Happy Belated Mother's Day

Turkey Backs $0.89/lb. Small 2 in. by 1 in. chunks of meat, fat, bone and skin in a Styrofoam plastic-wrapped container staring at me as if to say, "I dare you." There was flavor in there. There was potential in there. Just like my mother took a naked slimy baby and over the years nurtured and cared for me so I would realize my potential, I was going to nurture those turkey necks into something more. Something delicious. Something unexpected.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with them. Which is something I'm sure my mother repeated over and over to me as young child, "What am I going to do with you?" They sat in my freezer for about 2 weeks taunting me much like they had in the supermarket. It got to me. "It's just turkey," I thought. How could I let something so simple, so small, frustrate me? I couldn't figure out what to do with turkey and almost has a nervous breakdown. God only knows what my mother was going through when I ran away from camp, threw a piece of marble tile at my sister or got lost at South Street Seaport when I was seven.

There were so many failed ideas with the turkey backs. It reminded me of my childhood and how many things I failed at; soccer, baseball, lacrosse, singing, the trombone, painting and sculpture. Virtually every activity children did, I could not. So, it must have been a great relief to my mom when she discovered, that in fact I did have a skill, cooking. That her tireless trips to practices, concerts and art lessons actually led somewhere. As her years of nurturing and trial and error finally bore fruit, so too would my struggle to cook the turkey backs.

Beans. It was so simple. So obvious. The obvious it seems has a tendency to be not so obvious to me. I think the same was true for my mom. Sure, every fat, overeating 11 year old doesn't love to cook as much as he does eat. But then again every fat, overeating 11 year old doesn't stand adjacent to the open kitchen and watch the cooks all night at the local Italian restaurant instead of waiting at the table with his parents. It's clear now that cooking was something I was in tune with as a child but I don't think it was obvious for my mother, or anybody else for that matter. When I was a kid my dad was busy starting his own business or working demanding Wall St. jobs and my mother was, by default, tasked with "figuring me out." I think all my antics, bad behavior, poor grades and lack of interest in school really was taxing and at the end of the day my potential became less obvious to her, just as my own obsession in trying to crack the turkey back mystery clouded me from the obvious solution.

Luckily however, all her patience and diligence paid off and she did help me figure out what I'm good at. What does this have to do with beans and better yet, chucks of turkey back? Well, together, with patience and ingenuity they can be transformed from hard and undesirable into something with unseen potential. This extended metaphor is in a way a belated mother's day gift. My great turkey/bean dilemma made it clear to me that if I was so easily frustrated by the remaining scraps of turkey, that my mother's patience is infinite, as must be her love. Thanks mom for seeing in me what I saw in those bony and fatty pieces of turkey: potential. Happy Mothers Day.

White Bean and Turkey Stew

1.5 lbs. turkey backs (for that matter any assorted bones, meat and scraps)2 lbs. dry Great Northern or other white bean such as Cannellini

4 cups chicken stock

2 medium carrots peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 sprig of rosemary

3 tbsp Olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and soak the beans over night according to the package instructions. Place a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Meanwhile, season the turkey parts with salt and pepper. When the oil starts to smoke add the turkey and brown on all sides, 10-12 mins. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel. Lower the heat to medium and add all the vegetables. Saute until translucent, 4-5 mins. Lightly crush the rosemary in the palm of your hand so it releases its natural oils and add to the pot. Add the beans, turkey and chicken broth to the pot and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours.

Sauce me properly.

If you ask around you'll find that the secret to high quality tomato sauce is shockingly simple. The secret: tomatoes and carrots. Let me explain. Since your sauce is minimalist in nature it should be made with high quality ingredients so that the few ingredients may accentuate the pasta. Fortunately, when it comes to canned tomatoes, finding quality is easy. Every Italian cook worth his/her weight in lira will tell you you that San Marzano tomatoes are the best in the world. San Marzano isn't a brand, but rather the name of a commune, nestled in the volcanic soil near Mt. Vesuvius, where the first San Marzano tomato was grown. The tomatoes are especially good for sauce making for two reasons. They are less acidic and sweeter then say, Roma tomatoes, and have a deeper tomato flavor.

However, no matter how less acidic one tomato is than another tomato, it was always be acidic. That's where the carrot comes in. Carrots, much like beets, are full of natural sweetness and using a small amount of carrot in your pasta sauce imparts a sweetness that will offset the acidity of the tomatoes. Since I've already provided a recipe for simple tomato sauce in my fresh pasta post I decided to use make a meat ragout still erring on the side of simplicity.


Bucatini with Turkey Ragout

* Bucatini is a thick spaghetti like pasta with a hole running through the center

1 lb Bucatini
1.25 lbs ground turkey
1 medium size carrot diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes (crushed, if whole make sure to chop the tomatoes first)
1 tsp ground sage (if you have poultry seasoning leftover from thanksgiving, that works too)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Place a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the oil. When the oil is heated add the carrot and saute 4-5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes. Add the ground turkey and saute until brown and cooked through. Season thoroughly with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, sage and a ladle or two of the pasta water. Stir, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve immediately with chives or parsley.

Kickin' it off right: Turducken.

I don't think there is a more American food than a the Turducken. It is the pinnacle of American abundance and absurdity, but if properly prepared, it is also moist and delicious. What other country on earth decides to stuff one bird into another, into another. As if the birds themselves were not enough, between each layer there is, you guessed it, stuffing. Some recipes take this idea too far suggesting that each layer of stuffing contain its own unique animal either crab, oysters or sausage. But, besides over complicating the process, the idea of 6 different meats, birds and fish in one dish is gross. So i present to you my tips to a successful Turducken.


1. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and roast. Roasting can take anywhere from 6-10 hours and prep anywhere from 1-3 hrs.
2. Get your butcher to debone the birds for you. I deboned all three birds myself and however gratifying it was to complete the task, it's just not worth the effort.
3. Make one stuffing. Making a Turducken is a herculean feat in and of itself so there is no need to make 3 different stuffings.
4. Sear the deboned duck and chicken before assembly. This is especially important for the duck because it renders down some of the duck fat. Which is good for two reasons. First, you can put the duck fat in your stuffing. Second, it ensures that there isn't a thick fatty layer in your Turducken.
5. Get some help. Assembly requires two people. (Thanks Karima)
6. Get a smaller Turkey. Most recipes call for a 3-4 lbs. chicken a 5-6 lbs. duck and a 15-20 lbs. turkey. If you used a smaller turkey, say 13 lbs., you can reduce your cooking time greatly and assure that all three meats remain moist.
7. This is critical. Don't go overboard on the stuffing. My sister in her infinite wisdom had been victim to a nasty Turducken and stressed that only a light layer of stuffing should go between each bird and she was right. It also ensures quick and even cooking.

Those are my Turducken tips. For a complete guide on how to make a Turducken check this site out: http://homecooking.about.com/od/turkeyrecipes/ss/turduckensbs.htm. Enjoy these photos and check back often for more updates.