Tag: thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 101

You need two things: a menu and a plan. It doesn’t have to be stressful or perfect and your house doesn’t have to be big or spotless. And keep your expectations low. Thanksgiving is an event, and once an event starts, you lose all control and it takes on a life of its own. And that is okay. We have a crowd on Thanksgiving and I live in a regular ranch style home and on Thanksgiving day it will be filled with people I love and that makes me happy. This year they will be eating out of paper plates, the good ones of course, and finding a seat wherever they can. The important part is you are spending it with those you love and care about whether that be family or friends or both. I do have some fancy dinner parties with china and name places, but Thanksgiving isn’t one of those events.

Guests: Know who is coming. And know if anyone has any issues such as a shellfish allergy, gluten sensitivity or special dietary needs. You don’t have to make an entire gluten free meal but just make sure you have one or two things they can enjoy safely.  Also, guests may ask “What can I bring?”. Don’t be a martyr, you don’t get an award for making everything yourself. Tell them to bring something you know they do well. From experience- don’t ask them to bring something important, like the turkey or dressing. Because if they forget, or if they get sick at the last minute, that would be an issue.

Drinks: Being from the south, and in the heart of the Bible belt, I grew up on sweet tea and alcohol was not a part of any family dinner and especially Thanksgiving. And it is your decision to have alcohol or not at your dinners.  I always like to have a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine open on the bar for guests to help themselves. Some years the bottles are barely touched and some years we open lots of bottles. We just play it by ear and make sure we are well stocked. There are good expensive brands and there are good inexpensive brands, what you serve is up to you.

Appetizers: I always set something out, even if it is small. Just cheese and crackers (Brie with Fig Jam would be great) and/or raw veggies. I promise you, some of your people have not eaten all day. And if dinner is delayed, for whatever reason, you won’t have hungry, grumpy people on your hands.

Your oven:  It is important to know your oven. If you have a newer oven or a gas oven, it may have a cooling fan incorporated. This is important to know if you are doing a recipe that calls for “Bird at 500 degrees, then turn the oven off and let it continue to cook for 5 hours”. I tried this a few years ago, found out my oven had a cooling fan- on Thanksgiving Day, so that method did not work and by the time I figured out what had happened- thanks to Google- our dinner was delayed and I was in an absolute panic. You also need to plan your menu and cooking time based on the availability of space and time in your oven. Think of side dishes to prepare that do not require use of the oven. If you are invited to someone’s home for thanksgiving, make sure you cook your dish ahead of time. DO NOT ASK to use their oven. I promise you, it is full!

Must haves: Meat thermometer, a turkey roaster is always handy, tea pitchers, wine chillers.

The turkey- fresh or frozen: Of course fresh is better and saves you thawing time, but fresh is not always available and there are some fabulous deals on frozen turkeys. If you are going the frozen route, incorporate your thawing time into your plan. And if you have a frozen turkey in the bottom of freezer from 2019, for goodness sakes, throw it away.

The turkey- brine, no brine, dry brine: I have done all these methods and there is no right answer, it is just about what you like. The dry brine creates an extra crispy skin. The brine creates an extra juicy turkey, no brine is just fine as long as you salt it really well. And no brine is the default method if you have no plan and are flying by the seat of your pants and short on time.

The turkey- whole or spatchcock: Whole is traditional and makes for a wonderful instagramable (is that a word?) picture. Usually, a 10-12lb whole bird will cook at 350 degrees for 2-2 ½ hours. Spatchcocking is removing the backbone from the bird, cracking the breast bone and cooking the turkey flat. This method is best done with a 12lb or less turkey. It is the quickest cooking method and works well if time is an issue. I do this method often with chicken. No matter which method you use, you have to let the bird rest after cooking. This lets all the juices redistribute and makes for the best turkey. Loosely cover the bird with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The longer it rests, the better it will be. No, it will not be cold. Yes, it will be juicy!

Stuffing or Dressing: Stuffing is “stuffed” and cooked in and around the bird. Dressing is in a pan, totally separate from the bird. I prefer dressing just because cook times can vary and I have a wonderful dressing recipe that works well. You can also make dressing in a crock pot, and Savannah Classics has a pretty darn good frozen dressing in a pinch. I also prefer cornbread dressing, just because that is what my grandmothers made and to me, cornbread dressing is more important than the turkey. I always use my Nannie Logan’s Cornbread recipe for my dressing. You can also make your dressing days or weeks ahead and freeze in preparation for the big day. Just build it into your plan. Dressing needs sage. Too much sage can be overpowering. Careful with the sage. You can make your own chicken stock or purchase it at the store. Just make sure you have extra on hand for gravy and the dressing.

Make Ahead: There are so many things that can be made ahead of the big day- dressing, gravy (Ina Garten has a great make ahead gravy recipe), side dishes, bread, cakes, pies, etc. Make ahead dishes will make your day more enjoyable. And it is perfectly okay to purchase some items, not everything has to be homemade.

The MENU: The first three items are the must haves for our dinner. The rest is fluff and can be adjusted or changed.

MENU

Turkey

Dressing (picture of recipe card is above)         

Slow Cooker Ham                            

Mashed Potatoes with Rosemary Butter                                                                              

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Butternut Squash and Kale

Green Beans

Mac & Cheese (Logan)

Turnip Greens (Gladys)

Deviled Eggs (Dee)

Dessert (Jenny)

Rolls      

Tea, Sweet and Unsweet

Wine, Red and White

The Plan:  I have referred to THE PLAN many times in this blog and it is really is the one thing that will help you keep your sanity in check and make for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day for you and your family. I have a Thanksgiving Day plan and a weekly plan. Here is a look at my weekly plan:

SATURDAY: Grocery shopping, wine shopping

SUNDAY: Thaw the bird.

MONDAY: Make the cornbread for the dressing. Make the brine.

TUESDAY: Brine the bird. Make the cranberry sauce.

WEDNESDAY: Let the bird set uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. Make the cheesy mashed potatoes. Make the desserts. Cut the butternut squash. Run and empty the dishwasher.

THURSDAY: I have an entire daily plan by the hour for this day. It is where the magic happens!

BEFORE GUESTS ARRIVE: I set all the serving dishes on the buffet/island and have a note in each one as to what goes where. This way when guests arrive, they can help place things where they go, if needed. I also make certain the dishwasher is empty.

There is one rule- have fun and enjoy yourself. No one likes an uptight, stressed out hostess. Have a glass or two of wine, you deserve it.

Christy Young Goza

Nannie Logan’s Cornbread

If you are from the south, then you grew up eating cornbread at almost every meal. I had two grandmothers, Memaw Young and Nannie Logan. They were both excellent cooks and had very different recipes for cornbread. Memaw’s Cornbread is more traditionally southern, more of a “poor man’s bread” with no eggs or flour, just White Lily cornmeal mix and buttermilk. Today I am making Nannie’s cornbread because it is the perfect cornbread for dressing and Thanksgiving is just a few days away. It is almost a cake like consistency and if you like cornbread and biscuits in your dressing, this recipe will allow you to skip the biscuit making.

Cornbread is very controversial and every family has their own recipe. I need to fully disclose- Nannie never measured anything and my mom is one of seven girl in the Logan clan, so with all the grandchildren running around, Nannie didn’t have time for one on one cooking instructions. So after playing around with the proper ingredients, this is the recipe I have come up with that is the most like hers.

Many people like to preheat their skillet with shortening, however nothing is scarier than pulling a screaming hot iron skillet filled with shortening or oil out of a 450 degree oven and trying to fill it with your mixture. I read a food blog a couple of years ago and the girl swore by shortening smeared on a cold skillet. She promised it would fall out of the pan every time. So…I tried it. It works! Also, when I say a COLD cast iron skillet, I mean a skillet right out of the cabinet, not preheated.

Nannie always had a pan of cornbread with a big pot of white half runner green beans. That is the meal I remember most in her house. And I can promise you those were the best green beans I have ever had.

Nannie Logan's Cornbread


Ingredients


1 1/2 cups Cornmeal Mix
3/4 cup Rising Flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pour into a COLD cast iron skillet smeared with shortening. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.
Christy Young Goza

Slow Cooker Ham

Last year on Thanksgiving Eve, my husband casually said, “a ham would be good, too for Thanksgiving dinner”. While I am certain that no one at my house fully understands the planning and prep time that occurs for this feast, I thought about it and decided, okay, we can add ham to the menu. And full disclaimer- I do love a good ham.

So I ran to the store, purchased a ham, not even a fancy one- just a store name, cheapest they had, spiral cut ham.

All hams are precooked. So essentially, you don’t need to cook it to death. You just need to warm it and keep the moisture in. My favorite is a huge, old fashioned picnic ham that just pulls apart when you try to slice it. But on this particular day, there was no time for that and the main course and star of the show was the turkey I had been brining and babysitting for two days…

Thanksgiving morning, I took the packaging off the ham and threw it cut side down into my large, oval slow cooker. And with everything I had going on, I honestly didn’t give a second thought to this ham. It had a glaze packet with it and I mixed it with some water (per the packet direction) and poured over it. And yes, I know, you can mix honey, brown sugar and dijon mustard together and make a wonderful glaze, but honestly, I can’t stress enough about how much I did not care about this ham.

After 4-5 hours on low, I took the cover off to find a watery, sweet smelling, clove infused concoction in the bottom of the slow cooker. I removed the ham and sliced it up on the platter, again, not caring about it. I dumped the watery concoction into a sauce pan, turn the burner on high and try to reduce it. I was sure I could make a sugary, real glaze out of the watery stuff.

It never really reduced, it was still just watery stuff.  So I made a cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 1 tbsp cold water) and dumped it into the saucepan.  Then the magic happened…there was some type of chemical reaction, a puff of caramel looking stuff came up out of the pan, I jerked it off the burner and thought I was in real trouble. But what transformed was some type of wonderful, thick, sugary, glaze/sauce and I poured it over the ham on the platter.

It was THE BEST HAM I HAVE EVER MADE.

Am I going to recreate it for Easter? Of course, I am!  We are doing family Easter Dinner on Saturday night (we do it when we can), so this week I am planning the menu and in addition to the ham we will have roasted carrots, deviled eggs, potato salad, cheesy mashed potatoes, baked beans and a carrot cake trifle.

For the carrot cake trifle, I use my old faithful Trifle Recipe and in place of the vanilla pudding I use cheesecake pudding, and in place of angel food cake I use carrot cake (box mix). I love a trifle because it is best made ahead and that works out well for planning.

For the potato salad, it is not often that someone’s recipe permanently changes the way I do things, but I found a potato salad recipe a few years ago that was very similar to mine- except instead of pickles, they added vinegar to the warm potatoes and let it soak in. I am telling you, it is a game changer. And I will never chop pickles again! Foodiecrush’s Best Potato Salad recipe is wonderful and you should try it.

And the best thing about ham…that leftovers that will transformed into White Bean Soup later in the week.

As for the pairing, I think you always have to have sweet tea with ham. And in addition, of course we will have a bottle of white and red open. I am leaning toward Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay. It is a great Wagner wine, unoaked, smooth and crisp, just like spring. And the Mer Soleil Reserve Pinot Noir will be a good match for dinner, with hints of cherry and vanilla. These run under $25 a bottle and they are excellent quality wines. Fingers crossed my local store has them in stock. Cheers!

Slow Cooker Ham

One of the best hams I have ever made.


Ingredients

4-7 lb ham (I used spiral, but any half ham would work)

GLAZE
1-2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp dijon mustard
You may use water to thin out the glaze.
You may add clove and/or cinnamon
(You can also use the glaze packet that came with the ham. No judgement here.)

CORNSTARCH SLURRY
1-2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

Directions


In a large oval slow cooker, place the ham cut side down. Pour over glaze and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Remove ham and place on a serving platter. Pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan and boil on medium high to reduce for a few minutes. Turn the heat down to low, and add the cornstarch slurry. Pour the mixture over the ham. Any remaining glaze just pour in a bowl and serve on the side.


Make this recipe your own. Play with the glaze. Add orange juice, pineapple juice, cloves and or cinnamon.
Christy Young Goza

Thanksgiving 101

You need two things: a menu and a plan. It doesn’t have to be stressful or perfect and your house doesn’t have to be big or spotless. And keep your expectations low. Thanksgiving is an event, and once an event starts, you lose all control and it takes on a life of its own. And that is okay. We have a crowd on Thanksgiving and I live in a regular ranch style home and on Thanksgiving day it will be filled with people I love and that makes me happy. This year they will be eating out of paper plates, the good ones of course, and finding a seat wherever they can. The important part is you are spending it with those you love and care about whether that be family or friends or both. I do have some fancy dinner parties with china and name places, but Thanksgiving isn’t one of those events.

Guests: Know who is coming. And know if anyone has any issues such as a shellfish allergy, gluten sensitivity or special dietary needs. You don’t have to make an entire gluten free meal but just make sure you have one or two things they can enjoy safely.  Also, guests may ask “What can I bring?”. Don’t be a martyr, you don’t get an award for making everything yourself. Tell them to bring something you know they do well. From experience- don’t ask them to bring something important, like the turkey or dressing. Because if they forget, or if they get sick at the last minute, that would be an issue.

Drinks: Being from the south, and in the heart of the Bible belt, I grew up on sweet tea and alcohol was not a part of any family dinner and especially Thanksgiving. And it is your decision to have alcohol or not at your dinners.  I always like to have a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine open on the bar for guests to help themselves. Some years the bottles are barely touched and some years we open lots of bottles. We just play it by ear and make sure we are well stocked. There are good expensive brands and there are good inexpensive brands, what you serve is up to you.

Appetizers: I always set something out, even if it is small. Just cheese and crackers (Brie with Fig Jam would be great) and/or raw veggies. I promise you, some of your people have not eaten all day. And if dinner is delayed, for whatever reason, you won’t have hungry, grumpy people on your hands.

Your oven:  It is important to know your oven. If you have a newer oven or a gas oven, it may have a cooling fan incorporated. This is important to know if you are doing a recipe that calls for “Bird at 500 degrees, then turn the oven off and let it continue to cook for 5 hours”. I tried this a few years ago, found out my oven had a cooling fan- on Thanksgiving Day, so that method did not work and by the time I figured out what had happened- thanks to Google- our dinner was delayed and I was in an absolute panic. You also need to plan your menu and cooking time based on the availability of space and time in your oven. Think of side dishes to prepare that do not require use of the oven.

Must haves: Meat thermometer, a turkey roaster is always handy, tea pitchers, wine chillers.

The turkey- fresh or frozen: Of course fresh is better and saves you thawing time, but fresh is not always available and there are some fabulous deals on frozen turkeys. If you are going the frozen route, incorporate your thawing time into your plan. And if you have a frozen turkey in the bottom of freezer from 2019, for goodness sakes, throw it away.

The turkey- brine, no brine, dry brine: I have done all these methods and there is no right answer, it is just about what you like. The dry brine creates an extra crispy skin. The brine creates an extra juicy turkey, no brine is just fine as long as you salt it really well. And no brine is the default method if you have no plan and are flying by the seat of your pants and short on time.

The turkey- whole or spatchcock: Whole is traditional and makes for a wonderful instagramable (is that a word?) picture. Usually, a 10-12lb whole bird will cook at 350 degrees for 2-2 ½ hours. Spatchcocking is removing the backbone from the bird, cracking the breast bone and cooking the turkey flat. This method is best done with a 12lb or less turkey. It is the quickest cooking method and works well if time is an issue. I do this method often with chicken. No matter which method you use, you have to let the bird rest after cooking. This lets all the juices redistribute and makes for the best turkey. Loosely cover the bird with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The longer it rests, the better it will be. No, it will not be cold. Yes, it will be juicy!

Stuffing or Dressing: Stuffing is “stuffed” and cooked in and around the bird. Dressing is in a pan, totally separate from the bird. I prefer dressing just because cook times can vary and I have a wonderful dressing recipe that works well. You can also make dressing in a crock pot, and Savannah Classics has a pretty darn good frozen dressing in a pinch. I also prefer cornbread dressing, just because that is what my grandmothers made and to me, cornbread dressing is more important than the turkey. You can also make your dressing days or weeks ahead and freeze in preparation for the big day. Just build it into your plan. Dressing needs sage. Too much sage can be overpowering. Careful with the sage. You can make your own chicken stock or purchase it at the store. Just make sure you have extra on hand for gravy and he dressing.

Make Ahead: There are so many things that can be made ahead of the big day- dressing, gravy (Ina Garten has a great make ahead gravy recipe), side dishes, bread, cakes, pies, etc. Make ahead dishes will make your day more enjoyable. And it is perfectly okay to purchase some items, not everything has to be homemade.

The MENU: The first three items are the must haves for our dinner. The rest is fluff and can be adjusted or changed.

MENU

Turkey and Dressing                                      

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes                                                                              

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Butternut Squash and Kale

Green Beans

Mac & Cheese (Logan)

Turnip Greens (Gladys)

Deviled Eggs (Dee)

Dessert (Jenny)

Rolls      

Tea, Sweet and Unsweet

Wine, Red and White

The Plan:  I have referred to THE PLAN many times in this blog and it is really is the one thing that will help you keep your sanity in check and make for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day for you and your family. I have a Thanksgiving Day plan and a weekly plan. Here is a look at my weekly plan:

SATURDAY: Grocery shopping, wine shopping

SUNDAY: Thaw the bird. Make chicken stock.

MONDAY: Make the cornbread for the dressing. Make the brine.

TUESDAY: Brine the bird. Make the cranberry sauce.

WEDNESDAY: Let the bird set uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. Make the cheesy mashed potatoes. Make the desserts. Cut the butternut squash. Run and empty the dishwasher.

THURSDAY: I have an entire daily plan by the hour for this day. It is where the magic happens!

BEFORE GUESTS ARRIVE: I set all the serving dishes on the buffet/island and have a note in each one as to what goes where. This way when guests arrive, they can help place things where they go, if needed. I also make certain the dishwasher is empty.

There is one rule- have fun and enjoy yourself. No one likes an uptight, stressed out hostess. Have a glass or two of wine, you deserve it.

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

For years I loved and served canned cranberry sauce. Someone would always bring a cranberry salad to my Nannie Logan’s house on Thanksgiving, and if I knew which of my six aunts had brought it, I would apologize to them now for what I am about to say: cranberry salad is not a substitute for cranberry sauce. Cranberry salad usually has crisp apples, maybe jello…heck, I have no idea what is in it, but it is not cranberry sauce, that I know for sure. I do know that Nannie always had a magical can of the good stuff hidden away and would pull it out, look at me like I didn’t know what was good, and she would shake it out of the can and plop it on a plate, cut it into slices and hand it over to me. And that was Thanksgiving. Nannie was thankful to have me out from under her feet and I was thankful for the canned stuff.

Nannie and Papaw Logan had seven daughters: Maggie, Hazel, Bobbi, Deanie, Tinnie, Gladys and Evelyn. They lived most their life in a small, two bedroom house on South Ocoee Street in Cleveland, Tennessee. Some of my best memories of the holidays were at their home. I still don’t know how we all fit into that house at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There was food everywhere and aunts, uncles and cousins were everywhere. We scattered out onto the porches and into the yard. Cars were parked in the back alley as far as you could see. Nannie did not allow any smoking or drinking at her house, so IF those sorts of things went on, it happened out behind the barn where she couldn’t see them. All the food was served buffet style, food was set out on the stove, the counters, tables, anywhere there was space, and the men got their plates first and sat in the dining room. Then the women and kids got their plates and we sat in the kitchen or where ever we could find a seat. I had a hard time understanding this particular part of our family Thanksgiving ritual and being the difficult child I was (I mean the strong, independent child), I did buck the system one particular Thanksgiving. I got my plate with the men, sat in the dining room and no one spoke to me. It wasn’t much fun, so the next year I stuck with tradition. I don’t think the separation of the men and women was a sexist thing, I just think they didn’t want to talk to each other. But whatever the reason, the women and kids table was much more fun- and closer to the food.

The Logan Family Thanksgiving traditions I remember the most: Aunt Hazel made the best pecan pies. Aunt Tinnie made amazing dressing. Nannie Logan had the best dumplings, Aunt Maggie was always at least an hour late and she usually brought a banana pudding that my Papaw Logan loved, Aunt Bobbi was queen of the casseroles and Uncle Claude always washed all the dishes. I have many more memories, but I need to circle back to the cranberry sauce!

So about eight years ago, I started looking at cranberry sauce recipes. Many had cinnamon, so that was out (I don’t like cinnamon), some had apples, so that was out….and then I ran across something that peaked my interest: Bourbon Cranberry Sauce. I have no idea where I got the recipe from, I wish I knew because I love to give credit where credit is due. I just know I have been making this for many years now and I try to dream up ways to use it, it is that good.

The recipe is so easy, 7 ingredients, throw in a pot on medium high heat for 15 minutes. If you like bourbon, put more. If you like more orange, add more zest. There are stages to the pot of cranberries, first is the wet shiny stage, then the foamy bubbles stage, then the “it might be done, but I am not sure” stage, then the thick, jammy, done stage.

Because it has a jammy consistency, it is wonderful on brie, spread on right-out-of-the-oven biscuits, over a good quality vanilla ice cream, topping for pound cake or incorporated into a charcuterie board. It is also pretty darn good on a turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving. Most recently, I reheated it, added a little more water and served it as a sauce to a great pork tenderloin.

If I make this ahead, I usually pull it out of the fridge and let it set on the counter to bring it to room temperature or throw it in a pot to warm. It can be served cold, room temp or warm. And it is just fine to make a day or two ahead.

My daughter, Logan, is also very fond of the canned stuff, so I always have both on the table for Thanksgiving Dinner. But I have noticed her dipping into the Bourbon Cranberry Sauce, too.

Cranberries are relatively cheap this time of year, consider making a batch or two and fill some jelly jars and share with your friends.

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce


Ingredients


(2) 12 ounce packages of fresh cranberries
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp bourbon
zest of an orange

Directions


Toss everything in a pot on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes. You do not need to cover the pot to cook, but you my want to cover to keep the splatter down towards the end of the cooking time.


Make this recipe your own. Add a finely chopped jalapeno for heat, pump up the orange flavor by adding additional zest, add more bourbon. For extra rich and thickness, omit the water. For a thinner consistency, add more water.
Christy Young Goza

Roast Turkey

This post contains everything I have learned over the years about turkey. I think it is important to note, I did not grow up in a “turkey” family. Yes, we had turkey at least one time a year, but no more than two times a year- Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. I have definitely learned some lessons over the years:

Lesson #1: Big turkeys are hard to manage and cook. I find the turkeys between 9-16 lbs are the perfect size. Anything larger is too much in many ways. Turkeys over 16 lbs are hard to manage, don’t often fit in the oven and are more difficult to cook through without some spots being overcooked.

Lesson #2: You can usually count on 1lb a person when trying to decide what size, this takes into consideration the bone weight and will leave you with some leftovers. If you have 24 people coming for dinner then I would suggest purchasing two turkeys. That means double the drumbsticks and thighs and that normally makes everyone even happier. This round I made a 9lb turkey for 7 people. I had 30% of the bird not eaten to use for left overs.

Lesson #3: You can’t purchased a frozen turkey the day before Thanksgiving. Chances are it will not thaw in time, especially if you purchased a large bird.

Lesson #4: Bring your turkey up to room temp before you cook it. I like to set it on the counter in the pan and let the skin dry out for an hour or so. This holds true for any type of meat you cook.

Lesson #5: You need a meat thermometer. The last thing you want to do is give all your guests salmonella poisoning. Birds need to be cooked through, specifically, 165 degrees in the thickest part. Depending on your turkey, the thickest part will either be the thigh or the breast. If you are roasting a spatchcock turkey, I usually take the temp in the thickest part of the breast.

Lesson #6: Your turkey needs to rest after it is cooked. Tent it with foil, set is aside and forget about it- AT LEAST 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. No, it will not get cold. The longer it rests, the juicier it will be.

SPATCHCOCK: I love to spatchcock a turkey, this is basically just butterflying the bird. Cut down each side of the backbone, cut into the breast bone just a bit and flatten the breast down onto the pan. A spatchcock turkey will cook in almost half the time of a full turkey and 100 percent of the skin gets crispy. I also do this method with roasting whole chickens. I would not try to spatchcock a turkey over 16lbs. Today, I did the spatchcock method on a 9lb turkey and it cooked at 450 degrees for 50 minutes.

FRESH vs. FROZEN: Of course, I would opt for fresh if possible, but I have not always been able to find a fresh bird. If you have a frozen bird in the back of your freezer that has been there for a year to two, do everyone a favor and throw it out! Recently frozen works just fine.

BRINING: If I have time, I do like to brine my bird. Brining is not absolutely necessary, but it does make for a much juicier bird. I have purchased some wonderful brine mixes over the years, but lately I have found I like to make my own, so I can incorporate and try different things. A quick method to brining: don’t heat up all two gallons of brine. Just heat up 1.5 cups of kosher salt into 2 cups of water until it is dissolved. Let it cool and then add it to the brine mixture. You can brine for 12-36 hours. I usually do 12-24. For this turkey, the brine mixture included: apple cider, oranges, lemons, head of garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice cloves, rosemary, sage, thyme, kosher salt and water.

INJECTIONS: I find some of the injections to be have a strange after taste. I would not be opposed to pure butter injections.

THAWING: Please go by the instructions on the bird. There is a quick method which consists of a water bath in the sink and a regular method of thawing in the fridge. The quick method takes hours. The regular method takes days.

COOKING METHOD: I have smoked turkeys, deep fried turkeys and roasted turkeys. It all depends on what kind of mood you are in and in some cases, the weather. I prefer to roast, using the spatchcock method. We have a Big Green Egg, and I have to admit, it is nice to have the oven free for other things. However, not everyone likes smoked turkey. I think a good, roasted turkey can’t be beat. If we are having a crowd, we may spatchcock two turkeys and smoke one and roast the other.

STUFFING vs. DRESSING: Since I prefer the spatchcock method, stuffing isn’t really an option. However, I still prefer a great pan of dressing. It is easier to control the moisture and that’s just how I remember Thanksgiving- a huge pan of dressing on the table.

SLICING: I do like to slice the entire turkey and place on a platter. I cut each breast into several pieces. If the thighs are large, I will slice them in half.

GRAVY: You can make a gravy from a spatchcock turkey. Just make sure to add some chicken stock and aromatics under the turkey. This weekend I watched an old episode of The Kitchen on Food Network. Alex Guarnaschelli made a gravy thickened with onions and garlic that was roasted separately from the turkey that looked fabulous. I am definitely going to try her recipe this year. It required no flour or thickener which is wonderful for gluten sensitive folks like myself.

AROMATICS: You can add aromatics below the rack, or if you don’t have a rack just place the bird on top of the aromatics. Good aromatics to consider- celery, carrots, onions. If I add aromatics, I usually cook the bird a little lower at 425 degrees.

HERBS: Use fresh if you have them. You can replace the fresh herbs with dried herbs, just adjust the amount. Dried herbs are much more condensed than fresh, so opt for about 1 tbsp of dried instead of 3 tbsp of fresh.

PAIRING: A Thanksgiving favorite at our house is Rombauer Chardonnay. This one is very oaky with hints of fruit and vanilla. The balance is perfection and goes very well with a holiday menu. At around $38 a bottle, and is perfect for special dinners. The Vivinno App scores it a 4.4, which is an excellent score for any wine, especially a Chard. It is also a wonderful selection to bring as a hostess gift if you are invited to a special dinner at someone’s home.

Don’t let a turkey get the best of you. It really is just a large chicken. If you feel overwhelmed, do a trial run with a whole chicken. And once you get the hang of it, fix a few turkeys throughout the year. The price is easy on the pocketbook and a very healthy protein. Tonight, turkey was on the menu and it was just a normal Saturday night in October.

Roast Turkey


Ingredients


1 9-16 lb turkey
Brine
2 sticks room temp butter
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper

BRINE MIXTURE:
4 cups apple cider
1 head garlic, cut in half
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
1.5 cups kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp black peppercorns
3 tbsp allspice cloves
water

Directions


Thaw the bird properly.

Prepare the brine: In a pan, heat up the kosher salt with 2 cups of water until the salt is dissolved. Let it cool and add it to all the other ingredients in a large pot or container. Add the spatchcock bird, add enough water to cover the bird and place in the fridge for 12-36 hours.

Prepare to roast: Place on a pan and let it sit so it comes to room temp before roasting. Preheat the oven. I like to cook at 450 degrees. You can cook it anywhere from 400-450. I like the higher temp because it produces a crispier skin. Remove the bird from the brine, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Mix the butter, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic powder with the butter and spread on both sides of the bird , then sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper on both sides. I like to elevate the bird by placing it on a flat roasting rack or what some would call a cooling rack on a pan. Add a cup or two of chicken stock or water to the pan.

Cook until the thickest part of the turkey reaches 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes – 2 hours.


Make this recipe your own. Add ground cayenne pepper for a little heat. Play with the brine ingredients and add what you love.
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