Oven Roasted Turkey Legs with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Every week I've been trying to evaluate "the pit" and "the peak" in my attempt to stay on a realistically positive mental track. I prefer to review the pit first and foremost because it's usually what drives me into anxiety throughout my week. If I'm able to get it off of my chest immediately I can usually see the peak much more clearly, which is ideal. (This is most likely the case for everyone but my O.C.D.  kicks in particularly strong if I try to begin with the peak...I just cannot end things on a bad note.)

So to review the pit for this past week, I'd have to say it has been learning that I have to be very careful with what I say to others. Granted, I did not find myself speaking ill of others (like someone else I know). By not prefacing that a conversation I was having with a friend was considered personal and intended to be kept confidential it became unclear to this person whether it could be shared as breaking news to an entire audience.

In my attempt to branch out I tried to open up a little bit more to certain people who I don't know all that well but who seemed very trustworthy (aka with the above example). Since my closest friends happen to live very far away I thought I would try to eliminate that arm's-length-kind-of-distance with at least a couple of people. Obviously, it didn't turn out the way I had hoped...but, it's no use in crying over spilled milk.  This irony just brings me to a soundless chuckle and a rolling of the eyes. I guess Ralph Waldo Emerson was right when he said, "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature."

So enough about the pit, let's talk about the peak! I actually had a really great week at work, I've become much more confident in what I do and it has made me feel like I'm finding so much more success than I have found in the past. On top of it all, Ian got a wonderful job opportunity in Chicago! He will be moving in just over a month while I work here for the next 6-7 months. I accepted a promotion at work in August and I know that if I leave now for Chicago my experience will be retired prematurely. I'm a very lucky girl that Ian will be waiting for me when I'm ready to meet him. 

So with everything that has gone on in this last week alone I really needed a couple of hours in my kitchen to cook through everything that has happened. I took this recipe from Julia Child but I altered it slightly - chicken is ridiculously expensive to buy right now so I bought what was on sale: turkey legs. Might sound odd, in fact, it sounded odd to me, too. But I have never made turkey legs in my life and I have only ever eaten them when visiting the State Fair. So comparing one poultry to another I thought, "Oh, what the hell!" And I've gotta say, they were so good...so, so, so good. 

Ingredients:

• 3 Turkey Legs
• 1/2 lb White Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 small White Onion
• 1/2 cup of White Wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup of Chicken Stock
• 1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Dried Basil
• Garlic Powder

Cooking Directions (Turkey Legs):

• First, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Place the turkey legs side by side in a baking dish
• Coat the legs with a desired amount of salt, pepper, dried basil, and garlic powder

 

• Pour enough water into the bottom of the baking dish so that it sits 1/4" inch deep 
• Then cover the baking dish with a long sheet of aluminum foil and place in the oven
• Bake for 1 hour

 

Cooking Directions (Mushroom Cream Sauce)

• In a large sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat
• On a cutting board dice the onion and then saute until the onions become translucent
• Add the mushrooms and cook over medium. 
• Once their moisture has been released and then evaporated brown the mushrooms

 

 

• Add the wine and the chicken stock into the pan 

 

 

• Then cover and simmer until 2/3 of the liquid has evaporated
• Remove the lid and add the heavy whipping cream

 

 

• Turn the heat back up to medium and bring to a slight boil before covering again and reducing the heat to simmer
• Once the sauce becomes a thick, gravy-like consistency it is ready for the turkey legs to be added

 

 

• Coat the turkey legs well and serve hot