Turkey Week Day Two!

This is one of those recipes that you look at and think, “That looks good.” I liked the idea of infusing the cream with the onion, bay leaf, parsley, and clove. It’s also the sort of recipe I like to putter around with. Scald the milk. Sauté the mushrooms…take my time in the kitchen.

But when I got ready to actually make it, things seemed a bit off. Mr. Big Food had already pulled off not one but two cups of turkey because one just didn’t seem like enough. And look at those proportions for the sauce. 2-3-1. I increased the cream to 1 1/2 cups to scald. After the third tablespoon of flour, I threw in another of butter. After adding the cream, I added an additional 1/4 cup. I had it prepared and put together except for the bread crumbs by late afternoon. By the time I was ready to pop it in the oven, the pasta had soaked up what little bit of liquid there was, so I drizzled it with milk. I baked it covered for about 40 minutes at 350˚ and then uncovered for 10.

And how much is 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti? And how does 1/2 cup of spaghetti split six ways make a meal? I just used the amount of spaghetti I’d normally use for about 4-6 portions.

All of this said–it was delicious, though still a bit dry for my liking. My bottom line recommendations would be to use 2 cups of turkey, and to keep the flavorings and seasonings for the sauce as in the recipe, but make 2 to 2 1/2 cups of your basic cream white sauce.

TURKEY TETRAZINI STYLE

2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 C sweet heavy cream, scalded with 2 or 3 thin slices onion, 3 sprigs parsley, a bit of bay leaf, and 1 whole clove, then strained
Salt, pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
1 C cooked turkey meat, cold, cut into thin strips
½ C spaghetti, cooked, drained, chopped
½ C fresh mushrooms, sliced, sautéed in butter
Buttered bread crumbs mixed with 1/3 C shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375o. Make a cream sauce out of butter, flour, and strained scalded cream, season with salt and pepper to taste, and nutmeg, and when mixture is smooth and boiling, stir in turkey meat, spaghetti, and mushrooms, and mix well. Turn mixture into a lightly greased baking dish or 6 individual baking dishes, sprinkle with buttered crumb mixture, and bake until crumbs are browned. Serve at once bubbling.