Perfect Christmas Turkey

Cooking turkey at home is so often fraught with worry and complications
that people will start cooking the bird far too early, and the end result
predictably, far from being the moist, succulent centrepiece to the festive
table, is in fact as palatable as sliced reconstituted sawdust.
Here are a few tricks to ensure a delicious Christmas
(or any other time of year)
turkey experience.
Buy a temperature probe. It is the only accurate way to measure degrees of cooking (cuisson). 58°C . for
roast beef 72 °C for turkey. Always rest meat under foil in a warm place for at least 25 minuets.
Get your butcher to bone and roll the turkey breast, and bone the legs as well leaving the leg meat untied.
have the butcher keep the carcass.
Place the carcass in a sturdy refuse sack and stand on it a few times, then roast it in a moderately hot oven
with two carrots, a leek, an onion and a few pieces of celery, until nicely golden brown.
place these roasting into a large pan covering with water, fry the giblets and add them. bring to the boil,
then turn down to a gentle simmer (this can be done well in advance).
Take the boned legs, lay each on a piece of buttered foil, fill one middle with some sausage meat of your
choice (you can add things such as dried cranberries, apricots, nuts etc). Fill the other with a stuffing of your
choice (please be a bit more adventurous than Paxo!).What you are looking to achieve here is a Christmas
cracker, or sausage shape. form the turkey meat around the filling and bring the foil together twisting the
ends to make a tight, even cylinder. these will take about 35 minutes to cook in a fairly hot oven. they will
feel firm to the touch when ready. as you carve the turkey, everyone can have a slice of each sausage, and
get an equal share of brown meat without the usual difficulties of portioning, with its inherent risk of yuletide
squabbles.
If oven space is an issue, the roast potatoes can be done the night before. they reheat wonderfully, just under
cook them slightly.
When cooking the turkey 30 mines. per kilo, 180°C for first 1/2 hour then turn down to 170 °C baste with
butter, every 20 mins. don't forget to rest. it will be delicious!
For the gravy, take the roasting tin and place on a gas ring at 3/4 power. agitate the fat/meaty particles and
allow the liquid to sizzle to a delicious reduced unctuousness. Pour in a large glass of red wine or Madeira
and cook the alcohol off. when the liquid has all but cooked off sift in a little flour and blend in with a
wooden spoon lowering the heat to a whisper.
(it is important not to burn the flour). Have the stock which should now be strained and boiling (pay attention
please) to hand, and start to ladle this hot stock into the roasting tray, stirring all the time.
it will start to thicken, and you must keep pace with this by ladling, stirring and controlling heat, which you
may wish to increase .gravy is a very important and personal matter, and individuals have all manner of
techniques to impart their special signature to this most British of sauces. please feel free! pass through a
sieve and set aside in a warm place, covered.
Serve with homemade cranberry sauce which you can easily make by cooking frozen cranberries in orange
juice with mixed spice and sugar.

Rhubarb & Amaretti Biscuits

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 This is the forth in our series of video recipes presented by chef Julian Briercliffe

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You will need...

Rhubarb

Juice of 1 orange

Ginger (grated)

Creme Fraiche

Amaretti Biscuits (crushed)

Soft Brown Sugar (4 to 5 tablespoons)

Tin Foil

Pre heat oven to 150C

Place rhubarb in an oven proof dish, add the grated ginger, orange juice and sugar.

Cover with tin foil  and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and remove tin foil.

Place in fridge and allow to cool.

Serve in a glass or small dish.

Layer the rhubarb, creme fraishe and biscuits, top with an amaretti buiscuit and a pice of rhubarb.

Tilapia Fillet

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 This is the third in our series of video recipes presented by chef Julian Briercliffe

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You will need...

2 Tilapia Fillets
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh tarragon
2 tbsp fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh chives
2 tbsp fresh parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
Seasoned flour (enough to dust the fillets)

Place a  heavy based frying pan onto a high heat and add the olive oil. Dust the fillets in seasoned flour and then place them in the hot pan. Cook until browned on all sides. This should take about 5 minutes.

Add the butter to caramelize. Baste fish with hot oils. Remove fillets and place on serving dish. Place frying pan back onto heat and add herbs, lemon juice and zest. Pour source all over the fillets and serve hot with steamed vegetables.

Serves 2

Sheep's Cheese & Fine Herb Omelette

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 This is the second in our series of video recipes presented by chef Julian Briercliffe

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You will need...

6 medium eggs
2 tbsp cold water
25g butter
Salt and pepper
¼ cup of fresh chives, chopped
¼ cup of fresh parsley, chopped finely
100g Sussex Slipcote sheep’s cheese

For the salad...

Salad leaves, 2 handfuls
Balsamic vinegar, a drizzle
A drizzle of Olive oil

Break eggs into bowl and whisk add the water and seasoning and continue blending together.
Heat up a  heavy based frying pan and add the butter.
Pour egg mixture into frying pan and cook, try to maintain some of the eggs moisture.
Fold the cheese, chives and parsley into egg mixture.

Serve with salad leaves sprinkled with a balsamic vinegar  and olive oil dressing.

Bon Appetite

Linguine aglio oleo peperochino

This month we're beginning a series of video recipes presented by chef Julian Briercliffe, we hope you enjoy cooking with us...

Linguine Aglio Oleo Peperochino

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500g linguine pasta (artisan or fresh if available or why not make your own )
5 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh parsley
½ tsp black pepper
Chilly (1 to 2 tbsp of dried chilly flakes or to taste)
3 tbsp olive oil
150 g chopped cherry tomatoes
Parmesan cheese grated finely
Salt to taste

Bring a large sauce pan of salted water to the boil.

Add the pasta.
The time required will depend on the type of pasta used, please adjust accordingly.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan and lightly sauté the garlic with a sprinkle of parsley until the garlic is softened, try not to colour the garlic, just take off the abrasive edge. 

Once softened add the rest of the parsley, retaining some for garnish.

Add the chilly and fry for 1 minute. Keep stirring and turn the heat down if it starts to brown.

Add the tomatoes and allow to cook for a further minute.

Once the pasta is cooked drain, it’s a good idea to set aside some of the water from the pasta for use in the sauce if it needs to be slightly loosened.

Add salt & pepper seasoning to the sauce.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix.

Sprinkle the remaining parsley over the dish to garnish.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Buon appetito!

The Rules of Risotto

The Italians take risotto very seriously, here's a recipe by Julian Briercliffe so you can produce an authentic dish...

Ingrediants
2.5l chicken stock
50g butter
1 onion chopped v.v. finely
400g superfino carnaroli rice
125ml dry white wine

for the mantecatura:
75g cold butter cut into small dice
100g finely grated grana padano or parmesan

Method
Chop onions very finely so that they are not obvious in the finished dish, grate parmesan very finely so that it absorbs quickly at the end. Take very cold butter and dice it evenly, place in the fridge, this means it will be emulsified during the mantecatura (addition at the end)
bring the stock to the boil, then turn down to a bare simmer.

Put a heavy based pan on to heat, and add 50g butter to melt.
add the chopped onion, and cook very slowly for about 5 mins.
Sweat the onion so that it loses it's pungency, but doesn't brown.

Turn the heat up a little and add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, covering the grains with butter and onion, and getting the grains up to temperature before adding the wine. this process is called the 'tostatura' the 'toasting' of the rice.

Add the wine and allow to reduce until almost dry, this removes any tannins and bitterness of alcohol.
From this point the dish will take 17-18 minutes (a minute or so less if doubling the quantity).
start to add the stock a ladleful at a time, each addition should be just enough to cover, but not drown the rice.
Stir at all times, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed, before adding the next.
Keep the mixture runny, never allowing it to completely dry out, and keep the rice moving so that it cooks evenly.
The rice will become more shiny and begin to swell as the starch releases and makes the risotto more creamy.
Keep the risotto bubbling, and continue to add the stock, a ladleful at a time.
after 15 minutes start to test the rice, taking care to allow it to cool slightly (risotto retains heat very well!) the rice is ready when it is plump and firm, but still has a slight firmness to the bite at the centre of the grain.
When the rice is ready, reduce the amount of stock you are adding, so that the finished dish is not too sloppy.
You can always add a little stock after the mantecatura if it is a little stiff.
take the pan off the heat and allow the risotto to rest for a moment, this will allow the temperature to drop slightly and reduce the risk of the risotto splitting during the addition of butter and parmesan.
Quickly beat in the cold butter, and then the cheese in a robust fashion. really go at it!
at this point taste to check the seasoning and serve.
If you have achieved perfect consistency, when you tip the bowl the risotto should ripple like the sea (all'onda).

Wild mushrooms, especially porcini go particularly well in a risotto, as do, of course truffles(or infused oil)

Share

Are you fed up with your partner doing all the ‘glory’ cooking when your friends come round? Here is your chance to shine. This meal is easy to cook and yet delicious enough to make it to the dinner party table and will not fail to impress.
You might like a practice run before you try it on your guests but not necessarily. You will need about ½ hour to cook, two hours simmering and another ½ hour to bake, respectively.
Here we go...
Steak and Ale pie
300 g stewing meat cubed
6 shallots peeled
1 large glass brown ale
1 large glass red wine
100 ml stock
1 bay leaf
½ cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp butter
Sprig of fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme chopped
2 tbsp flour for thickening
I egg beaten
2 sheets of pastry roll
Heat half the butter in a deep pan. Add the meat and brown all over. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the rest of the butter and fry the shallots whole on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add tomato puree and continue to fry for another 2 minutes. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, fresh herbs and meat. Stir to get the flavours into the meat. Add the ale, wine and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Mix the flour with about 3 tbsp of cold water into a smooth paste. Add to the stew and allow to boil until the source has thickened. You may need to mix a little more flour and water to achieve the right thickness. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Heat up oven to 190 °c.
At this point you can ask your partner to start preparing some veggies for you while you get on with the masterpiece. It’s not cheating. Baby potatoes and steamed vegetables are a good choice to serve with this dish.
Sprinkle a little flour onto a flat and dry surface. Place the pastry flat and use a rolling pin to flatten if necessary. Lift one piece and place into a greased casserole dish. Press pastry into casserole dish covering the bottom and sides. Pour in the stew and cover with the other piece of pastry, cutting off any excess pastry with a knife. Brush the beaten egg over the top layer of pastry. Place casserole dish in oven and bake for 30 min. Cook veggies and serve with steak and ale pie hot.
Please let us know how your party went by dropping us an email at: mama.carey@mama-careys-kitchen.com
We’re confident you’ll do yourself proud.
From us all at Mama Carey's