Thanksgiving : The Turkey: Day 2

Turkey soup may be the farthest thing from your mind during Thanksgiving cleanup, but that’s no reason to throw out a perfectly good turkey carcass. Freeze the carcass, if you must, for a couple of weeks, then thaw and follow these directions:

Place the carcass in a large stockpot, breaking into pieces, if desired, and add water to cover (Step 1). Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Skim off scum that rises to surface (Step 2).

Add onions, carrots, bay leaf, fresh thyme, peppercorns and celery hearts to taste (Step 3). Continue to simmer, uncovered, two to three hours, adding more water if necessary.

Strain broth (Step 4), discarding carcass and cooked vegetables. Add water to broth, if necessary, to measure eight cups and return to stockpot along with chopped celery and sliced carrots (Step 5), then diced turkey (Step 6). Season to taste with salt and simmer until vegetables are almost tender.

Meanwhile, prepare dumplings, mixing ingredients just until moistened. (Egg noodles may be used in place of dumplings.) Bring soup to boil and drop dumpling mixture by tablespoons (Step 7) into soup. Reduce heat to simmering. Cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes.

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TURKEY SOUP WITH DUMPLINGS

1 roasted turkey carcass 1 celery heart, with leaves 1 onion, quartered 1 carrot, quartered 1 small bay leaf 2 sprigs fresh thyme 6 black peppercorns 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup sliced carrots 3 cups diced cooked turkey Salt Dumplings Chopped parsley

Place turkey carcass in large stockpot, breaking into pieces, if desired. Add enough water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Skim off scum that rises to surface. Add celery heart and leaves, quartered onion and quartered carrot, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Simmer, uncovered, 2 to 3 hours, adding more water if necessary.

Remove carcass and discard. Strain broth, discarding cooked vegetables. If necessary, add water to broth to measure 8 cups and return to kettle.

Add chopped celery, sliced carrots and turkey. Season to taste with salt. Simmer soup while preparing Dumplings.

Drop Dumpling mixture by tablespoons into boiling soup. Cover and return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 to 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Makes about 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

298 calories; 649 mg sodium; 51 grams cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 1 gram fiber.

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Dumplings

2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup minced onion 3/4 cup milk 3 tablespoons oil 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Heat butter in small skillet. Add onion and saute until tender. Remove from heat and stir in milk and oil.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and parsley in medium bowl. Add onion mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Makes 12 to 15 dumplings.