The turkey is always the highlight of any Christmas or year end party. This year, I made a sudden decision to sail into unchartered waters with the turkey - My first attempt with roasting a turkey, all by myself. Except that E had helped to reserve the turkey from the deli, and mom had helped to bathe the turkey. Boy, I tell you, a turkey sure looks intimidating. I've never cooked anything which requires two days of thawing time so I did find the fowl a bit daunting in the beginning. And mine is only 5 kg. I can't imagine having to cook an 8 to 9 kg turkey, I'll probably need to use Little Missy's old bathtub to clean it, for it will not fit into my sink.
Days before the cookout, I poured through my cookbooks in search for a perfect recipe. I only found one which is agreeable to my palate and that is from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver (JO).
This is sort-of a non-conformist roast turkey, where the stuffing is not exactly stuffed within the cavity of the turkey, but tucked nicely between the turkey’s skin and breasts ! JO had come up with this idea to increase the thickness of the breasts so that they will cook evenly with the legs. I quote from JO "One of the biggest challenges when cooking a turkey is the legs take longer than the breasts. The breasts dry out in the oven while you’re waiting for the legs to cook. I like to push stuffing between the turkey’s skin and breasts, increasing the thickness of the breasts so they take the same time to cook as the legs. The result? Juicy turkey all round!"
What a great idea.
By the way, no SOS signals were sent out during the process of roasting this turkey, although the only thing I wasn't too certain was how to truss that damn turkey. E must have been not very convinced about my turkey skills and had stopped by for an inspection check. The result ? I am glad to report that my first attempt was a resounding success; look at her, what a beauty.
I used to think that this type of cooking was way out of my league and better left to Tony Roma's et al. Wrong. This is so easy to replicate at home.
I kind of created this recipe from a combination of bbq ribs recipes that I have surveyed. The result ? Mouth watering good, and the ribs were so so tender. Near competition quality, if I may say so.
Burgers have a notorious reputation due its association with fast-food chains, processed meat and loads of sodium and fat. On the contrary, burgers can be a wholesome meal particularly when it is homemade with fresh and quality ingredients. All you need is lean ground meat, fresh and crisp vegetables and quality cheese to make that difference. To go that extra mile, you can even make your own sesame burger buns. I did just that, and it is really worth the effort.
