8:45: I cannot believe how much meat there was left on the turkey. It's provided a big meal for seven (one of the party is vegetarian), another big meal for four, Middle Brother and Parents have all gone home with loads of turkey, DD's cats have had a good ration and there's still piles to deal with. The rest of the white meat has now been sliced (sort of) and what could be pulled off in chunks has been. The rest, skin, bones and all, is slowly simmering away in my biggest pan. There's a good bowl of turkey dripping and a large jug of gravy. It may be an organic, free range, molto expensivo special purchase but it provides the basis for many a tasty meal and I am looking forward to a good dinner tonight of 'left over' turkey heated in its own gravy with potatoes and sweet potatoes roasted in turkey dripping, sprouts and cranberry sauce (home made, of course!).
I cannot understand why people don't make the most of the turkey (or chicken). I know people who eat the breast meat, perhaps pull off the drumsticks and eat them and then the rest goes straight into the bin. What an unnecessary waste of good food!
However, all is not shiny and perfect in Kitchen World. I opened the cupboard that houses the washing machine only to discover that, to my shame, there's a pile of washing already in there. Seeing as I have not opened that cupboard since last Friday . . . ooops! It's now undergoing a quick wash to freshen it all up! Oh, dear.
The coffee maker has passed another test - it's keeping the coffee piping hot. Hotter than the old one did. I'm trying to work out when I bought it and failing miserably. I must have had it for a good decade or so. Pretty good value for money, I would say.
10:25: There's now a nice big pan of what will be turkey hotpot simmering away. It's not the usually accepted version of hotpot with potato on the top, but basically a chunky (very chunky) soup that is a meal in itself. It's a family tradition going back to my childhood and probably before, something that by brothers and I used to look forward to every year after Christmas. I've used onion, potato, sweet potato, parsnip, swede, celery and carrot, all cut into chunks and first fried in a mixture of turkey and bacon fat before the turkey stock is added and the whole thing covered and brought to a gentle simmer. Later on I will add some red lentils to give more flavour, colour and body, big chunks of turkey and whatever seasonings are required. What doesn't get eaten in the next few days will freeze beautifully. The whole house is smelling a lot like Christmas again.
11:10: OK, so the carcass has had its first simmer, I've removed all the meat and the stock, bones and so on are now back on a very low heat to simmer for ages and ages to get as much flavour out of the bones as possible. I think it's time I had my bath and got dressed.
16:50: And there is now a pot of turkey soup/hotpot/whatever you call it, a container of turkey scraps for DD's cats and a lovely bowl of stock. Since I didn't have any lunch, I guess I will have some of the hotpot for dinner and the planned meal can wait.
And now I'm signing off.
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