TURDUCKEN!

Since we were going to host Christmas Dinner this year, I decided to go "all in" on dinner and make the ultimate over indulgent Main course: TURDUCKEN!

We stopped by the Butcher the week before to order the birds.  There was a small piece of me that hoped they could bone the birds for me.  Unfortunately, they told me I was out of luck.

The birds were picked up the Friday before Christmas (Christmas Eve Eve) and left in the fridge overnight.  Saturday Morning (Christmas Eve) would become "boning day."

First up was the Turkey.  This was the hardest task as it still needed to look nice for presentation.  The saving grace was that it was also the biggest bird.  about 30 minutes later, I had a Turkey with only drumsticks and wings still attached.

The Duck was next, and took slightly longer as it was also the first of the completely boned birds.  The drumsticks went fairly smoothly, but I just cut off the wings: that would have been insanely hard and left me with not much meat to show for it.

Finally, I tackled the chicken.  This took about 15 and was probably the best boned bird of the bunch.  Again, I just cut off the wings and saved them for a dinner to be named later.  Three birds boned in under two hours, not bad!

Next came the stuffing and sewing together.  I made what I thought was a generous amount of stuffing...but apparently not!  I placed the turkey breast down on the cutting board to stuff it.  After laying the stuffing 1/4" thick, I realized I did not have enough.  Who would have though 6 cups of bread crumbs would not make enough stuffing!  I had to skimp on the next layers, but it probably worked out for the best as I'm not sure my family are huge stuffing fans.

Robyn helped me sew this monstrosity shut.  I made the executive decision to NOT flip the bird back over so the breast was on the top, which I am slightly still kicking myself for.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Pre-sewed Turducken"][/caption]

From Dec 2011

I took the over 25 pounds of meat and put in the oven for 5 hours...NOT.  LONG.  ENOUGH.  The recipe said that it should take only 3...Paula Deen, why did you lie to me!?

We ended up Cutting the bird into Thirds to encourage the final 10 degrees to show up, which they did.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Upside down Finished Turducken."][/caption]

From Dec 2011

 

Final Verdict: DELICIOUS.

It was quite a bit of work, but given the right circumstances (like a holiday : ) ) I would do this again.

I would definitely allot for more cooking time and try to bring them together the day before.

 

 

 

Dinner Party: Success!

Yesterday was a great day.  Great dinner, great friends, great time.

I got up around 6am and began preparing for "The Feast."  The turkey wasn't quite thawed, so it was placed in a cool water bath for a couple hours to encourage it to finish thawing.  The bread starter was removed from the refrigerator to warm up, and the coffee was made.

By the time it was all said and done, there were seven separate dish washing sessions...but it was all worth it.

The Menu was as such:

Starters

• Kale Corn Fritters w/ Applesauce


• Escarole and white bean soup


• Fresh baguette


• Pumpkin Bread


• Brendan's Sweet Potato Muffins with Marshmallows on top

Main Course

• Apple/Fennel stuffed Turkey with Garlic butter glaze


• Fresh Cranberry Sauce


•  Stuffed Acorn Squash


• Mashed Potatoes


• Turkey Neck gravy


• Cauliflower in white sauce

Dessert

• Ugly, Yet Tasty Pumpkin Pie

Overall, everything was Delicious!  I wish my pie looked better, but the taste was spot on.  Next time I will make sure to let the filling rest and try to skim the foam off the top better.  I also need to figure out a better way to make graham cracker crusts, as the bottom edge was very thick.

Everyone enjoyed the food, and left with several container/plates of leftovers, yet my fridge is still overflowing!

I think this might need to be a yearly occurrence.

UP next: Turduken for Christmas??!

Planning Quasi-Giving

Robyn and I are planning a feast for us and a few friends.  We're calling it Peterson Thanksgiving, and there will be lots of food.

Mostly because three of the attendees are pregnant and should be feeling fine...and hungry :)

 

I'm going to use this entry to begin the planning stages of what we will have to eat at this Party.

Total number of Guests: Currently 8 confirmed (6 adults, 2 kids).

Menu

Appetizers

• Soup - Minestrone?


• Fresh Rolls


• Salad?


• Corn-Kale Fritters!

Main Course

• Turkey(s?)


• Homemade Cranberry Sauce


• Homemade Mashed potatoes


• Cauliflower dish (Robyn's Oma's Recipe)


• GRAVY


• Fresh homemade bread


• Stuffing


• Stuffed Acorn Squash?

Dessert

• Pumpkin Pie


• Apple Pie?

Drinks

• Mulled Cider


• Milk


• Soda


• Wine?


• Sparkling Grape juice?

There's a lot of prep that will be involved.  I"m also missing a few things, like Green leafy things.  I added Salad, but not completely set on it.

Well, this will evolve with time...but I have a little over a week to prepare..Yikes!

This week's lunch

So I've given up on deli meats and sub rolls for lunch.  I wanted more greens in my diet, and the thought of just adding lettuce did not sit well with me.  This week, I decided to take Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic, ground Mexican Chiles, a dash of Cumin, and chicken and sauté them up in a little bit of EVOO (Thanks Rachel Ray!).

I think it came out pretty good!  I put it on a bed of brown rice and call it a meal!

For snacking, I've got mixed nuts, raisins, coffee, and water.   I think it is a bit healthier than white bread, deli meat, cheese, and yogurt.