Turkey stuffing and brandy butter for the pudding
© Pat Churchill
Usually I do the traditional thing, but this year I gave them a choice of exotic fare. The Spouse was enthusiastic but the lads are blatant traditionalists.It had to be turkey with the trimmings. ``A big enough turkey,'' said Ben, ``so there are leftovers for turkey sandwiches.'' He breathed a sign of relief when the 5kg turkey flew into the freezer a couple of weeks bag. And he's kept nagging me to make sure I have some cranberry sauce. As son James is heading out of town on Boxing Day, I suspect Ben will be eating turkey sandwiches for two or three days.
Last year I'd bought the sausagemeat before The Spouse announced he didn't like sausagemeat stuffing. However, James was adamant we had to stick to tradition, so I've bought some herby sausages to make stuffing for the cavity and I'm stuffing the neck end of the turkey with sage and onion stuffing. That should keep everyone happy.
The sausagemeat stuffing is relatively simple and makes good leftovers for sandwiches.
Sausagemeat Stuffing
6 uncooked sausages
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme) or 1 tablespoon dried herbs
Skin the sausages (easily done by slashing down one side and holding them under cold running water while you slip the skin off)
Saute the chopped onion in a little oil until tender then add the sausage meat, poking it into chunks with a wooden spatula or similar. Continue until cooked. Meanwhile you can push a few slies of bred through the kitchen whizz to make the breadcrumbs. I used some focaccia bread I happened to have left over.
Place the crumbs in a large bowl and when the sausage are cooked, drain off any fat and allow them to cool then process them in a food processor until they are like breadcrumbs. Add to the breadcrumbs along with the herbs and bind together with an egg. Use this to stuff the cavity of the bird.
We usually have a fish starter of some kind. When the numbers around the dinner table were larger, it was often a baked, glazed trout (thanks to fishing friends). This year I've got some raw prawns which we will probably have with a cocktail sauce dressing spiced up with some horseradish and smoked paprika.
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