Talking Turkey

      More Letters From Paradise
          Talking Turkey
Let's talk turkey. I like turkey cooked in almost any form. I have long had a love affair with this bird. Ben Franklin suggested that the turkey should have been our national symbol, as eagles were so used by other countries, and were war-like.  Besides, who would like to eat roast eagle anyway? As we all know Ben lost his argument.

I raised some turkeys years ago. It was said that you couldn't raise turkeys and chickens together, but I did with no problems. There was also an old saying that turkeys left out in the rain would open their mouths and drown. I chose to raise Bronze Breasted birds, instead of the usual white breed grown by large turkey farms.

I remember one time when I was cooking Wednesday night dinners at our church, I roasted 19 turkeys! It was no easy task. I used the stoves in the church and borrowed roaster ovens for the rest. I had circuit breakers popping all over the place. I carved all the birds and fed, I think, 200 people.

Another time I took a big frozen turkey along with stuffing mix, celery, onions, potatoes, butter, flour and an electric roaster on a summer boating trip.

At the Western end of Lake Erie are some islands. The most popular is South Bass Island. It is here that boaters go to drink and raise hell. It was there that I cooked my turkey. The bird was nicely done while tied up to the dock. I mashed potatoes with a beer bottle. So there we all sat in our bathing suits, enjoying a turkey dinner. This event was discussed for some time later by other sailors.

And, not so long ago I read that "White Castle" burgers would make a good stuffing for turkey. So accepting this novel idea, I removed the cheese and pickle. The buns and onions on the burgers were mixed with celery more onions and fat-free chicken broth. The result was very good.  

Here in Honolulu frozen birds arrive by ship. And they are very cheap. Some birds can be had for as little as $5.00. And that is not by the pound either. Another good price is often $.59 per pound. Our bird this year was free! Safeway Supermarket would give you a free bird if you spent $100. That was easy to do. We chose a 21 lb. bird. We will have a number of friends who will help us eat this big fellow.

This Thanksgiving we all have a great deal to be thankful for.

        Aloha
        Grant