He Cooks, She Cooks

My roommate’s boyfriend has been doing a lot of turkey hunting lately. And since every time he sees me I’m in the kitchen, he figured I’d enjoy some wild turkey breast. I’d never cooked anything wild before, so I did some research. I didn’t want the meat to be too tough or too gamey tasting.

On the Missouri Department of Conservation website (of all places) I found a recipe for a white wine and lime marinade. Sounded tasty and nice and acidic to tenderize the turkey. Then I baked the strips of turkey breast in a pan with some of the marinade to keep it moist.

The result was still a little tough since the turkey was not only wild, but a little older, too. I didn’t notice the toughness at all once I put the meat on a sandwich with tons of fixins. I think sauces and other additions are what make a good sandwich, so we had lots of options:

• Guacamole
• Chili-garlic tomato paste
• Sun-dried tomato cream cheese (from Panera)
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Monterey jack cheese
• Thin slices of carrots and cucumbers
• Fresh basil leaves
• Red romaine lettuce

I hadn’t had a good sandwich in a while, so this hit the spot.

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Before I left my parents’ house over spring break, I made sure to copy down a recipe from a great book they had about dips. The recipe, called Dip Into India, was for a curry-cauliflower dip. I wrote down each ingredient and step of the recipe, and then as usual, I changed it as soon as I got in the kitchen.

The main change was the spice. The book calls for curry powder, but I wanted to use individual spices so I could better control the flavors, and so each taste would be more pronounced. I toasted and ground whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek, cardamom and other spices.

My other addition was lemon juice, which I am surprised the recipe didn’t call for in the first place.

I liked the dip a lot. It’s great with pita chips, which were a process to make all from scratch, but at least I didn’t feel ripped off by the prices they charge for tiny bags of pita chips in the grocery store.

The cauliflower dip actually makes a good hot or cold side dish, too. When I was out of chips, I finished it off with a fork. Continue reading »