Because Thanksgiving will be with us in about a month, we wanted to give you a recipe we found in Field to Feast for Linda Hart’s Herb Butter-Basted Turkey. This wonderful book was copyrighted in 2012 by Pam Brandon, Katie Farmand, and Heather McPherson.
Linda Hart grew up on a farm near Paris, Texas, where home-cured bacon, fresh eggs, and raw milk were the usual fare on the breakfast table. Her first chickens, a trio of bantams, were acquired when she was six. In 4-H, she showed rabbits and beef cattle. After high school, she pursued a career in surgical nursing and later attended Texas A&M University for preveterinary studies.
Her career brought her to Florida and a chance to return to her farming roots. “Sustainable agriculture is how I wanted to farm but at the time we didn’t even have a name for it.”
Today, Linda Hart’s Crazy Hart Ranch in Fellsmere produces pasture-raised poultry, including heritage-breed turkeys, using sustainable farming methods. Animals are raised humanely in a natural environment, and the result is a superior quality and taste.
Charleston Receipts is a recipe book given to us by our editor’s blessed mother-in-law. If you think the word “Receipts” is misused, be aware: this is the old-time word for “Recipes.” Old-time cooks cling to that word, refusing to use “Recipes.” For a real treat, try Aunt Blanche’s She-Crab Soup. This recipe is from Charleston Receipts, with the note from Mrs. Sparkman, “As given to me by my aunt, Mrs. R. Goodwyn Rhett.” This recipe uses regular white crab meat, but if you had to wait until you could find she-crabs, you might be waiting a long time. She-crabs are female crabs wherein you will find the orange roe, or eggs, that give traditional she-crab soup its distinctive flavor. You can tell when you clean the female crabs; the roe is little bitty orange balls.
Dottie Dederick shares with us her recipe for Hungarian Goulash served over noodles in Treasures and Pleasures. Dottie didn’t actually say how much onion to use, so I said one diced onion.
This hot bread recipe is wonderful. We appreciate Mary Lee Herro sharing her creation with us through the Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s Sharing Our Finest Cookbook.
From The New York Times New Natural Foods Cookbook, by Jean Hewitt, we have Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream.
CRAZY HART RANCH’S BRINED AND HERB BUTTER-BASTED
TURKEY
Recipe from Field to Feast
1 (14- to 15-pound) pasture-raised turkey, rinsed (giblets discarded)
1 cup coarse salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
3 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves
6 whole sprigs fresh thyme
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
2 gallons cool water
4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 cup homemade or good-quality organic chicken stock
Place turkey in a large, deep stockpot or another large, lidded vessel that will hold it snugly. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Lightly crush thyme and rosemary sprigs with your fingers, then add them to the mixture. Add water and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.
Pour brine over turkey. If needed, add additional brine until turkey is completely covered. Refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, combine butter, dill, thyme, sage, and stock in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until butter is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove turkey from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Dry well with paper towels and place in a lightly oiled roasting pan.
Roast uncovered, for 30 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting turkey for 2-1/2 hours or until an instant-read thermometer registers 161 degrees Fahrenheit when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.
During the last hour of roasting, baste turkey with butter-broth mixture every 15 minutes.
Let turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving. Drizzle remaining butter-broth mixture over turkey before serving, if desired.
NOTE: Brining is one of the oldest methods of flavoring foods. The brine seasons meat and poultry right down to the bone and keeps it moist when cooking. If you find you need more brine, use 1/2 cup coarse salt and 1/4 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.
MRS. C. O. SPARKMAN’S AUNT BLANCHE’S SHE-CRAB SOUP
Recipe from Charleston Receipts
1 cup white crab meat
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon mace
3 ribs celery, grated
2 cups milk (heated)
1/2 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
2 teaspoons flour
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sherry
Put crab in double boiler; add butter, onion, salt, pepper, mace and celery. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Heat milk and add to crab mixture. Stir, add cream and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken with paste made of flour and water. Add sherry. Cook over low heat for 1/2 hour. Serves 4.
DOTTIE DEDERICK’S HUNGARIAN GOULASH
From 1990 Presbyterian Women First Presbyterian Church
of Apopka
Treasures and Pleasures
1/4 pound salt pork
1-1/2 pounds round steak cut in 2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1/2 cup condensed beef bouillon
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
12 peppercorns
1 tablespoon paprika
Cooked noodles
Dice salt pork. Heat in heavy skillet over low heat until cooked. Remove salt pork and save. Sprinkle steak with flour, salt, and pepper. Brown in pork fat. Add onion, bouillon, and tomato sauce. Mix. Stir in peppercorns and paprika and cover. Cook over low heat about 1-1/2 hours. Add more liquid from time to time, if needed. (Note: Can be baked in 325-degree oven rather than cooked on top of stove.)
MARY LEE HERRO’S
SUPER BREAD
Recipe from Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s
Sharing Our Finest Cookbook
2 loaves frozen bread, 1 white
and 1 wheat
6 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons dry parsley
Thaw bread. Cut each loaf into thirds. Twist into 16-inch to 24-inch twists. Wrap all twists inside a greased Bundt pan. Let bread rise. Mix remaining ingredients. Spread over raised bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY
ICE CREAM
THE NEW YORK TIMES New
Natural Foods Cookbook
Copyright 1982 by Jean Hewitt
2 cups strawberries, washed and sliced if large
1 cup honey
1 cup ice-cold water
1 cup soy milk powder
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup chilled vegetable oil
Combine the strawberries and honey, cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Put the water and soy milk powder in the container of an electric blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and thick. Add the egg yolks and blend well again. Add the oil slowly while blending on low speed or processing. Blend or process at high speed until smooth and thick. Add the strawberry mixture and blend again. Pour into chilled ice cube trays and freeze until the mixture is solid around the edges and slightly mushy in the middle. Turn into the blender or food processor and blend or process until smooth. Return to the trays; freeze again. Repeat the freezing and blending or processing twice more, and serve frozen. Store any leftover ice cream in covered container in the freezer. Yield: Four servings.
