Red Wine Vinegar-Brown Sugar Glazed Turkey Drumsticks

How cute is Bobby Flay? He is so awkwardly adorable. I've never really watched his shows on Food Network except for the Thanksgiving throwdown with the Pioneer Woman. I'd watch Iron Chef America and catch an episode with him on it from time to time. Now, I am hooked on Worst Cooks in America. If you haven't seen it - put

it on TiVO, DVR, and load up your OnDemand and catch up. It's absolutely hilarious! I may have tried to make a dish or two that they used as skill drills on the show. 

Another new addiction of mine is Bottom Dollar Food. Amazing product and food at lower prices. I like to think that it's a blend of Giant Eagle and Aldi's. When I happened upon some turkey drumsticks, I had no idea what to do with them. After a little bit of research, I found this drumstick recipe. I had to adapt this recipe slightly to reflect the fact that I had red wine vinegar but not sherry vinegar. It was delicious none the less. 

• 
  Ingredients
  6 turkey drumsticks, 14 to 16 ounces each
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Sherry Vinegar-Brown Sugar Glaze, recipe follows
  
  Directions
• Prepare a charcoal grill for indirect grilling or heat a gas grill to medium heat. Brush drumsticks with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill over the coals (if using charcoal grill) and grill until golden brown on all sides. Move the drumsticks to the cooler part of the grill, place the lid on and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, brushing with the glaze during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from the grill, brush with more of the glaze and let rest 10 minutes before serving. If using gas, cook at medium heat the whole time with the lid closed after a crust has formed.

Sherry Vinegar-Brown Sugar Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Spanish paprika
• 4 canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat on the grates of the grill. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until a light golden brown. Add vinegar and cook until reduced by half. Add sugar, paprika, tomatoes and chicken stock and cook until reduced by half and tomatoes are very soft. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the saucepan and cook until thickened; season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Source: adapted from Food Network

MoistMaker

Hold on to your hats. This post incorporates two of my favorite things. Thanksgiving leftovers and Friends. This is my absolute favorite recipe to use Thanksgiving leftovers. This is the exact reason that I did a Thanksgiving feast after the day was already over. Purely for my own selfish purposes. I am ashamed. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with...the MoistMaker.

If you have the feeling that you've heard that somewhere before - it might be because you have. It was the basis for an entire episode of Friends. Ross Gellar was put on sabbatical after yelling at his boss for eating his sandwich from the work refrigerator. It was the only thing that was good in his life, can you blame him? The theory behind this sandwich is very simple - give it a try. You might just find yourself suffering from severe aggression when you realize that you're out of leftovers. 

Ingredients

Gravy

Turkey

Stuffing

3 slices of bread

Cranberry sauce

Directions

Heat up the gravy in a small pot over medium to low heat, or microwave it. For a hot sandwich, put the turkey and stuffing in another pan with a little bit of water over medium to low heat or microwave them, otherwise you can begin layering.

Lay out two slices of bread, and spread the cranberry sauce as you would any other condiment on both slices. Pile the turkey on one slice. Once the gravy is reheated, dunk the third slice of bread in it entirely, so that it soaks up the gravy like a sponge. Lovingly place the moist maker on top of the turkey, then add the stuffing and close up the sandwich with the other slice of bead. Use toothpicks for support and beware of theft.

Source: http://www.thedailymeal.com/

How To Roast A Turkey

I was majorly in the dog house on Tuesday. After I went out for my daily shopping errands to score some major deals, I came home to roses, steaks, and a present from Dan for our third year anniversary. It was very sweet of him, but I felt bad because I was completely unprepared. We have an agreement - nothing on those types of days.  

I wanted to do something to make up for it. I had a turkey that was frozen so I decided to thaw the sucker and make a roasted turkey. Here was my dilemma - I had no idea how to roast a turkey. So I turned to the master of roasting turkey, Alton Brown. I've always wanted roast a turkey, but I never have never hosted a major holiday that involved turkey. I brined the turkey overnight and baked it according to the directions. The turkey was absolutely delicious - the best I've ever had. The absolute best thing? I was out of the doghouse. Thank you, Alton Brown! 

Ingredients
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger (I omitted this)
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions:

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger (if using) in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Feel better having step by step directions? Click here to see how it's done.

Source: Slightly adapted from Good Eats Roast Turkey Recipe