 small, 2 medium, or 1 big pizza.

3 C. Flour

1 tsp salt

1 TBspn honey

2 TBspn Olive Oil

3/4 C. cool water

1 package dry yeast

1/4 C. warm water (100 – 110 degrees)

1.  Combine salt, honey, olive oil, 3/4 cup cool water in a small bowl. Mix well.

2.  Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Use a thermometer to ensure temp is no higher than 110. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3.  Put the 3 cups of flour into a large bowl or on a large counter or cutting board.  Create the classic volcano, complete with crater.  This will come in handy.

4.  Pour the yeast into the other liquid ingredients. Mix gently.

5.  Pour the liquid into the crater and start mixing.  If it’s too sticky, add a touch of flour, but not too much.

6.  Once the dough has started to become a single mass, turn it out onto a flour-dusted counter or cutting board and start kneading.

7. With the dough ball now smooth, put it into a buttered bowl, Cover with a towel and let rest 30 minutes.

8.  Punch down, roll into a tight ball.  Divide into smaller balls if making small or medium pizzas. Lightly dust with some cooking spray and cover with film (Saran Wrap.)

9.  Refrigerate dough until one hour prior to use. Let dough raise to room temperature.

10.  Using whatever technique you dare, shape into pizza. Being of German descent, I lack “tossing skills” so I put the dough ball on a pizza pan and used my French rolling pin to spread the dough out.

11.  No matter how you did it, if your dough is in the shape of a pizza, you have almost succeeded. You must now “dock” the crust. Take a fork and stab the pizza, creating little holes all over the disk.  This will help steam escape during baking.  Makes for a much better crust.

Back at the ranch…

1/2 to 1 baked chicken breast, chopped up into small peices.

3 – 6 TBsp pesto (amount depends on how much chicken you use)

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Artichoke hearts (get the stuff already prepared and marinated in oil; sold in little jars)

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 – 3 TBSpn Olive oil

2 cloves garlic

So here’s how it all works:

Take 2 cloves of garlic.  Press them, putting the meat into a small glass bowl.  Add 2 – 3 TBspn Olive Oil.  Let steep while prepping everything else.

Shred enough mozzarella to cover the size pizza you have chosen. Shred about 1/4 of that amount of Parmesan.

Coat the chicken with the pesto.

Assembly time:

Cover the dough with the shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Evenly distribute the pesto-chicken and red onion.

Add artichoke hearts to taste.

Drizzle the garlic-olive oil over the entire disk.

Add a bit more cheese if you want.  You really can’t have too much, in my opinion.

Bake on a stone or a circular pizza pan at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust done and cheese melted.

Serve with a good glass of wine.  I always recommend the Merlot from the Williamsburg Winery in Virginia.

Enjoy!