Anna Sultana’s Fish Seasoning, Turkey Stew with Dumplings, and The Full Beaver Moon

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Hope it’s a day that has fine weather and safe road conditions, and that it leaves you with many happy memories. 

About two weeks ago I posted recipes for Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend, Sugar and Spice Christmas Blend, Homemade Seafood / Chicken Spice Blend, Meat and Poultry Seasoning Mix.

Hope you’ve been finding them useful.

Susan emailed and, since she loves fish, she asked if I had a second fish blend for a bit of variety.

Here you go, Susan!

                                   Fish Seasoning Spice Blend

1/4 Cup paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon basil leaves, crushed

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram

1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

Back to Thanksgiving…

Along with being left with the memories, I’ll bet you’re facing leftovers.

I know that in the movie A Christmas Story Ralphie and his family were looking forward to enjoying leftover turkey dinners all the way through to New Year’s.

Yeah, well, sometimes it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.

If your family is beginning to flip through their fast food coupon booklets, here’s an easy way to serve leftover turkey that, hopefully, will be new to the family.

Hints:

This recipe will also work with one pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces, or meatballs.

Brown either in oil before adding to the potatoes.

If you want a creamy stew stir in a cup of milk or a 10 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup. 

You can also use fresh carrots and cook them with the potatoes.

Canned vegetables can also be used, as can more vegetables, such as corn, cubed butternut squash, sliced mushrooms, and/or zuchini. 

Don’t like dumplings? You can serve the stew over rice, or as a soup with some nice crusty bread or biscuits.

Sometimes Ma added some fried bacon. 

Well, that is the Maltese way. 

                                   Turkey Stew with Dumplings

Wash and quarter
3/4 pound small red potatoes
Place in a dutch oven and cover with water or chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pound leftover cooked turkey

Cut into slices

1 onion

2 stalks celery

Add to the potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

the cut up turkey

the onion and celery
3 Cups frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables

Stir to combine and allow to simmer while preparing the dumplings.

                                   Dumplings

In a medium bowl combine

1 1/2 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

Add

1 Cup milk

Stir until just mixed.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the stew.

Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Cover and cook another 10 minutes.

Another way to use up some leftover turkey is in Chicken Pot Pie.

Really, it will work.

About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

November 23 - The full Beaver Moon at 12:39 a.m. In this phase, the visible Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Although the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered full for the entire day of the event and appears full for three days. Actually, this Moon has two names. Learn about them in this short Farmers’ Almanac video.

November 26  - High overhead at around 8 p.m. this week is a star configuration that people unfamiliar with the sky often mistake for the Big Dipper. The bowl is composed of the four stars of the Great Square of Pegasus, the Flying Horse. The handle is composed of four bright stars belonging to the constellations Andromeda and Perseus.

November 29 - Last Quarter Moon, 7:19 p.m. In this phase, the Moon looks like a half-Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing, on its way to the new phase.

Anna Sultana’s Scrapple and North Taurids and Leonids Meteor Showers

November 9th is National Scrapple Day!

It was cooked in the 17th century by German colonists who settled in Pennsylvania.

Well, Pennsylvania is New York’s neighbour, and, like all good neighbours, the folks there shared the recipe with the folks in New York.

College Point, a town in the borough of Queens, New York, was home to Irish and German families in the 1950s.

I don’t know if Ma learned the recipe for scrapple from a German neighbour or a co-worker at Lily Tulip, but learn it she did.

And of course she gave it her own touches. 

The original Scrapple recipe was a way to use up pork scraps (including head, brains, heart, liver and skin) which were boiled with the bones.

After discarding the bones, the bits of meat were then simmered with cornmeal, wheat or buckwheat flour, onions, and spices like sage and thyme.

Okay… that was the original recipe.

Ma found that the holidays usually left her with turkey, rather than pork, carcasses.

Being Ma, she wasn’t about to let those bits and bones go to waste.

So she made turkey scrapple.

The holidays are coming up. 

Why not file this recipe in your holiday survival file?

Hints:

If your large pot and its lid are oven proof, place it, covered, in a 350º F oven for 2 hours to simmer the carcass.

Don’t have a food processor? A blender - or sharp knives - will do.

If, while it’s baking, some of the crust sticks to the side of the pot, scrape and stir the bits back into the scrapple.

You can coat the slices with flour before frying to make it crustier.

                        Scrapple

Scrape the bits of meat off the bones

Place in a large pot

Turkey bones, wings, scraped bits and skin

5 cups water

Simmer for 2 hours.

Drain the broth into a measuring cup.

You want to have 4 Cups of liquid (you can top it off with water).

Discard the skin and bones.

Place the turkey in a food processor and grind - you want to have 4 Cups of meat.

Grease well a small roaster or Dutch oven

Preheat oven 350º F 

In a large bowl combine 

1 Cup cornmeal

1/4 Cup flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sage or thyme (or a mixture)

the ground turkey meat

the broth / water mixture

Stir well.

Pour the mixture into the greased roaster or pot.

Bake for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Put the mixture into 2 loaf pans.

Cover with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator.

To serve:

Slice into half inch thick slices and pan fry in butter or oil over medium heat until golden brown. 

Serve with eggs and toast at breakfast with apple butter, ketchup, mustard, honey, jelly or maple syrup.

It’s also good served hot, as is.

About the sky next week, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

November 12-14 - About 45 minutes before sunrise, look to the east-southeast horizon to see an incredible planetary pairing: Jupiter and Venus will appear spectacularly close together, rising side by side on the morning of November 13th. 

Make sure that your view is free of any tall obstructions such as buildings or trees. Both planets will appear quite low to the horizon, so you’ll need a nice “wide-open” view.

North Taurids Meteor Shower are expected to peak at this time, with the best viewing is from 12 - 2 a.m. local time; and good news— the sky will be nice and dark due to the tiny waning crescent Moon.

The Taurids are actually two annual meteor showers created by the comet Encke. They are named for constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky (near the Pleiades). But they can be spotted anywhere (simply look up!).

November 14 – 15 - Look to the east, one hour before sunrise, to see the tiny sliver of a waning crescent Moon paired up with the planet Mars. On the 14th, the Moon is above Mars; on the 15th, it is below it. Closer to the horizon you will find Jupiter and Venus.

November 17 -18 - The Leonids Meteor Showers peak. Best viewing time is between midnight and 5:30 a.m. local time. This meteor shower, named for the constellation Leo, is typically one of the more exciting showers of the year, producing an average of 20-30 meteors per hour. And it should be nice and dark this year as the Moon is in the new (dark) phase.

Carmela Soprano's Fried Veal Cutlets or Chicken Breasts

The Fried Veal Cutlets is the recipe I suggested you serve on Thursday.

Today is Thursday.

Here's the recipe.

Paulie Walnuts didn't cook fancy complicated dishes like Artie did.

His recipe for Fried Veal Cutlets in his chapter My Nucci in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook is easier than Artie's recipe for Veal Piccata with Capers.

But it's just as good.

And, if you didn't buy the capers, even better.

Hints:

If the meat is of uneven thicknesses, place the slices between 2 sheets of plastic wrap.

Gently pound with a mallet to a 1/4 inch thickness so they will cook evenly.

Before frying the veal, test the oil by placing a drop of the egg mixture into the hot oil.

It should sizzle and cook quickly when the oil is hot enough.

Cook the number of cutlets at one time that will fit in the pan without crowding.

You want them to get nice and crisp, not soggy and glued together.

If there is any egg mixture left, stir in the remaining bread crumbs.

Fry the egg mixture, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.
Or the leftover-egg cutlet can be poured into a greased custard cup and baked.

                        Fried Veal Cutlets

Serves 4

In a shallow plate beat together

2 large eggs

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Spread on a sheet of wax paper

1 Cup plain bread crumbs

Cut into serving size pieces

1 pound veal, chicken or turkey cutlets

Dip each piece in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs to coat.

Let dry for 15 minutes.

Pour into a deep heavy frying pan 

1/4 inch of oil

Heat over medium heat.

Add a few cutlets to the pan.

Turning once, brown on both sides, about 5 minutes each side.

Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Repeat with the remaining cutlets.

Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Would I make Fried Veal Cutlets again?

No.  I prefer Carmela's Crunchy Baked Chicken.

It's the same basic recipe, but with less mess.

Also, while the cutlets are baking, I can do something else.

One recipe down.  Five more to go.

Carmela Soprano's Scungilli in Hot Tomato Sauce l Preparing Conch and Friselle

The turkey leftovers are getting on everyone's nerves.

And the sugar and caffeine from the chocolate isn't helping either.

Time to visit the shrink, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, M.D., M.A., M.F.T.

Jennifer's chapter Rage, Guilt, Loneliness, and Food in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook has a recipe for conch.

The recipe is simple enough.

It's just a bit of a hassle to find scungilli.

Especially if you live in a neighbourhood like mine.

In cooking, as in real estate, location is everything.

Conch, also called scungilli, is second in popularity to the escargot for edible snails.

It can be eaten raw, as in salads, or cooked, as in fritters, chowders and gumbos. 

All parts of the conch meat are edible.

Some people only like the white meat.

Lucky them if they can find it.

Hints:

Friselle are black pepper biscuits.

Before serving, sprinkle them with cool water and let them sit for 10 minutes.

After they soften, break them into pieces and put the pieces in 4 pasta bowls.

Toasted sliced Italian bread works, too.

If you have fresh tomatoes, substitute 

3 pounds peeled, seeded and chopped for the canned.

If you do find frozen scungilli place them in a large bowl of cold water to cover 

and refrigerate several hours or overnight to thaw, changing the water occasionally.

Rinse the scungilli and cut it into 1/4 inch slices.

Remove and discard the dark tubes - they're filled with spongy, gritty matter.

The tube on the outside is safe to eat.

Rinse the slices and pat dry.

If you can't find scungilli, no problem.

The leftover turkey is getting a bit off.

Time to disguise it a bit.

                        Scungilli in Hot Sauce

Serves 4

In a large saucepan place

1/3 Cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

pinch of crushed red pepper

Cook over medium heat until the garlic is lightly golden.

Add

2 28 to 35-ounce can Italian tomatoes, chopped

! Cup dry white wine

salt to taste

Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Stir occasionally.

Add the scungilli and bring to a simmer.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

If the sauce become too thick, stir in a little water.

Taste for seasoning.

Place the prepared friselle or toasted sliced Italian bread in the 4 bowls.

Spoon the scungilli onto the bread and serve immediately.

Would I make Scungilli in Hot Sauce?

Sure, if I could find it.

The sauce worked well with the leftover turkey.

I'm going to try it with large shrimp and serve them with spaghetti.

One recipe down.  Twenty-five more to go.

Paprika / Homemade Meat and Poultry Seasoning Mix - Margaret Ullrich

Got a couple of emails from folks I had left holding the bag.

The bag of Paprika, to be exact.

I had said, "Don't be afraid to buy a bag of paprika.

We'll have some more fun with it in a few weeks."

Well, a couple of folks reminded me it's been a few weeks.

Sheesh!

So, without further ado, here's the scoop on Paprika.

Paprika is ground from dried sweet red peppers.  

It can be mild or strong, depending on which peppers were used.

It varies, just like store bought salsa or tomato sauces.

Paprika is a handy thing to have.

Think of it as you would Celery Seed.

Without worrying about something going funky in the vegetable drawer, 

you can always add the flavor of sweet red peppers.

And that's a very good thing. 

Wondering what to do with ground Paprika?

For starters...

Stir, with minced onion, into cream cheese for a sandwich spread.

Add paprika to the hot fat before frying potatoes.

Rub paprika onto poultry before roasting or baking.

Or make and use the Seasoning Blend below.

Sprinkle some paprika over otherwise colorless foods to garnish.

Or to entice a fussy eater.

Yeah, every family has one.

You can also make another spice blend.

Homemade Meat and Poultry Seasoning Mix

2 Tablespoons ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons onion powder

2 Tablespoons paprika

2 Tablespoons salt

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon ground thyme

Makes a scant 2/3 Cup

Anna Sultana's Turkey Roasted with Bacon - A Maltese Thanksgiving by Margaret Ullrich

On Thursday we enjoyed the U.S. Thanksgiving experience.

The Macy Parade, followed by the dog show, followed by the Miracle on 34th Street movie, in black and white.

And, of course, a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

We had a lovely time.

And the dinner was excellent.

If I do say so myself.

And I do.

During the parade, Macy announced that this was their 85th parade.

And that night they had a special to show a few highlights from past decades.

It was fun reliving Thanksgivings through the years.

One of my facebook friends lives in Malta.

He likes to post about Maltese recipes.

He recently posted that he had enjoyed a Maltese favorite: roasted pork with bacon.

He also included a picture.

Which reminded me of Thanksgiving, 1961.

Holidays are a funny thing.

It's almost like time traveling.

I mean, you know you're in the present, but your mind wanders to other holidays.

No, Ma didn't cook roasted pork with bacon for Thanksgiving, 1961.

She cooked a turkey dinner.

But it had a Maltese twist to it.

Turkey is not a regular holiday treat in Malta.

The first few turkeys Ma had cooked came out kind of dry and tasteless.

At least that was what Pop had said.

But Ma had been told we had to eat turkey for the holidays.

And Ma wanted to follow the rules.

We three were still filing Alien Registration cards every year.

If we didn't, we'd be booted back to Malta.

So, Ma went back to an old Maltese tradition to fix the new American tradition.

She placed a few slices of bacon on the turkey.

Pop said the turkey was just fine with the bacon. 

The turkey was more juicy and the meat had a familiar tang.

We enjoyed our bacon turkey holiday dinners for the next seven years.

Our holiday dinners were just fine until 1961.

That year Ma's brother Charlie got engaged to an American, Liz.

Ma wanted to make a good impression on her soon to be new sister-in-law.

She spared no expense, or bacon, to make our dinner a feast.

Instead of laying 4 slices of bacon over the top of the bird, she used a dozen.

They were layered like roofing tiles over the turkey.

As an extra touch, Ma gift wrapped the legs in extra bacon slices.

If Liz liked bacon, she was going to be able to eat all she wanted.

There was more than enough for everybody.

Well, Liz was an American. 

And she expected to see - and eat - an American turkey.

A non-baconed turkey.

Liz just stared at the gift-wrapped bird while we drooled.

Ma offered Liz her choice: breast, leg, thigh, wing?

Liz just stared.

Ma asked if Liz would like a bit of each.

Oh, and how much bacon would she like?

Liz gulped and asked for a slice of skinless breast.

No bacon.

She then explained how Americans cooked turkeys.

As an afterthought, Liz asked where the cranberry sauce was.

No bacon?

Cranberry sauce?

We ate that meal in silence.

Ma was wondering what else she was doing wrong.

She'd never heard of cranberry sauce.

She'd gotten her menu from a second-generation American in-law. 

Aunt Betty had been born in New York.

No Alien Registration cards for her.

Aunt Betty was secure enough to leave out the cranberry sauce.

Ma wasn't so secure.

That Christmas Ma cooked a baconless turkey.

She also opened a tin of cranberry sauce.

After Charlie and Liz had left, Pop said he was glad he'd planned ahead.

I'd been born in Malta.

He hadn't paid the extra $10 to have me made an American citizen.

I was still a British subject.

I was his ticket back to Malta.

Pop had always had a few doubts about New York.

He didn't want to be trapped there.

A roast without bacon?

What else did Americans expect him to give up?

Carmela Soprano's Little Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Don't get upset.

The recipe for Little Chicken Meatballs is in the Graduation Parties chapter of 

Carmela's Entertaining with the Sopranos. 

I know the graduation season is long gone.

The stores have Back-To-School sales.

Yeah... Time flies when you're having fun.

Anyhow, I don't think this is only for June.

I mean, along with the meatballs, there's also a recipe for Tomato Sauce.

In the same chapter.

Tomato Sauce only for graduation parties?

Yeah, right.i

Give me a break.

Somebody really has to have a word with that editor.

I know I've said he must be a relative of Carm's.

But he makes Christopher look like a genius.

That's saying something.

Even when Christopher's not stoned out of his mind.

Back to the meatballs...

Remember how the past two weeks, Carm's used breadcrumbs "homemade 

from Italian bread".

This time she uses fresh bread crumbs made from Italian or French bread 

WITH THE CRUSTS REMOVED.

She also uses freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and coarsely chopped pine nuts.

And, you guessed it, finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.

I left the crusts on.  

Who could tell crust from chopped nuts?

I used pre-grated Parmesan and that old standby, dried parsley.

About the pine nuts, put them in a sandwich bag and smash them with a hammer.

Did that ever feel good!

Oh, big hints:

Make the meatballs the same size.

The meatballs can be prepared ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated.

If you've just crawled home from a Back-To-School sale, listen up.

There are chicken and turkey balls in the frozen food section.

Yeah, really.

Right next to the frozen beef meatballs.

Give yourself a break.

Throw some pine nuts in the sauce and serve with Parmesan and parsley.

And knock back something tall and frosty.


Bought a large package of ground meat?
Here are some more meatball recipes:

Anna Sultana's Tomato Sauce and Homemade Meatballs, Maltese Style

Carmela Soprano's Sunday Gravy (Tomato Sauce with Meat) and Homemade Meatballs

Carmela Soprano's Hot Meatball & Mozzarella Heroes

Carmela Soprano's Grilled Meatball and Sausage Skewers

Carmela Soprano's Escarole and Little Meatballs Soup - Minestra l Tiny Meatballs Recipe

                             

                              Little Chicken Meatballs

Preheat oven to 350º

Lightly oil a large roasting pan

Soak until the milk is absorbed

1/2 Cup fresh bread crumbs

in

1/4 Cup milk

Lightly squeeze the bread crumbs.

Mix together thoroughly in a large bowl

the soaked bread

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)

2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped pine nuts

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

Rinse your hands with cold water.

Shape the mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

Place the balls in the prepared pan.

Bake the meatballs about 12 minutes, until lightly brown.

Pour into a large heavy saucepan 

1 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce

Bring to a simmer over low heat.

Add the meatballs and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add water if the sauce is too thick.

Serve hot, with a sprinkle of fresh flat-leaf parsley.

Would I make Little Chicken Meatballs again?

Sure.

Only I'd use the frozen chicken balls.

Especially in the summer.

Another recipe down.  Eight more to go.