Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme Stuffing (with Turkey Liver)

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: four awesome herbs that go so well together, they inspired a song: Scarborough Fair! I'm sure you've heard the Simon & Garfunkel version, but did you know that it was their adaptation of an old folk ballad from Yorkshire, England?

"The song relates the tale of a young man who instructs the listener to tell his former love to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she completes these tasks he will take her back. Often the song is sung as a duet, with the woman then giving her lover a series of equally impossible tasks, promising to give him his seamless shirt once he has finished." ~Wikipedia article

Here's my current favourite version of this song. An excellent, moving performance, well worth a watch:


And now on to the recipe! If you've followed the directions for my mother's roast turkey, then you've already set aside the turkey liver to use to make your stuffing. If not, you can substitute a couple of chicken livers or just leave out the liver altogether.

Like I said in that earlier post, I don't stuff my bird. But if you're going to do that, I suggest you follow the instructions given here.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, cubed
1 stick butter
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 turkey liver, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
12 fl. oz chicken or turkey stock
12 fl. oz vegetable stock
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in pan over medium heat.

Add bacon and cook until crisp.

Add onion, liver, and celery and cook until onions and celery are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the scallions and the stock.

Cook for about five minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cubed bread, herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Add the contents of the pan to the mixing bowl and stir.

Fill turkey cavity loosely with stuffing before roasting, or bake stuffing separately in a casserole dish.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips Recipe

Let's put that Beer Batter to good use, shall we?

This is one of my favourite dishes, which no pub worthy of the name would be caught dead without. I strongly recommend using a deep fryer for this, but you can still get pretty decent results with a quart of oil in a large pot as described below (although results may vary).

Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Four large potatoes
2 cups of my Beer Batter
2 lbs cod fillets

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into strips (not too thin though; think steak fries, not French fries). These be your chips. You can peel the taters first, but I like the skins on 'em.

Preheat the oil in the pot (or fryer). Get it nice and hot, but don't overdo it. If your smoke alarm goes off, you've gone too far.

Fry the chips until they're soft and golden. Then if you want you can drain them on paper towels to get rid of some of the grease.

Dredge the pieces of cod one at a time in the batter until they're coated evenly. Then place them in the hot oil and fry until they're golden brown. You can drain these on paper towels afterwards as well, if you feel so inclined.

At this point in time you can also put the chips back into the oil and fry them a bit longer until they reach your desired crispness. 

Serve with tartar sauce, lemon wedges, ketchup and/or malt vinegar.

Simple Beer Batter Recipe

This can be used for Beer Battered Fish and Chips, Onion Rings, Jalapeño Poppers, etc. You can also easily make a gluten-free version by substituting gluten-free all-purpose flour, and of course, gluten-free beer (my favourite is Bard's).

You don't even need any special equipment, just a bowl and a measuring cup.

A whisk would also be handy, but I just use a fork.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup beer

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl add flour, egg, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir in 1 cup beer.