Christmas in August

A crazy idea that turned into a very delicious summer meal and party. I'd just opened up my freezer like I do every day to find something to make for dinner and like all evenings previous I'd been greeted by a mondo-sized turkey my husband bought a few months earlier because it was on sale. Here is another excuse for party I thought! Why not make a Christmas like dinner and adapt some traditional favorites into summer fare? The challenge was on. I asked my hubby to invite a few good friends to partake in our Christmas in August feast and before you knew it we had RSVPs for 30 people - my once big bird was looking smaller by the minute! Here is the menu I came up with:

 

Roasted Bourbon Turkey Sandwiches

with Cranberry Jelly and Mayo

Sausage and Sundried Tomato Stuffing

Mashed Potato Salad

Peach/Strawberry Jello Salad

Spinach Salad with Cranberry Raisins,

Feta Cheese and Sugared Pecans

with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing

Brown Sugar Shortbread and Strawberry

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Bourbon Turkey Marinade: I am getting so close to the perfect Bourbon Marinade - the way I like it anyway. I've read so many recipes that have ketchup as an ingredient in a Bourbon Marinade. All I can say is DON'T DO IT. You will taste the ketchup. The secret ingredient to the perfect Bourbon Marinade is honey! Here is the recipe that I put together: 

1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of honey, 1 cup of bourbon (or amber rum), 2 Tbsp. of Provencial Herbs, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1 tbsp. of cumin, and 1 tbsp. of vanilla - yes vanilla. I can only imagine what my marinade will taste like when I do chicken. I brushed the turkey with this marinade, stuck a thermometer in the meatiest part of the leg and cooked at 325 degrees until it was done about 4 hours later. To tell you the truth I'm not sure how long the turkey was in because I went to a girlfriend's house for appetizers/drinks while my mom babysat the kids and she took the turkey out - such a good woman! Trust your thermometers however. I now absolutely do not roast any meats without one. The marinade sealed in all the juices and the turkey was fabamondo.

2022 Marinade Update!  Same recipe, but I marinated the turkey in a shallow pan with no plastic wrap over it.  Marinate first with breast down for 12 hours or over night, then flip the turkey over and continue marinating for a few more hours, but more importantly, allow the turkey to "air dry" in the refrigerator with no covering.  This will allow the skin to crisp up even more in the oven.  Then when it is time to roast, do a final brush and pop into a 325 degree oven, brushing periodically.  Obviously depending on the size of your bird, you will need to look on-line for timeline.  However using a thermometer is so helpful!

Cranberry Mayo:  Hellman's Mayo and a can of jellied cranberry.  Do a 50:50 ratio. If you add 1/4 mayo to a bowl to mix with cranberry, add 1/4 cup cranberry. Dollop onto buns of your choice and layer in the turkey, stuffing and whatever else brings you to turkey tears!

Mashed Potato Salad:  8 boiled eggs, 10 boiled potatoes, drained and dried and allow to sit in pot to dry out a little and cool down. Mash eggs and potatoes together.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of calorie wise Miracle Whip.  slice up 4 celery ribs, 1 bunch green onions sliced, paprika!  Mix everything together and sprinkle with paprika when you are all done.  Sometimes you can add a little pickle juice and a chopped pickle.  As always, taste and add any extras if you like.

Sausage and Sundried Tomato Stuffing: Saute one medium sized onion in a pan with 1/4 cup of butter until the onions are soft. Mix onions with two tubes of sausage meat and two small bags of herbed bread crumbs. You don't have to have herbed breadcrumbs but that is what I had in my freezer. I then added about 1 tbsp. each of sage and poultry seasoning. Then I found some sundried tomato flakes in my pantry and added 1/2 a cup. The sausage stuffing should look like sausage not breadcrumbs as you want it moist and succulent. Mix well and stuff the bird. I put a thermometer in the stuffing too - I don't know why I did to tell you the truth, I mean it's not like I would take the stuffing out of the bird if it had cooked earlier - I think it was because my mom was coming over to babysit and I wanted her to think that I was super careful and responsible making sure the sausage meat would get cooked!

Spinach Salad with Cranberry Raisins, Feta, Sugared Pecans, and Garlic Vinaigrette: Add a bag of spinach, 2 cups of feta cheese, 2 cups of magic nuts (recipe follows), 1 cup of cranberry raisins.  Toss with the vinaigrette just before serving. Also, I made this salad in advance, however I put the feta and the pecans in separate Ziplocks to keep fresh and tossed the entire salad together just before eating.

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette:  Roast one bulb of garlic in the oven - I pour olive oil over bulb and wrap in tin foil. Roast at 325 for about 20-30. Unwrap and squeeze garlic paste out and put aside.  3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 3/4 tsp. course salt, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, pinch pepper.  Mix garlic paste into vinaigrette and whisk. Take a taste and see what more it might need - for me it is always more sweetener!

"Magic Mixed Nuts" (Best of Bridge) (My friend Lisa gave these pecans to me recently and I put them in the Spinach Salad) Here is the recipe - they are worth making: 2 egg whites, 4 cups unsalted nuts (cashews, almonds, pecans and/or hazelnuts), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, Preheat oven to 325. Whisk egg whites until foamy, add nuts and mix until coated. Combine remaining ingredients and add to egg white mixture and stir until fully coated. Spread evenly on greased cookie sheets and ake 20-25 mins, stirring frequently. Cool and store in covered container.

Brown Sugar Shortbread Ice Cream Sandwiches: 1 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp. of vanilla. ***I also added a delicious spice called, "Poudre Douce" (the ingredients to make this spice are 2 tbsp. of sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. of cardamom). Obviously this spice is optional. Mix well and roll out to 1/4 inch. Put a little flour on the rolling pin and the counter or else it will stick. Cut out cookies using a coffee cup or a Christmas star cookie cutter. Put on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes. Once you cool, start assembling your ice cream sandwiches. I used strawberry ice cream which tasted so damn good with these cookies. I also had a package of thin chocolate cookies for the kids and used the strawberry ice cream as well.

Happy New Year! Actually September is next month and always feels like the New Year to me!!!!