Thanksgiving weekend is awesome.
Because my grandmother was indisposed, this year's Thanksgiving turkey was my responsibility. I made a good turkey, and we took it to dinner at my aunt Lupe's. It was a nice traditional dinner with all the fixins, and when you're Mexican, the fixins include tamales. After thinking about it for like, 3 hours, we decided that since my grandma had been in the hospital, my uncle at work, and there were no leftovers on account of we ate at my aunts house, we needed to have a make-up Thanksgiving. I made another batch of my grandma's famous stuffing, and roasted another turkey and we did it all over again. It was awesome. Also, I learned that my little cousin (5) picked his favorite baseball team just because like, 4 months ago I mentioned they were the best team in baseball (Tigers). Nothing like little kids to make one feel huge! Ironically, it is not a feeling I get very often given how accustomed I have become to being gigantic and keeping titans among men for friends.
I remember freshman year at college when I was very excited about my first thanksgiving dinner abroad, and when I tasted the stuffing, I was shocked. "This is just wet bread!" And everyone looked at me like I was insane. I soon realized that most people eat wet bread for stuffing. While it is delicious in its own right, a roasting birds marinating juices are wasted on anything other than meat. As such, I'd like to share my grandmothers recipe, but I don't really cook with recipes so here goes.
Put 2 lbs each of pork and beef stew meat in a crock pot with plenty of salt and like, 4 cloves of finely minced garlic
slow cook for 8-10 hours. pull meat.
chop about 3 or 4 stalks of celery
crush a big handful of walnuts
sliver a small handful of almonds
(or, just buy crushed walnuts and slivered almonds.)
cook about 16-20 oz. of tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica, aka husk cherry) in boiling water until the green color yellows slightly, then blend until smooth.
chop about a cup of scallions
capers galore!
season to taste. personally, I like some fresh cracked pepper and cumin, but y'know, it could be any spices you're real partial to.
get your hands in that delicious mess, and mix until you're satisfied with the consistency of ingredient distribution.
Shove into turkey, a 16 lb bird can fit like, 6 cups. don't forget to stuff the neck cavity, you got a lot of good fatty tissue there to marinate it while your bird is roasting.
Feed your loved ones.
Surprisingly, this was only the second most birds I have roasted in a holiday weekend for the honor of my kin. (The record being 3 in the TurDuCken I fixed for new years last year.)
My family is a warm and encouraging bunch, and I think I am working up the courage to make another turducken for Christmas.
I remember freshman year at college when I was very excited about my first thanksgiving dinner abroad, and when I tasted the stuffing, I was shocked. "This is just wet bread!" And everyone looked at me like I was insane. I soon realized that most people eat wet bread for stuffing. While it is delicious in its own right, a roasting birds marinating juices are wasted on anything other than meat. As such, I'd like to share my grandmothers recipe, but I don't really cook with recipes so here goes.
Put 2 lbs each of pork and beef stew meat in a crock pot with plenty of salt and like, 4 cloves of finely minced garlic
slow cook for 8-10 hours. pull meat.
chop about 3 or 4 stalks of celery
crush a big handful of walnuts
sliver a small handful of almonds
(or, just buy crushed walnuts and slivered almonds.)
cook about 16-20 oz. of tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica, aka husk cherry) in boiling water until the green color yellows slightly, then blend until smooth.
chop about a cup of scallions
capers galore!
season to taste. personally, I like some fresh cracked pepper and cumin, but y'know, it could be any spices you're real partial to.
get your hands in that delicious mess, and mix until you're satisfied with the consistency of ingredient distribution.
Shove into turkey, a 16 lb bird can fit like, 6 cups. don't forget to stuff the neck cavity, you got a lot of good fatty tissue there to marinate it while your bird is roasting.
Feed your loved ones.
Surprisingly, this was only the second most birds I have roasted in a holiday weekend for the honor of my kin. (The record being 3 in the TurDuCken I fixed for new years last year.)
My family is a warm and encouraging bunch, and I think I am working up the courage to make another turducken for Christmas.