Talk Turkey to Me

Renee S. Ferguson

Description

AS SEEN ON FOOD NETWORK! Find out why it's like having Mom in the kitchen with you only better! Not just a roast turkey how-to, but your kitchen companion for planning the perfect feast plus...your guide to avoiding culinary catastrophes! With step by step instruction featuring everything from sage advice, humor, and cooking time guides, TALK TURKEY TO ME also illustrates over 80 delicious side dish recipes from appetizers to desserts, fowl kitchen follies and formulas for success. With mouth watering photography and eloquent counsel, TALK TURKEY TO ME is seasoned with great ways to cook up a good time in the kitchen. Become your own expert and order your copy today!

•"...one of the cookbooks that is so enjoyable to read that you almost forget it's a cookbook...well written and intensely instructive texts...takes the pressure off how to prepare a holiday meal." Voted Cookbook of the Day Slashfood.com

•"It's all about an all-American meal—turkey and dressing—and the queen of all things Thanksgiving is cookbook author Renee Ferguson."
Chef Bobby Flay/Food Network

•"...well written and easy to follow the results are delicious...a highly recommended specialty cookbook!" Harold McFarland/Midwest Book Review

Sujets

• Cuisine
• Cuisine par plats
• Cuisine du monde
• Cuisine par pays
• Holiday
• Cooking

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456602116
• Langue: English

Extrait

Talk Turkey to Me
a good time in the kitchen
talking turkey and all the trimmings
Renee S. Ferguson
 
 
Wishbone Press and Promotions | Illinois
 


Copyright 2011 Renee S. Ferguson,
All rights reserved.
 
Published in eBook format by Wishbone Press and Promotions, Inc.
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
 
No portion of this book may be reproduced—mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying—without the written permission of the publisher.
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0211-6
 
Published by Wishbone Press and Promotions Inc.
402 Franklin St., Geneva, IL 60134
[e-mail]
 
Photography: Renee S. Ferguson
Digital photo retouching: Steve Sellers
Illustrations: Mary Austin and Martin Austin
 
All product/brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark holders.
 
Disclaimer: We have taken care to ensure that the information in this book is accurate. However, we can give no absolute guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this book. We accept no liability for any losses or damages (whether direct, indirect, special, consequential, or otherwise) arising out of errors or omissions contained in this book.

Produced by Callawind Custom Cookbooks
A division of Callawind Publications Inc.
3551 St. Charles Boulevard, Suite 179, Kirkland, Quebec H9H 3C4
E-mail: [e-mail] Website: www.callawind.com
Copy editing and indexing: Jane Broderick | Design: Marcy Claman
 


acknowledgments

Many generous family members, friends, and acquaintances helped me in a variety of ways to bring this book to fruition. Special thanks go to my husband, Johann, and my children, Erin, Dallas, and Kyle, for believing in me and for being the best cheerleaders any writer could ever want.
 
I offer warm thanks to those outstanding women who shared their time-honored recipes, graciously allowed their heirlooms to be used in photographs, and encouraged me through countless conversations; to Judy Olson and Deb Skarnulis for being selfless, loyal, and giving friends who make me laugh out loud; and to the scores of contributing food consultants and set designers: Nardine Alsobrook, Martha Bouchard, Bonnie Butters, Karen Crab, Anis Duncan, Lisa Easley, Doris Ferguson, Nancy Gouch, Ann Grabski, Camille Grabski, Mary Heath, Laura Hintz, Sherry Hirsch, Ingrid Kerr, Judy Kinn, Judy Lammering, Cathee Laughlin, Sara Lee, Maria Martinez, Kyle McDougal, Melody Merrick, Lucy Newman, Sarah Peck, Ruth Loving Ramon, Alice Redpath, Kathy Sayers, Kathy Snodell, Terry Spahn, Cheryl Swift, Maggie Triplett, and Carleen Urban.
 
I am grateful to Steve Sellers for his unique abilities with digital photography. His patience and guidance are greatly appreciated.
 
The artistic and creative talents of both Mary and Martin Austin are acknowledged and greatly appreciated.
 
I would like to thank the many anonymous men and women who have kindly and good-naturedly shared their predicaments with me, enabling me to put pen to paper and write this book. Special thanks are due to Butterball® for helping people to celebrate Thanksgiving for more than half a century. I am particularly grateful to the women of the Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line® for their many years of professionalism, generosity, and personal kindness.
 
Thanks as well to Judy Martin, owner of The Perfect Thing, for allowing me to come into her antique store and photograph sets using the beautiful antiques there.
 
Many thanks to Spike O’Dell, who was an unwitting source of encouragement and quiet tenacity, allowing me to stay the course and move forward with my idea.
 
Every book needs an editor and I enthusiastically thank Jane Broderick for her talents and for keeping me focused. A special thanks to Marcy Claman for being a sounding board, artist, teacher, and production coordinator in guiding this book on its journey to publication. You are the greatest!
 
about this book

Talk Turkey to Me is a spirited and playful how-to book that will guide you humorously as you prepare a perfect turkey for any occasion. It features an assortment of cooking methods. Whether you choose to prepare your turkey the traditional way—roasted in the oven—or on a grill or rotisserie, roasted upside down, or even cooked from frozen (yes!), you’ll find that this cookbook is like no other. The pages that follow contain detailed instructions for more than 20 cooking methods and how to achieve a picture-perfect turkey every time. Our “call girl,” Renee Ferguson, provides straightforward answers to questions from the call-in turkey hotline, an essential resource for those legions of people who find themselves with a case of “turkey trauma” when it comes time to prepare their holiday meal.
 
This comprehensive, step-by-step guide will help you to plan a special feast or an everyday dinner by recounting amusing questions and comments by hotline callers. The helpful but lighthearted responses of our hotline “call girl” make for lively and entertaining reading.
 
Turkey is the ultimate comfort food. A turkey dinner usually conjures up images of traditional holiday meals with family and friends. Now you can have that feeling year round. Turkey is making an appearance on menus throughout the year, whether it’s at a backyard barbeque, Fourth of July celebration, everyday dinner, or any of a multitude of holiday gatherings. Low in carbohydrates, fats, sodium, and cholesterol, turkey is a popular choice among the food-conscious, from South Beach, Atkins, and Sugar Buster dieters to those who are simply concerned with healthy eating. Yet for all of its nutritional benefits, turkey still manages to maintain a comfort-food profile.
 
A turkey dinner offers the versatility of that little black dress in every woman’s wardrobe. It’s the subtle backdrop to the accessories of your outfit—or to the side dishes of your meal. The main course that isn’t prepared properly, like the little black dress that doesn’t fit properly, can ruin your entire evening.
 
Callers’ kitchen trials and tribulations are recounted by our hotline “call girl.” Ferguson uses each amusing question or anecdote to guide the reader through the various steps and methods of turkey preparation. Many of the questions will have you chuckling. Just as with reality television, the reader becomes a voyeur, listening in on the everyday cooking challenges faced by so many people. Used as a reference, the book offers quick and easy answers—but don’t be surprised if you find yourself caught up in the questions and answers as you thumb through the pages.
 
Most cookbooks approach the cooking task from a basic, one-size-fits-all perspective. They assume you’ll be cooking your turkey either in an oven or on a grill and simply give you the required cooking times. Well, one size does not fit all. Maybe you intend to roast your turkey in an oven bag or in Grandma’s covered roaster. Or perhaps you forgot to thaw the bird! Dovetailed with the variety of methods described in these pages are questions and stories from callers that will help to enlighten you in an entertaining way.
 
Beyond turkey triumphs and challenges, the book includes a collection of tried-and-true recipes for starters, side dishes, desserts, and various accompaniments. Experienced cooks as well as novices who have never so much as picked up a cookbook before will enjoy trying out these recipes. They may even discover a dish or three that will become part of their holiday celebrations for years to come.
 
So whether you have a convection oven and can’t find the instructions, or are trying to master a water smoker for the first time (or the twentieth), in this book you’ll quickly find your answer, your funny bone, and how to prepare your turkey perfectly, from grocery bag to table.
Part
Part 1: let’s begin to talk turkey
Does Size Really Matter?

The first question on everyone’s mind is how much to buy. The greatest fear of every host is running out of food. There’s an easy rule of thumb for estimating what size turkey you’ll need to purchase. If you like to have leftovers, plan on 1½ pounds per person. This takes into account the weight of the bones, juices (or “drip weight”), giblets, and packaging. But if you’re having the football team over maybe you’d better plan on more per person!

“My husband bought the turkey and it’s so big it looks like it’s nesting on top of the roasting pan. I’ll get a bigger pan, but what was he thinking? There are only two of us. We’ll just have to call some college students over to help us eat it. They can eat you out of house and home, but even then we’ll have enough!”
 
If you want to have enough for a great day with ample portions but little or no leftovers, plan on 1 pound per person.

 

*Based on the recommended 1½ pounds per person, allowing for leftovers.

“Can you tell me how much my turkey weighs?”
 
T his is not a psychic hotline and I am not Miss Cleo, but if the turkey label is missing and you don’t know how much your turkey weighs, simply put it on a bathroom scale and weigh it.

Fresh versus Frozen

 
A fresh turkey is just that—fresh, not frozen. As it requires no thawing time, it’s ready to cook. One of the hazards of buy ing a fresh turkey is the tendency to ignore any dates that may appear on the label. Consider when your dinner is going to be and plan accordingly, buying your fresh turkey no more than a few days ahead. Although many advances have been made in packaging and refrigeration, everything has a limited life span: once the wrapper has been cut or compromised, the clock is ticking toward spoilage. Always cook the turkey within 3 days of the “sell by” date.

I love the questions that start with “What would you do?”
 
“What would you do? The expiration date on my turkey was 4 weeks ago. It’s been held in the refrigerator the whole time . . . is it okay?”
 
W ell, what would you do? Fo