Good Eats Roast Turkey

from Alton Brown on FoodNetwork.com. Prepping the bird between brine and oven took about 45 minutes. I used a turkey roasting bag to contain the bird and brine so I used about 3/4 of the brine.

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket or a turkey roasting bag. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Fancy Butter

Compound Herb Butter
8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp basil, finely minced
1 tsp dill, finely minced
1 tbsp parsley, finely minced
3/4 tsp kosher salt

Mix all except butter in small food processor until finely chopped then add butter.



Honey Butter
8 tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Whip in mixer until light and fluffy.

Sweet Potato Souffle

From the three pugs and a baby blog

I tried to make ahead the filling and refrigerate but I think that added way too much time to the cooking time and the top burnt a bit - next time I am going to try cooking the sweet potatoes ahead of time but then reheating them before making the filling. This serves a crowd but can be halved for weeknight meals.

3 cups cooked, peeled sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all of the above ingredients and pour into a buttered baking dish.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine topping by hand and spread over sweet potato mix.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until topping is light brown.

Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

My favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. milk, divided
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
1 Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in half the Cool Whip. Spread into crust.

Whisk remaining milk, pumpkin, pudding mixes and spices 2 min. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Top with remaining Cool Whip just before serving.

Simplest Turkey

Not sure where I got this one from but my meat thermometer didn't work so well last Thanksgiving and I had to eyeball it when it was ready - definitely took longer than the recipe states.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Pull the neck and giblets out of the cavity; ditch the liver and save the rest of the giblets for gravy. Dry the turkey with paper towels, then season inside and out with salt and pepper.

Fill the turkey with aromatics like chopped onions, carrots, apples and herbs, then place breast-side up in a roasting pan and brush with melted butter.

Tent with foil and roast for 2 hours (for a 10- to 12-pound turkey; add an extra 15 minutes per pound for larger birds). Remove the foil, baste with more melted butter and crank the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast for another hour or until the meat at the thigh registers 165 degrees F.

Let rest while you make the gravy.

Homemade Gravy - Ina Garten recipe

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup flour1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Defatted turkey drippings plus chicken stock to make 2 cups, heated
1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy
1 tablespoon white wine, optional
1 tablespoon heavy cream, optional

In a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan, cook the butter and onions over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes all the difference when the onions are well-cooked. Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisk in, then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock mixture and Cognac, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes until thickened. Add the wine and cream, if desired. Season, to taste, and serve.

Sage, Sausage and Apple Dressing

16-ounce bag stuffing cubes
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping
1 pound fresh sage sausage, casing removed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (See Note)
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs.

Loosely pack the dressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkey pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.

Tips: Put the dressing in the oven during the last hour of cooking the turkey
Note: To toast nuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree F oven until golden, about 7 minutes. Also can add dried fruit.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup white sugar
1 bag of fresh cranberries (12 oz or 3.5c)
1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled & diced
1 Anjou pear, peeled & diced
1/4 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cornstarch mixed into 1 tbsp cold water

1. Put water & sugar in a medium pot and bring to a boil, dissolving sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil.
3. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add cornstarch/water mix. Simmer for 30 minutes
4. Let cool to room temperature and serve it warm or chilled.

The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup diced nuts and 1/2 cup of whatever dried fruit you like. Add at end but I omit them.

Pumpkin Roll

This is my sister-in-law Judy's recipe. My two year old loves the roll by itself with no frosting too. I don't really make into a roll since I always make it crack etc so I just stack it up like a layer cake, make extra frosting and frost the outside too (thanks to Amy for this suggestion since you get extra frosting).

Cake
2/3c pumpkin
3/4c flour
3 eggs
1c sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Line a jelly roll pan with wax or parchment paper. Mix ingredients and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into 3 even sections.

Assemble in a stack like a layer cake with frosting (see recipe below).


Frosting
16oz cream cheese, softened
1/2c butter, softened
2c powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat together butter and cream cheese, add sugar slowly, add vanilla near the end.

Monkey Bread

There are a ton of recipes out there for this but we like this one the best. You definitely need a big enough pan for this. The original recipe said a tube pan so I used my angel food cake pan with the removable bottom - this let all the butter leak out and burn in my oven and it was not a fun Christmas morning. My poor sister-in-law had to clean it out since we had to go to my dad's too.

1/2c sugar
1c packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4c melted butter
1/2c chopped walnuts
1/2c raisins
2 cans Pillsbury Grands Homestyle, cut into quarters

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bundt pan with Pam.

Mix cinnamon and sugar in ziploc bag and shake biscuit quarters to coat. Arrange in pan with walnuts and raisins. Mix brown sugar and melted butter, pour over biscuits.

Bake 32 minutes and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate.


Frosting (optional)

Beat together 8oz of softened cream cheese (1 package) and 1/2c butter (1 stick). Slowly add 1.5c of powdered sugar. Beat 10 minutes, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla near the end.

Pineapple Stuffing

This recipe came from my sister-in-law Michelle. This is great with ham and I most often double the recipe to serve a bunch of us. It is sweet but no one complains since it is so yummy.

8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
1c sugar
1/2c butter, softened
4 eggs
5 slices white bread, cubed and dried (overnight)

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time. Stir in pineapple, fold in bread.

Place in deep casserole dish and bake for 1 hour at 350.

Baked Green Beans

This came from my sister's sister-in-law. I love making this for the holidays and it is as good reheated as it is fresh out of the oven. I use the precut steam in bag green beans for ease of prep.

1 large sweet onion cut into wedges
1/4 c cooking oil
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 lb green beans
6 oz baby portobella mushrooms, halved
6 oz goat cheese
2-3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 400

Cook onions, covered, in cooking oil over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and add brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine olive oil, soy sauce, and vinegar. Toss green beans to coat and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Spread onions over green beans. Mix goat cheese and milk with a hand mixer, spoon over green beans and return to oven for 5 min.