Selasa, 18 Februari 2014
Post Christmas Turkey Dinner
Happy New Year! Welcome to the first installment of "Amys Dinner", a diary of what I eat for dinner every single day for 365 days.
A few days ago I realized that I spent a substantial amount of time everyday trying to figure out what to have for dinner that night. I noticed that I, and most everyone else I know, also asked others what they were going to eat that evening. This could be attributed to habitual conversation, but I believe that it is in hopes of finding some inspiration. Out of those conversations, an idea was born to post what I eat for dinner for an entire year!
Most evenings I cook for myself, and while I think recipes are a great resource for inspiration and definately the place to start for those just learning about the kitchen, the way to become a really great cook is to free yourself from the recipe. Learning cooking techniques and ways that ingredients can be combined sets you on the right path to making really tasty foods. Therefore, most of the meals I make are original and not based on a recipe. As a result, most of the time my dinner is pretty delicious, however, it is possible to have a flop. If something a make is a real stinker, I will tell you. At the end of this experiment, in 365 days, I hope to have a collection of several hundred really great dishes (stinkers excluded) and will compile the recipes in a cookbook. I hope you will check in with me daily to find some inspiration from what I have for dinner, then go and create a delicious meal for yourself or for your family and guests.
Now, onto "Amys Dinner" January 1, 2010. We usually have turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, but this year we decided to experiment with a Rib Roast for Christmas dinner. It was delicious, but I was cheated out of the leftover turkey sandwich, my favorite part! So, last night I decided to make a mini version of the turkey dinner so I could enjoy a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and mayo for lunch today.
I purchased a half of a turkey breast from the grocery store (looks like a giant chicken breast) for approximately $7.00. In the freezer I had several bags of leftover cranberries from baking during the holidays, so I made an easy cranberry sauce by cooking the berries, sugar, water and fresh orange juice for approximately 10 min. I chilled it in the refrigerator for about an hour prior to eating. Turkey dinner must have stuffing or dressing in this case, since it obviously was not stuffed into the turkey. For this I purchased a bag of Country Style Pepperidge Farm Stuffing and mixed it with a sautee of onions and celery with butter, half a box of chicken stock, an egg and some poultry seasoning. Bake for 20 min. covered and then 10-15 min. more uncovered. Simple but delicious and a much healthier alternative to the box of stuffing mix! Obviously, gravy is a must. I melted approximately a tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of flour and cooked it long enough to get rid the raw flour taste and wisked in the remaining half box of chicken stock. Cook over a simmer for 10 mins. The turkey came out of the over after approximately 1hr. 45 min. of cooking and I let it rest for 15 mins. before carving. I added the drippings which accumulated on the plate to the gravy as well.
Now, the final side dish which is necessary to make my turkey dinner complete is a little weird to most, but not for those of us who grew up in Baltimore, MD. A side of sauerkraut is common when eating any poultry dinner, but an absolute requirement with turkey (I guess its just a regional thing). I usually cook the sauerkraut with pork, beer and apples for several hours for holidays, but like I said, this is the mini version, so I simply heated up a can of sauerkraut. That palet cleansing bite that the kraut lends to this otherwise rich meal is so good!
Thats it! Heres the final result. It was delicious and really simple.
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