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Visit with Elizabeth and John
January 2013

Last Edit 2013-01-27
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One day not long ago, Bill came home with a gift bag of goodies made by Joe Matthews, who produces some wonderful hand-made meat items. As soon as I saw the pancetta (right), I knew I wanted to feature it in our holiday meal. A short search of internet food images led to the recipe I chose—stuffed-turkey breast (below) wrapped in pancetta. I had never made anything like this before and I was eager to try it.


The selected entrée recipe, from the BBC, had to be deciphered first, and was not as clear as a novice would like. I did my best but feared a disaster when I unwrapped the turkey "roll".* To my great surprise, it was quite nice and only needed a little broiling.


*The butterflied breasts are placed skin down on a cutting board and slashed with a knife several times on each side. Then they are covered with plastic wrap and beaten down to an even thickness with a rolling pin or meat-tenderizer tool. The thickness depends on the size of the turkey. Pancetta strips and string are placed on buttered foil in a ladder rung pattern and the turkey is placed on that. Stuffing is placed in the center and then the fun part of rolling it up. Roll, tuck and tie with string and then tightly wrap in the foil and bake.

For a side dish, I wanted a salad with unusual ingredients (right). I found one using quinoa, not a food item we had in the cupboard. Bill located a package of it at Target where he was doing other shopping. Roasted sweet potatoes, red onion and dried cranberries were added to the cooked quinoa and then I sprinkled vinegar over it and served it on fresh spinach rather than the original recipe's roasted kale.

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Dessert was Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Flan . Very tasty but the caramel on bottom was not just right. I have an idea for next time. The rolls, purchased at New Leaf Market, were chock full of raisins and walnuts. They were dense and delicious. The entire meal and table setting(below, left) are shown here as well as the turkey sliced (below, right) for serving.

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Bill cooked most of the day, as well, out in the syrup-house kitchen! He butterflied the turkey (cut from the bird with the skin still attached) and baked the rest of the turkey to use for frozen meals. He also made a huge pan of dressing very heavy on celery and onion, and he added to the dressing some chestnuts he had gathered and frozen earlier in the year. They are the blight-resistant cultivar Revival--very delicious!


After we finished all our cooking and cleaning tasks, and nibbling, we were too tired to eat and not really hungry. We decided to eat the meal for our dinner the following day. However, after setting the table and preparing the food for the photos the next day, we reversed and enjoyed a special lunch instead.

These recipes, unlike so many I try, are worthy of saving and becoming traditions. I hope to make a special family cookbook one day with all our favorite recipes and menus.


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