The Turkey That Ate Memphis

I love Thanksgiving. It's absolutely my favorite holiday, probably because it's the only holiday my family had any real traditions about. Any positive traditions at any rate - there is the annual Christmas tree fight, but I can't say I ever particularly wanted to share that one with my children!

Even Thanksgiving didn't have much in the way of traditions. Basically it boiled down to a turkey stuffed with dressing that was made the same way every year. That's all it took though to make that a holiday full of warm associations, one that I look forward to all year.

I spend weeks planning the menu, days cooking the desserts and side dishes. I buy the biggest turkey I can get every year. This year it was a 22 pound monster that, stuffed (according to Mom's recipe), I could hardly lift. I felt like the Tim Taylor of the kitchen set! I even hooted for my husband (badly though - I've never been good at impressions.)

When the cashier at the store rang the turkey up she was astonished. "How many people are you having over?" she asked. "I only bought a 12 pound one for all of us!"

I just smiled and kept my mouth shut. There were four of us eating, me, my husband, the teenager and the toddler. In reality that makes three and a half adults, considering the toddler doesn't eat anything, and the teenage boy eats like, well, a teenage boy. The two balance each other out, which means we made it through one breast.

This, however, was what I'd wanted. After the meal I deboned the turkey, cutting up some of the other breast for sandwiches, and cubing the rest of the meat. I now have 5 one quart bags in the freezer, ready to be thrown into whatever dish I feel like making.

I went back tonight, the last night they were on sale, and bought another turkey. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything larger than 12 pounds on sale. Since this bird is only destined to be cooked and cubed for the freezer, though, it'll work.

Here's a new recipe I made just the other night using some of the leftover turkey. It turned out very well, and has joined our list of keepers.

Savory Turkey Bake

The original recipe is from the DVO Enterprises program Cook'n Deluxe. I say this only to give credit where credit is due. Personally, I would never recommend the program. I regret buying it and feel I wasted my money. There are, however, some good recipes on there. This one has been altered by me to suit my family's tastes and my cooking style.

The original recipe called for fresh mushrooms, green onions, and home made croutons for the topping. Next time I'll make sure to brown the onions until they're slightly caramelized, and the mushrooms until they're slightly crispy at the edges, to add more flavor. Serving tips - I served it over egg noodles with steamed yellow squash on the side. Next time I think I'll try serving it with rolls instead of noodles. Steamed zucchini would be good, too.

3 tablespoons margarine or butter (I used olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, diced
2 slices bacon, cut in pieces
8 oz. can of mushroom pieces or 3 cups mushrooms sliced (about 1/2 lb.)
1 cup onion, diced
2 cups turkey breast tenderloin cubed cooked (about 3/4 lb.)
1 teaspoon rosemary dried, crushed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup soft bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a shallow 1 1/2 -quart baking dish.

In skillet, saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; set aside. Add butter to bacon drippings. Saute mushrooms and onions until tender. Add turkey, rosemary, garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in chicken broth and half-and-half. Stirring, bring to a boil and boil until thickened. Stir in bacon and lemon juice. Transfer to baking dish. Top with bread crumbs.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture is bubbly around the edges and crumbs are browned. Place under broiler if necessary to brown. Makes 4 servings