The 21st Century Housewife's© Creamy Christmas Turkey with Rice

I love leftovers - anticipating well in advance what I will do with them - so Christmas is a great time for me. It's the season of leftover everything - and the only limit is my imagination! The key to using up your leftovers is to be sure to cool them quickly and refrigerate them promptly. This keeps them fresh, safe and appealing. Also remember to buy extra fresh vegetables so that you can use them creatively with your leftovers - after all, you can only eat so many sandwiches!

Because the cream sauce is pale and delicate, I use only light meat turkey for this recipe. It's reminiscent of Chicken A La King, but with a much more evolved flavour and texture. Please don't omit the nutmeg - it adds a fantastic hit of spice that suggests Christmas, but is not immediately identifiable. It's one of those - "what is that?" flavours that takes a recipe from good to great.

It goes without saying that this works very well with leftover cooked chicken too. And please do not feel you have to make the stock from scratch, ready made or from a cube is fine.

To serve four people you need:-

2 tbsp butter (unsalted if possible)
2 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock (you may not need it all)
½ cup light cream or half and half (again you may not need it all)
Leftover white meat turkey – roughly 2 cups chopped
1 red pepper
3 – 4 leeks, washed, thinly sliced and drained
1 cup frozen peas, measured into a cup and set aside to thaw a bit
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the leeks and cook slowly, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook the leeks in the butter, the softer and more meltingly tender they will get. If you can leave them for about fifteen minutes that is wonderful. If you are in a hurry, ten will do.



Sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir to coat. Add the stock gradually, stirring and allowing the sauce to thicken after each addition. You want it to be fairly thick, but remember you still have cream to add, so don't feel you have to add all the stock. Just go slowly.

Meanwhile, cook enough rice four people in boiling water according to package directions. (I usually find about a cup and a half of rice is more than enough for four, but check the package directions.)

Add the red pepper to the creamy leeks and sauce and cook for about five minutes. Add more stock if necessary.



Now add the turkey, frozen peas, oregano, nutmeg and about half the cream. Stir together and heat over low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally if necessary. After about five minutes, add more cream if you feel it needs it. You want a nice consistency; not too runny, not too thick.

When you get your desired consistency and everything is heated through, take a small spoonful to taste. (Careful, it's hot!). Add salt and pepper if necessary. (I highly recommend a bit of pepper, but I've always skipped adding any more salt to this recipe. However taste is a personal thing so you should do as you like - except if you are on a low-sodium diet - in which case, please be good and don't add any salt! )

Serve the Creamy Christmas Turkey on a bed of rice.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Christmas Gravy

With Christmas on the horizon, I’ve been thinking about all things poultry, and have been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen around that theme. I first developed this gravy in an attempt to jazz up some chicken breasts. (It worked!!) It is brilliant with turkey as well, and I have even served it with sausages and mashed potatoes. It’s also a great multi-purpose gravy for everyone. Vegetarians can use vegetable stock instead of meat stock and vegans can do that as well as eliminate the butter and use olive oil instead. It’s delicious every way I’ve made it, and really, really easy. I know that onions are not necessarily a normal part of a Christmas gravy, but wow, do they make a delicious addition!

2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon butter
2 large onions, red or white, peeled and thinly sliced
2 heaped tablespoons flour
2 to 3 cups of turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
(made from cubes or store bought works just fine)
3 heaping tablespoons cranberry sauce from a jar

Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Turn the heat back to low and fry the onions gently, stirring occasionally. Frying the onions slowly over low heat makes for a sweeter gravy, so I usually let them cook for ten to fifteen minutes. By this point, the onions should be softened and just beginning to take on a bit of colour.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and melt it through the onions. Give it all a stir and then sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir through to coat. Slowly begin to add a bit of the stock at a time, stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to thicken, gradually add more stock, a bit at a time, until you get a nice, thick, pourable gravy. (Keep stirring!) You may need slightly more or less stock, depending on how your mixture cooks up.

When the gravy reaches your desired thickness, add the cranberry sauce and stir to melt through the gravy. Taste, and add a bit of salt and/or pepper if you want to. Decant into a gravy boat and serve.