Turkey

This dish evolved when I had a good-sized holiday turkey left in the refrigerator. Somehow no one ever wants the wings. They’re too big to gnaw on politely at the table, and the meat is hard to carve delicately into slices for sandwiches later. So they sit in the fridge, getting drier each day. But don’t let that happen, because they make very good eating for one or two when they are properly reconstituted. And I found that well-flavored dried beans did the trick.

Tamales are a huge part of the Christmas celebration and tradition in the Rio Grande Valley, where Sandy was born and raised. As such, the holiday season simply wouldn’t be complete without eating copious amounts of tamales. Tamales are fun to make, but very time-consuming, so many people simply purchase them from a local restaurant. We go to Delia’s in Edinburg, Texas. Around Christmastime, they make about 25,000 tamales and become so busy that the doors are closed to regular customers and the police are dispatched to direct traffic. If your order isn’t in at least two weeks prior to Christmas, then you’re out of luck! Our spin on the tamale is a casserole that saves you both calories and countless hours of preparation.

Fruit in a meatloaf? What were we thinking? Trust us; we thought the exact same thing when Crystal’s sister, Cindy, suggested it one night in our test kitchen. But since Cindy is usually right (don’t even bother trying to play a game of Trivial Pursuit with her), we gave it a whirl and it worked! In fact, the sweetness from the mandarin orange brings an exciting new twist to this old-time dish. As soon as you try it, you’ll understand. Substituting ground turkey keeps the calories and fat in check, and when served with a side of stir-fried veggies and brown rice, this healthy meal is sure to become a regular household favorite.

A dear friend from London gave me this recipe and a bit of good English advice: The key to great shepherd’s pie is the ketchup. So taste the turkey mixture before adding it to the baking dish and add another spoonful or two of ketchup if desired. The chili powder gives good flavor but no heat, so don’t let it scare you.

For the bones, select a combination of the following: chicken (necks, whole carcasses, wings, or feet), pork (any bone, shanks, necks, split feet, smoked hock, or ham bone), or beef (oxtail or any bones).

When a whole turkey is a little too much meat for your gathering, a turkey breast is a great option. The bad news is that most turkey breasts sold in grocery stores are seasoned, precooked, and in some cases processed. If raw turkey breasts are not a staple in your grocery-store meat case, ask your butcher for boneless turkey breast lobes. The other way to obtain raw boneless breasts is to cut your own, which is a simple process. Beginning with a whole turkey, place your knife parallel to the backbone. Cut straight down about three inches following the backbone until your knife reaches the rib cage. Follow the rib cage with the knife, cutting away from the backbone. This will separate the breast lobe from the whole turkey. Repeat the process on the other side of the turkey to yield a second boneless turkey breast. Freeze the remaining turkey for future use.

Sometimes, “simple” and “expected” trump “gourmet” and “unusual.” There are many recipes floating around that try to dress up this annual dish. The results are flavors that are foreign to both the meat and the occasion. The most unique thing about this recipe is the technique, which involves wrapping the bird in aluminum foil with a hole cut in the top. This step is beneficial in two ways: First, it helps to trap moisture and increases the humidity in the air around the turkey. Second, the hole in the foil allows in just enough true smoke to flavor the turkey so you don’t run the risk of ruining your feast with the harsh bitter flavor of an oversmoked turkey.

This recipe is one of our biggest sellers but, interestingly, each customer cites a different reason the sandwich is special. One says that she could eat the onion marmalade with a spoon for breakfast daily. Others can’t say enough about the bacon. Tom applauds Sisha’s decision to cut the turkey thicker, thus showcasing its moistness. This is an ensemble piece, with no clear headliner. While we use ciabatta, this sandwich would work as well on country bread, too.

I freely admit that the tonnato preparation is an idea that takes some getting used to: It means that a meat, usually veal, is topped with tuna sauce—and it’s usually served cold. But before you say “Ugh” and turn the page, please give it a try. It’s really a wonderful combination of flavors. Instead of veal, I prefer the lighter taste of turkey paired with the relatively strong sauce, and I like this dish warm, not cold.

Traditionally, this dish is made with pork sausage. But in an effort to lighten things up, I use turkey sausage, which in general is a great, healthy alternative to pork. I promise that you won’t be able to tell the difference.

This is an Italian-American favorite, but I like to make my meatballs with turkey instead of the traditional pork, veal, and beef. It’s lighter and healthier, and that way I can eat it more often. Your guests will be so busy eating them that they won’t have time to ask what’s in them (they are that good), especially when they adorn a gigantic family-size platter of spaghetti or linguine.

Here’s an osso buco everyone will love. Consider this a nontraditional Thanksgiving meal; you’ll get both dark and light meat without having to cook a whole turkey. Using a gremolata to spark up the flavor of a long-cooked dish like this one is a very traditional Italian touch that makes a huge difference in the finished dish.

I couldn’t do this book without including a blue cheese and bacon burger; the combination of a juicy burger, crisp, smoky bacon, and sharp and tangy blue cheese is just too good. You can top this burger with crumbled blue cheese or you can do what I often do and spoon some hot Blue Cheese Sauce (page 110) over the finished burger. Serve it with warm Homemade Potato Chips (page 98) and extra sauce for dipping; it’s insanely delicious. (See photograph on page 2.)

Cobb salads occupy a delicious middle ground between the decadent (hello bacon and blue cheese!) and the virtuous (lean turkey, and it is a salad after all). Whichever side you land on, there is no denying how awesome the mixture of tangy blue cheese, salty bacon, creamy avocados, ripe tomatoes, and crisp romaine lettuce is. It’s not hard to imagine how good those ingredients would taste not tossed with cubes of cold roasted turkey, but atop a hot and juicy turkey burger. It makes perfect sense to me!