Paper Chef: We missed you too.
"This is the best Indian curry I’ve ever made," Chopper announced after devouring several bites in rapid succession. "Of course my specialty is Thai curry, but still…"
"Om nom nom," I said.
"Yes," Chopper agreed, "Om nom nom."
We weren’t certain if we were ever going to make it back. After all, a year is an eternity in Internet Time, and during that year, Belly Timber just sat, gathering dust, taunting us with rapidly aging posts.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, it vanished completely. Internal Server Error, our home page announced. I thought: crap. I need to do something about this, pronto… and proceeded to get excessively busy on six other projects. What finally got the ball rolling was Chopper’s incessant chomping at the bit every time anyone would bring up the name "Paper Chef."
"It’s this weekend," I told him. "The ingredients are turkey, Anaheim peppers, winter squash, and lentils."
Within three nanoseconds he was making a shopping list and planning recipes.
And me? I was battling the dreaded Internal Server Error.
Which kinda sorta explains why this entry is so excessively late. (And why you might be reading this on a generic Wordpress Template.)
What follows (now that we’ve finally got this blog working again) are three of Chopper’s creations inspired by this month’s set of four ingredients: Meatloaf, Turkey Galantine, and Indian curry. A galantine is a French dish that’s typically made of boned meat wrapped around forcemeat. It is poached, coated in aspic, and served cold. Surprisingly (for us) we skipped the aspic.
The best part about joining in this month: three of these ingredients are large quantity ingredients by default, so we’ve got delicious leftovers for days!
Paper Chef ingredient preparation:
6 medium sized turkey thighs, skinned and de-boned
5 Anaheim peppers
1 medium sized Hubbard squash, scooped out, peeled, and cut into large chunks
2 cups French lentils (dry)
Cook the lentils in 8 cups of salted water until tender.
Cut three of the peppers into half-inch coins, and roast the other two under a broiler or over an open flame. Peel after cooling.
Simmer the squash in salted water until just soft. Then strain.
For the Galantine and Meatloaf:
(Note: a meat grinder is required for both these dishes. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to add ground turkey to your shopping list.)
You will be using:
1-1/2cup of the cooked French lentils
four of your six turkey thighs
Half of your cooked squash
Three of your five Anaheim peppers
Additional ingredients
1 Egg
1/2 Large sweet onion, diced small
¾ cup Bread crumbs
2 teaspoon Smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons Chile flakes
Heat a large pan of water to between 160F, and 180F.
Take two of your turkey thighs and trim them out until you’re left with just the large outside muscles. Set the muscles aside; they will serve as your outer wrapping for the galantine.
Take your trimmings and grind them together in a meat grinder with two more of the thighs. Then take a handful of the pepper coins you cut earlier and chop them into small pieces.
Take half of the cooked squash and mash it into the ground meat.
Add the chopped peppers and the rest of the additional ingredients to the ground turkey and squash. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a with spatula. This mixture will serve as both your galantine stuffing and your meatloaf. (You can also purchase more turkey thighs and go to town on additional galantines!)
To create the galantine, lay out a 12″ sheet of plastic wrap and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
Place the trimmed thighs in the center of the plastic, making sure they overlap slightly.
Place a portion of the ground mixture on the laid out thighs. You should use enough to cover the center from one end to the other.
Using the wrap, gently roll the thighs over the ground mixture and seal it into the plastic, making sure to twist the ends tightly.
Tie the wrapped galantine up like a roast, and place in the hot water. Allow to poach for at least an hour, then check the internal temperature. When it reads 165F you’re ready!
Four the Sauce:
Take the two roasted and peeled peppers, de-seed them, and puree them with a touch of liquid (I used green tea) and salt. Strain to remove any last bits of skin and plate with the sliced galantine.
Form the rest of the ground meat into a loaf and roast at 350F for 30 minutes, then check the temp at the center every ten minutes. Again 165F is the magic number.
For the Indian Curry:
You will be using:
Two of your turkey thighs
Half of your cooked squash
Approximately 2 of your chopped Anaheim peppers
2 cups of your cooked French lentils
Additional ingredients
12 ounces Chicken broth
12 oounces Plain yogurt
1/2 Large sweet onion, diced
1 Head garlic, peeled, uncut
1-1/2 tablespoon Ground Turmeric
1 tablespoon of the following spice blend:
1 tablespoon whole Cumin
1 tablespoon whole coriander
6 cloves
For the spice blend: toast the whole spices as per my "spice toasting instructions." Allow them to cool, then grind together.
Instructions:
Cut the remaining turkey thighs into medium sized chunks and set aside for a moment.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium sized pot. Add the onions and garlic.
Cook until they just start to brown, then add the the turkey and remaining peppers.
When the turkey chunks stat to brown, add the chicken broth, yogurt, lentils, and the other half of the squash. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
Allow to cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the turkey reaches desired tenderness.
Serve over rice.
What did I have for breakfast this morning? Ah, yes! Meatloaf again!
And lookie! Here’s the full round-up of November’s Paper Chef from this month’s host, Magnus!
You’re back? You’re back! Yay!!!!
Come back tomorrow, when it’s a real website with y’know, design elements and stuff!
::buries head back into Wordpress code::
A year already? Glad to hear you are doing fine. Happy to have you back.
Welcome back! I’m looking forward to coming out of lurkdom to camp out at your page again. :)
GREAT! I was worried you wouldn’t make it but you did! And HOW you did it, great entries!
I’ll believe you’re back whe I’ve seen at least four posts in four weeks, otherwise you’re just cruelly teasing us and God will get you for that.
You are back! I worried something really bad had happened. Maybe it did. But you are through it and I am so flattered and grateful that you came back with a Paper Chef entry. This may shame me into entering!
Kevin,
I will go amp out at their place in they disappear again. Besides, I heard a rumor that Chopper might be available to cater a party or two and I want his samples!
I was THISCLOSE to emailing you about three days ago to see if all was well.
Now I’m just mad, the way a mother is when she gratefully finds her missing toddler: “Where WERE you, you bad thing?!”
(waves madly) Hey there! Woo-hoo, she’s back!
You’re back! Hooray!
I’ve been checking in here occasionally, hoping to find something new; the last time, I got the server error page. I googled belly timber, to see if you’d gone somewhere else, and what should appear but several Portland restaurant reviews. Is Chopper involved with that restaurant, or did they take your name?
YAY! It’s good to see you back!
And now that you’ve won Paper Chef (congrats!), you’ll have to stay around at least another month to host the next one! :^)
p.s. the curry sounds yum. i might have to try that!
Great to see you back (and in winning form!). Missed your writing.
Thank you all so much, and a HUGE thanks to Magnus as well! I’ve been out sick (see next post) and thus horrible about replies. My feeble excuse is that I only have the brain power for 140 characters at a time when my head’s full of snot and my throat hurts, so if I’m not here, I’m over on Twitter, attempting wit in tiny portions.
But yes, we’re back! More tweaks to the new site (and posts… really… scout’s honor…) soon.