TURKEY with OLIVE-WALNUT STUFFING and a Ukrainian Drink

We’ll be off to a cabin at Tofino on Vancouver Island for the Thanksgiving holiday so I cooked our turkey early this year.

In planning the menu, I remembered that Nicole never fails to look for something green on her plate.  Bright green, steamed okra fit the bill very nicely.

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THANKSGIVING  DINNER

Roast Turkey with Olive-Walnut Stuffing

Apple & Orange Compote

Peruvian Potatoes

Steamed Okra

Mashed Rutabaga

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The day before the dinner:

1.  make 10 cups of bread crumbs in the food processor.  Let these sit out on 5 plates to dry a bit overnight.  The result is like Panko crumbs.

2. Boil and peel 4 large potatoes.  (Or you can roast them and peel them.)

1. Prepare the “Fresh Fruit Compote” drink.   Let it cool and then refrigerate. (If you make this the same day as your dinner, it’ll likely be warm, which is okay, except that everyone expects their drink to be cold. J)

2. Calculate cooking time for the turkey (see recipe below) and decide what time you will need to start preparing the stuffing.

Keep in mind:

Resting time:  Lucy says to let it sit for 15 minutes, lightly covered.

                               Gordon Ramsey says to let it rest 2 hours:  “the juices are re-absorbed, making it succulent” . . .

                        I say Yay Gordon!  You don’t need to let it rest 2 hours but do roast the turkey early enough so you don’t have to worry about whether it’ll be done in time for dinner. 

            My turkey sat for half an hour on the counter with the lid off while we had cocktails.  Then it was still nice and hot.  

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OLIVE-WALNUT STUFFING  (enough  for a 15 pound turkey)

        From Mrs. G. Mikelson, McCreary, Manitoba

½ cup butter

1 large onion

1 large celery stalk

10 cups white bread crumbs

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ cup chopped stuffed green olives

1 cup finely chopped walnuts (not too fine)

½ cup hot water

·        Chop the onion and celery finely. 

·        Melt the butter in a large soup pot.

·        Cook the onion and celery in the butter over low heat for 10 minutes.

·        In a large mixing bowl, stir salt and pepper into the bread crumbs.

·        Chop the olives and add to the bread crumbs.

·        Stir in the walnuts.

·        Bring water to a boil in a kettle.

·        Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

·        Remove the pot with onion and celery from the heat.

·        Stir the bread crumbs into the large pot.

·        Moisten with ½ cup hot water.

·        Stuff turkey lightly.  

P.S.  Daniela tried this recipe and she said:  Serg does not like the more common stuffing with ground sage. So he loved this one...we just added some mushrooms to it!!!!It was just delicious!!!!

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Lucy Waverman’s ROAST TURKEY method

Stuff the turkey and put in a roaster. I don't bother with trussing.   Cover it.

Roasting Time for the turkey :  Calculate:

15 minutes a pound for the first 10 pounds of turkey and 7 minutes a pound for each pound after that.  Also:  Add an extra pound for the stuffing.

So my 14 pound turkey takes (150 minutes + 28 minutes) + 7 minutes for the stuffing  = 3 hours total :  It was PERFECT!  The breast was still moist.

Oven Temperature:  Roast the turkey for one hour at 400 degrees.

                                                Then reduce heat to 350 for the rest of the time.

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 PERUVIAN POTATOES

      Based on Kay Shaw Nelson’s The Delectable Vegetable

4 large cooked potatoes

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp chili powder (not cayenne)

2 cups creamed cottage cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup milk

·        Dice the potatoes.

·        Chop onion finely.

·        Heat oil and sauté onions over medium low heat.

·        Add salt and chili powder.  Cook one minute.

·        Stir lemon juice into cottage cheese. 

·        Add potatoes, milk, and cottage cheese.  Cover and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are nice and hot.  (If necessary, turn up the heat before serving.)

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STEAMED OKRA

1 lb okra

2 tbsp Butter

Salt & pepper

·        Wash and trim okra.

·        Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a steamer.

·        Put okra into steamer.

·        Steam okra 5 minutes.

·        Melt butter.

·        Put steamed, bright green okra into serving bowl. 

·        Drizzle with butter and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

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Nazdorovya!

This drink has a confusing name: Kompot iz svizhykh ovochiw . . .  from Annette Ogrodnik Corona’s The New Ukrainian Cookbook.  

I made it the same day as our dinner so it was still warm.  It reminded me of a pear drink we had when we visited relatives in Ukraine.   Cousin Miron poured it from a large bottle sitting in a window.

   

KOMPOT IZ SVIZHYKH OVOCHIV  (Fresh Fruit Compote Drink)

2 oranges

2 Granny Smith apples

½ cup liquid honey

1 tbsp lemon zest

6 cups water

Brandy or rum, if desired

·        Peel and cut up the orange segments.

·        Put water on to boil in a saucepan.

·        Peel the apples and cut into small cubes.

·        Add apples, oranges, and their juice to boiling water.

·        Boil for 2 or 3 minutes, just until apples are slightly softened.

·        Remove from heat.  Stir in honey and lemon zest.

·        Let cool.  Then refrigerate.

·        To serve, put some of the fruit in the bottom of each glass.   Then fill with liquid.  (Add an ounce of rum or brandy to each glass, if desired.)

Miron, his daughter Maria, his son Mikalko, his mother-in-law, and his wife Maria

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APPLE & ORANGE COMPOTE (to serve with the turkey)

There will be more fruit leftover than needed for the drinks.  Blend this and add cinnamon to taste.  J