ArcaMax

My husband invented one of the best kitchen innovations of all time.

It’s called The 10 Minute Cleanup.

I’m going to tell you all about it.

This works magically at the end of any dinner party. Any size. And by that, I mean I have done this with dinner for almost 100 people, but it can be done for dinner for four or even six. No number is out of the question.

We started this about 20 years ago and the plan still works well today. The “rules of the dinner party” have changed. (But that’s the topic of a column yet to come).

Let me tell you about some of the reasoning behind this and then I’ll give you the “rules/procedures.”

No one really likes to clean up after a party. Some people won’t even host a party because all they can think of is the nightmare of the piles of dishes and glassware that will be waiting for them in the kitchen after everyone leaves.

The truth is we found out people want to help. And you can make it fun.

That’s the logic behind the 10 Minute Cleanup. You will have your guests play a small part in helping to clean up after the big meal. They will not do everything; but when every person tackles a small cleanup task and works at it for ten minutes, it helps tremendously...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Turkey Fricassee

I found an inspirational recipe, online, submitted by a woman whose grandmother was from France. My goal was to come up with a new recipe for leftover turkey and doing something French sounded super yummy. I love to take the leftover turkey and transform it into something different. French comfort food. BIG YUM.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

3 Tbl of gravy flour (I use gravy flour because it’s smoother and thickens faster with using less)
¼ cup of butter
2 cups of heavy cream
2 cups of chicken broth
1 Tbl of dried parsley
4 egg yolks (if you are worried about undercooked eggs, buy pasteurized eggs)
¼ cup of lemon juice
4 cups of leftover turkey
Grated sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a medium saute pan add the butter and melt. Then add the flour and stir in to make a paste. Add the cream and broth. Bring to a low boil while you stir with a whisk. Not long after this sauce begins to bubble you’ll see it begin to thicken. Once it’s thickened add the dried parsley and turn off the burner.

In a bowl put in the egg yolks and the lemon juice. Stir with a whisk or a fork to combine. You are now going to slowly add this to the sauce. Turn the sauce back on, but be sure to keep it low enough so it doesn’t begin to boil. If you put egg yolks into a boiling sauce you’ll get scrambled eggs as a result and what you want instead is a smooth, decadent sauce. Add the turkey. Season with grated sea salt and pepper to taste. Warm the sauce long enough to heat up the turkey. That will take care of any worries you might have about putting eggs in a sauce. The French don’t worry about it, and I’ve never had an issue. Just being extra careful.

Serving Suggestions:

If you made mashed or smashed potatoes for your Thanksgiving, this is prefect served over the top. If you want to keep it lower carb you can serve it with a nice helping of roasted broccoli and you can also consider putting a handful of baby spinach under the turkey fricassee. The heat of the turkey mixture will wilt the spinach and you’ll have a lovely low-carb, comfort food entrée.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola