Our Turduchen Christmas

(Our Daughter, Veronica’s, Painting for Christmas)

Merry Christmas, and Welcome to Our Turduchen Christmas

2016

We have our Florida Christmas Cranberries by the door, all dressed up and ready to give as gifts.

This was a fun and delicious project to do for Christmas.

I cut up an Asian dress I found at a thrift store for the fabric to dress up the jars. You can even see the zipper and some snaps from the dress in the photo below.

If you would like the recipe for our Florida Christmas Cranberries…..

Click Here for our: Florida Christmas Cranberries

I like keeping gifts by the door to give to those that drop by.

This Cranberry Sauce was also perfect with our Turduchen Christmas

Merry Christmas Cranberries!

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The Turduchen

For those of you that don’t know what a Turduchen is, it is a chicken inside a duck, inside a turkey…..

Hence The Name

The Ancient Roman’s would stuff a chicken inside a duck, inside a turkey, inside a goat, inside a pig, inside a horse.

Get the picture?

Our Grilled Turduchen

Isn’t it Beautiful?

And here is the master chef that created this masterpiece of a Christmas Day Dinner, Gordon.

Marinating the Turduchen on the Grill

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Brodie’s Home!

Veronica on Turduchen Duty

Opening Gifts….

Look what Gordon was given when he was at Class Six (MacDill AFB Liquor Store)

He asked for it, and they gave it to him. He is the LUCKIEST person!

Veronica Opening her Gifts

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Veronica brought over her Grinchmas Treats

She made them herself. 🙂

Who Doesn’t Love the Grinch?

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Veronica’s Peanut Butter Balls

Recipe Coming!!!

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Our Turduchen Christmas Dinner

The Menu

Grilled TurDucHen

Grandma Nell’s Dressing (no photos)

Egg Noodles

Peas and Pearls

Gravy

Christmas Cranberries

Collard Greens (no photos)

Dinner Rolls

This was a Very Delicious Christmas Day Dinner

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Veronica and Gordon, Battle of the Cast Iron Skillets

Veronica’s face when she finds out she has to make the gravy. 🙂

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Julie’s Dinner Plate

(There was literally NO counter space and I had to place my plate on top of the dressing to photograph it.)

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Monk and Sugar, our Favorite Holiday Pugs

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The Three (3) Spirits Cocktail

Gordon’s Creation

Our Collection of Christmas Carol Movies

Gordon is a big fan of all the Christmas Carol movie versions so I suggested that he create a nice cocktail using “3 Spirits”, as in alcohol, not ghosts. 🙂 And this is what he came up with. It was excellent, I may add.

I think this must be my drink.

Thanks Mae.

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Our 3 Spirit Cocktail

Three Spirits Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients for Syrup:

¼ Cup Water

¼ Cup Sugar

Rosemary Sprigs Tops

½ Cup Powered Splenda Sugar to dip Sprigs into

Using a small sautee pan, add about 1/4 Cup water and approximately the same amount of sugar.

Place the pan over medium heat and add juice from ½ of a Clementine Orange.

Heat the mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved. You have just now made what is called a Simple Syrup!

When dissolved, dip your Rosemary sprig tops into the simple syrup.

Then sprinkle the Splenda powdered sugar, coating them well.

(Now they look like little Christmas trees.)

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Now to Make the Cocktail…..

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup Barefoot Bubbly Orange Infusion

1 Shot Ginger Liqueur

1/4 Cup Goslings Ginger Beer

1 Shot Bacardi Limon Rum

1/2 Shot Cointreau Triple Sec Orange Liqueur

3 Shots Indian River Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice

Remove the cork from the Barefoot Infusion to let it breathe.

Add 6 ice cubes and your Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice to the Shaker.

Now add your Cointreau, Bacardi Limon, and Ginger Liqueur.

Place your Ginger Beer into each glass.

And add your Barefoot Infusion into each glass.

Close your shaker and shake away until the outside is bitterly cold and you can barely hold onto it… about 45 sec.

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Strain the mixture into each glass…

You will enjoy these three Spirits all at once!

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Christmas Dinner Recipes…..

Gordon in his Christmas Kitchen

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The TurDucHen

Shown is the TurDucHen brand we bought this year. There are a few companies that make them and they range in cost from ~$55 to $75 depending on the brand and weight. You must follow the directions when cooking and thawing this large amount of meat. You may also find that it may take a bit longer to thaw and cook as many ovens work differently. Be sure to use a thermometer when checking the temperature of the meat. It should reach an internal temperature of 165’F while at resting for 20 min. to let the juices flow back into the meat. This also means that when the internal temperature while in the oven reaches 160’F, you can pull the TurDucHen out. Letting it rest 20 min. or longer before cutting will ensure the meat’s juices will go back into the meat where they belong, and not on your plate making it dry.

I let the TurDucHen thaw for around 5 days… this way I was sure to have a proper cooking.

The spices! Here you can see I like to use a variety of spices …

….a few types of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Turmeric, Salt and Pepper… you get the idea! I used about a teaspoon full of each spice, except for the salt and pepper, I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of them. But this is something that you can eyeball to your tastes.

Using a small bowl, mix your spices together.

Here you see me adding the Turmeric, which is good for preventing cancer. (Turmeric kills cancer cells that lay in our bodies. People from India do not get cancer on the scale that we do here and it is mainly because they consume so much Turmeric.)

Mix your spices well.

Add about 3 cups of water to your Roasting pan, this helps to steam the TurDucHen,

while keeping the juice drippings from burning on the bottom of the pan during the cooking process.

Remove the TurDucHen from the plastic bag.

The TurDucHen comes already seasoned, but I prefer mine added to it.

Rub some good olive oil all over the TurDucHen.

Now, using a spoon and not your fingers to get the spice out of the bowl, place your rub all over the TurDucHen.

Using a spoon will avoid cross contamination, keeping the raw turkey away from the spices.

Gordon Distributing the Spices

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Here you can also see where I placed a skewer through the skin of the TurDucHen

in order to hold in all the ingredients that came with the TurDucHen.

That’s right, get messy with it! (Says Gordon)

(And spank it! That’s right, spank it! Sorry that’s me, Julie, getting carried away.) wink, wink, 🙂

Here you can see I have a little spice left over for later use… maybe on my eggs the next morning!

Fire up the grill to Med heat!

Use your wood chip smoker to add more flavor to the meat. Here, I am using Hickory chips.

Liberally, spray the chips with some water to help them smoke… you don’t always have to soak them ahead of time.

Here Gordon is placing the chips into this container and placing it underneath the grates of the grill.

Place your TurDucHen onto the grill and insert your thermometer into the center of your TurDucHen.

I have a digital thermometer which I set to 160’F, so it rings when it is done.

In this case I am mainly looking for smoking the TurDucHen and I will finish the cooking in the oven.

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Looking Good!!!!

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Here I placed some olive oil into my seasonings and basting the TurDucHen with them.

It looks great if I do say so myself!

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Now, I am taking the TurDucHen into the kitchen and into the oven for final cooking… It won’t be long now.

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I decided to cover the TurDucHen.

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Cover the TurDucHen with foil to stop the skin color from getting any darker.

Continue to baste the TurDucHen with olive oil.

When the internal temperature reaches 160’F it’s time to pull the TurDucHen

out of the oven and let it rest…

trust me you can let it rest longer than 20 min. and it will still be plenty warm when you are ready to serve it.

Enjoy!

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The Gravy

Veronica and Gordon, Battle of the Cast Iron Skillets

Veronica’s face when she finds out she has to make the gravy. 🙂

NOTE: We have cooking going on in two different skillets at once. The Skillet at top is Gordon helping Veronica to make our Gravy. The Skillet at bottom of photo is Gordon making the Bechamel Sauce for our Peas and Pearls.

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The top one is Veronica making the gravy, the bottom one is Gordon making the Bechamel Sauce for the Peas and Pearls.

Veloute Sauce or Brown Gravy

You start out by adding equal part flour and butter to a cast iron skillet on Med. Heat.

Mix them together which now you have made what is called a roux.

I would use about 4 Tbsp Flour to 4 Tbsp butter or oil… you can use any type of fat you like.

Stir together as shown… the consistency should be like wet sand.

Keeping the heat on Med., continue to stir and watch as the flour starts to brown as shown in the far pan. This will take a few minutes to do. The darker your roux becomes, the less the flour can absorb liquid, which also means the less gravy you will have. Adding a roux to a soup is common, as it will help to thicken it. If you prefer a white Veloute Sauce, only cook the flour for about 3 min. just enough to get the flour taste out of the sauce. The pan closest to you, I am doing the same thing, but making a Bechamel sauce. To make it simply add milk instead of chicken stock.

Now that your flour has turned the color your want, add your chicken stock to the pan… about 1 cup at first. Turn your heat down low and continue to stir your now Veloute sauce. Add more liquid in small amounts at a time to get to the consistency you desire.

A whisk is good to have to help keep the lumps out.

Add a touch of salt and pepper to the sauce and you are ready to pour over your turkey!

Julie loves to dip bread into it!

Enjoy!

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Peas and Pearls

Ingredients:

1 Bag each of White and Red Pearl Onions

1 Lg bag of Frozen Peas

3/4 Cup Fontinella Cheese – grated

3/4 Cup Gruyere Cheese- grated

4 Tbsp Butter

4 Tbsp Flour

2 Cups Milk

Start by boiling your pearl onions in separate pots as the red color bleeds out and would turn your white onions red.

Let the onions boil until tender… about 10 min.

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When tender, pour your cooked onions into a colander…

and pour cold running water over all of them to stop the cooking process.

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Cut off a small portion of the root end of the onion and squeeze out the soft onion from the outer dry skin.

Do this with all the onions as shown in the picture… nice shot Julie!

Beautiful Pearls

Place them in a bowl and save for later.

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Green Peas

In a large pot, cook your peas as directed…

And place in a colander with cold running water to stop the cooking process.

Bright green is exactly what you are looking for, so don’t overcook them!

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REMEMBER: Gordon is using the Skillet on the bottom to make the Bechamel, ignore the Skillet on the top.

Now to make a roux… place equal parts flour and fat… here I am using olive oil instead of butter, into a cast iron skillet that is set to Med. Temperature. Stir the mixture as it should look like wet sand.

Add a touch more flour as I did if needed to make to right consistency.

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Continue to stir for about 3 min. then add your milk (about 1 ½ cups). You don’t want to cook the flour much more than that as we are making a Bechamel sauce and it should be white. Turn down your heat and stir, stir, stir.

Soon the flour will start to absorb the milk creating a nice thick Bechamel sauce.

Add more milk if need to make it more gravy like.

Gordon Grating the Guyere Cheese into the Sauce

Now for the Fontinella Cheese

Add your grated Fontinella cheese to the Bechamel sauce and now your have created a Mornay Sauce.

This is also a fondue, great for dipping bread into.

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Grate as much cheese as you like into the sauce…

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Now, add your cooked peas to the Mornay sauce.

Gently fold in the peas.

Then add your peal onions with a touch of salt and pepper.

Serve the dish immediately to your guests!

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Chestnuts

Score and X over the top of each chestnut using a sharp serrated knife.

Boil the nuts for about 10 min or until the skins get a little pliable.

Scored side up on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for about 15-20 min at 400’F

Remove the nuts from the oven and let cool for about 15 min. then peel and eat!

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This is a Thanksgiving and Christmas MUST for me, Julie.

This was something that my Yankee Great-Grandmother Honnie always served us for the holidays. It is very easy to make. You just place some chicken broth into a pot and bring it to a boil. Then you add your egg noodles and have them cook away until al dente.

Use any chicken broth that you prefer. Or vegetable broth, etc…..

Placed into a dish ready to serve!

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Leftover Turducen Makes Excellent Club Sandwiches

Especially when you use our Florida Christmas Cranberry Sauce as a condiment.

Bread, TurDucHen, Tomatoes, Cheese, Lettuce, Mayo/Mustard, Bacon, etc….

Nice for Lunch the Following Day

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New Year’s Eve, 2016

Crab Cakes with Lemons

Various Cheeses, Crackers, Turkey Sausages and Mustards

Delicious Cheeses and Mustards

Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper

AND Sadly, the very last year that Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper hosted the CNN New York Times Square Celebration.

Gordon and I are in our 50’s and unless something special comes up for us, then we tend to stay in and have our own celebration. We did love the Kathy Griffen/Anderson Cooper duo and were sad to see them dissolve. But, this was their last year and I did snap a photo with my camera as we were enjoying our foods.

Happy New Year!!

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Our New Year’s Eve, 2016 Treats

Dates having soaked in Brandy

This is very easy to do. You just want to buy some Dates, or Prunes, or Figs, or all 3, and soak them in Brandy overnight.

Make sure that you remove the pits.

Next you take your BACON……..

Gordon removing DATES from the Brandy

These are PRUNES having soaked in Brandy overnight.

Here Gordon is saving the Prune and Date flavored Brandy into jars to use for other things.

…….now, cut your bacon in half and roll a slice around each date or prune and secure with a toothpick.

Then place onto a baking sheet and put into a 300F pre-heated oven.

Here Gordon is wrapping bacon around Dried Figs.

You can see how luscious tasting they must be……

300F

Into the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Keep an eye on them after 15 minutes, you don’t want them to burn. Although the sugar from the brandy will if cooked too long.

Look How Beautiful They Are

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Just Rolling up and Cooking the Remainder

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Quick and Easy Crab Cakes

Gordon’s Santa Beard of Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

3 Cans – Bumblebee brand Crab Meat

½ Orange Bell Pepper – cut into small dice

½ Rind of a Lemon and juice from ½ of a Lemon

½ Vidalia Onion – shredded

2 Egg Whites

2 tsp Wasabi Mayonnaise

1 tsp Wasabi Paste

2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

Panko Bread Crumbs ¼ Cup in the mix and 1 Cup to dredge the cakes in

Salt and Pepper to taste

Empty your cans of crabmeat into a medium sized bowl.

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Now add in your diced orange bell pepper.

With a fine grater, grate off just the yellow of the lemon called the rind. I used about ½ of the lemon, but feel free to use more if you like and place it into the bowl

Then use the juice of ½ of your lemon… using your hands is a great tool for this placing the juice in the bowl and catching the seeds so they don’t fall in.