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This column encourages readers’ recipe contributions and requests, helpful hints and timely trivia. Phone them in to 683-7266 or mail them to 527 Philip Rd. Thank you!
For the next few months especially, there will be many holiday celebrations taking place, and our furry companions can become unwary and unwilling victims from choking. I refer, of course, to the fact that poultry of any type seems to be the predominant choice to grace our Christmas tables. What we often fail to remember is that the mouth-watering odor that emerges from our oven can be just as desirable to our four-legged companions as it is to us.
It seems you would almost have to possess a cast-iron heart not to be tempted to share perhaps just a minute portion of the holiday bird with your loyal pet, so go ahead and relent ,if you must, but be double cautious because fowl bones – and there can be many of them – can and will be deadly when ingested by your family dog. Naturally, Fido does not understand this, so this becomes a situation where a human protects the dog, instead of being done in the ever-popular reverse role. You can be an informed pet owner and still not realize there are some foods such as raw fish, chocolate, caffeineated beverages, onions, pitted fruits (cherries, peaches, apricots, pears, avocados – the pits contain small does of cyanide), some types of nuts (macadamias, raisins and grapes).
They are not equipped to handle any type of alcohol, so if a beverage of this type spills, do not allow them to lick it up.
Roast Turkey with Stuffing
Ingredients:
(1) 14-15 lb. turkey
4 quarts white bread cubes
2-2.5 tsp. salt
Cooked giblets with broth
1 c. snipped fresh parsley
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1.25-1.5 tsp. ground sage
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. marjoram
Approx. 2 c. onions, finely diced
1 c. celery, coarsely, chopped with leaves
Healthy dash salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
Fat as needed
Directions:
To prepare your giblets and broth, place the turkey neck along with the giblets (with the exception of just the liver) into a saucepan with one large sliced onion, along with parsley, celery, bay leaf, salt and a good quart of water. Cover mixture and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for two hours until giblets are tender. Add liver to mixture during last 15 minutes.
Strain mixture through sieve and reserve broth for stuffing. Chop giblets and set aside for stuffing and gravy. Measure one cup of chopped cooked giblets and set broth aside.
Combine bread cubes, reserved giblets and parsley in a large bowl.
Blend salt, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and sage together and add to bread mixture. Toss.
Place margarine in skillet and cook onions and celery for approximately five minutes. Stir as needed, then add to bread mixture. Add one to two cups of turkey broth together with bread stuffing and mix lightly until ingredients are well-blended.
Thoroughly wash turkey with cold water, then pat inside and outside fairly dry with paper towels. Lightly fill body and neck cavities with stuffing, then fasten neck skin to back with skewer. Try to bring wing tips onto back of bird and push drumsticks under band of skin at the tail.
Place bird breast side up onto rack inside a shallow roasting pan. Brush skin with fat, then insert your meat thermometer into thickest portion of thigh muscle. Be certain tip does not touch bone. Roast at 325 degrees for about five hours or until bird reaches 180 to 185 degrees. If desired, reach in carefully and baste bird occasionally with pan drippings. When finished, place bird on heated platter.
Note: I allow the turkey to rest on this platter for approximately 30 minutes, as I find it easier to carve. Meanwhile, I leave the brown residue in my roasting pan, then pour the remaining carvings and fat into a bowl. Allow the fat to rise to the surface, then skim off and measure three tablespoons of it back into roasting pan. Blend together flour, salt and pepper with fat, then cook and stir until mixture becomes bubbly. Cook, occasionally stirring, until gravy thickens, then scrape pan to blend brown residue that has formed. Cook for a couple minutes, then I like to mix in finely chopped cooked giblets during the last few minutes of cooking.
To prepare the giblets and broth, simply place the turkey neck and giblets into saucepan with one very large sliced onion, parsley, celery and leaves, one bay leaf, two teaspoons of salt and one quart water. Cover and bring to boil, then immediately reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer for approximately two hours or until the giblets test tender. Add liver during last 15 or 20 minutes of cooking. Strain through sieve or colander; reserve broth for stuffing. Chop giblets and set aside for stuffing and gravy.
Servings: 25
• Fulfilling a request from Gerhardt, a new following of our column, I trust this might be the recipe you are looking for:
Beer Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
12 oz. beer
11/2 c. milk
4 c. very dry bread crumbs
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Dash salt
Directions:
Scald milk along with beer, then set aside. Beat eggs and sugar, extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, then turn immediately into greased 1.5- to 2-quart casserole dish. Set casserole into pan of boiling water, then bake for at least 50 minutes at 325 degrees or until knife inserted in center of pudding comes out clean.
Note: Gerhardt informs me this pudding is tasty either hot or cold, depending on your preference.
No, Gerhardt, as promised, I am sending you our version:
American Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. granulated sugar
4 tbsp. melted Oleo
3/4 c. raisins
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. hot milk
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Dash nutmeg
Directions:
Add bread to hot milk, cool. Combine sugar, eggs, Oleo, salt, raisins, extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to bread mixture. Pour into buttered baking dish; place dish into pan of water and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until knife comes clean.