Turkey...

It's now mid December and time to think about Christmas food.  I've sorted the Christmas Pudding and the Christmas Cake - and the chocolate of course.  

Now what about the Christmas Dinner?  We enjoyed turkey last year so are planning to have it again this year.  To decide what size turkey to buy, apparently the yardstick is:

For 4 - 6 people: 2.25 kg ( very small)
For 6 - 8 people: 3.6 kg (small)
For 8 - 10 people: 4.5 - 6.5 kg (medium)
For 10 - 12 people: 6.75 kg (large)
For 12 - 15 people: 9 kg (rather large)

• When you get it home, remove the packaging and put the giblets in a covered bowl. 
• Wipe the turkey inside and out with kitchen paper. 
• Put in on a large plate and cover with foil.
• Keep at the bottom on the fridge and bring to room temperature an hour before cooking.

If you freeze the turkey, to thaw put in a cool place (below 15C/60F) or immerse in regularly changed water (below 15C/60F) for:

• very small or small (see above) turkey about 20 hours (or 10 hours in water)
• medium to large, 22-24 hours (19 hours).
• rather large bird: 40-48 hrs (39 hrs)

If  it's time to put the turkey in the oven and it isn't completely defrosted put the unwrapped bird in the sink and cover with cold water.   Keep changing the water and running cold water through the cavity until you can see and feel no ice crystals.

Stuffing
Stuff only the neck, if there's too much stuffing then put it into a baking dish to cook, or roll it into balls and roast separately until crisp.  For my stuffing recipes - well Delia's - see: http://edvisgardening.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/christmas-cookery.html

To keep the turkey in shape: secure the oven flap with a skewer to prevent the stuffing from tumbling out too much during roasting. Then tie the legs together with string.

To cook: Allow 18 mins per 450g/lb at 190C/ Gas5/ fan 170C (weigh after stuffing the bird), for the following times (approximately):

• Very small - 1.5 hrs
• Small - 2.5 hrs
• Medium 3 to 3.5 hrs
• Large - 4.5 hrs
• Rather large - 6 hrs.

Cover with foil until half an hour before the end, as it keeps the delicate breast meat and keeps it moist, but don't cover it too tightly or it'll steam.  The last 30 minutes uncovered lets the skin brown and crisp up.

If the bird won't fit in the oven - the chances are pretty remote - but if it is, then remove the legs and roast these separately.  Or divide the bird up completely into legs, wings and breasts.  

If you are worried and you have a small oven then buy a turkey breast jointed (sometimes called a 'crown').  Also they have little wastage.

Turkey can be cooked on a barbecue with a domed lid.  (See Weber's Ultimate Barbecue Book by Matthew Drennan)

Rest the turkey after removing from the oven, keep it wrapped and in a warm place.  Will keep for up to 45 minutes like this.

To help with carving, remove the wishbone before cooking.  Be organised before you start; make sure the carving knife is very sharp and get the platter hot and ready to take the turkey and it's carved.  

Remove any bacon from the breast and divide it up. Untie the legs and remove the skewer.  Put the bird on a big flat carving board, preferably with a channel to catch the juices.  

Leftovers can be frozen, packed into rigid containers or in foil packages.  To keep moist freeze with gravy poured over.

Roast potatoes:  I'm rubbish at these, so here are a few ideas: 

• Choose the right sort of potato - desiree, King Edward and maris piper are all good.
• parboil them, this can be done in advance, and allow to cool
• drain them well and rough up the surfaces
• don't add salt until the end

And here's a rather nice recipe for cooking turkey, which I found in the Saturday Telegraph

Roasting a Turkey


1 Onion, quartered
1 Carrot halved
1 bulb of Garlic, halved
Thyme
Olive Oil
Butter, s&p

1. Cut the wings off the bird. Make a trivet in the bottom of the roasting tin with the wings and the vegetables. Add the thyme and the garlic.
2. Place the bird on the trivet.  Sprinkle with olive oil, then cover the breast with slices of butter. Season then rub it all into the skin.
3. Add a glass of water to the tray (or perhaps white wine?).
4. Cover with two layers of foil, leaving lots of space around the bird.  Roast until juices run clear, see above for timings.  Remove foil for last half hour.
5. Rest for 45 minutes (both you and the bird!)
6. While resting, use the juices at the bottom of the pan to make gravy.

Other ideas:

Some people put a lemon, herbs and an onion in the cavity.  They cover the turkey with strips of streaky bacon, removing them half an hour before the end so the turkey will brown nicely.

rhubarb

's the oxalic acid that can be toxic in high doses. You'd have to actually eat a lot of it to harm you though! The traditional folklore about rhubarb was that if you plant a piece of stem with your brassicas, it prevents club root. They did a study on it at Edinburgh Uni but sadly, the results were that it doesn't do anything of statistical significance. So still a no to your question I'm afraid as far as I know.

If you are harvesting your rhubarb and planting the last few potatoes at the same time, you could try a traditional deterrent for the cabbage root fly. Instead of employing brassica collars planting the potatoes through a membrane , chop up the rhubarb leaves quite finely and layer them into the potato trench or planting holes. It's said to work a treat.

Yeah they are but if you mix them with 350ml of water and boil them.Then strain the liquid it controls aphids on roses if applied through a sprayer.A useless bit of trivia there.

Some slow cooker recipes

As it's now winter, the slow cooker's come out of  hibernation and I've been looking around for recipes.
I've often seen punnets of plums* on sale in the supermarkets and have never thought of actually buying them.  Perhaps it's because in the past we've had them literally 'growing on trees' and so, like rhubarb, I view them as free fruit - and not something to pay 15p each for.
But this year is different as, whilst I was looking up a recipe for cooking salmon in a slow cooker, I saw this recipe, and couldn't resist trying it. 
Incidentally, the salmon recipe is written below.

Easy plums in the slow cooker
500g plums
125g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Weigh the plums, quarter them, discarding the stone.
2. Put in the slow cooker with the sugar, add the vanilla extract.
3. Cook in the slow cooker for about 12 hours.

Slow Cooker Poached Salmon

Serves 4 to 6
1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
5-6 sprigs fresh herbs, such as tarragon, dill, and/or Italian parsley
Salt and peppercorns
Lemon wedges, coarse sea salt, and olive oil for serving

2 cups water

4 - 6 fillets Salmon

1. Combine water, wine, lemon, shallots, bay leaf, herbs and peppercorns in the slow cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes.
2. Season the top of the salmon with salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker, skin side down. 
3. Cover and cook on low until salmon is opaque in color and flakes gently with a fork. Start checking for desired doneness after 45 minutes to an hour  (salmon can be held on the warm setting for several hours.)
4. Drizzle salmon with good-quality olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

31 July 2015

... and today we had Bet's Sausage Casserole 

(from Betty Sands of Luckett, near Callington in Cornwall)

650g sausages, cut into thirds

1 lb sausages, sliced thinly

3 oz red lentils

1 bay leaf

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 clove

12 oz chopped onions

1 pint chicken stock

1. Fry sausages gently.
2. Put all ingredients in layers in slow cooker, ending with layer of potato
3. Cook for several hours
4. Put crock put under grill to brown the potatoes, then serve.

Another slow cooked sausage recipe: 
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/29593/slow-cooked-sausage-casserole.aspx

Slow cooker chocolate dessert recipes - because life is beautiful:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/slow-cooker-chocolate-dessert-recipes_5626dc49e4b08589ef49a642

* from: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-slow-cooker-poached-salmon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-196453

I went on a trip to the Republic of Ireland in 2000 - and ever since, I've been trying to get round to going again.  Every morning I looked forward to the soda bread, which was served up with our breakfast: (http://www.donalskehan.com/2014/03/wild-garlic-irish-soda-bread/) 


I loved watching their cookery programmes, showing simple hearty food, none of the type of recipes we often get here in the UK, using exotic ingredients which are difficult to get hold of.  And when you do track the ingredient, you use it once and find you don't like it.  Then you're stuck with a nearly full container of something you don't like anyway, which has probably cost a lot of money!

Here's an interesting site of Irish recipes, such as Irish Colcannon, Steak & Guinness Pie, Green Beer (for St Patrick's Day), Guinness Cake,  : http://www.food.com/slideshow/traditional-irish-foods-14


Also see: http://www.weekitchen.com/search/label/Irish%20recipe
and
http://www.irishamericanmom.com/2011/11/04/irish-guinness-beef-stew-crockpot-recipe/

St Patrick's Festival: http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/

Did you know that pumpkin leaves are edible?

https://www.facebook.com/SavingDinner/photos/a.251687819733.141546.79258169733/10152961022204734/?type=1

I've just heard that all RHS gardens have free entry next Friday, 
.

Free Day Friday - 7 November

All four RHS Gardens offer free entry to all today. Come and enjoy the autumn colours, enjoy a warming coffee or lunch, and perhaps make an early start on your Christmas shopping. Already a member? Why not bring along friends and family and share with them the benefits of RHS membership.

RHS Wisley, Surrey: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

RHS Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr

RHS Hyde Hall, Essex: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/viewevent?EFID=10858&ESRC=CRM

RHS Rosemoor in Devon: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/viewevent?EFID=11294&ESRC=CRM

Wisley in Autumn

Cornish Pasties (like mother used to make - and grandmother)

makes about 8

Pastry: 
2 lb SR flour
8 oz margarine
8 oz lard

Filling:
4 or 5 onions, chopped finely
potatoes, peeled
half a swede, peeled (or turnip if you're Cornish)
1 lb beef skirt, chopped

milk for glazing

1. Make pastry by gently rubbing the fat into the flour, add a little water to make a fine dough.  Leave it to rest in a cool place for about half an hour.
2. Grate or chop potatoes and swede finely
3. Roll out pastry into rounds of about 9" diameter, cutting around a small dinner plate.
4. Wet the outer inch or so of each circle with the milk.
5. Into the middle of each piece of pastry put a handful of the potato and swede mixture
6. Top that with the chopped onions, then the meat.
7. Season very well.
8. Finally put on some more of the potato and swede mixture
9. Gather the pasty together and crimp (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sS3Iz9E5O4).  Brush with the milk.
10. Leave to rest before putting in a hot oven (220/200/7) for about 10 minutes, turn oven down (180/160/4) and cook about another half an hour or so.
11. Turn out onto a wire tray to cool.
12. These freeze well and can then be reheated for about 10 minutes in a hot oven (more if heating from frozen).