It all starts with homemade stock
I was making butternut squash soup (aka “Thanksgiving in a bowl”) for the girls’ luncheon and needed homemade turkey stock first. I followed Biba Caggiano’s recipe (Brodo di Gallina*) but modified it because it was September and there were no whole turkeys to be had. Instead, I placed a large turkey leg/thigh in a 10 qt pot and covered it with cold water (estimated at about 10-12 cups). I added two carrots, two stalks celery (both cut into chunks), one small onion (quartered) and 2 ripe tomatoes (quartered), plus a few fresh Italian parsley sprigs from the garden. I set the pot to boil then simmered the contents for 1.5 hours. I removed the turkey leg/thigh and vegetables then simmered the broth for one hour longer. After that I strained the broth, reserved it in the refrigerator overnight; and skimmed off the fat layer next morning.
Since I’m a ‘wanna-be’ Italian housewife, I knew I would do something with the thigh and leg meat of the turkey. The only question was what? Italians are very creative when it comes to leftovers and extra parts. I decided to do a fall-inspired version of turkey salad.
Open-faced turkey salad sandwiches:
2 cups chopped turkey, mostly from the thigh (for aesthetic purposes)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (a little extra if you think it needs it)
1 small gala apple, finely chopped
a handful of red grapes, cut in half
1/4 cup chopped walnut pieces
fresh tarragon (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
Combine all ingredients and then let it rest in the fridge for several hours. Remove from refrigerator about 30-45 minutes before serving to bring it to slightly above room temperature. Pile a tablespoonful of turkey salad onto a thin baguette slice then top with your favorite variety of fig jam (Whole Foods has several options).
Please keep your Giveaway submissions coming… it would be great to get to at least 100 (you’ll see why on December 9th!).
Thank you to all who have stunned me with your passionate advocacy for so many causes!
Love,
kathy
*Biba’s recipe may be found here: http://books.google.com/books?id=yIdxwMNBm3QC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=brodo+di+gallina+biba+caggiano&source=bl&ots=7gS2gbRFY6&sig=MSC05mPSc_yIduxbMfOqByn_pBA&hl=en&ei=V4oZS-3dCJD8tAOnq838BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false