Relish Turkey in Red Wine on Thanksgiving Day

The 'Turk Turk' Turkey Day will be welcomed by classic, fast and ethnic turkey recipes ranging from roasts to appetizers. Hope you like my blog, “Food Ideas for Thanksgiving”, coz it has lot of fun with food plus taste involved to celebrate the auspicious day. I’m sure you know, anything that combines wine as an ingredient, has got to be the ace. I thought of using my favorite pomegranate juice, coconut water with aristocratic red wine to make the dinner luxurious and luscious. I personally love pairing this turkey with vegetable fried rice. Without any waste of time, lemme start with the irresistible recipe that is definitely going to be served in my Thanksgiving dinner table.

Ingredients:-

1 cup Cream,

1/2 cup Red Wine,

1 Kg Turkey pieces,

2 cup Vegetable stock,

2/3 cup dried Cherries,

330 ml Coconut Water,

1 cup Pomegranate juice,

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning,

Salt and Black Pepper to taste.

Preparation Method:

1. Remove the neck and giblets from the bird. Saute and sear it. Add 1/2 cup stock to deglaze. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat the pomegranate juice, coconut water, red wine and vegetable stock.

2. Add in turkey pieces. Turn down the heat and allow the fluids to reduce to 1/3 of the original fluid volume. Add in the cherries and cream and allow to reduce by 1/2.

3. Add seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice, fried or steamed.

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Food Ideas on Thanksgiving

Hey friends, hope you all had a yummilicious weekend with my recipe Healthy Turkey Mushroom Burgers. Here are s’more food ideas to enjoy the party to the fullest.

Turkey Muffins (Chocolate Candy Muffins) - One of the most loved dessert on any occasion is muffins. Simply prepare chocolate muffins and top it with chocolate cream. For the beak, you can use candy corn wings. Candy eyes are readily available in the market. If incase you don’t wanna use candied eyes, make eyes using vanilla cone and set a dot of chocolate, that gives the impression of the eyes. These muffins are my all time favorite. The muffins plate will be finished in no time, that’s a promise.  

Turk Turk Sandwiches (Turkey Sandwiches) - The simplest and quickest of all the breakfast to be prepared on Thanksgiving is the turkey sandwich as shown. The sandwich filling can be placed with turkey/chicken slice if you are a non-vegetarian, cheese if you are vegetarian and tofu if you are a vegan. All you need to do is show your creativity this way. Place in sliced almonds for the first sandwich and colorful capsicum for the second and third one. You can use black olives or boiled peas to denote eyes. Cashew nuts may also denote beak of the turkey.

Fruity Turkey Wings with Dip (Fruits with Yogurt Honey Dip) - The heavenly blend of yogurt, honey and cinnamon is gonna drive you crazy. Though you can pair any kinda meat (beef or pork) with this dip, I thought of introducing something extra lite for the fitness freaks. For this, I chose granny smith apples and gala apples. You'll really go gala with the red gala apples. Pretzels sticks denote feet of the turkey. Cutting thin slices of apples and placing in a dish as shown here is a creative idea and a lite appetizers for the people who are really health conscious. 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Enjoy Thanksgiving with Healthy Turkey Mushroom Burgers

The turk turk festival is here, yes Thanksgiving with grand Thanksgiving recipes. I would love to spend minimum time in the kitchen on that auspicious occasion. My sister and her hubby will be here along with the kids. So I thought of preparing a quick and easy recipe, that is healthy too. Kids are gonna love it. This is called Healthy Turkey Mushroom Burgers. The best part is that you can include the veggies of your choice and low fat cheese if you are a fitness freak.

I love the recipes that are tasty as well as healthy. Low-sodium cheese will help you in finding among healthier cheese and that is what I opt for. Turkey breast is a good choice for a healthy diet. It is an excellent low fat and high protein food. This white and lean meat also helps in reducing cholesterol levels. It also boosts up the immune system. And as far as the taste is concerned,  Worcestershire sauce adds flavor to the recipe along with the garlicky touch of garlic salt. So here we go with the servings for 2.

Ingredients:-

A pinch Garlic salt,

4 slices Swiss Cheese,

1/2 tablespoon Olive oil,

2 split Hamburger Buns,

1/4 teaspoon Onion Salt,

1 cups sliced Mushrooms,

A handful chopped fresh Parsley,

1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce,

1/2 pound lean spiced Turkey breast (2 slices).

Preparation Method:-

1. Stir fry in olive oil, mushrooms, parsley, worcestershire sauce, and onion salt. Pan-fry the spiced lean turkey breasts.

2. Place the base of burgers. Add cheese slice, turkey slice, again a cheese slice and mushrooms. You can add on greens if you want to.

3. Enjoy with French fries and roasted veggies. Yummzz..

Happy Thanksgiving!

Healthy Turkey Treat on Thanksgiving

Of all the symbols, relating to Thanksgiving, turkey is the one we associate the most. There are several reasons behind it. The majestic appearance with sharp features and bright hues are really attractive. Turkey is also a native of United States and Mexico. Juz 15 days left for Thanksgiving, and we are all set with a variety of turkey recipes, isn’t it? Since  turkey is the most common main dish of Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to try Healthy Veggie Turkey Crock Pot. Hope you liked my recipe Mexican Chocolate Turkey.

Everyone, ranging from diabetic person to fitness freaks can enjoy the dish to the fullest. The best part about this recipe is that you can add in the veggies of your choice and make a real yummy treat. You can also add in extra chillies for a spicy treat if you wish to. I wanted the recipe to be very spicy, so I have added in good amount of chillies. Sprinkle seasoning over the recipe. The flexible recipe will really add on to the mood.

Healthy Veggie Turkey Crock Pot

Ingredients:-

2 cups Water,

1.25 lbs Turkey,

1 chopped Onion,

1 chopped Jalapeno,

1 tablespoon Olive Oil,

3 minced Garlic Cloves,

1 cup chopped Spinach,

2 chopped Bell Peppers,

1/4 cup Taco Seasoning,

15 oz diced fire roasted Tomatoes with Green Chillies.

Preparation Method:-

1. In a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray, brown the turkey pieces.  Drain off any water and pour the turkey into your slow cooker.

2. In a wok, add oil. Put in onion, jalapeno and minced garlic, stir-fry till golden brown. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours along with water.

3. Serve in a large bowl with mashed potatoes and steamed rice. Sprinkle seasoning over the curry.

Enjoy healthy turkey treat!

Special Mole Negro Recipe for Day of the Dead

Known for the flashy and ornamental celebrations, venerating the return of the dead, join in hands to keep up the spirit of "Day of the Dead". The festival symbolizes the peaceful relationship between pre-hispanic traditions and Christianity. It is accompanied by delectable treat such as Mole negro, Pan de muerto, Candied pumpkin etc. Yummz :P. The funny, scary sweet tooth treat includes Decorated Sugar/Chocolate Skulls and other chocolate recipes. Isn't it interesting?

I found Mole Negro recipe to be the most interesting one. To achieve different flavors, you need time and effort. But I promise the recipe would be ultimate. 

Mole Negro Recipe

Ingredients:-

4 Ancho Chilles,

Salt as required,

1 teaspoon Sugar,

3 cups Chicken Broth,

½ teaspoon Oregano,

2 tablespoons Raisins,

1 cup chopped Onion,

½ teaspoon Cinnamon,

½ tablespoon Sesame seeds,

3 tablespoons slivered Almonds,

2 ½ tablespoons Lard or Olive oil,

2 tablespoons chopped Mexican Chocolate,

1 Kilogram Cooked Chicken/Turkey/Pork/Duck.

Preparation Method:-

1. Toast and soak the chillies. Heat a skillet and toast the chiles for 20 seconds on both sides until soft and fragrant. Discard the stems and seeds, tear the chiles into small pieces. Place them in a bowl of very hot water for 30 minutes. Drain them and blend.

2. Second step is to blend the sauce. Toast the sesame seeds. Add them to the food processor along with almonds, raisins, onion, cinnamon, oregano, and 1/2 cup of the broth. Make the mixture smooth by adding in more broth.

3. Now prepare the sauce. Heat lard or oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chillies and the above paste (Mole). Stir till oil gets separated. Add in remaining broth and sugar.

4. At this point the mixture should be thinner than you want the final product to be. Add more broth if required. Simmer the mole for about 15 minutes. Add salt and Mexican chocolate. Serve over cooked meat of your choice!

Enjoy the Scary Dark Treat :P

Party Bash on John’s Pass Seafood Festival

Hey friends, hope you had a bash on 33rd Annual John’s Pass Seafood Festival with an electrifying weekend, full of taste bud teasing, ear vibrating diversion and sight pleasing. This year the event had taken place from October 24 to 26, 2014. The event takes place at Historic John’s Pass Village located on most beautiful Madeira Beach, Florida, United States. The highlights of the event includes musical entertainment, art and craft show and luscious seafood. There were delectable grouper sandwiches along with 100+ seafood options. 

Some of my special friends paid a visit to that place and were talking about the goodies including food vendors, beer truck, full bar rodeo-style fishing tournament etc. Oh! I missed it all.. They had ultimate time on the Halloween Party and Costume Contest. Nevertheless Best Seafood Competition was the centre of attraction for the tourists as well as the localites. Keeping the spirit of the event, let's make the Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup AKA Champong that is welcome by lot many goodies from the sea.

Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup AKA Champong

Ingredients:-

8 peeled Shrimp,

1/2 sliced Onion,

1/2 sliced Carrot,

6 scrubbed Mussels,

7 cups Chicken Broth,

2 sliced Green Onions,

60 grams sliced Pork,

1 packet Egg Noodles,

60 grams sliced Squid,

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil,

1 teaspoon sliced Garlic,

1 teaspoon sliced Ginger,

2 sliced Red Chili Peppers,

5 dried black Mushrooms,

Salt and Pepper as required,

1/4 sliced Chinese Cabbage.

Preparation Method:-

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, slice and set aside. Bring mussels and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 5 minutes or until shells open.

2. Set mussels aside. Do not throw away the liquid. Add it to chicken broth to make 6 cups total liquid. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles. Drain and set aside.

3. Add olive oil to a wok. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant for 5 seconds. Add pork and stir-fry. Add shrimp, squid, and mussels and stir-fry. Add onions, carrots, red chili pepper, and green onions and stir-fry.

4. Add cabbage and chicken broth mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and let simmer. Add soy sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place noodles in a large soup bowl. Pour hot soup mixture over noodles. Enjoy!

Have fun on John’s Pass Seafood Festival :)

Happy Halloween with Pumpkin Chickpeas Fritters

It’s Halloween, it’s party time. I’m not gonna spend too much time in the kitchen, are you? I had guests in the evening yesterday. Luckily, I had leftover boiled chickpeas from the dinner, the night before. Since Halloween is approaching I’m trying out different pumpkin recipes, so I had canned pumpkin available as well. Rest all the ingredients are integral part of any kitchen. So I prepared quick and easy Pumpkin Chickpeas Fritters. My guests loved it, and so will yours. I have decided that this would be one of my appetizers on The Halloween Party. Hope you liked my blog previous blog, Halloween food ideas. 

Pumpkin Chickpeas Fritters

Ingredients:-

1 beaten Egg,

Olive Oil to fry,

Salt as required,

1½ cups Pumpkin,

1 teaspoon Cayenne,

2 cloves minced Garlic,

2 chopped kale leaves,

1 teaspoon Lemon juice,

Breadcrumbs as required,

1 cup cooked Chickpeas,

1 teaspoon smoked Paprika,

⅓ cup toasted Sesame seeds,

2 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar.

Preparation Method:-

1. Add chickpeas, pumpkin, egg, apple cider vinegar, garlic, kale, sesame seeds, smoked paprika, cayenne, half of the bread crumbs and salt to the blender. Blend until smooth. 
    
2. Form 6 patties. Coat in breadcrumbs. Fry in a pan, turning once, till golden brown on each side.
3. Garnish with Italian seasoning. Serve with your favorite dip!
   

Enjoy the Halloween Treat!