Cooking in the West

My favorite part of my County Superintendent job was getting out of the office and into the rural schools every week where I found a lot of featured cooks. Several years back for a special holiday column, I decided to ask the primary students of each rural school to tell me how to cook a turkey for the holidays. The following are some of their responses! These students are now hosting Thanksgiving dinners of their own, so I hope that their cooking skills have improved! Wherever and however you cook your turkey, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving!

Get the biggest turkey in the world. Don’t pluck it. Put it in applesauce for 2 days. Put it in the oven for one second at 1000 degrees. Take it out. Pluck it, and eat it! Korbin Johnson, Springdale School

Get a big turkey and pluck it. Stick it in the oven for one day at 2099 degrees. Take it out and then douse it in ketchup. Trey Ward, Springdale School

Get a turkey. Cook it at 1000 degrees for a million hours. Eat it with ketchup on top. Kell Schwers, Springdale School

Cook the turkey for 2 minutes at 100 degrees. Stuff it with stuffing after you cook it. Then eat it with gravy. Isabella Donald, Melville School

Buy a turkey at Wal-Mart. Cook it for 2 minutes at 9 degrees. Then eat it. Aimelyn Waddington, Melville School.

Cook it on the stove for 15 minutes at 30 degrees. Then put it in the oven for 3 minutes at 4 degrees. Mary Hutton, Melville School

First you gut it and everything. Then you try to get the meat off. This is how my mom cooks it. You get the bowl and put the meat in there. Then you let it set out for a bit in a bowl with water in it. Then you cook it on the top of the stove. You can add salt and stuff up its butt. Then you cook it and you can eat it. Grace Foulk, McLeod School

You could shoot a turkey or buy one. Take off its feet and all the things that are in the turkey like the beak and the little red thing. Then you cook it for half an hour at 100 degrees with salt and pepper. OIivia Burmeister, McLeod School

My favorite holiday recipe of all time is this one that many readers have shared with me over the years--enjoy!

Here is a turkey recipe that also includes the use of popcorn as a stuffing -- imagine that. When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect for cooks who don’t own a meat thermometer or are just not sure how to tell when poultry is thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. Give this a try if you dare!

Perfect Turkey with Popcorn Stuffing:

8 - 15 lb. turkey

1 C. melted butter

1 C. seasoned bread cubes

1 C. uncooked popcorn (ORVILLE REDENBACHER’S LOW FAT)

Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill the cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in a baking pan with the neck end towards the back of the oven.

Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey blows the oven door open and the bird flies across the room, it’s done!

This week I have legitimate holiday recipes from Nancy Bruce of Big Timber, Montana and the Phillips County Cattle Women of Sheridan, Wyoming. Thanks, ladies!

Nancy’s Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert:

32 gingersnap cookies, crushed (about 1 1/2 C.)

1/4 C. butter, melted

5 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 C. sugar

15 oz. can solid-pack pumpkin

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

5 eggs, lightly beaten

dash ground nutmeg

maple syrup

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into a 9 X 13 pan. Set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in pumpkin, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add eggs, beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over the crust. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until the center is almost set. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares and serve with syrup. Refrigerate leftovers.

Nancy’s Chunky Apple Cake:

1/2 C. butter, softened

2 C. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

2 C. flour

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

6 C. chopped peeled tart apples

Butterscotch sauce:

1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1/4 C. butter, cubed

1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Batter will be stiff. Stir in apples until well combined. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and springs back when touched. Cool for 30 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, combine butter and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat until butter melts. Gradually add cream. Bring to slow boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and serve over cake.

PCCW Dessert Pizza:

1 tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

1 C. chocolate chips

1 C. peanut butter

1 1/2 C. coconut

15 small black jelly beans

5 gumdrops of each color

Soften cookie dough and press it onto a 12 inch pizza pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool. Cut gumdrops in half and flatten a little. In a microwave safe bowl, melt chips, stir until smooth, and spread over cookie crust. Microwave the peanut butter for about 1 minute and spread it over chocolate. Sprinkle with coconut. Top with gumdrops and jelly beans.