Tag Archives: celery

Meat and Poultry

Boxing Day Turkey Rice

This was always the traditional left-over-turkey dish that was made in our home on Boxing Day. Mom would make Boxing Day turkey rice in the turkey roaster and it would fill the kitchen for a second time with the rich smell of roast turkey, stuffing, and sage.

Boxing Day is December 26th, the day after Christmas. It stems from the British tradition, followed in Canada, of giving gifts to the poor after Christmas (perhaps in the form of leftover food, I’ve always thought…just like this turkey rice made of all the table leftovers from our Christmas meal)

Ingredients

  • Shredded left-over Christmas turkey meat
  • Left-over turkey stuffing, crumbled or cut into small pieces
  • Left-over Christmas dinner vegetables, diced or chopped
  • 1 can kernel corn
  • 3 carrots, cubed
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 5 chicken livers, chopped (optional)
  • 1 T sage
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 T chopped parsley
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Rice (2-1 liquid-to-rice ratio )
  • Turkey broth from bones, plus left-over gravy
  • Water as needed

Preparing Boxing Day Turkey Rice

Remove meat from turkey bones. Boil up bones until a good broth is formed, the longer, the better.

In a large roasting pan, combine all ingredients except broth and rice. Measure out enough liquid (gravy mixed with turkey broth and, if necessary, extra water) to cover all ingredients in pan well. Add rice at a 2-1 ratio and stir it all together.

Cover with foil and place in a 350ºF oven. Bake for about 1-1/4 hours or until most of liquid is absorbed, then uncover and bake more (up to about 2 hours) until the top of rice is crusty and brown.

Soups and Stews

Split Pea Soup

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 lb. pork link sausage
  • 2 cups green split peas
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/4 t thyme
  • 1 pinch cayenne
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlicky croutons

Place sausages in water and add peas, celery, onion, thyme, cayenne, bay, and salt and pepper. Boil for 20-25 minutes or until peas begin to soften. Lower heat and simmer until done. Serve with croutons. Serves 8.

Soups and Stews

Leek and Potato Soup

  • 3 leeks, sliced (white part only)
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced
  • 3 T butter
  • 1 cup water
  • 2-1/2 cups diced potatoes
  • 3 cups milk
  • Salt, pepper, paprika

Cook leeks and celery in butter for 3 minutes. Add water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add potatoes and extra water to cover, if necessary. Cook 10 minutes. Add milk and simmer until tender. Season.

This soup can be served chunky or can be run through a blender or food processor for a thick, creamier soup.

Meat and Poultry

Turkey Stuffing

A sage stuffing with creamed and kernel corn.

Turkey gizzards, liver, heart from  one 14-16 lb. turkey
5 extra chicken livers, if desired
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can creamed corn
1 can kernel corn
1 loaf or more of sliced wholewheat bread, as needed to stuff turkey
2 eggs
4 pork sausages, fried and crumbled (optional)
1 T rubbed sage
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

Saute the turkey and chicken innards in butter or oil. Remove and chop finely. In same pan, saute onion, green pepper and celery until softened. Cube the bread and place in large bowl. Add the livers, onion mix and corn and mix well. Add eggs and sausages. If the mixture is very mushy, add more bread. Throw in herbs and spices and mix well. Stuff into both turkey cavities, seal, and roast.

Sage turkey stuffing
This could be a stuffed turkey–or perhaps what I look like after eating it.

Fish and Seafood

Dad’s Pescado Veracruzana

This recipe for Veracruz-style fish was developed by Dad over the years. He always used cazon,  or baby shark, which is a very firm fish. The recipe instructions as presented are just as he wrote them out. I have added the ingredients list separately above to make it easier to prepare at a glance.

  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2-3 chiles largos, canned
  • 1-1/2 cups pitted olives
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 1 T Knorr chicken bouillon granules
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1-2 small tomatoes, chopped
  • Cazon fillets for four (baby shark)
  • water as necessary

Fish by Carol

Veracruzana.

(portion for four)

In three quarter cup of olive oil fry one medium chopped onion, add two or three chiles largos ( strong long yellow pepper preserves preferred)  To tame hotness seeds can be removed. Add one to one and half cups  pitted olives and half cup of capers.  A table spoonful of Knorr’s chicken powder, juice of two limes, one finely chopped carrot. One stalk of finely chopped celery, one or two small tomatoes.

Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for an hour or two before adding fish. The longer it simmers the better the taste.

Quantity of fish depends on appetite and size of fillets.  Baby shark (cazon) is my favorite but any white fish fillet can be used I believe. Fish should be filleted bone free and sliced thinly.  I believe that tuna can be substituted but I am not sure.  Not being too familiar with the fish available in Canada this may take some experimentation.

The fish can be placed into boiling sauce for stove top cooking in covered pot for ten minutes (Time is for cazon other varieties may require more time.)   Best is to place fish into baking dish and bake for about fifteen minutes at high heat.

You may wish to alter the consistency of the sauce by adding water.

Good luck and enjoy it.

 

Meat and Poultry

Sweet and Sour Beef (Svickova)

SVÍCKOVÁ (pronounced SVEECH-koh-vah)

  • 3 lbs rolled beef rump or rib roast
  • 3 slices bacon
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup carrot, diced
  • 2 T chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/8 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 cups sour cream

Loosen cord from around roast and place bacon slices evenly around it. Re-tie, rub with salt and set aside. Melt fat in heavy saucepan; add celery, carrot, parsley and onion; cook for 10 minutes. Stir in bay, thyme, and pepper. Place meat on top of vegetables; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add water, vinegar and sugar. Cover and bake in 350ºF oven until very tender. Add water as needed. Slice thin and serve with a sauce consisting of: 1/4 cup flour blended and simmered with meat juices from the pan the meat was cooked in, into which is stirred 1 pint sour cream.The vegetables will have cooked apart and will help thicken and season the juices.

Drawing by Alois