The easiest way to cook a thanksgiving turkey

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes Part 2: Easy Turkey
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

Click here to watch video.

This recipe is dedicated to those who love Thanksgiving turkey, but don't have the time, skill, or patience to roast a whole turkey.

Last week I showed you how to make healthy stuffing using Ezekiel bread or sprouted grain bread. You will need to make up a small batch of it for this recipe.

The easiest thing - turkey-wise - is to stuff and roast a breast. You can buy boneless turkey breasts at your local grocery store. They are big, and can serve 3 to 4 people on average for a 2-3Lb breast. 

The breast that I prepared for this recipe was even cooked in a toaster oven at 400 for 40 minutes, and took under 5 minutes to prepare. Easy!

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
- A 3Lb boneless turkey breast (skin-on)
- 1 to 2 cups of Ezekiel bread stuffing (see recipe)
- Goya brand Adobo seasoning

NOTE: If you're in the habit of cutting down on fat by removing turkey or chicken skin from your breasts, you may want to wait until just before eating it to remove the skin. Taking the skin off before cooking, will cause your meat to become dry in the oven. So you want to leave the skin on during the cooking process so that the meat will retain more moisture.

Instructions:

1. Put the breast skin-side-down on a cutting board. You should see the tenderloin of the turkey breast, which is a big tongue-shaped flopply piece of meat which is connected to the breast on one side. Just flop that over to the side without disconnecting it. Cut a pocket along the other side of the turkey breast (opposite from the tenderloin) so that you create a pouch. 

2. Fill the "pouch" with stuffing. As much as you can fit, without over-doing it. Tuck it in there. Then flop the tenderloin over the stuffing and place the breast skin-side-up on a non-stick baking sheet.

3. Rub the skin with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Adobo seasoning. 

4. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until internal temperature is 165-170.

5. Let it rest for a few minutes before carving into slices and serving! 



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An East Indian Thanksgiving Dinner

An East Indian Thanksgiving Dinner
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

It was November of 1620. Nine months prior to this date, a colony of separatists left England in search of a new land to call home. A land where they could practice their religion, raise their children, and enjoy the freedom that Americans know today. But it turns out that the Mayflower’s navigator held the compass backwards, and instead of landing in Cape Cod, they somehow ended up in the bustling city of Thiruvananthapuram on the ardent southern shores of India.

Only half of the pilgrims survived that scorching summer. The rest of the pilgrims hooked up with a guy named Raj Sharma who helped them integrate into this ancient culture. He showed them the ways of India - The arts of barter, trade and of course, the Kama Sutra. What, you don’t believe me? Well, I’m the one writing this article, and this is how the story goes.

Where were we? Oh, yes. So when Thanksgiving came around, the menu was a little different.

The pilgrims roasted chickens inside clay ovens. The birds were rubbed with a mixture of cardamom, cloves, garlic and Kelapo virgin coconut oil (actually from Sri Lanka) to crisp up the skin.

A stuffing was prepared using dhal (a type of lentil) with flat bread crumbs, chicken livers, a spicy curry mixture, golden onions and coconut milk.

The pilgrim women showed the Indians how to make fruit pie using millet flour, and they all washed it down with India’s favorite drink - Fenny (liquor made from coconut sap).

By now you’ve guessed that my history lesson is nothing more than fantasy. The menu, however, is fact. This Thanksgiving, why not experiment with a little fusion and add a different twist to your American style turkey dinner?

Happy Thanksgiving! Or as they say in India “Khuśa turkī dina!”

What to do with leftover turkey

What to do with leftover turkey
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

As I sit here reeling from the debauchery that was Thanksgiving dinner, I am wondering if "tryptophan" (the chemical that is supposedly in turkey which causes that sleepy feeling) even exists. I doubt any scientist can provide a vial of tryptophan, much less even sketch its chemical make up. Ok, I am off topic already. Must focus - must be all that tryptophan...

This is a quick and to the point article on things to do with leftover turkey. The recipes are written as a quick overview. Some traditional, some new. But it should get you through the next week. So grab that turkey carcass and some surgical gloves. Let's get started.

De-meating the bird: You can do this with or without gloves. Make sure your hands are very clean, as this is crucial to making the turkey last for the rest of the week. Dirty hands will deposit bacteria on the turkey meat and have it spoil several days before you can use it all. So I like to use latex or nitrile gloves. Simply get a big freezer bag and pick as much meat as you can off the carcass. Put the meat in the bag and refrigerate. At the very least, your bag-o-turkey will be an excellent tv-watching snack. If you have stuffing in the bird, try to get as much as you can out of it, and set aside. The stuffing in the carcass is always the tastiest.

Turkey Sandwiches: There is nothing revolutionary about these, they are just really good. I actually look forward to the turkey sandwiches more than the actual dinner itself. Get some crusty french bread, heat it in the oven so it's warm, cut the bread in half lengthwise, and layer ingredients in between the bread slices in this order from bottom to top: mayonnaise, basil pesto, stuffing, turkey gravy, turkey, smoked provolone, slice of tomato.

Turkey and Stuffing Risotto: When in doubt, make risotto. I always keep arborio rice around. It's a really good way to get rid of leftovers. Sautee some sliced pancetta or bacon, add some diced onions, diced asparagus (or leftover veggies from dinner) and turkey meat. Use chicken stock (and leftover turkey drippings) and simmer all the ingredients together with arborio rice for 25 minutes until a creamy, flavorful risotto is achieved. The trick is to add stock slowly and stir often throughout the 25 minutes until the arborio rice is soft and creamy.

Turkey Burrito: This is the quick version of this recipe. Perfect for a midnight snack. Shred some turkey meat in a bowl with a fork, add a bit of tomato salsa, chopped olives and a few capers. Wrap in a flour tortilla along with mashed potato and stuffing inside the tortilla. Once the burrito is rolled, top with turkey gravy and shredded cheese. Bake in toaster oven or microwave. Serve with a tablespoon or two or cold sour cream on top.

Turkey Pasta Carbonara: This recipe is awesome - i just had to mention that. Sautee the following in a deep skillet: Sliced bacon, julienned onions, mushrooms, minced garlic, turkey meat, and chopped parsley. At the same time, put some water to boil in a separate pot and cook some pasta in it. Drain pasta and set aside when done. Back in the skillet, once the onions become translucent and the bacon is cooked, add 2 to 3 cups of chicken or beef stock (and turkey drippings if any), bring the liquid to a simmer. Add pasta and simmer with the liquid for 5 minutes. Separate 3 egg yolks from the egg whites. Take the skillet off the stove and add the egg yolks to the pasta. Stir them in very quickly and until the liquid thickens into a velvety sauce. If it's too watery, add another egg yolk. Serve right away with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese.

I hope that you had a really nice Thanksgiving this year, and since you asked; I'm thankful for for turkey and I'm thankful for you.