Perfect Turkey and Gravy

My favorite method for roasting turkey. I have had way better success with this method than when roasting it whole.  Plus it is much easier to carve when you're ready to serve. (BONUS!) I was lucky enough to find a 10 pounder when I went to the store, which is really all my husband and myself can handle. I'm going to try to be as detailed as I can with the process of breaking it down as I know this might be the first time for some people.
First of all, you're going to need a strong knife. You won't be able to do this without a knife you're comfortable with.
Step 1
Remove outer half of wing by slicing through at the joint. Remove neck and gizzards. Reserve neck and wings.
Step 2
To remove the leg and thigh, hold the leg and slice the skin through to the bottom of the bird. Stay close to the leg as you work your way down.














Step 3
When you can see the inside of the leg and thigh, grab the thigh and pop the joint connecting it to the back. Slice in the middle of the joint, it will be easy to tell where to cut to remove the thigh/leg.














Step 4
Holding the rest of the carcass upright, you will be able to see where the rib bones connect to the back (I feel a song coming on...) slice down to the bottom, separating the breasts from the spine.














Step 5
Remove breasts completely by slicing wing joint from the back, leaving the wing attached to the breast. I like to leave the "drumstick" part of the wing in tact because it makes for a nice handle when carving. Reserve back with other leftover carcass parts.














Step 6
Place breasts meat side down. Locating the middle of the breast, chop breast in half. This is going to take a little bit of force, be careful if you've never done it before!














Voila! It took some effort but it will be well worth it!
















In a food processor, combine:
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons dry thyme
5 medium garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
The zest of 1 whole lemon
Pulse until well combined. Rub all over turkey parts and under the skin.
Place turkey in a roasting pan without a rack and roast at 400 degrees for:
(Purchased Weight)
10 lbs: 1 hour 5 minutes
15 lbs: 1 hour 20 minutes
20 lbs: 1 hour 45 minutes
For the gravy:
Place turkey carcass in a stock pot and cover with 6 cups of water. Add:
2 teaspoons dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry thyme
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
Simmer on medium-low the entire time the turkey is roasting. Strain when you take the turkey out of the oven. The liquid should have reduced to about 3 cups.
Rest turkey on a cutting board while you prepare the gravy. Scrape the brown bits off of the pan with a metal or wooden spoon. Add to turkey stock. This gives the gravy tremendous flavor, do not skip this step.  Dissolve 2 tablespoons corn starch and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour into 1/2 cup water.  Whisk into gravy and heat until thickened.
Once turkey has rested for at least 10-15 minutes, carve and serve.
Please comment if you need more/any clarifications. Happy Turkey Day!

Buttermilk Rolls

These are perfect for soaking up gravy or making leftover turkey sandwiches.

These were made in a 9x13 aluminum pan and it makes 18 large rolls. You could use a bigger pan (or more than one) and make smaller rolls if you like. Or you can cut the recipe in half.

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 eggs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup hand hot water
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups bread flour

Mix above ingredients until well combined. Allow to proof for 20 minutes.

Add:

4 1/2 cups bread flour

With the dough hook fitted in an electric mixer, add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Once all flour has been added, allow mixer to knead dough for 6 minutes. The dough will still be a little sticky. Resist adding more flour.

Rest for 1 hour.

Shape rolls and put in non stick sprayed pan and rest for an additional hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix 1 egg with 2 tablespoons milk. Egg wash top of rolls. Wait 5 minutes and egg wash again.

Bake for 25 minutes (for large rolls). Smaller rolls will take about 20.

Walnut Cranberry Upside Down Pumpkin Cake

Don't be surprised when you this cake starts being requested over pumpkin pie. It's dense, moist, and has a well balanced sweetness and pumpkin flavor.

I recommend baking the cake in a spring form pan because the cake is a little tall and it's easier to turn upside down when you remove the sides. I also suggest putting the spring form pan onto a baking sheet while baking because the sugar tends to melt out of the bottom of the pan. And melted, burnt sugar on the bottom of your oven is 100% not fun.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you like. This cake goes great with caramel ice cream. :)

Preheat oven to 350

6 ounces dried cranberries (about 1 cup)
1 cup water
1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar

Bring the water and dried cranberries to a simmer on medium heat until cranberries regain moisture (4 to 5 minutes). Drain. Toss cranberries and walnuts in brown sugar until moist.

Line a 10-inch spring form pan with parchment paper and spray bottom and sides with non stick spray. Place pan onto a baking sheet.

Spread nut-cranberry mixture in bottom of pan on parchment paper.

1-15 ounce can pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, oil, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and baking powder. Whisk in flour until combined.

Pour batter over nuts and cranberries and smooth top with rubber spatula.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry, 55-60 minutes.

Allow cake to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Release sides of spring form pan and turn cake upside down onto a serving plate. Allow to cool completely before slicing, about an hour.

Cheesecake

This is my most favorite cheesecake recipe. It's really easy to modify this and swirl in any flavor of your choosing. Raspberry, Strawberry, Nutella, Chocolate... on and on. All you have to do is take 1 cup of the cheesecake batter before baking and mix in 1/2 cup of raspberry or strawberry preserves, 1/2 cup nutella, or 1/2 cup melted chocolate. Then swirl it into the cheesecake and bake as normal.

This recipe has ground almonds in the crust, but you can leave them out and simply replace said quantity of almonds with graham crackers. You will need to add another tablespoon of melted butter to an all graham cracker crust.

Preheat oven to 350

Crust:

1/2 cup almonds
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

In a food processor, finely grind the almonds. Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar and pulse to combine. Add melted butter and pulse until crumbs are wet.

Press crust into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan.

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
16 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

Beat cream cheese and mascarpone in an electric mixer until smooth and soft. Add sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add eggs and beat until completely incorporated.

If swirling: Remove 1 cup of batter and mix with 1/2 cup of preserves, melted chocolate, or Nutella.

Pour into prepared crust and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until middle is set.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for an hour and a half.

Refrigerate overnight.

Cornbread Dressing (Sausage or Bacon)

For this recipe, you can use a store bought corn bread or you can make it yourself, I will admit, home made is better.

It's best to make the cornbread a day or two ahead of time. Then it's easy to dice up and toast for the dressing.

When you make the dressing, you can add 1/2 lb of sausage or bacon, or both. For a vegetarian option, diced red peppers and onions are a good alternative.

For the Cornbread:

Preheat oven to 400

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs

Whisk together eggs, honey, oil, milk, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add flour and cornmeal and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Pour into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon dry sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 recipe cornbread, 1/2 inch diced

Mix together the oil and seasonings in a large bowl. Lightly toss in cornbread and toast at 350 for 20-30 minutes until it starts to dry out and turn golden brown.

3-4 cups chicken stock
2 eggs
1/2 lb cooked sausage or bacon

Whisk together the eggs and 3 cups of the stock. Mix in the sausage or bacon and cornbread. Add more chicken stock, if needed to moisten the dressing.  Bake in a greased dish at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes, until the middle is set.

Sourdough and Pumpernickle Dressing

My favorite dressing for the holidays. Feel free to leave out the mushrooms if people in your family don't like them.

1 lb loaf sourdough bread, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups pumpernickle bread, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon dry sage
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, small diced
3 celery stalks, small diced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, small diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 cups chicken stock
3 eggs

Combine bread cubes, dry herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil in a large bowl. Toss until combined and turn onto a baking sheet. Toast at 350 until turning golden brown and dry (20-30 minutes). Cool.

Saute onions, celery and mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and chicken stock together. Add bread cubes and sauteed veggies.
Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until set and golden brown.

Cranberry Relish

Super easy and delicious. This is not an exact recipe, as Cranberries can differ in sweetness. So you're going to have to taste it when you're making it and sweeten to your liking.

1 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 6 ounce bag dried cranberries
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 cup water
1/2 cup to 1 cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to a simmer. Simmer until fresh cranberries burst. Add sugar until your desired sweetness.