One Meal minus Dessert ;)
ROAST TURKEY WITH CITRUS PAN GRAVY
12- to 14-pound turkey
Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Rosemary-orange butter:
½ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced orange zest
4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Fruit and vegetables:
1 orange, quartered
1 yellow onion, quartered
3 carrots, unpeeled, coarsely chopped
• Citrus pan gravy:
7 cups turkey stock
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup cornstarch
Salt and freshly ground pepper
To prepare turkey: Remove thawed turkey from refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours to take off chill. Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove neck, heart and gizzard from turkey. Reserve for turkey stock. Rinse turkey inside and out. Pat dry. Trim off and discard excess fat. Fold wings underneath back of turkey to prevent overbrowning. Lightly salt and pepper inside and out. Stuff and truss turkey, if desired.
To make rosemary-orange butter: In bowl, mash together butter, zest, rosemary, pinch of salt and pinch of pepper. Working from tail end of turkey, gently slide fingers between skin and flesh on breast, legs and as much of thighs as you can. Then, slide fingers between skin and breast from neck end. Spread half of butter under skin and over meat on breast, legs and thighs. Spread remaining butter over outside of skin.
To roast turkey: Place turkey on rack in flameproof roasting pan just large enough to hold turkey. Roast turkey, rotating pan's position on oven rack from front to back several times, for 1¾ hours. Add onion, orange and carrots to pan. Roast, stirring fruit and vegetables every 15 minutes, for 1¼ hours or until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh away from bone registers 175 degrees. (Note: Total roasting time will be about 3 hours.) Transfer turkey to cutting board. Cover loosely with foil.
To make gravy: Place roasting pan with pan juices, orange and vegetables over 2 burners. Turn heat to medium-high. Add turkey stock. Bring to a brisk simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to deglaze pan and scraping up browned bits from bottom. Pour contents through strainer set over large bowl, pressing hard on vegetables with back of large soon to extract all liquid. Discard solids. Spoon off as much fat as possible from liquid or pour into fat separator and pour off liquid. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly for 5 minutes. In small bowl, stir orange juice into cornstarch. Stir until blended. Gradually stir mixture into simmering gravy. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
BAKED FENNEL
8 fennel bulbs, cut lengthwise into 2/3 -inch strips
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Preheat oven to 325 degress. Place fennel in roasting pan or large baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt. Bake for 35 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes or until tender.
TURKEY STOCK
Makes about 7 cups.
3 tablespoons oil
Turkey neck and heart and gizzard
3 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cups chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 bunch fresh parsley, stems only
2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
8 cups low-sodium canned chicken broth
¾ cup dry white wine or sherry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
To make stock: Warm oil in stockpot over medium-high heat. Add turkey parts. Cook, turning once or twice, for 14 minutes or until well browned. Stir in onion, carrot, celery, parsley, thyme and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook, occasionally scraping browned bits from bottom of pot, for 15 minutes. Add broth, wine and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Simmer, partically covered, for 35 minutes.
To use or store stock: Pour stock through strainer into large bowl. If using right away, spoon off visible fat or pour into fat separator. Otherwise, cool for 30 minutes. Cover. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Using large spoon, remove solid fat from top of stock. Discard fat. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
BREAD STUFFING
Makes enough to stuff 12- to 14-pound turkey.
½ cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery with leaves, finely chopped
1 pound stale bread, cut into½-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup minced parsley
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup turkey stock or canned chicken broth
To saute vegetables: In 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery. Cook over low heat until vegetables are soft but not browned.
To make, bake stuffing: In large bowl, toss sauteed vegetables with bread, salt, pepper, parsley, sage and thyme. Add turkey stock. Toss until lightly moistened but not packed. Use to stuff turkey. Or bake separately in lightly greased casserole at 325 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until top has formed crust and stuffing is heated through.
MASHED POTATOES WITH PARSNIPS
4 cups chopped peeled parsnip
4 cups cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup half-and-half
4 teaspoons butter
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Place chopped parsnip and potato in saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Return to pan. Add half-and-half, butter, salt and pepper. Using potato masher, mash to desired consistency.
CORN PUDDING
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, finely chopped
3 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups thawed frozen corn
¾ cup heavy cream
1½ cups milk
5 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly milled white pepper
To prepare oven, dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 10- by 15-inch baking dish.
To saute vegetables: In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add bell pepper, scallions and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes or until bell pepper softens. Remove from heat. Set aside.
To make pudding: In blender, process 3 cups of corn with heavy cream until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Add remaining corn, milk, eggs, salt and white pepper. Stir in sauteed vegetables. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
To bake pudding: Place dish in large roasting pan. Pour in enough nearly boiling water to come½ inch up outside of dish. Bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center of pudding comes out clean. Remove from roasting pan. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving
CRANBERRY RELISH WITH GINGER
1 orange, unpeeled and scrubbed
2 bags cranberries
1½ cups sugar
1/3 cup peeled, finely chopped or grated fresh ginger (see cook's note)
To make relish: Cut unpeeled orange into 16 chunks. Discard seeds. Working in batches, combine orange chunks, cranberries, sugar and ginger in food processor. Pulse to chop finely and evenly, stopping once or twice with each batch to scrape down sides of work bowl. Transfer to storage container. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours to develop flavors.
To serve relish: Bring to room temperature. Stir well before serving.
Cook's note: To prepare ginger, peel with vegetable peeler or paring knife. A microplane zester, the kitchen gadget that resembles a rasp, makes quick work of grating ginger.
:D
