Recipes from the Eyeopener
Turpigen!
Ever heard of Turducken? A chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey and roasted. The Eyeopener crew one-upped the Turducken with the new and improved Turpigen - this is how you do it:
Remove the giblets and dry your turkey, just as you would prep it to stuff with your usual stuffing. Instead of stuffing, shove a 1 kg ham - Black Forest or Honey - one of those ones that are shaped like footballs with the mesh pattern imprinted into the outside - into the cavity. We had an almost 20 lb bird and a longer, narrower ham rather than a rounder one, and one slid right into the other. Then take a 1 lb. package of sausage meat - you can buy it in chubs or squeeze any kind of raw sausage out of its casing - gather it into a ball and shove it in the neck cavity; fold the flap of skin over to cover.
Rub the bird with canola oil and/or soft butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 325F according to the size of your bird - ours took about 6 hours, but you can find a turkey roasting chart here.
To make Cranberry Rhubarb Sauce, add a cup or two of chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb to a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, add sugar and cook on the stovetop according to the directions on the back of the package, or according to your own recipe. I like to add a spoonful of orange juice concentrate (no need to thaw it) too.
Gilded Brussels Sprouts
(Thanks to Ellen for contributing this recipe last year!)
Remove the leaves from enough Brussels sprouts to serve your group, as you would from heads of lettuce. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the leaves until they are just tender, but retain their bright colours. (Blanch them - I cooked them for just a minute or two, then removed them with a slotted spoon.)
Meanwhile, in a fry pan combine equal amounts of melted butter, maple syrup [the real stuff, not Aunt Jemima] and Canadian rye over medium heat. When the mixture becomes hot, but not boiling, add the Brussels sprout leaves.
Toss to coat evenly. Transfer to a heated serving platter and serve. For extra gilt and guilt, add toasted hazelnuts, sliced or whole.
Note: I found the flaked filberts (Mike called in a panic from the grocery store to confirm that filberts were indeed the same as hazelnuts) were perfect.
Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust
If you use a food processor, you can grind whole pecan halves right along with the flour at the beginning.
Pecan pastry for a single crust pie:
1 1/3 cups (330 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) finely ground pecans
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) sugar
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) salt
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup (60 mL) vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
3-4 Tbsp. (45-60 mL) ice waterFilling:
1 14 oz. (398 mL) can pure pumpkin
3/4 cup (185 mL) half and half, evaporated 2% milk or whipping cream
1/2 cup (125 mL) sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) molasses
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger (optional)
1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extract
1/2 – 1 tsp. (2.5-5 mL) cinnamon
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) salt
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) ground allspice
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) ground ginger (optional, if not using fresh)
Pinch nutmeg (optional)In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, stir together the flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and shortening and use a fork, pastry blender, wire whisk, or the “pulse” motion of the food processor to blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal, with lumps of fat no bigger than a pea. Drizzle the minimum amount of water over the mixture and stir until the dough comes together, adding a little more a bit at a time if you need it. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for at least half an hour. If you are making a double crust pie, divide the dough in half, making one half slightly larger than the other. (The pastry can be prepared up to this point and frozen for up to 4 months; let it thaw on the countertop when you need it.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Gently fold the dough into quarters to transfer it into a pie plate. Unfold the dough onto the plate, center it, and gently fit the dough into the plate without stretching it. Trim the edge of the dough to within 1/2-inch of the plate rim with scissors or a knife. Tuck the edge of the pastry under itself so that it is even with the edge of the pan, and flute it with your fingers or press it gently with a fork to create a border.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, cream, sugars, eggs, molasses, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg and mix until well blended and smooth. Pour into the pie crust.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling is set but still just a little wobbly in the middle and the crust is golden. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover the pie lightly with a sheet of foil as it bakes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack and then refrigerate it for at least an hour, or up to a day. Serve the pie at room temperature with whipped cream, sweetened with a little sugar or maple syrup.
June 02 2008 10:15 am
Stephanie on 08 Jun 2008 at 8:34 am #
Do you have any recipes for sugar and gluten free? Sounds delicious I’m sure…but you never know! Thanks!
mary smithdort on 21 Jul 2008 at 3:26 pm #
Hi Julie, I always enjoy listening to you on Jim’s morning show on CBC. A couple of months ago you had an article in Dogs in Canada - recipes for canine treats. I neglected to save that issue. Would you be able to post them? Do you have any other recipes to share for dogs as well as cats and horses?
Thank you for your time,
Mary Smithdorf, RR 1, Okotoks, Alberta