Cook vs Turkey.....

Mr. Butterball before

......and the cook won? Yes.

There are many ways to cook a turkey. Do you start with a fresh or frozen bird? Some people swear by submerging them in vats of hot oil and frying them while other people skewer them before placing them on the grill. Still others opt for the oven roasted method but that begs the question of to brine or not brine. Do you season and baste the bird by squeezing herbs and oils between the skin and meat or cook it au natural. And what about the dressing; is it cooked inside of the bird or out? Everyone has their own idea of what is correct. A couple of years ago a friend introduced me to the idea of cooking the bird in its frozen state. She swore that it  came out juicier this way and saved you the hassle of trying to figure out how to safely defrost it first. I was intrigued but skeptical and each time I went to cook a turkey I contemplated this method then (turkied out) and fell back on the method that I was most comfortable with--roasting an unbrined yet heavily seasoned bird in the oven with its cavity filled with sliced apples and citrus. After all, what would happen if it didn't cook properly and I had a table full of guests expecting turkey.

But then I found myself in Belgium with a single small refrigerator. My only options for a turkey were the frozen ones from the grocery store and with my small refrigerator I simply didn't have a place where I could safely thaw the bird. So I took the plunge, crossed my fingers and stuck my fully frozen bird in the oven six hours before my guests were set to arrive. And I waited (while eliciting reassuring emails from my friend). And I waited because my bird was slightly larger than the bird described in the "recipe" I was following.

But sure enough, shortly before my full fledged panic began to kick in the bird started to thaw and turn brown. By the time I had to wrestle the still partially frozen neck and organs out of the cavity it was actually beginning to smell like a turkey. The afore mentioned removal process, however, was not pretty. Picture two people, one set of oven mitts, tongs and an oven hot roasting pan perched over a small sink. It was hot, messy and slightly work that had me longing to be able to put the turkey in the oven and forget about it. But a cook has to do what a cook has to do, right? And because I am a glutton for punishment, I took this opportunity to fill the now empty cavity with homemade dressing.. Again this wasn't an easy task since I was dealing with a bird that was simultaneously frozen and burning to the touch. Ouch.

A few hours later, however, when I removed the fully cooked turkey from the oven I thought I had success. Due to the afore mentioned wrestling match the fully cooked bird wasn't as pretty as I had hoped but we carved it before it went on the table so no one was the wiser. The result? The meat was cooked, the bird was juicy and our guests raved about its taste. Given my current circumstances I'd use this cooking method again. But give me a larger kitchen with a larger refrigerator, I'd go back to my usual method.

In the end, however, I got my belated Thanksgiving dinner so now it is time to tackle Christmas. There will not be turkey on the menu this time around.

Mr. Butterball, the cooked version

What Lies Beneath

Looking down a length of marble columns

Architecturally, Istanbul is an amazing city. This is the place that East meets West, old meets new, and religions intertwine producing an amazing skyline. Modern skyscrapers cast shadows over ancient hamams, historic buildings have simultaneously been painstakingly preserved and allowed to fall to ruin, and buildings have been re-purposed into uses I'm sure their builders never even dreamed about. Yes, the city is amazing above ground but by far, my favorite Istanbul site is one that lies below the surface. The Yerebatan or Basilica Cistern, is an amazing architectural feat that Glenn and I literally stumbled upon during our first trip to Istanbul and I knew I wanted to introduce Sidney to this subterranean water wonderland during our return trip.

The cistern itself is one of hundred that lie beneath the city dates to the 6th Century (another really cool  but now dry cistern has been re-purposed into the Sarnic Restaurant, which is well worth visiting while in Istanbul). Records claim that 7,000 slaves were used to construct the cistern under the site of   what was originally a large public square. At over 100,000 square feet the cistern can hold 2,800,000 cubic feet of water which was piped into the cistern from a water distribution system twelve miles away. The cistern provided filtered water for the Topkapi Palace and the Great Palace of Constantinople from the mid 1400s up until modern times. Three hundred and thirty six marble columns set in twelve rows of twenty eight support the cistern's ceiling. Of particular interest are the columns whose bases are carved with the images of Medusa.

Medusa 

Even if you have never visited the cistern it may still look familiar to you thanks to the 1963 James Bond film From Russia With Love, 2009's The International or in Dan Brown's Inferno. But if possible, seeing it in person is a must, and as I said earlier, my favorite place in Istanbul.

Visitors enter the cistern through a modest brick building then wind their way down a narrow set of fifty-two stone steps before entering the dimly lit chamber. Although much of the cistern has been rebuilt or restored--most recently in the mid 1980s when silt was removed and wooden walkways replaced the boats that had moved visitors through the cistern-- its construction is testimony to the amazing engineering skills that date back to the Byzantine Empire. To think that all of this was created by hand (yes, the hands of slaves but by hand none the less) is truly awe inspiring. The cistern chamber itself is cool and damp with the audible sound of dripping water echoing through the space. I've visited on two occasions and both times, despite the crowds, noise levels are minimal with people whispering. Once your eyes adjust to the dim lighting you can wandering the length of the cistern along wooden planked walkways. Today the water is shallow and filled with an array of well fed fish. Somehow the fish only add to the serene and almost eerie feeling that permeates the area. The Medusa heads are located in the far corner of the cistern making trekking all the way to the end well worth the effort. They are just that cool.

But then again whole cistern is cool. So if you find yourself in Istanbul, go visit the cistern. You will be able to briefly escape the heat and discover a piece of what is going on under your feet. I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Revisiting The Grandest Bazaar Of All

One of the long halls

Spices, spices, spices

I first visited Istanbul's Grand Bazaar two years ago during our first, post-child couple's getaway weekend. This week we're back with a four year old in tow and introducing Sidney to the sights, sounds, and smells that make Istanbul Istanbul. And since no trip to this city would be complete without a stroll through the Grand Bazaar, this is where I spent an afternoon with Sidney. My impressions remain the same but visiting with a child only magnified the lights, sounds, and colors. It was once again overwhelming to the senses but exciting at the same time. In honor of this visit I'm reposting my original blog entry....

While in Istanbul we succumbed to what all first time visitors do and visited the Grand Bazaar.  Having visited sauks in Dubai I thought I knew what to expect but nothing could have prepared me for the epic scale of Istanbul's great bazaar.  There are numerous smaller shopping areas throughout the city and we inadvertently wandered through several of those during our stay.   The Grand Bazaar, however, is the granddaddy of them all.

The bazaar itself dates back to 1461.  It was originally designed to be a local shopping market and in some cases it still is today.  However, I doubt any of its original architects would recognize it as such.  Today's bazaar encompasses over 60 streets and 5,000 shops and attracts upwards of 350,000 visitors a day.  Fortunately we visited on a "quiet" Monday but I still found the crows overwhelming.

That's a lot of silver

So what did we find?  A mix of locals and fanny pack wearing tourists wandered the catacomb of hallways lined with everything from spice, leather, and carpet vendors to suave looking young men hawking fake Levis, perfumes, and knick-knacks with unidentifiable purposes.  It was loud, chaotic, and truly an experience.

Bright lights

We could hardly walk a few feet without someone calling out a sales pitch to us.  We were undeniably recognizable as Americans; so much so that when people asked us where we were from we started answering with "Albania".   That would usually throw them off long enough for us to make a hasty escape.  Carpet salesmen were the worst.  It was hard to admire the beautiful Turkish carpets on display in windows without being pestered by pushy salesmen.  The more aggressive ones chased us down the hallways using sales pitches that made me want to run rather than linger.  Salesmen at silver and diamond stores looked more distinguished but used equally cheesy pick up lines.

Some body's watching you

It seemed as though the infamous "evil eye" was sold in every other booth.  Those salesmen appeared particularly desperate.  My favorite sales pitch started with the words "I've been waiting for you."  Really?  Do people really fall for this?  I felt an incredible urge to go back to the hotel to shower after some of these come-ons.  Unfortunately when I browsed at a local soap vendor I was so turned off from the sales pitch that I just couldn't bring myself to purchase any of the olive oil soap.

We did walk away with a few small sales. It turns out that Glenn is a haggler.  Who knew?  I knew I wanted to purchase some saffron from one of the spice vendors.  Glenn stepped up to the plate and haggled our way into a significant purchase that would have broken the bank had I ordered it from my regular on-line spice store.  I also scored a kilogram of delicious apple tea.  We had tried it on several occasions and I wanted to recreate our Istanbul experience back in Tirana.  We also bought a few other items which I will refrain from discussing since the lucky recipients just might be reading this.

Bling

We think we roamed most of the hallways of the bazaar but after a while everything began to look the same and we had reached our saturation point.  It was a truly Istanbul experience which I'm glad we braved.  Will I return on our next trip to Istanbul?  I just might.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Istanbul

Because some places are just worth revisiting; yes we're on the road again!

Talking Turkey Take Two (Three & Four)

Gobble!  Gobble!  Yes, today is Thanksgiving and more than any other, this holiday is all about food.  And not just any food but the turkey (or in my case, its the side dishes that take center stage).  But in reality, without the turkey, it just wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving.  Living overseas, procuring the requisite turkey can sometimes prove to be a challenge.  You just need to log onto any ex-pat blog to see what measures Americans will go through in order to put a turkey on their Thanksgiving table.  Where turkey isn't available any combination of fowl may be substituted with varying results.  But if it isn't turkey........  For many Americans however, when you say the word turkey, we immediately think about a Butterball turkey.  (And as we discovered, Butterball turkeys are as coveted here in Albania as well; mention turkey to an Albanian and they say it is good, tell them it is a Butterball and their level of excitement skyrockets).  Currently we are fortunate that we not only have access to fresh turkeys on a seasonal basis but we also have the ability to import Butterball turkeys from American military bases located here in Europe.  So this year, there is plenty of turkey to go around.

Because we love Thanksgiving and (now) have a ready stash of Butterball turkeys in our freezer I am excited to once again be hosting a dinner today for some of our closest Albanian friends.  I'm even going out on a limb for the first time and following the advice of a good friend, am roasting my turkey from the frozen state.  Yes, you read that right, I plopped the entire frozen bird in the oven this morning and as I type, it is roasting away and smelling very much like a turkey.  (The complete story will surely be a future blog post!).  We haven't even sat down to eat the bird yet and Glenn is already talking about the turkey sandwich he will make with the leftovers.

But this is not our first Thanksgiving of the year.  Last month we hosted a mock Thanksgiving dinner that was profiled in an Albanian lifestyle magazine.  We ate the 30 pound turkey for more meals than I want to remember and only finished up the last of the frozen leftovers last week ---just in time for us to stock up on more turkey leftovers.  Last night, Americans from our Embassy were the guests of the President of Albania at a very large, American style Thanksgiving dinner.  Attending a dinner the night before our own big dinner had been the last place that I wanted to be, but off we went.  (And unlike our holiday travels back in the U.S., this dinner only required a three minute drive to get there).  Served in the Palace of Brigades, which is one of Albania's more impressive buildings, the multi-course meal blended both American and Albanian customs and foods with turkey being the centerpiece of the meal.  And just in case we haven't had our fill of turkey and all of the accompanying sides, tomorrow we will be eating our fourth Thanksgiving feast when we join friends from the Embassy who are hosting their own holiday dinner.  I'm guessing that by the time Monday rolls around I will be very tired of turkey.  So much so that I'm already planning a Christmas dinner that includes beef rather than, you guessed it......turkey.


Gobble, gobble.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!