Thanksgiving Roast Turkey with Vegetables and Stuffing

Ingredients:
Turkey:
6 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 sticks real unsalted butter
12 to 16 pound turkey


Vegetables:
8 red or russet potatoes, washed, unpeeled or peeled and cut into quarters
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 to 2 inch cubes.
6 carrots, washed, unpeeled and quartered
2 onions, cut into wedges
6 ribs of celery (with tops if possible) quartered
1 cup good white wine

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°.

Remove giblets and neck and wash turkey inside and out. Pat dry with paper towel.

Combine butter garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Pat the herb mixture all over the entire surface of the turkey. Lift breast skin and use your fingers to make a pocket as far back as possible. Pat herbed butter mixture under skin. Be generous. Close pocket with skin and rub cavity with butter mixture, as well.

Pour wine over turkey and vegetables.

Bake uncovered for about 3 ½ to 4 hours. Be sure your read your turkey’s wrapper for directions. Turkeys cooking time average is about 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, tent the browned turkey with a sheet of foil sprayed with cooking oil to prevent sticking.

The internal temperature of the turkey should reach 165-170° F.

Transfer the turkey to a serving platter and surround with the roasted vegetables. Garnish with sage leaves.


If you wish to stuff your turkey, follow your recipe directions or use one of the delicious dressing or stuffing recipes I will post this week only.

Challah Bread, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 pound Challah bread Loaf, cubed
1 pound baked cornbread, crumbled
2 sticks real unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
8 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 3 ½ cups chicken broth
1 good handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound your favorite good sausage


Directions:
In a large bowl, add cubed bread and crumbled cornbread. Melt butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add all vegetables and sauté until al dente. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add all herbs, spices, broth and combine. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes and pour over bread mix in bowl. Stir mixture gingerly.

In the same skillet, brown sausage. Drain any excess fat before adding to the bowl of stuffing mix. Combine well. If mixture is too dry add more broth a little at a time until stuffing is moist but not wet.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stuff neck of bird and close with tooth pick or metal skewer. Stuff cavity of turkey. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.

Pour any extra stuffing in a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees. For 25 to 35 minutes.
Enjoy!

My Paprika Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

Olive oil
3 1/2 to 4 pound whole chicken
1 stick real butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon ground paprika
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 slight handful parsley, chopped fine 
2 fresh sage leaves, chiffonade or equivalent ground sage
1 handful fresh rosemary leaves, minced, plus a few twigs reserved for garnish
3 twigs fresh thyme leaves (I know. Sounds like a song : )
1 head garlic, cut in half
6 nice sized potatoes, scrubbed and quartered, leave jacket on (or peel if preferred)
1 large white onion, peeled and chopped
6 carrots washed, ends trimmed and halved, but leave rustic
2 ribs celery, washed, peeled to remove strings and cut into thirds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees .
Add paprika to room temperature butter. Stir well to combine.
If chicken has a giblet package, remove. Discard or freeze for use later. Wash chicken well inside and out. Pat dry. Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken and add ½ of the butter.  Rub the butter in well. Stuff with garlic and a third of the herbs.
Using your fingers, make a pocket under the skin of the breasts of the chicken. Place a third of the herbs beneith the skin. Herbs will be visible under the skin so neatness counts. Rub outside of chicken with remaining paprika butter. Salt and pepper to you liking. Using butchers twine, encircle each leg with string and tie legs together. Tuck wing tips under and place in roaster. 
Add all the vegetables and the remaining herbs around the bird. Salt and pepper. Drizzle vegetables well with olive oil. Roast for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the juice runs clear. Carve into pieces or leave whole. Serve on platter with rosemary sprigs and vegetables.

Happy Memorial Day!

 

Yummy Kabobs!  These are NO-BRAINERS, so you really don't need a recipe.  Just kabob sticks (local Wal Mart store), meat of your choice cubed up, veggies and fruit of your choice chopped to fit the sticks, oven or BBQ and lots of hungry people!

Here's what we did:
pork, cubed
chicken Breast, cubed
bell pepper, chopped
onion, chopped
fresh mango, cubed
fresh pineapple, cubed
fresh apples, cubed

( The fruit... because it's what we had on hand and it had amazing flavor all together.)

We dipped in Honey BBQ sauce and they were outrageously delicious! So, do your own thing according to your family's taste and enjoy!

We put about four pieces of meat per Kabob and split the rest alternating fruit and veggies. Cook about 30 to 40 minutes in the oven and until the meat is done on the grill.