My Wok and I: Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

My Wok and I: Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

What to do with all that left over food? Well the first thing do with hindsight (we’re all good at that) was not to cook so much. That’s easier said than done. When you want to make sure everyone has enough to eat.

The easiest left over to use is all the vegetables.

Bubble and Squeak: Supposedly get its name from the bubbly sound the potatoes and the squeaky sound the cabbage makes when being fried. We learn something every day.

Just for interest I put Bubble and Squeak in Google search. I couldn’t believe the number of hits, over 74,000 hits. This many just for you mix together your left over potato and vegetables.

 Even the posh chefs, like Jamie Oliver has multiple entries. They’ll be putting it on the menus in there over priced restaurants next.

When I was young bubble and squeak was just potato and cabbage left over from Sunday. On Monday we would have the bubble and squeak and whatever meat was left, unless Dad had used it in his sandwiches for work. In those days there was not the selection of cheap vegetables you can get today.

Sunday dinner vegetables was always cabbage or in season greens and maybe carrots.

Never mind all the fancy recipes, Bubble and Squeak is basically what whatever you have left mixed with the potatoes. If you have a lot left over I would suggest saving it in meal size servings or fish cake size and freezing for later. It’s great with a fry up breakfast.

All I do never mind all the gourmet suggestions, is mix the potatoes and vegetables together and mould into a thick pancake shape. You can make smaller cake sizes. Fry in butter until it is heated through and there is a crisp brown coating, turnover and fry till it is crispy brown. Without burning.

The Turkey and Stuffing:

I would first take out all the stuffing and cut off most of the meat from the carcass.

I would leave some meat on the carcass. If you’re going to make soup from the carcass it will make a tastier soup. Or.

 I prefer picking the carcass clean with fingers. Have some of the cold stuffing, and some pickles of your choice with some bread and butter.

With a cold beer or glass or two of wine.

It depends how much turkey meat you have left what you decide to do with it. Sandwiches, turkey salad, turkey curry or stew.

The Turkey curry you cook to the curry recipe back in the blog, “A New life” on the 28 July 2010, my, doesn’t time fly.

The stew can be cooked very much like my “Lad’s lamb stew” back at “As time goes by” 27 June 2010.

You can add some of the stuffing to bulk it out and give a different flavour.

Anything I’ve missed give me nudge in the comments.

A Special for EBU

5-Minute Kale

With this delicious, easy-to-prepare recipe you can include kale as part of your Healthiest Way of Eating in a matter of minutes. Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around with one serving providing you with an excellent source of health-promoting vitamins A and K. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients:

1 pound kale, chopped

 Dressing:

1 TBS lemon juice.  
**Tip, to make it easier to squeeze out the juice, roll the lemon 
on the kitchen top under palm of your hand

1 medium clove garlic, pressed or chopped 

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil 

salt and black pepper to taste

Optional:

Sliced onions, steam with kale 
Celery, a stick or 2 steam with the Kale
2 TBS sun dried tomatoes, 
2 TBS sliced olives (kalamata) 
2TBS feta cheese

5 drops tamari soy sauce

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and let it sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.

2. Fill bottom of steamer with 2 inches of water and bring to boil. 

3. While water is coming to a boil, slice kale leaves into 1/2-inch slices, and cut again

crosswise. Cut stems into 1/4-inch slices. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes to bring

out it health-promoting properties. 

4. When water comes to a boil, add kale (and onion/celery if used) 
to the steamer basket and cover. Steam for 5 minutes. 

5. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the Dressing ingredients.  
 For the best flavor, toss with dressing while kale is still hot. 

6. Top with any or all of optional ingredients. Serves 2

Now the Vegetables

NOW THE VEGETABLES

Number one a must. The Roast potatoes, my way.

Good quality white potatoes. Pick’em yourself, not those all ready bagged. Even “Wholefood market (posh shop in USA) manage to mistakenly slip in some “not so good” ones. Look for those that have a green tinge of colour and make sure you don’t pick’em. Too much of the greenness in a potato is actually poisonous. www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Fat! You can use dripping**. What’s that I hear our American friends ask? It’s the fat you’ll have left over from roasting chicken, beef or lamb. Maybe even the fat from frying fatty bacon.

In the UK it is known that we pour all our fat into a bowl and use it for roasting or frying. Unbelievably unhealthy but very tasty especially for fried bread.

In UK you can buy dripping from the butchers and Supermarkets. Some of the smaller local butchers may make it themselves.

I used to work in a butchers shop when I left school. One of my weekly jobs was to make the dripping. This entailed keeping all the fat cut from the meat during the week (Kept in the freezer).

There was this big Harry Potter like electric cauldron that the fat was melted in. 
What went in, what didn’t? Everything! All the leftovers from the week.

I had to stand over this cauldron, stirring most of the time to stop it burning and to get it all to melt. I can’t remember how long I stood there but it was a few hours. I stank rotten of this melting concoction. 
When it was ready I had to put it into metal butcher’s trays. This had to be done quite quickly before it started to set when the heat was turned off. Fortunately there was a tap (faucet) that the dripping could pour out of. I just had to make sure it did not block with the stuff that didn’t melt. 
I was allowed to leave early that day as I stunk too much to serve the customers. I felt sorry for anyone who had to sit next to me on the bus.

This might sound awful and unhygienic. But, our regular customers knew what day the dripping was made. The next day, they were around making sure they had there weeks supply.

Of course you can use lard or Olive oil.

I use canola oil.

After peeling the potatoes cut them into a regular size, half or quarter depending of the size of potato. I boil the potatoes in my microwave till they are near to fully cooked, about 12 minutes. Drop them into a sieve to drain and shake them around to roughen them up. This will make the outer crispy.


While they were boiling, heat some canola oil in your dish till quite hot. Not too much oil. Put the potatoes in the hot oil and turn them over a few times to coat them in the hot oil. Turn them over a few times while cooking, roast until a crispy brown.

You can also do a pan of mash potatoes. If the mash is not eaten it is great for a leftovers meal of bubble and squeak.

Tell you about that later.

Eaten with cold turkey pickled onions and red cabbage and just about anything left from your Christmas turkey dinner

The Brussel sprouts. Just cut off the bottom and slice a deepish cross. Boil for as long as you think necessary. Not for too long though as they are better a little crisp. Cook’m too soft and they certainly get the flatulence going. (I’m too polite to say Farting).

These can be cooked in the microwave while the potatoes are roasting. You can cook the carrots at the same time.

Roasted Parsnips can be roasted the same way as potatoes. Sprinkle some fresh herbs of your choice over them while cooking.

That should sort out your Christmas Turkey dinner.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.