So Many Dishes

Ken and I got married in 1971, which should have been known as the year of the fondue pot. We received four fondue pots and two fondue cookbooks as wedding gifts.

Over the years, we’ve gotten rid of the fondue pots. We never used more than one at a time, anyway, and I can’t remember the last time we made a fondue. The last one went out in the garbage about six months ago. Somewhere along the way, I either gave away or discarded one of the cookbooks, too.

But I did keep one of the cookbooks, mostly because it contains the recipe for my favorite way to use leftover turkey. This book actually includes more than just fondue recipes, and the recipes I still use are easily adapted to regular stovetop cooking.

I adapted the recipe for Indian lamb curry to turkey curry. I will say right upfront that this is not an authentic curry recipe. But the taste of the sauce reminds me of what I ate the first time Ken and I ate at an Indian restaurant, back in 1970. I’m not sure when I first made this recipe, but it became a standard when we were in graduate school in the early 70s. Life on two stipends was pretty frugal, and one of our strategies was to roast a large turkey two or three times a year. We’d pick the carcass clean of every piece of meat, and freeze portions to use for leftover meals. I had several recipes I made regularly, but this was always our favorite.

The recipe calls for diced cooked turkey, but I throw the meat into my food processor and coarsely shred it. My choice of curry powder for this dish is Penzey’s sweet curry powder. Curry powders vary so much and changing which you use can change the final taste. I currently have five curry powders in my collection: three from Penzey’s, the sweet, Maharajah, and “now curry, plus a French blend that was a gift from our son, and a Jamaican curry powder that we use in Caribbean cuisine. I will sometimes make cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving, but I didn’t this year. That was unfortunate, because the chutney is just perfect with this. But I didn’t have a commercial peach chutney that was a nice accompaniment.

Turkey Curry

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups diced or shredded cooked turkey

Melt butter in sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender, stirring often. Stir in flour, brown sugar, curry powder, salt, ginger, and pepper. Add apple, tomato sauce, and broth, and mix thoroughly. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently, about 20 minutes. Mix in turkey, cover, and allow to simmer an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!