Turkey Noody

Hello! I am trying to return from the short pause I was forced to take. If you are curious or interested I will soon be posting a "Ginger's History" post to update everyone on my conditions. It was after much consideration that I decided I would share it.

Anywho, back to Turkey Noody for now! I'm sure you are all wondering why it's called Turkey Noody and if I meant nudy? I assure you it was intentional. I found the recipe for turnkey noodle casserole by fine cooking in their magazine and when Drew and I were talking about dinner and which recipe to try he accidentally called in Turkey Noody so I renamed it. It is way more fun to say and makes it a little more interesting. So there you have it. Turkey Noody for dinner.

It turned out to be a quite involved preparation. The magazine is titled one-pot meals which suggests you need one pot to create them. You'd be wrong. It finishes in one pot. So because of my knee my mother, Drew, and myself all made dinner. Drew cooked the turkey and mushrooms in one dish, cooked noodles in another, mom made a bechamel sauce, and I manned the cutting board. (I got off easy haha). Also a little *Hoorah* out to mom- she has never made a bechamel and was getting annoyed at it for having to be continually whisked and trying to figure out how it pour milk in a steady stream into the sauce while whisking it. With me pouring and her whisking we were victorious and the sauce was perfect! Way to go mom and a little English cheer - hoorah!

So all of those things were poured into a casserole dish, topped with panko bred crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan and sage and baked for an hour. (It was also exasperating for my mother that we finished all this a 6 o'clock which is usually time for dinner only to learn it must cook for another hour) haha no worries though, she made good use of the extra time and went to the store for a few bottles of wine :)

Here's the recipe which I DID NOT INVENT. It is from One-pot meals by fine cooking. No. 72.

4 tbs butter
Salt & Pepper
3/4 c breadcrumbs (I used japanese panko breadcrumbs)
EVOO
1 tbs grated Parmesan
1 tbs sage
1 lb. assorted fresh mushrooms sliced (I used only white cap)
3 tbs minced shallots
2-4minced cloves of garlic
1/2 c all-purpose flour
6 c low fat milk
1 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar
3 tbs finely chopped parsley (I used dried, it's what I had on hand)
8 oz. wide egg noodles
3 c. Shredded or diced roast turkey

Serves 6-8 preheat oven to 350. Bring large pot of water to boil with salt.
- mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, sage, pinch of salt & pepper in a small bowl and set.
- in a large skillet over med-high heat, add 1tbs. EVOO and diced mushrooms, cook stirring frequently until edges are golden (about 10 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low and add shallots and garlic. Cook until soft (about 2 minutes) season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- melt the butter in a saucepan over med heat. Add flour and whisk constantly until it colors slightly (2-3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat (but don't turn off the burner) and gradually whisk in enough of the milk to form a think smooth paste. (At first it will get really thick and pasty but do not loose hope! keep adding milk) Set the pan back on the heat and whisk in the remaining milk in a steady stream. Add salt.
- bring the sauce to a boil while whisking then reduce to simmer for 3 minutes and whisk continuously. Turn the heat off and stir in the cheddar and parsley. Season to taste and set aside.
- cook the pasta to al dente (one minute less than the package) drain and spread noodles in bottom of greased casserole dish. Sprinkle turkey and mushrooms over the pasta. Pour the sauce over top and use a fork to distribute evenly. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top and bake for 50-60 minutes. (Put the casserole dish onto a cookie sheet while baking to catch any drippings)

It was worth the wait and the hassle. It was quite like an Alfredo dish (which of course is a bechamel) so that would be what to expect. We had salad for a side to cut the heavy sauce. Very successful but most certainly NOT one dish!

I'm using the iPad and the app doesn't let you put the photos into the wording of the post yet so here is what they are: 1) freshly grated white cheddar, 2) sliced mushrooms, 3) mushrooms cooked with shallots, garlic, and EVOO, 4) The span of a hectic everything cooking, 5) whisking pesky bechamel, 6) putting it all into the casserole, 7) panko breadcrumb topping and finished!