…But I Thought You Liked Turketti?
The idea began harmlessly enough. Grandma Maggie read a recipe in some silly magazine like McCall’s or Good Housekeeping. The title was probably “Turketti! An Exotic Casserole for that Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey.” They had just closed their restaurant, and Pop (my grandpa) bought too many turkeys that last holiday season, so Grandma Maggie made mounds of Turketti… and then froze it in rectangular Tupperware bricks.
I must’ve been 12 when my Grandma Maggie served me Turketti for the first time. It was about a month after Thanksgiving. She plopped a more-than-generous helping of that gelatinous mess onto my plate. Never one to hide my emotions, I looked down in horror at this swirling mess of turkey chunks, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and half-baked noodles with an apparent scowl on my face. I didn’t say a word, but my face said “yuck.”
“But I thought you liked Turketti,” she pleaded.
And for the next 17 years of life, I heard that phrase at least a half-dozen times a year — because Maggie had enough bricks of Turketti to build The Great Wall of China and she re-heated it, brick by brick, from Carter to Clinton.
But as much as I hated Turketti, I dearly loved my grandparents. Yesterday for Thanksgiving we honored their memory with a good laugh and funny stories in Charleston, S.C. Heck, today I’m thinking about taking leftover turkey and making Turketti to torture my nieces Olivia and Isabel.
“What’s the matter girls? I thought you liked Turketti?”
Today, I am thankful for friends, leftover turkey, and family…and especially terrible family recipes. For Christmas I will try to tackle a congealed salad.
Turketti – The Thanksgiving Miracle
Need a recipe for all that leftover Turkey? Well you’re in luck because somehow, Turketti recipes still exist on the Internet. It’s a Thanksgiving miracle!
1 can (10 3/4 ounce) cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1/2 cup water
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 1/3 cups spaghetti (broken, cooked, and drained)
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine soup and water. Stir in remaining ingredients except 1 cup of cheese. Spread mixture in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake for 45 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings. Stored in freezer, lasts 6-8 decades.