Turkey, Day 4

Does it count as Turkey, Day 5 if I ate turkey leftovers yesterday? Don't worry, this is the last turkey post for awhile. I've managed to eat half of it, and the other half is safely in the freezer.

Turkey curry turned out incredibly well, but it would be equally well with any other kind of meat or even without any meat.

Biggest surprise: the house brand of pre-mixed curry powder in a glass jar at Whole Foods? Shockingly spicy, and pretty fresh tasting. I bought some on sale and am now looking forward to experimenting with it. The following will make one restaurant-sized plate of noodles. Meaning way too much for one person, but not enough for two unless you have some sides.

• oil
• 1/2 a large onion, grated or finely diced
• 1 cup grated vegetables (I used butternut squash, but any squash or root vegetable would work. Potatoes for bulk would be nice)
• 1 clove grated garlic (or powdered)
• 1 tsp. grated ginger (or powdered)
• 1 heaping tablespoon curry powder (start with 1 and taste and add)
• 1-2 cups chicken stock (or any other stock)
• leftover pieces of meat (mine was from a roasted turkey leg)
• salt

Over medium heat, sautee the onion, vegetables, garlic, and ginger until the onions are soft. Add the curry powder, and garlic and ginger powder if you're using them, and sautee until fragrant. Add a cup of stock, stir well, turn heat down to medium low, and simmer until the sauce thickens and vegetables completely soften. The longer you have to do this, the more mellow and rounded the curry will be. Add stock if the curry becomes to dry, and salt only towards the end.

While the curry is simmering, boil water and cook noodles. I used dry udon noodles. You want to get them pretty close to completely cooked, because they won't cook much more in the curry. When the noodles are done, drain them. If the curry is done, turn the heat back up to high and toss the noodles until evenly coated with curry. If the curry's not yet done, set the noodles aside until they are. Stir in turkey towards the end.