Turducken

It is 1:30 in the morning and the Turducken is in the oven. If you don't know what that is, it is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken AND layers of stuffing. This has become our traditional Thanksgiving meal. We have used a couple of recipes over the years and we are slowly developing out own.

To make turducken, you de-bone the chicken and duck completely and de-bone all but the legs and wings of the turkey. Use the bones of the birds to make stock. Then you lay the turkey out, layer of sausage stuffing (2lb sausage browned and herb dressing), lay the duck on top of that, layer cornbread dressing, lay the chicken on top of that and layer the rest of the cornbread. Very carefully fold up the sides of the layers masses and sew together with cotton string. I also truss it with string to add external support since all the bones are gone. Put it in an oven bag, in a deep pan and in the oven to cook for 9 to 12 hours at 225 degrees. Before you remove from the oven be sure to check the internal temperature of the bird, it must be 165. Take out and let rest 1 hour before serving.

This year we used a 22lb turkey, 7 lb duck, 5 lb chicken, maple sausage herb dressing and cornbread dressing. Now tomorrow.... I'll make mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Green beans, bread, and pumpkin squares. Yeah me.........

Y'all have a great Thanksgiving!

Home made foods

That sounds a little silly since food you prepare at home IS home-made. But I mean real home made things. Have you ever made salad dressing, mayonnaise, cake from scratch or bread? That is what I am talking about.

This weekend, I wanted to make deviled eggs but realized we were out of mayonnaise. So I looked up some recipes and got out my wand blender and gave it a whirl. It turned out great! I didn't really use any specific recipe but more of an amalgam of several and substitutions of ingredients I had on hand.

I put all of these into a tall plastic cup:
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp vinegar
3/4 tsp brown mustard
1/2 tsp sugar and salt
1 1/2 cups oil

Then I placed the wand blender into the cup all the way to the bottom. Holding it in this position, I pulsed the blender until the mixture at the bottom got all white and thick. Then, continuing to pulse, I slowly moved the blender up and down in the cup to mix the rest of the oil until it was all a thick creaminess.

In total, mixing this up only took about 5 minutes. It yields about 1 1/2 cups. Refrigerate! This will only keep 3-4 days but it is so easy to make, you can make it when you need it. Now, It was not bad but I am going to play with the recipe a little (spices, vinegar amount etc) until I find something I really like.

* you can use a whisk to make this as well. Mix together all ingredients except the oil. While whisking briskly, slowly drizzle in the oil.

I would like to find an easy ketchup recipe but I think one at a time is good.

Old recipes bring new life

We used the "eggs for three" (pg 8 When mother lets us cook) recipe and it is great. The eggs are nice and fluffy and full of flavor. Thank you Denese. Now I need to look for more of those basic simple old recipes. The cereal cakes, rice pudding, and many other neat ideas. I loves old recipes.