From our kitchen

Southern Living, Nov 2001 by Hurst, Andria Scott

Ways With Turkey

In the South, turkey is part of the treasured holiday tradition. But if you don't want to prepare the whole bird, there are plenty of delicious options. Check these out at your market to find the one that suits your needs.

* Turkey breast: It comes fresh or frozen and is all white meat that you can carve at the table.

* Turkey mignons: Poultry's version of the beef specialty, these tender pieces of breast meat are wrapped in bacon. They're perfect single servings.

* Turkey cutlets: These thin slices of breast may be baked or breaded and pan-fried. You can get cutlets to the table in a hurry, and they're just the right size for hot sandwiches.

* Turkey roll: This boneless roast of combined white and dark meat is found in the frozen foods section of the market.

* If you're roasting the whole bird and want some additional advice, contact the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line at 1 -800288-8372 (1-800-BUTTERBALL), or visit their Web site at www.butterball.com.

Chop, Chop

No matter what you call it, stuffing or dressing, most recipes for this holiday staple include onion, green bell pepper, and celery as vital ingredients. To get a jump start on the preparations, chop and freeze the trio of vegetables in heavyduty zip-top freezer bags. When you need them, add them directly from the freezer to any recipe. Store remaining vegetables for soup, meat loaf, or casserole recipes.

Make cornbread for dressing a day or two ahead. Cool, crumble, and refrigerate in a zip-top plastic bag. The day before the feast, stir together all dry ingredients for dressing, and refrigerate overnight for flavors to blend.

Stuffed Mirlitons

(Chayote Squash)

Get a taste of Leah Chase's incredible Creole cooking on page 84. Her Stuffed Squash recipe is featured in the holiday menu she shared with us. Leah uses both yellow squash and mirlitons when she prepares the dish. When using mirlitons, cut the pale-- green squash in half, remove the large, flat seed, and then proceed as directed in the recipe. You'll find many ways to use mirlitons-steamed and stuffed; peeled, sliced, and sauteed in butter, or peeled, thinly sliced, and tossed into salads. If you can't find mirlitons, yellow squash is a good substitute.

Express Yourself

Little things make holiday meals extra special. Serve smooth soups in small china cups instead of bowls.

* Have guests create novelty napkin folds.

* Serve creamy desserts in stemmed glasses.

* Keep bread warm at the table by placing aluminum foil between the bread basket and the basket liner.

* Make ice cubes of tea and/or fruit juice for serving iced beverages without diluting the flavor.

* Don't limit sage to the stuffing. Fresh or dried, it is terrific with veal, pork, lima beans, and some corn dishes.

Equipment Checkup

* You'll be chopping, carving, and dicing, so have your knives sharpened.

* Buy one or two heavy foil roasting pans; they're great for sharing, freezing, and transporting foods.

* Make room in the refrigerator and freezer for the additional loads they'll carry during the holiday season.

* Check the placement of your oven racks for baking.

Play It Safe

Pay as much attention to the food after the feast as you did in preparation. Refrigerate leftovers in airtight containers immediately following the meal. Turkey, stuffing, and gravy should not be kept out for more than 45 minutes.

Remember to keep containers tightly closed, and plan to use within two days. If you need to store the food longer, it should be packaged, labeled, and frozen.

Tips and Tidbits

Walter Taliaferro of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has a solution for recipes in small print, He recommends gluing your favorites to index cards and enlarging them on a copier.

He also offers help for badly soiled oven racks. Put stainless steel racks in a large plastic leaf bag. Pour 4 cups of ammonia into the bag, and secure the top. (To keep the fumes out of the house, do this on a back porch or patio.) Leave 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Remove oven racks from bag, and brush off burned-on grease with warm soapy water and very little effort.