Turkey Noodle Soup

So, here it is! As promised, my ingenious recipe for leftover turkey... Turkey Noodle Soup!  Ok, so it's not ingenious, but it's a nice hearty and tasty soup that beats the hell out of eating turkey sandwiches.  This recipe is for those few of you who had a 20+ lb. turkey for Thanksgiving.  If you had a 'normal' 10-14 lb. one, cut this recipe right in half.  I hope you'll give it a try!

1 20 lb. leftover turkey
3 1/2 gallons of water
6 medium onions, chopped
6 ribs celery, diced into 1" pieces
6 carrots, peeled and diced into 1" pieces
3 baby zucchini, diced into 1" pieces
3 cans (or 2 raw) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1" pieces
2 heads turnip greens, rinsed and chopped
2 lbs. broad egg noodles
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. rosemary
6 small or 4 large bay leaves
kosher and cracked black

Next up - Turkey Noodle Soup!

So, what do you do with that leftover turkey carcass (did I just say carcass?) and the neck and giblets that you can't or didn't eat?  Why, you make soup, of course!  Stay tuned!!

Good Frickin Turkey Gravy

So here's my final installment of my Good Frickin Cookin Thanksgiving trilogy... THE GRAVY!!!  I mean, c'mon, what's better than turkey and dressing topped with an awesome gravy? (hmm, now that I think of it, garlic mashed potatoes underneath that gravy doesn't sound bad...).  Well, anyway, this gravy uses the pan drippings, butter, wine, and most of the same herbs used to make the turkey.  A nice, thick, rich sauce that is truly the elixir of the gods.  I hope you'll give it a try!  Happy Frickin Thanksgiving!!!

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tbsp. pan drippings
4 tbsp. flour
low sodium chicken broth (enough to make 3 cups when added to remainder of pan drippings)
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/2 cup wine (any kind, but I like white best)
kosher and cracked black

Good Frickin Dressing

So here's my idea of the perfect accompaniment to the perfect turkey.  This dressing uses sage, sausage and apples to strike a nice balance between sweet and savory. I hope you'll give it a try!  Happy Frickin Thanksgiving!!!

1 lb. sweet sausage (or sage sausage), casings removed
1 14-16 oz. bag dressing croutons
1/4 tsp.  or so sage
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
2 eggs, beaten
kosher and cracked black

Thanksgiving Special - Good Frickin Turkey

Well, it's about time, huh?  Better late than never.  Just in time (and I mean JUST) for Thanksgiving, I bring you my recipe for what I think is the best turkey out there.  I use butter and basting to keep this bird moist and juicy with a beautifully crispy skin.  I hope you'll give it a try!  I didn't mention in the video, but let your frozen bird thaw out 3 full days in the refrigerator before the big day, and after the initial hour, cook your turkey about 15 minutes per pound, checking the internal temperature at about 45 minutes from the end to prevent overcooking.  Have a Happy Frickin Thanksgiving!

1 turkey, any size
2-4 onions, unpeeled and quartered
8 tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. rosemary

Coming soon...

Coming soon... Thanksgiving recipes! Don't touch that dial...

Empanadas are here!

Empanadas are a latin food that I really love.  They're simple to make and the crispy fried dough is hard to beat.  Now, I'm sure that Latin moms make they're own discs, but I buy 10 of them at Walmart for $1.50, so you won't see me making my own anytime soon.  My friend, Netta, who is Puerto Rican, said she could kick my butt at making these (and I'm sure she's right), but wanted to see me do a video on them anyway.  I don't know what traditionally goes into them, but here's my take on them.  I just hope I've done a decent enough job on them to at least avoid ridicule from her… LOL, anyway I hope you give these a try.  :-)

1 package of 10 empanada discs

1 medium onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 jalapeno peppers, diced with ribs and seeds removed

2-3 cloves garlic

1 lb. ground beef

1 packet sazone

2 tsp. adobo

2 cups taco cheese, shredded

kosher and cracked black

Empanadas!

Up next... Empanadas!!

Buttermilk Meatloaf

WELCOME!!!

Yes, my new page is up and running!  I've been posting on youtube for awhile now and decided it was time to expand.  So what I have for you now is my latest video for buttermilk meatloaf.  I got this recipe online from the very talented, very informative and oh-so-entertaining Chef John Mitzewich, host and creator of Food Wishes.  I'm a huge fan of his (although I hope not the borderline-inappropriate kind) and he deserves a big shout-out here.  I've put my own tweak on this recipe to give it a nice crust on the outside, along with topping it with a B-B-Q sauce from Dinosaur B-B-Q, a famous eatery that got its start in (you guessed it) Central New York (Syracuse, to be exact).  I hope you'll give it a try!