House of Annie

Tired of eating the same old dried out, microwave-reheated breast meat for days? I sure would be. This Turkey Tortilla Soup will spice up your leftovers!

Originally posted 27 Nov 2007
Updated 25 Nov 2009
In the past, we've always saved the carcass of the turkey to make stock, and most of the time we turn that stock into turkey jook (rice congee). It's pretty easy to do.
But I was getting tired of Asian food. I just didn’t want to fall back on warming up leftover turkey again. I wanted some kicked up flavors and spice! So I went Southwestern with a Turkey Tortilla Soup.

Turkey Tortilla Soup Recipe

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine November 2006
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 quart homemade turkey broth
6 cilantro sprigs (I left them out)
Kosher salt
2 cups shredded or medium-diced leftover roast turkey
1-1/2 cups medium-diced fresh tomato
1 cup cooked fresh corn kernels (or substitute thawed frozen corn)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Garnishes:
1/2 to 1 ripe avocado, medium diced
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs. sour cream, or to taste (optional)
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Turkey Tortilla Soup Ingrendients

Method:
1. Heat the 2 Tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until softened and just beginning to brown.
2. Add the chili powder and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 15 to 30 seconds. Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan with the spoon to loosen any cooked-on bits.
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the broth has reduced by about a third, 20 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
4. Divide the turkey, tomato, corn, and beans four bowls.

Esther and Daniel dividing the ingredients

5. Ladle the hot broth into the bowls, top with chopped avocadoes, a sprinkle of feta cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.

Turkey Tortilla Soup

If you have it, squeeze some lime juice on top to give it a tart bite. I would have garnished with chopped cilantro but the cilantro was sitting in the bottom of the veggie drawer and I didn't find it until later. Instead of fresh fried corn tortilla strips, I just crumbled some corn tortilla chips and mixed that in to the soup.
So there you have it, another delicious way to enjoy your leftover turkey!
Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more recipes for turkey leftovers? Click below:

Turkey Jook
Recipe for Leftover Turkey (or Ground Turkey) and Pinto Bean White Chili with Lime and Cilantro on Kalyn’s Kitchen
Turkey Noodle Soup on Andrea’s Recipes
Turkey and Squash Risotto on Closet Cooking
Tips for Using Thanksgiving Leftovers in Bento Boxes on Just Bento

Continue Reading: "Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers: Turkey Tortilla Soup"...

I hope you save that turkey carcass from Thanksgiving dinner, because you can use it to make turkey jook ("rice congee" -- aaahhh, just call it "jook"). And because I'm making it, you know the recipe has to be easy!

Turkey Jook

Originally posted 1 Dec 2008
Updated 23 Nov 2009
The Thanksgiving feast is done. Much of the remaining turkey meat has been cut off the carcass and saved for making sandwiches later. Now you’ve got a bare carcass sitting on your counter. You’re not going to throw that away are you?
Oh, heck no!
One of the best ways to deal with the turkey carcass is to make a big pot of turkey jook the next day. Making turkey jook takes relatively little work, especially compared to the culinary acrobatics that normally take place in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Here’s what you do:

Put the turkey carcass in a big stock pot along with the thigh bones and wings, cover with water and simmer for 3 hours or more. You should get a rich, brown stock.

Turkey Stock

Ladle out half of the stock (about 7-8 cups) into another pot. Remove the carcass bones and let them cool. Chill the remaining stock and reserve it for something else (turkey tortilla soup might be good).
Optional: add to the stock pot a cup of dried scallops that have been reconstituted in warm water.

Adding Dried Scallops to Turkey Stock

Add a half cup of uncooked Japanese short grain rice, rinsed. We recommend short grain rice as opposed to jasmine, because the starchiness of the short grain will help thicken the jook. Let the rice simmer in the stock for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, peel the meat off the cooled turkey bones. Add half the meat to the jook and reserve the other half for (you guessed it) something else. (If you have any more leftover turkey meat, you might want to chop that up and use that too. But I'm lazy ;-) )

Peeled Turkey Meat

Adjust the seasonings with soy sauce to taste. Ladle the jook into bowls, then garnish with chopped green onion or cilantro, and a couple dashes of white pepper. Drizzle a little sesame seed oil on if you like.
There you have it. A nice, warm bowl of turkey jook to feed your soul.

Turkey Jook

Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more easy recipes? Click below:

Braised Char Siew (or Non-bake Char Siew)
Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts
Lazy Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
Five Quick Asian Dishes: Two Tofus, Two Ways

Continue Reading: "Turkey Jook"...

One of our most loved Thanksgiving recipes, a tried-and-true favorite stuffing dish. You’ll want to make a double batch just so you have enough for leftovers!

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing

Over the years, we’ve made many different turkey recipes for Thanksgiving. The famous Good Eats Roast Turkey by Alton Brown was the most often used recipe. We’ve also used other recipes, like Melinda Lee’s apple juice-based Master Brine, our WSM Smoked Turkey, and a disastrous pineapple brined, smoked turkey (shudder).
For the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, we like to try different things out. But one side dish has been a constant companion on our Thanksgiving table, for at least 5 years now: this Gourmet Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing.

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing Thru the Years

Annie loves roasted chestnuts. Their complex sweetness adds a delicious oomph to many dishes, both Asian and Western. We can easily find packages of peeled, roasted chestnuts in our local Asian grocery. Then it’s just a matter of chopping them up at home to use in the stuffing recipe.

Chopped Roasted Chestnuts

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing Recipe

From Gourmet Magazine, November 2003 edition
Ingredients
1 (1 1/4-pound) loaf country-style bread, crust discarded and bread cut into 3/4-inch cubes (8 cups)
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 turkey liver (optional), coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Cognac or other brandy
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup turkey stock or low-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs
1 (14- to 15-oz) jar peeled cooked whole chestnuts, coarsely crumbled (3 cups)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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Method
1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2 1/2- to 3-quart shallow baking dish.
2. Spread bread cubes in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and bake in lower third of oven until completely dry, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. (Leave oven on.)
3. While bread bakes, cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until crisp, about 10 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
4. Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from skillet, then sauté onions in fat over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add celery and sauté, stirring, 3 minutes, then transfer vegetables to bowl with bacon.

Bacon, Celery and Sausage

5. Cook sausage and liver (if using) in skillet, stirring and breaking up sausage with a fork, until meat is no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer with slotted spoon to onion mixture.

Frying Sausage and Turkey Liver

6. Pour off any remaining fat from skillet. Add Cognac (off heat), then deglaze skillet by simmering over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute, and add to sausage mixture.
7. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.
8. Soak bread cubes in half-and-half in a bowl, tossing frequently, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Gently squeeze excess liquid from bread, then stir bread into sausage mixture, discarding remaining half-and-half. Stir together stock and eggs and add to stuffing, then stir in chestnuts, herbs, salt, and pepper until combined well.

Mixing the Stuffing Altogether

9. Transfer stuffing to baking dish, press it down flat, and cover with foil.

Smoothing the Stuffing Down Flat

10. Bake in upper third of oven 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is crisp, about 20 minutes more.
I just love how all the flavors meld together so nicely. The sage and the celery just go so well with Thanksgiving turkey. I totally have to stop myself from taking more than 3 helpings at the table. Otherwise, there’d be none remaining for leftovers.
And we all know how good leftovers are, right?
Aloha, Nate
This post was entered in the Yeastspotting roundup for November 27.

Hungry for more savory bread recipes? Click below:

Foccacia w/ Poached Garlic
Buttery Dinner Rolls Recipe
Recipe for Corn Bread with Bacon

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In a time when the economy has been a challenge for most everyone, I’ve been reading about different suggestions on how to live more frugally. One way is to cook at home more. Well, I’ve always done that and I’ve always tried to be smart about buying produce in season (which are normally on sale and also fresher) and stocking up when meats go on sale.

But I also firmly believe that eating cheaply doesn’t mean giving up on flavor or variety. I think that if we all just chose to cook more from scratch and use less processed or packaged foods, we’d be able to stretch our money further and also live a healthier life.

Delicious, Healthy, Filling and Cheap

This barley and lentil soup with Swiss chard is a great example of tasty frugality. It makes a huge batch and leftovers are even more tasty the next day (soups always taste better the next day!). The barley and lentils in the soup give it a lot of flavor and depth and make this soup so hearty that the soup can stand alone as a one dish meal.

Barley and lentils are seriously cheap! A package of each will make you many meals and fill you up. On top of that, they are whole grains so they are so good for you as well. Delicious, healthy, filling, and cheap—how can you go wrong with that?

Carrots, Onions, Lentils and Barley

Eat the Rainbow

Swiss chard is pretty reasonable right now at the stores. I got myself 2 bunches of Swiss chard (organic, no less!) for only $1.50 a bunch. I really love Swiss chard in soups. They are so tasty and hold up so well under all that boiling and simmering. On top of that, the color of all that Swiss chard makes the soup look so lovely and appetizing.

I normally try to get the more colorful chards (reds, or rainbows) because they’re so pretty and ok, so healthy also (trying to eat all the colors of the rainbow is supposed to be good for you). But really, I just love how pretty it makes my soup—you have to eat with your eyes too! Even though the original recipe only called for half a bunch of chard, I couldn’t help myself and used up both bunches! Feel free to use as much or as little as you like but I would say at least one bunch is needed.

Rainbow Swiss Chards

The recipe calls for some chicken or vegetable broth but I’ve been using turkey broth for mine. I don’t know how many of you still have a turkey carcass in your freezer from Thanksgiving. If you do, this is a great time to take it out and make some broth!

We just happened to have made two turkeys this year, once on Thanksgiving (and the carcass was quickly used up for turkey jook), and another one later, nearer Christmas when we made it for a church gathering. That carcass has been sitting in our fridge for many months. So I decided to boil that baby up for this soup.

And it was delicious! We brined our turkey so the broth was so flavorful without having to add any additional seasonings. And the extra turkey meat played nicely with all the other ingredients as well. Of course, if you are wanting it to be totally vegetarian, go ahead and use vegetable broth.

For the broth, I would say make sure you have more than the recommended 10 cups in the recipe. The barley and lentils make this soup very thick and without the extra broth, this would almost be a stew.

I adapted this recipe from Epicurious and I must say the little flavor additions really do make this soup spectacular. The toasted cumin gives it depth and warmth. The hit of dill at the end brightens and adds a green herbal flavor which contrasts nicely with the rest of the ingredients.

So, do try this soup out while the weather is still cold enough for you to want to curl up to a nice, hearty, warm cup of lovely flavors (can I ever use enough adjectives? ^_^). And be grateful that cheap foods can be delicious and easy to make!

Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions (1 large)
1 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled carrots (about 2-3 carrots)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
10 cups (or more) low-salt chicken or vegetable broth, or turkey broth
2/3 cup pearl barley
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2/3 cup dried lentils
8 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard (1 large bunch)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in heavy large nonreactive pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots; sauté until onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes.

2. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Mix in cumin; stir 30 seconds.

3. Add 10 cups broth and barley; bring to boil. Reduce heat; partially cover and simmer 25 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes with juice and lentils; cover and simmer until barley and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
5. Add chard to soup; cover and simmer until chard is tender, about 5 minutes.

6. Stir in dill. Season soup with salt and pepper.
7. Thin with more broth, if desired.

Serve up and garnish with more dill, if desired. Don’t forget to save some for the next day as the flavor improves overnight.

Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

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Hungry for more soup recipes? Click below:

Cream of Corn Soup Recipe

Kabocha Squash with Spinach in Coconut Milk

Pork and Daikon Soup with Red Dates and Carrots

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Pork and Eggplant Soup with Tomato and Shiso

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Do you have a lurking turkey? You know, the spare one you bought on sale around Thanksgiving time 'cause it was dirt cheap, and you figured you could use it "sometime later". But of course, you forgot all about it sitting there behind the two dozen other things you've stuffed in the freezer since then.

Yeah, I had one of those. Two of 'em, actually. (We have a big freezer in the garage.) I needed to make some space in the freezer, so I decided to smoke one of the turkeys.

(And dang, did that sucker make a huge blunt!)



Just kidding. By smoking, I mean instead of heating up the kitchen with a hot oven, I would cook the turkey outside using my Weber Smokey Mountain water smoker. So I defrosted one of the turkeys and then spatchcocked it. "Spatchcocked"? Ooh, sounds naughty!

Perhaps a little explanation is called for. Simply put, a "spatchcocked" bird is one that is butterflied - it has had its backbone and keel bone removed so that it can be flattened out. Its chief benefit is that a flattened bird will cook faster and more evenly than a carcass left whole. There's a good video by Chris Allingham of The Virtual Weber Bullet showing how to butterfly a chicken over on YouTube. Butterflying a turkey takes a bit more work, but the concept and steps are essentially the same.

I normally brine my turkeys using Alton Brown's brine recipe before roasting, as this keeps the birds juicy during the long cook in the oven. But since these birds were the "enhanced" type that were already brined before freezing, there was no need to brine again. Instead, I used the rub and injection recipe from Barbecue University to flavor the turkey.

Rub Ingredients:
1/4 cup coarse salt (kosher or sea)
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons dried thyme (preferably ground)
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground white pepper
2 teaspoons ground dried sage leaves
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

*Note: I find that rubbing seasoning on the outside of a bird is just messy and doesn't let all the flavor penetrate to the meat. Instead of rubbing the seasoning on top of the skin, I carefully separate the skin from the meat and smear the seasoning underneath the skin.

I set the Weber Smokey Mountain up with a couple of chimneys full of lump charcoal and a log of cherry wood for smoke flavor. The turkey went on the top grate of the WSM, which was running at about 300*F in the dome.

I monitored the temperature through a remote probe thermometer inserted into the breast. After about 2.5 hours, the temp in the breast hit 165*F and I pulled it out of the smoker. I moved the turkey to a pan, covered it in foil, and took it inside to give it time to rest.


As with most of smoked turkeys I've done, the skin was rubbery and inedible. You have peel it off and toss it. (See, that's why you want to rub the seasoning under the skin instead of on top!) The seasoning rub was pretty flavorful. However the injection didn't permeate the breast - it mostly stayed in the channel that the needle made.

Dinner was smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a side of steam-fried broccoli with garlic, shallots, and pine nuts. I just love that extra "ohhh, mmmm" factor that food cooked over charcoal gives!


So, what are YOU going to do with your lurking turkey?

Aloha.

More turkey recipes: Turkey Hash, Turkey Jook, Turkey Tortilla Soup,Turkey Omurice, Turkey Soup
More barbecue recipes:Apple City Ribs, Pulled Pork, Ribs on the Weber Smokey Mountain

Continue Reading: "WSM Smoked Turkey"...

We usually make turkey jook with the carcass from the bird but this time I decided to do something more Western in application.

Boiled the carcass, leg bones and wings in 8 cups of water for 2 hours with 1-1/2 onions, 1 large carrot, and 4 ribs of celery, chopped, along with a half tablespoon of whole black peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves. Removed the bones and skimmed the fat off the broth.

Stripped the meat off the bones and returned to the pot. Added a couple of cups of sliced mushrooms. Season with salt, ground pepper, Italian seasoning, ground sage, and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Added some alphabet pasta at the end for the kids, but found that the soup also works well with mashed potatoes at the bottom of the bowl.



I wanted a larger noodle, like bowtie pasta. Still, it tasted pretty good. I like that everything was from scratch.

Aloha.

Nate

More turkey recipes: Turkey Hash, Turkey Jook, Turkey Tortilla Soup,Turkey Omurice, WSM Smoked Turkey

Continue Reading: "Turkey Soup"...

I diced up some leftover turkey and pan-fried it in some turkey shmaltz until browned. Then I added some white rice and more shmaltz, plus a touch of sesame oil and fried it all up. Added a couple of spoonfuls of gravy and mixed it in to heat through, then plated it up.

In another pan I made a quick omelette, rolled it out on top of the rice, and laid some ketchup and a little bit of sriracha chili sauce on top the egg.

It was wonderful.

Aloha,

Nate



More turkey recipes: Turkey Hash, Turkey Jook, Turkey Tortilla Soup, Turkey Soup, WSM Smoked Turkey

Continue Reading: "Leftover Turkey Omurice"...

Decided to do something a little different than the regular microwaved Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.

I heated up some turkey shmaltz in a pan and added about 1-1/2 cups of stuffing (sausage, bacon and chestnut with homemade croutons) and fried that up for a few minutes until heated through. Laid that down on the plate.

I diced some turkey and fried that up in more shmaltz until the turkey had some nice browning on the edges. Laid that on top of the stuffing.

Finally, I spooned some reheated giblet gravy on top of the whole pile.


Came out pretty good. For the second helping, I added a beaten egg to the stuffing to see if it would hold together better (I had in mind a kind of "French toast" concept). Ehh. Don't think I needed to do that.

Aloha,

Nate

More turkey recipes: Turkey Jook, Turkey Tortilla Soup, Turkey Omurice, Turkey Soup, WSM Smoked Turkey

Continue Reading: "Turkey Hash on Fried Stuffing"...