Legs even a pinup model would envy

I'm a leg man.

R U? 

Nothing extraordinary here, except extreme efficiency in getting dinner on the table in the midst of an activity spate  (I know that's not how you use the word, but I'm busy, don't bother me). Several chicken legs, rubbed with bottled Cajun seasoning and left to contemplate their lack of navels in the fridge for a couple of hours.  300 degree oven, covered, with a little broth for 2 hours while the spate is being dealt with. (If only the dealing had had to do with blackjack.)

Liar, liar, Lance on Fire (and turkey in Turkey)

This is a food blog, but I have something non-culinary to get off my chest. I admired and revered Lance Armstrong for many years. I accepted his denials that he cheated in order to gain ground in the bike races in France. I honored him to the extent of buying a "Live Strong" bracelet to help support his cancer foundation. Now the 'dope' comes out of the gym bag and he admits to doping. And guess why. Because he wants to be allowed to compete professionally again. He wants to find a way to worm himself back into product endorsements and the millions of dollars he can 'inject' into his bank account. I, for one, do not support his endeavors. We have been cheated by him in the same way that he cheated the cycling world. Sorry, Lance, your pants will be burning forever as far as I am concerned. On to something that actually matters - a different turkey - one of the edible kind.

Wikipedia told me that turkeys (the birds) were imported to Europe from Turkey (not the bird) long ago. I have a friend who spent this past Thanksgiving in Turkey, where they don't celebrate the holiday (except that the birds do). She had a celebratory dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I haven't cooked a whole bird in the last few years. Parts have been the way to go. I love drumsticks (I've even played timpani with them), I love thighs (I've played ... uh, oh, don't go there), I love the breast (someone help me get out of this downward spiral).

Today's chapter, excerpted from my autobiography, is titled "For the birds: how I cook budgies and other 'cheep' critters." Did you know that turkeys have been known to drown in a rainstorm if they stick their heads up into the air and "gobble"? I don't know if that's true, but I hope it is.

All you do is start by brining the thighs and/or drumsticks for 2 to 3 hours, rinse well, and dry with paper towels. Heat your oven to 300, put the thighs and/or drumsticks (I wouldn't use this method for breasts) into a pan and add some stock, some onion and carrots and green peppers and celery and pepper. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until tender enough to eat without your dentures.

Alternatively, broil them, starting skin side down and ending skin up for crisp-itude. I would think this might be suitable for breasts as well.

Indian-style chicken drumsticks

With leftover chard stems and potato salad in the fridge, the choice of protein was yesterday’s question. Answer: a bag of chicken legs in the freezer. So they got thawed and then brined for about 3 hours. I decided on a way to cook them that was novel for me: on the stovetop grill with Indian spices. The package of garam masala from Savory Spice indicated that it is considered a “finishing” spice. So be it. It went on at the end.

Indian-spiced chicken drumsticks
9 drumsticks, skin on
olive oil
ground cumin
black pepper
garam masala

Brine the chicken for 2-3 hours in 3 cups water in which 3 tbsp kosher salt have been dissolved. Rinse and dry.

Cut a ½” deep slit in each side of each leg through the thickest part of the meat. Brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle a couple pinches cumin in the slits and over the legs.

Heat the stovetop grill. Our front and back burners (electric) are different sizes. So I set the front at 5 and the rear at 6. That seems to give me fairly even heat.

Spray the grill with cooking spray. Cook the chicken, turning often, for 30 minutes (if you’re starting at room temperature – highly recommended), or until juices next to the bone are no longer red or pink. After the legs are browned all over, cover them loosely with foil. Apply garam masala when 5 minutes cooking time remains. Let the legs rest for 5 minutes before serving (tented with foil).

Curried turkey legs and wings

Having had the vindaloo shrimp on Monday, I wasn’t sure I wanted another Indian-spiced dish on Wednesday. We had garam masala, which has a lot of the same ingredients as the vindaloo. What to do? Peter wanted to use yet another Indian mix, chat, which goes really well with potatoes.

I looked in my “Food Lover’s Companion.” In the back is a list of suggested spices and flavorings for various foods. Curry and mustard were included under the chicken or turkey category. Oh, I didn’t mention that the whole deal here is to prepare the legs and wings from that honking big turkey we got last week.

So, here’s what I did. Made a paste using mustard, oil, Thai curry sauce and water. I had to adjust it so the hot curry paste wouldn’t totally dominate.

Curried turkey legs and wings
2 turkey legs, brined for 2-3 hours
2 turkey wings, also brined, tips removed
Spice paste*
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
black pepper
chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Use a sharp knife to remove the sheath that runs up one side of the legs. Run your fingers along the various muscle components of the legs to open up spaces where you can rub in the curry paste. Make a few slits through the skin of the wings, again so the paste can get inside. Cut a slit into the meaty part on each side of the legs.

Rub the curry paste all over and into the turkey pieces. Pull the skin of the legs up (you’ll have had to pull it down to rub in the paste). Place the legs and wings on a wire rack over a baking pan. Add chicken stock to the pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 1/4 to 1 ½ hrs. This can be done ahead of time. Then the turkey can be reheated.

*spice paste: mix 2 parts curry sauce (mine is from Hong Kong) with 1 part grainy mustard, 1 part olive oil, and 1 part water; stir to combine. Since you probably don’t have exactly the curry sauce I have, futz around with curry powder and the other ingredients until you get something you like.