I will kick this off with my recipe for the bird.
I brine my birds using Alton Brown’s recipe
Now at this point I go a little different from AB. First off if my bird is slightly frozen (it always seems to be) I will place the bird in the brine when the brine is at room temp. The brine gets cold, and the bird gets defrosted. Secondly AB suggests a 5 gallon bucket. Sorry AB but a 5 gallon bucket doesn’t fit in my fridge, and it is often 85F before T day in LA. I use either a Ziploc turkey brining bag or a 18 qt. food prep container I bought one year.
I also brine my turkey for a lot longer than AB. I go 12-24 hours ending on the day before I cook.
So to sum up, I place my bird in its brine sometime on Tuesday. I remove it on Wednesday. I then rinse it in clear water and place it on a platter uncovered in the fridge. This allows the skin to dry out just a bit, and gives a crispy skin when cooked. I remove the bird several hours before cooking and allow it to warm up somewhat. Now here is a trick that will work with any cooking method, and will assure you moister breast meat. I got this off a BBQ website, so I can’t take credit, but it works like a champ. The breast is done at about 163F, and the thighs are done at 180F If you cook the breast to done, the thighs are underdone, if you cook the thighs done, the breast is dry, dry dry. Here is how to prevent that. About 20 minutes take a 1 gallon Ziploc bag full of ice and a little water and lay it on the breast of the bird. You want the breast to cool off and start at a lower temp then the thighs. This way both white and dark meat both get done at the same time. Slick huh?
You can roast the turkey anyway you wish. I do mine outside on a charcoal grill with wood smoke (apple). If anyone wants details, ask. It is actually easier than cooking the bird in the oven. I also use AB recipe for aromatics
I usually add a non-salty rub to the outside of the bird after the oiling.
Cook until the thickest part of the breast is 160F remove the bird, platter and cover with foil, the temp in the bird will continue to rise for several minutes giving you a perfectly cooked bird.
Wait at least 20 minutes after removing from heat to carve.
OK, I have given you the recipe that will make you a turkey cooking god. Now it is your turn.
So start posting.
I post this every couple of years, but since you’re compiling, I’ll post it again. Besides, I’m a recipe whore! I don’t remember where I originally got it, but I’ve probably transmogrified it enough that it’s mine now. Amounts are variable, but I use one whole loaf of bread and adjust everything else by eye (makes a pretty big baking dish full.)
Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing
1 loaf sourdough bread (the pre-sliced rounds are easiest, but get the good stuff. The cheesy kind or whole wheat is yummy)
Chicken stock
Vermouth or dry white wine
Shallots, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced
Marinated artichoke hearts
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Black pepper
Poultry seasoning
Cube the sourdough (see, this is why the sliced kind is nice) and toast it in the oven. I put it in my big roasting pan and give it a stir when the top layer starts to get brown. Either the bake setting or the broiler works, but keep an eye on it. You can do that ahead of time, just wrap the cubes back up airtight when you’re done.
Then dump the toasted cubes in a big pan (again, my roasting pan is the only one big enough). Sauté the shallots and mushrooms, and add them to the bread cubes. Add artichoke hearts to taste (two of the small jars at my house). Add some of the artichoke juice too, what the hell. Pour chicken stock and vermouth over it until the bread cubes are damp but not soggy. Add pepper and poultry seasoning, and give it all a stir. Then top it liberally with grated cheese. Bake it uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted and the top gets a nice crust.
This is why I need two ovens, or else have to grill my turkey.
My Mormor’s Spice Cake
(Mormor is Swedish for “Mother’s Mother” or grandmother on mother’s side which is what we called my grandmother. She lived with us for most of my childhood. She emigrated here from Sweden in 1927 and brought with her this recipe and more from their family bakery back in Solvesborg, Sweden.)
3 eggs
1 C lite brown sugar (don’t pack)
1 C white sugar
5 T melted cold butter
1 C half and half
2 ½ t baking powder
2 C regular flour
1 t ground cloves
1 t cinnamon
1 T grated orange peel
½ C Orange Juice
Grease a 13” x 4 ½” loaf pan.
Beat eggs very well. Gradually add the white and brown sugar, and beat thoroughly. Sift flour once with cinnamon, cloves and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture and half and half alternately. Add orange rind and melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for hone hour. For the last 20 minutes maybe turn down the oven to 325 if it’s browning too fast. In a saucepan, mix orange juice and ¼ C sugar over medium heat until sugar is melted. When cake is done, pour the mixture over the hot cake.
Face it, yankees can’t season. Yankee seasoning is like bland cardboard. So I took a normal New England yankee dish (Clams) and southernized it. It’s only 4 points on the Weight watchers scale, perfectly acceptable to Adkins diet and south beach diet fans also.
… who like me are diebetic or insulin resistant but like sweet flavors for desserts here is an easy one (It’s also only 2 points for weight watcher members)
combine in a dish 3 scoops of the frozen cool whip, 1 serving of the Carb smart yogurt and about 4-6 chopped strawberries (sized to your personal taste) For looks set a couple of strawberries to the side and section thinly and arrange on top of dessert after mixing well.
This only serves about 6-8 in this quantity so increase accordingly to your expected orders. Very simple, makes a good appetizer. Or I’ve used this at home for the main meal but in larger servings.
I know, I didn’t make it from scratch but this is a quick make and the taste leaves you wanting just a little bit more which is youR goal with any meal.
SPICEY BROCOLI SOUP
2 BOXES CHOPPED BROCOLI
1 ROLL JALEPENO SOFT MELTABLE CHEESE OR GARLIC CHEESE
(if no jalepeno cheese add in chopped jalepeno, fresh of course)
(if it’s not got garlic added to the cheese use a garlic press and add in a clove)
1 CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP
1 CAN CREAM OF CELERY SOUP
1 CAN CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
3 SOUP CANS OF MILK
1 SMALL PURPLE ONION DICED
3 TABLE SPOONS BUTTER
SAUTEE ONION IN BUTTER
STIR IN CHOPPED BROCOLI
ADD SOUPS & MILK
CUT CHEESE INTO PIECES, ADD IT AND JALEPENO
STIR UNTIL CHEESE MELTS
COOK ON LOW ABOUT 30 MIN
I don’t serve this at the restaraunt but b/f is a hunter and always getting ducks and geese and begging me to serve it. So here’s what I do, not a “proper” chefs route but he and his friends seem to like it.
Ingredients needed:
1 medium sized purple onion per bird
1 head of garlic
1 tblspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon salt increase 1 teaspoon per each 2 additional birds
2 teaspoons gumbo fillet
1- Make the macho hunter clean the stinking fowl, I’m not to be arsed to clean the feathers, that particular job, done by hand, sucks.
2- half the onions, break garlic head into cloves and pack the body cavity of the birds with the onions and garlic cloves
3- marinate the birds overnight in cooking Sherry (or Italian salad dressing) in a cooler or refrigerator
(I like the wild taste but it usually needs to be tempered somewhat and this will do it.)
4- Remove birds from cooler, pat them down with the celery salt
5- Put birds in Dutch oven or (GASP!) crock pot and add enough water to cover them
6- Add salt and Gumbo fillet
8- Bring to a medium heat then lower flame or if electric lower to the #2 or #3 setting and let the heat do it’s job for about 4 hours.
9- Occasionally check with a fork, when done, the birds should have fallen apart
Remove from heat, and serve.
Remember, this is not a pretty looking dish, it’s for taste only so you cook it down until it’s falling apart, the meat will have fallen off the bone but it makes a very tasty juicy entre served best on wild rice using the liquid it was cooked in as a thin gravy. For side dishes I’d suggest beets and sweet peas.
That thread contains the recipe for my mom’s famous pumpkin bread. I’ll copy it here for convenience.
OK, Mom’s famous pumpkin bread. I’ll put my editorial comments in purple.
Combine
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup water
Separately, sift together
1 and 2/3 cup sifted flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
I sift the mixture twice just to make it really smoooth.
Beat the dry mixture into the oil/egg/pumpkin mixture. Stir in optional 1/2 cup raisins and/or 1/2 cup chopped nuts, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use the mini size) Pour into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan or 20 cupcakes/muffins.
NOTE: This recipe is for one loaf, but I usually double it and use the 15 ounce Libby’s can of pumpkin. It doesn’t suffer from one fewer ounce and this way you can make on plain and one chocolate chip, or one plain and one with walnuts, etc. I fill the first baking pan between 2/3 and 3/4 full and then add extra goodies to the remaining batter and fill the other pan.
Now, the interesting part. The recipe says to cook at 350 for one hour. I will say that it often takes longer than this and that’s OK. If the edges start getting a little brown, put strips of aluminum foil to protect them. But what you are really keeping an eye on is the top. It will split down the middle and the key is to cook it until the batter in the middle is solid. It make take significantly more than an hour and that’s OK. It’s better than having an undercooked middle part.
Once you’re satisfied, remove it to a cooling rack. When it’s touchable, take it out of the pan and let it cool on the rack. Now, my secret is to let it cool down but not completely. While it is still warm, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. It will make the top super-moist and moisten the outside which may have dried out a little in baking. I make it a day or two or even three ahead so it has time to really become what it was meant to be.
1-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blackberry jam
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
Caramel Frosting
1 stick butter
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup cream
1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
Cake: Mix all ingredients together and beat. Grease and flour two 9-inch pans. Fill pans with cake batter and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Ice with caramel frosting.
Frosting: Combine first 3 ingredients. Bring to boil for 2 minutes. Sift sugar and beat into mixture.
Hint: For best results, an apple cut in half and placed in the cake box will keep the cake fresh several days
I smoke my turkey on a Weber with apple wood too. Can’t be beat and clears up the oven for other goodies.
This year I’m considering brining the bird but every bird I can find is injected with 5-15% of some sodium solution. Have you brinded one of these birds?
My mother-in-law has a very simple but very good recipe she makes at Thanksgiving.
String Beans and Almonds
fresh string beans
slivered almonds
butter
Remove the strings from the beans (and the ends too). Steam until slightly crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, sautee the almonds with the butter until they start to turn brown and you can smell the almondy goodness. Serve the beans with some almonds sprinkled on top.
I either buy a fresh bird from a butcher or the cheapest frozen bird I can find. Neither of these seem to be injected.
Trust me, as good as doing the bird on the Weber is, when you brine it it kicks it up to notches perviously unknown to borrow from that guy on Food TV.
I make a dish we call The Purple Stuff. It goes amazingly well with poultry, so it gets made every time there’s a turkey being served.
Shred a large red (purple) cabbage. Throw it in a pot with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 butter (not margarine), and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Cook on medium until the cabbage is cooked but not limp. I tend to drain most of the resulting juice, but other people like to put it on their potatoes.
This is a Danish dish which my aunt introduced to our family about 35 years ago (from her Danish mother-in-law). People assume it’s one of my traditional Icelandic dishes (as though most Icelandic food is edible, or something).
I don’t know about filling, but I have an awesome never-ever fail crust recipe. My grand-Aunt Laura was a cook in a mining camp and logging camp (at different times) and developed it. I tend not to use recipes for fillings, as I’m a fruit pie kinda girl.
I don’t remember where I originally got it, but I’ve probably transmogrified it enough that it’s mine now. Amounts are variable, but I use one whole loaf of bread and adjust everything else by eye (makes a pretty big baking dish full.)