Wednesday 26 December 2012

Later: some ramblings and a couple of recipes (not mine)

I seem to be doing a lot of these 'later' posts.  I think it's because there isn't anyone here to talk to.  Normally the house would feel full - Mum, Dad, John, Beth, Alex and me either staying, coming or going - so the contrast is somewhat startling.  Not whinging, just saying.

As there's no-one to pick at the turkey, I decided to get it all sorted.  Now I have seven vacupacks of two portion turkey slices, two of chunks of brown meat, a dish of slices and bits for the next few days (definitely potted turkey at some point soon - so scrummy) and rather more bits and pieces in the stock pot than I would usually have, given that people would be picking bits off the carcass all day normally.  In fact, I have so much to boil up that my biggest casserole pot didn't go anywhere near so I have pressed my maslin pan into service with a makeshift lid consisting of the splatter guard covered in foil.  It works fine too!  I added bits and bobs for flavour, like the ham skin that came off the ham on Sunday, helped to keep the turkey moist on Tuesday and is now imparting the last of its flavour to the panful of goodness.  Also in there ire the other ham trimmings.  I decided to also deal with the ham so there's some vacupacks of sliced ham with some on a plate for use over the next few days.  It was rather a fatty piece, not the best I have ever had, I have to say, so all those trimmings went into the pan too.  The fat itself will be skimmed off, of course, it's the flavour I'm after.  There's also some onion, carrot and celery, the lemon that was in the cavity, some herbs . . . all sorts of things really.

The potted turkey is a Clarissa Dickson Wright recipe and if you've been watching 'The Nation's Favourite Christmas Food' you will have seen it.

Ingredients to make quite a lot:
225g leftover turkey, brown and white meat
80g softened butter
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
grated nutmeg
1/4 lemon, juice only
extra butter for melting

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and zizz, leaving a bit of texture.
Pour the blended mixture into ramekins, packing down firmly.  Chill in the fridge.
When the mixture is firm, melt extra butter and pour over the top of each ramekin to seal and return to the fridge.
Take out before using as it should be served at room temperature

My thought:  this might work well with some dried cranberries added and zizzed.  I will try with a bit and see.


I was mentioning to a friend on Facebook that I boiled the ham in coca cola (she was boiling hers in cider - hmmm, sounds good to me).  It did turn out delicious and I will do it again like that.  However, what I didn't do was then glaze the joint and bake it for a short while and I think that I will try that next time too.  Often, after New Year is over, Morrison's has hams on sale and very good value they can be too.  It's comforting to have a spare ham in the freezer, just in case, as they say!
It was a Nigella recipe and you can find it here, Sue, if you're interested.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/516270


After all that effort I am now feeling fragile so I'm off to check the stock pot, pop in my hearing aids, make sure things are ready for lunch and then sit down with a coffee and a book.  After all, it *is* the school holidays and it's only Wednesday of the first week!  Planning?  What planning?


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