Leftover Turkey...what to do? What to do?

There's the turkey salad sandwich, your standard Turkey Tetrazzini, Turkey casserole, and now, Rachel Ray's turkey croquettes.  I was skeptical, as she isn't my favorite cook, and is no chef. But, I tried them and we were pleasantly surprised. Here's the photo gallery and the recipe follows:

Ingredients

            2 tablespoons vegetable or any light colored oil, plus some for frying

            1 stalk celery, finely chopped

            1 small onion, finely chopped

            1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

            1/4 cup chopped parsley

            1 pound leftover sliced turkey

            1 1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes

            1 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided

            1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

            A few pinches whole nutmeg

            Salt and freshly ground black pepper

            1 egg, beaten

            Gravy           

Yields: 10 croquettes

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, carrot and parsley, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Heat a 1/4 of an inch of oil in a large skillet with high sides over medium-high heat.

In a mixing bowl, shred the leftover turkey using two forks. Add the mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs, poultry seasoning, nutmeg, salt, pepper, egg and cooled veggies. Mix to combine and form 10 patties about an inch thick.

Dredge the patties in the remaining breadcrumbs and brown in two batches in a single layer in the hot oil for 2 minutes on each side or until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a serving plate. Serve with gravy.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/2 medium chopped onions
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
• 1 cup carrots, julienned
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Sauté onion in butter. Set aside. [ I used shallots because I had them around the house.

1. 2. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes4. Roughly chop the broccoli. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.
   
   
   5. Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don't. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.
   
   6. Serve!
   
   
   

How to make really great roast beef at home for sandwiches...on the cheap!

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  Want to make really tender sliced beef for less? Here's a way to take an eye roast, an inexpensive cut which can be tough, and make it tender.  
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3 # Eye of Round roast

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Season the roast with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan or baking dish. Do not cover or add water.
2. Place the roast in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Roast for 21 minutes (seven minutes per pound) then turn off the oven and let the roast sit in the hot oven for 2 1/2 hours. Do not open the door at all during this time! (I have a gas stove and opted to leave it at 170 degrees for the remaining time, because it isn't very well insulated)
3. Remove the roast from the oven, the internal temperature should have reached at least 145 degrees F (65 degrees C). Carve into thin slices to serve.

This is really surprisingly good. It isn't dry, and it's cooked perfect for me; my husband would probably hate it, because he likes it well done , but this was seriously perfectly pink inside. Great!

Holiday Baking...Commence!

Aidan and I spent our Tuesday off making holiday cookies; there is nothing better than the smell of fresh gingerbread! Mmmm. Here he is gathering and rolling out the ginger snap dough balls, and rolling them in sugar. Below, the finished gingersnaps and Mexican Wedding Cookies aka "sandies".

Trattoria Trebeschi

* I don't know which I enjoyed more, the making of this from scratch, or the fact that as I rolled the dough, my son flew in a Lego craft he'd made from scratch and the commentary was something akin to "captain! It's Pizza Land! We're coming in for a bombing. Hit the cheese crater!!". SO funny.

This recipe is my all time fav for dough, via Tratorria Grappola in Santa Ynez, CA.  The Curti brothers, as featured on Giada's show, are amazing.  Their head waiter is kind of a dick, but it's allowable when the food is this good. No slight to either Guiseppe's of Ambler, PA or Celebre's in South Philly here, either.  You two still sit warmly in my heart!

Here's our homemade version and the dough recipe to follow:

Dough Recipe:

1 pkg active dry yeast

2 c lukewarm water

4 tsp sea salt

4.5 c all purpose flour

2 T EVOO

Set up your dough hook attachment; in the bowl, mix the water and yeast until combined. Add salt, then flour until dough begins to form and is not sticky (10-12 minutes). Place dough in bowl coated lightly with EVOO. also coat entire dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap & let rise for 1 hr in a warm place. remove to working surface & divide into 6 balls, about 6 oz each. place each on floured surface and cover with a towel to rise 45 minutes.  Roll each dough ball out until a thin 10 inch round shape is formed.  You can freeze them in plastic wrap for later use.

PIZZA:  Preheat over to 450 with pizza stone inside for 1 hour. Dust a smooth working surface with flour to roll out your dough.  Spoon pizza sauce over top and sprinkle with mozzarella generously. Using your pizza peel (or shovel), place it on baking stone for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown (watch carefully- I go with 10 min to start; also, I use parchment paper to make the transfer and clean up easy). Remove from oven, and drizzle with olive oil.

SAUCE: 2 c tomato puree, 2 T evoo, oregano (dash), 1 smashed clove of garlic, salt to taste... blend until combined. 

It's the most light, airy, bubbly, fantastico pizza ever!  Thin crust rules, anyway.