Turkey Puffs for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has always been a major holiday for my family. I have the best memories of cooking for two or three days before Thursday, planning weeks ahead for half a dozen or so recipes.  We had an A-Frame house that had stairs in the middle, so each year Dad put a huge piece of plywood on top of the cedar-sided railing, and our upstairs was transformed into a buffet. The plywood was dressed with a tablecloth, plates, napkins, punch, several kinds of cookies, bread sticks, cheese dips, crackers, and a selection of appetizers that varied each Thanksgiving. These turkey puffs are my mom's favorite of all those recipes, and this is the first year that I made them in our home. Happy Thanksgiving. 
​

Cream Puffs

2 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup flour
10 eggs 

1. Bring water, butter, and salt to full boil.
2. Whisk flour into boiling water until it forms a ball. 
3. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes
4. Stir in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. 
5. Beat until dough is shiny. 
6. Shape tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls. 
7. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. 
8. Convection Bake 16-20 minutes, until puffed and golden. 
9. Pierce puffs with knife allowing steam to escape and centers to dry. 
10. Cool completely on wire rack.

Homemade mayo

Pepper turkey from the deli

Cream puff dough

Whip eggs together until dough is shiny

1 inch dollops

Turkey, celery, bell pepper, onion, apricot

Poke steam hole immediately.

Turkey puffs!

Turkey Salad Mixture

​Dressing
​
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 
2 tsp grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lime, zested
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

​Whisk 

Filling
​
1 1/2 lbs diced deli turkey
2/3 cup diced dried apricots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
2 tbls finely chopped pecans, toasted

Pix filling with dressing. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour. Stir pecans into turkey mixture. Fill cream puffs.