Dennys Food and Recipes: Turkey Cooking Tips: How Good Is Your Holiday Roast Turkey?

Dennys Food and Recipes: Turkey Cooking Tips: How Good Is Your Holiday Roast Turkey?:
From Denny:  Roasted my Thanksgiving turkey a day early.  Sure beats stressing on the Big Day.  Also, my husband, affectionately known as "Satan" misses out on trying to micro-manage the cooking, driving me absolutely crazy.  He never did learn to cook but thinks he knows how to tell you all about how to do it anyway.  Getting the Big Bird done a day early is a win-win for everyone as he was less stressed just as much as me!

Though he did try only twice this season to be ever so irritating:  once, when taste testing the fabulous gravy he made The Yuck! Face but could not keep his composure for long, laughed, and then raved about it as one of the best yet.  Later he decided he just had to tell me how to cut the French bread for sandwiches his way rather than the normal slices I was doing for hot garlic bread, his favorite.  Since I'm basically The Spatial Engineer in this house (just ask me to pack a car for travel and I am The Expert on finding every nook and cranny to fill) I explained to him how his way made no sense but cut a few slices for him anyway.  He was so disappointed to realize I was right after all.  "Satan" lost that round.  Never a dull moment at our house, that's for sure!

Hey, we should all be challenging the White House chef to a Roast Turkey Cook Off.  Bet mine is one of  The Best!  We love spices at our house and every year I create something different.  This year's wet rub spices were swimming in clarified butter:  sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smokey paprika, cumin, curry powder, marjoram leaves, lite sodium soy sauce, Moscato wine and Remy Martin cognac...

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Make some merry this holiday season! Jingle Jingle!

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8 Roast Turkey Recipes: Thanksgiving and Christmas

From Denny:  Looking for an interesting recipe twist to the holiday dinner?  Want a modern version of a classic turkey recipe?  Whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas good cooks everywhere like to try a new recipe for the holidays every now and then.

Now matter how much we love tradition there are those times when a new recipe is the hit of the season and the family says, "This one is a winner; make it for next year too!"  And that's how many food traditions start.

I'm one of those cooks that likes to compare a pack of recipes against each other to determine which I like best.  Sometimes, I'm just searching for a good tweak on what I'm already making for the feast.  Other years I'm just so bored making the same ol' thing I have to have a change somewhere in the menu.

This post contains something for everyone!  There are 8 different varieties of roast turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners to make you a hit for the season.  There is quite a variety from the brined to basting with citrus-mustard,  honey-spice to more ethnic and regionally flavored rubs like Moroccan, Southwestern and Spicy.  Not to be left out is the traditional turkey rub for the keepers of holiday tradition.  Every few years I go back to basics too after trying out the more exotic versions of roasted turkey.

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Tell the world how you really feel about coming back to work.  Proceeds go to helping homeless female military vets.  Check it out on the shopkeeper's bio at Denny Lyon Gifts.

Mardi Gras: Turkey and Hummus Party Pinwheels

Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Image via Wikipedia

From Denny:  Need an easy dish to take to a Mardi Gras party - and want to be popular?  Pinwheel sandwiches made from tortilla shells are so easy.  This is a real crowd pleaser during the carnival season and comes to us from a veteran New Orleans native, now a food writer here in Baton Rouge.

It's also a healthy version, using whole wheat tortillas, hummus, sweet grated carrots and cucumbers for crunch.  Fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced kalamata black olives, a little crumbled feta cheese, and optional avocado slices are combined with thinly sliced deli smoked turkey.  Now that's a flavor combination!

Mardi Gras: Winner Meatloaf and 3 Sauces

From Denny:  Looking for a healthier recipe for the Mardi Gras season?  While the kids are busy jumping off and on to the porch to grab fistfuls of chips and quick sandwiches and then run back to the parades, the adults might enjoy taking a plate of this crowd pleaser.

This recipe is so easy to make it's kid friendly.  The versatility of this meatloaf is that it can be topped with something as simple as a warmed can of cream of mushroom soup or any of the three sauce recipes that follow.

One is a tomato sauce with brown sugar and mustard.  Another is a sweet and sour taste.  The final one is an Asian flavor using hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and ketchup.

Recipe: Green Spinach Noodles - casserole

Green Spinach Noodles Casserole

Serves 6 to 8. From Betty Istre.

Here’s an easy fast dish to prepare on a cold winter’s night. Use some of that leftover ham, chicken or turkey from the holidays that was not enough to serve alone. Combined in this comfort pasta dish it’s a real winner!


Ingredients:

½ chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

1 stick butter

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 (8-oz.) can sliced mushrooms

Water

2 cups chopped cooked ham, chicken or turkey

1 (6-oz.) package spinach noodles, boiled until barely done, drained

1 cup diced cheese (Colby cheese is really good)

1 (8-oz.) carton sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Directions: Sauté onions and celery in butter until clear.

Add soups and mushrooms. Mix well and gradually add 1 soup can of water.

Stir in meat and noodles and season to your taste. Stir in diced cheese and sour cream. If not very soupy, add a little water.

Bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 degrees F. until bubbly (about 35 minutes).

Sprinkle with grated cheese on top and let sit 10 minutes in oven that has been turned off.