Christmas Turkey + Trimmings

We are edging closer to Christmas again and the fat guy in the red suit is starting to check his naughty or nice list. It's also about the time that foodies start to scour the internet in search of recipe ideas for the family feast. I thought I would post this roast turkey recipe which I made for the first time last year, and hope to do so again this year. It is a loosely adapted recipe from Gordon Ramsay The Nations Favourite Food and Donna Hay and it was a cracker. I was actually in Montreal for Christmas and was able to order a free-range fresh turkey from Atlantique Deli a European style Deli on Cote-des-Neiges, and I really think if you can buy fresh over frozen too it is going to elevate your Christmas turkey to the next level of gobble-gobble goodness. Also it's Christmas so time to indulge. Don't be afraid of all the butter. Remember you are most likely only going to eat a small amount of turkey amongst other things - so relax and enjoy it!

 

Ingredients
For the herb butter
250g unsalted butter
3-4 sprigs thyme (leaves only)
sprig of rosemary (leaves chopped)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper
4kg medium-sized turkey

*Extra sprig of rosemary, 2 sprigs of parsley and 2 bay leaves

For the stuffing
125g butter
1 brown onion finely chopped
Sprig of thyme and rosemary (leaves only and chopped)
200g breadcrumbs (I like sourdough)
6 sage leaves
Zest of 1 lemon (keep the lemon to use inside the bird)
50g pine nuts
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper
3 tbsp parsley chopped

For the gravy
1 brown onion chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
125ml dry white wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
500ml chicken stock
2 tbsp cornflour
Pan juices for roasting
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Make the herb butter by mixing the butter with the herbs and salt and pepper (to taste) to form a paste. Place in fridge to chill.
3. To prepare the turkey, prick the lemon you have zested for the stuffing a few times, and place inside the bird, tie up the extra sprig rosemary and parsley and bay leaves with butchers twine and place inside the bird (you can really use any of the other herbs too just bundle them all up, tie and place inside the bird).
4. Take the butter out of the fridge, and using your fingers to feel your way carefully lift up the breast skin from the flesh and divide the herb butter between the two breast flaps and pull the skin back over (I saved a little butter, and did the same thing with the legs)
5. Truss the turkey (use you tube if you have to) and then season all over the skin of the bird.
6. Place turkey on a rack in a roasting tin, and pour about an inch of water in the tin to help keep the bird moist (you will see from my pic above I have herbs in the bottom of mine - don't do this unless you want green gravy!) then cover loosely with foil.
7. Place the bird in the oven and cook for 3 hours. At the 1.5 hour mark, baste the bird with the pan juices every 15 minutes. 1/2 hour before the end of cooking time, take the foil off the bird so the skin can get brown and crispy, continue to baste every 15 minute mark. Rest for 30 minutes covered loosely in foil.

I like to serve the stuffing separate from the turkey. I also like a crispy crunchy stuffing which makes a nice contrast in texture when served with the gravy (not the dense mushy stuff you get when you put the breadcrumb mix into the turkey).

8. To make the stuffing, melt butter in a large frying pan and saute the onion for 5-10 minutes until soft.
9. Stir in the herbs and then add the breadcrumbs to absorb the butter.
10. Mix in the lemon zest, pine nuts and season to taste, cooking over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until the breadcrumbs start to brown and crisp. Take off the heat and stir in the parsley. You want to serve this warm - so either place some alfoil over the top and leave on stove top to retain heat or pop it into a cooling oven (unless you are still using your oven for other things).
11. To make the gravy (note you can prepare most of this while your turkey is cooking - finishing with the pan juices at the end). Saute the onion in olive oil for 5 minutes, pour in the wine and then add the thyme and bay lead and boil until reduced right down.
12. Add the chicken stock until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes then strain. Do not season at this point as you don't want to have an overly salted gravy.
13. In a clean pan add the turkey juices and boil for 2 minutes, add the reduced chicken stock. To thicken the gravy add the 2 tbsp cornflour (make sure you have loosened the cornflour in a little bit of cold water to make a paste first before you add it to the gravy).
14. Once the gravy is at the desired thickness, check for seasoning, adding salt or pepper if needed.
15. Carve your turkey and serve with the stuffing and gravy to the side and whatever other accompaniments make your Christmas feel like, well Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah!

Flour Bakery + Cafe Egg Sandwich

                  

I can't believe when I was in Boston at Flour Bakery + Cafe, I didn't buy Joanne Chang's "Flour, too" cookbook. If only I had of known it contained the recipe for her scrumptious breakfast egg sandwich, I wouldn't have had to trawl the internet like a porn addict in search of it.

Don't get me wrong, my desire to replicate this sandwich is by no means a substitute for the real thing, I would buy and eat this sandwich from Flour bakery all day every day given half the chance. There is just one small obstacle, being in Australia - there is 20+ hours of flying time between our unrequited love. So here it is:

Makes 4 servings (or sandwiches)

9 eggs

3/4 cup half and half (which is basically half milk and half cream)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Pinch ground pepper

1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Secret sauce

4 tbsp Hellmans mayonnaise

4 tbsp dijon mustard

4 foccacia rolls

4 slices sharp cheddar cheese

8 slices smoked bacon or 4 slices black forest ham

2 cups mesclun greens or rocket

4 slices of ripe tomato or 4 roast Roma tomato halves

Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk with the half-and-half, adding the salt, pepper and thyme. Once the egg mix is whisked, pour into a 20-22cm round cake tin, and place on a baking tray or dish that has high sides. Add a little water to the tray so that you create a water bath for the egg custard. Place in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 150 degrees for 30-35 minutes. You want the egg cooked enough so that it doesn't wobble around, and is set.

Once the egg souffle has cooled down cut it into 4 portions, and place the slices onto a baking tray. You then need to layer egg with your sandwich ingredients. First add the cheese, then the tomato. If you are time pressed, you can simply add sliced tomato on top of the egg. If you have extra time and lots of ripe Roma tomatoes, try halving your tomatoes and seasoning with salt and pepper, a little thyme and olive oil and roast in a low oven on 150-160 for 1 hour to extract some of the moisture and intensify the flavour of the tomato.

Then top your egg with either the bacon slices (that have been pre-cooked) or the black forest ham, and place the topped egg in the oven so that the cheese has time to melt.

Yes the bread is super important to the overall quality of the sandwich. And if you totally had the time (or even if you didn't) you would make your own. That's what Joanne Chang would do. At Flour bakery they use a focaccia dough to make their sandwich rolls. You can use whatever rolls you like, but the crust should be soft. 

To make the not-so-secret sauce, mix the mayonnaise and dijon mustard. If you can't find Hellman's any other whole egg mayonnaise (I like S&W) will do just fine. Halve your rolls, and spread both sides with mayonnaise, then place a small handful or mesclun or rocket on each base. Retrieve your  eggs from the oven, and top each roll with an egg, and top with the bread rolls. And there you have it, your very own piece of Flour bakery in every bite without having to leave the comfort of your lounge. Bon Appetite!

Hartsyard Enmore

I read a bumper stick recently which said Happiness = Expectation - Reality. The happiness equation. Like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa's arrival, I was so looking forward to dining at Hartsyard.

Neddys powerhouse muesli

This concept for this cereal began as a bit of a joke when my Dad had a bilateral knee replacement around 3 years ago. When he was in hospital I decided to create a "care package" which consisted, amongst other things - of my fabulous "powerhouse muesli". So powerful in fact as you can see from the before and after photos, it would have him running world record 10 metre splits in no time.

This is the kind of muesli that sticks to ya ribs and puts hairs on your chest (*individual results may differ and are not guaranteed).

Ingredients
6 cups of Macro brand organic wholegrain oats
1/2 or 3/4 cup shredded or flaked coconut (the greater amount if you like coconut)
1/2 cup each of: sunflower seeds, pepitas, pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, raw cashews and raw pecans all roughly chopped
1/2 cup of dried cranberries or currants
2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tbsp chia seeds ( I use Naturefirst brand breakfast booster black and white chia seeds)
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup rice malt syrup or pure maple syrup

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees, and cover 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Heat the coconut oil and rice malt syrup in the microwave for 20 seconds.
3. Place the oats, nuts and seeds into a bowl and add the cinnamon (leave out the chia and sesame seeds, cranberries and coconut), pour the coconut oil blend over and mix thoroughly.
4. Spread the mixture evenly over 2 baking trays, and then place one tray on the top and bottom rack of oven.

Depending on how golden and how crunchy you want your muesli, the process takes around 40 minutes. You will also need to change the top and bottom tray around as the top tray will cook quicker, so do this every 5-8 minutes. Also when you do this give the muesli a stir moving those grains around the edge of the baking tray to the middle, and those in the middle to the edge to encourage them the oats to brown consistently.

At around the 20 minute mark, add the coconut and the sesame seeds. If you add them at the very beginning you risk them burning.

Once the muesli is done to your liking which might take longer than 40 minutes (I like mine lightly toasted and not break-your-teeth brown) place the mix from the trays in a bowl and add the dried cranberries and chia seeds. Let the muesli cool down before you place it in an air tight container. This recipe makes around a 1.5kg batch of muesli so is a solid few weeks worth of breakfast cereal.

Serve with either milk or yoghurt, and some fresh berries or strawberries.