A Vintage Recipe for Left Over Turkey

The World's Cutest and Smartest Goats:  Poppy & Willow

I can only hope that all of you had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did!  Spending time with our dear friends at their beautiful Farm and B n B in the Lehigh Valley (www.larkenspringsfarm.com) is definitely the best anecdote for whatever may ail us or have us stressed out. Cooking a huge feast together, walking in the woods, watching the chickens and the goats frolic, and sleeping in total silence (well, except for the roosters!) is pure bliss.  And, with every visit to the farm, I learn a little bit more.  We are always so grateful and I always return tinkering with ideas for applying what I learn in the country to our urban homestead.

This year we had a beautiful organic, heirloom turkey from the Koch's  Family which we purchased through Fair Food Farmstand in the Reading Terminal Market. Our Turkey weighed in at 22 pounds!  We had a fabulous dinner with all of the fixins, including some "traditional" dishes that my better half and I have foisted upon our friends over the years. Of course, our Friday after Thanksgiving dinner consisted of turkey sandwiches piled high. As you may have guessed, each of our freezers currently has a good deal of sliced turkey, stuffing, and fabulous turkey stock waiting for our "next round" of turkey cravings.

Along with Turkey Noodle Soup, the one recipe that I will be doing and soon - possibly this weekend - is Turkey Tetrazzini.  The recipe I have been using for years is originally from the Betty Crocker Cookbook (1969 edition), given to me by my Grandmother when I moved out on my own.  I still refer to this great old cookbook for a number of old standards, along with this recipe.

Recipe:  Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter - original calls for butter OR margarine!  It's old I told you!
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup turkey stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sherry - although not specified in the recipe, dry sherry works best
7 ounces cooked spaghetti
2 cups cubed turkey
3 - 4 ounces of sliced "button"mushrooms - the original calls for 1- 3 oz can of sliced mushrooms but I just can't!
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat; blend in the flour, pepper and salt.
Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth and bubbly (it's a roux basically)
Remove the sauce pan from the heat; Stir in the turkey stock and the heavy cream.
Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring constantly - Boil and stir for one minute
Stir in the sherry, spaghetti, turkey and mushrooms

Pour the mixture into an ungreased 2 quart casserole.
Sprinkle the cheese all over the top.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
If you wish to brown the top, place it briefly under the broiler.

Makes 6 servings

There is absolutely no need to change anything - well maybe the mushrooms, but you can still used canned if you want to be a purist!  I have doubled this recipe many times; it's a crowd pleaser!

Enjoy!