Did anyone else see that recipe on FB for Butter Sugar Carrots? Well…I made them and there is no question, I will make them again. They were delicious. Very tender, but not mushy, and a wonderful flavor. They were a hit at our Thanksgiving dinner, and believe me, I’m not the good cook of the bunch.
We also have the OXO small salad spinner. Highly recommend!!
Sadly, my Mom’s recipe does include an egg, so that won’t help, but maybe I’ll add an extra one. We had a GF Tiramisu today from Whole Foods that was excellent. Texture was fine for that one. (Since the original is always pretty mushy anyway.) The bread mix from Anna called for alot of eggs - and it’s full of bean flours so I think healthier than the ones that rely on rice flour or tapioca.
One year I made roasted sweet potatoes with garlic, thyme and pepper flakes. I’m going to make it next year. I really don’t like mashed sweet potatoes much.
The pear pie with red wine simmered rosemary syrup was a big hit. I think the Penzey’s vanilla made a big impact on the rich flavor. D3 just wants me to remake the sauce to pour over waffles.
It did take longer to reduce than the time indicated on the recipe but it worked out well for me, and I’m definitely not a saucier!
I think I may try the syrup alone to bottle for Christmas gifts. May take some thinking.
Kind of late but this year I made the turkey in a new way. I have never really made a totally successful turkey; the breast is always dry and the dark meat is always undercooked. So this year I dried (with paper towels) and salted the turkey (15+ lbs) overnight, unwrapped, in the fridge (I had already removed the giblets, which I used to make dressing). I let it come up to almost room temp (1 hour 30 min). I braised it in a roasting pan (no rack) filled with 2 inches of boiling chicken stock on my stovetop for 10 min. to give the dark meat a head start. I then removed the turkey, put in on a rack in another roasting pan, and rubbed the turkey with 1 stick of softened butter, poultry seasoning, and more salt. I put it in a preheated oven at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I backed it down to 350 and roasted for another 3 hours or so. I tented the breast with foil at a certain point when it might overbrown. I took it out and let it rest for 30+ minutes. It was the best turkey I ever made; totally cooked through without being dry. I highly recommend the stock braise for the underside.
I used the chicken stock from the braise to make gravy. It worked out really well.
We do turkey again for Christmas most years. Just as I suspected, my mom told me SHE would do the turkey this time. Since my T-giving turkey left a lot to be desired, I am not surprised to be stripped of that job. And my feelings are not hurt at all!
I used the recipe from Bon Appetit online. Very similar to @NJSue ’s recipe. The rub was salt and other seasonings, uncovered overnight to dry the skin. They said to take the legs off and roast in pieces. We took out the backbone and flattened it (spatchcock). Left on counter one hour, then roasted on high for about 20 minutes then 350 for about 1 1/2 hours, basting with a glaze periodically. Probably the best turkey I have ever made. The broth idea is intriguing, though. I agree it’s tricky to get dark meat done without overcooking the breast.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/expertly-spiced-and-glazed-roast-turkey
"They said to take the legs off and roast in pieces. We took out the backbone and flattened it (spatchcock). "
After decades of tinkering, THIS is the pro tip.
I’ve experimented with every possible way to do a turkey. While frying produced great turkey, that method was way too much of a hassle, and had the fatal flaw of producing no gravy. So now I’m all about the pieces.
Remove the backbone/spatchcock. But then further butcher the bird into pieces by removing the legs and thighs. Instead of using one big tray for the whole wide spatchcocked bird, instead roast the white and dark meat in two smaller separate pans. Advantages:
- Two pans allows you to easily vary the cooking time and temp for the dark and white meat. I start the dark pan 30 minutes before the white pan goes in. So easy to let the dark cook for a long time and eventually get to 180 degrees, and also pull the white at exactly 157 (and not one degree more).
- Two smaller pans are also much easier to handle than one big heavy pan. I use two pans that fit side by side on one oven level, conserving space for other dishes.
- Carving cooked separated pieces is much easier than wrangling 20 pounds of hot bird still in one piece.
- Much less space needed to dry or wet brine turkey pieces vs. a turkey basketball.
- Roasting time for pieces is dramatically shorter.
Plenty of youtube videos showing various ways to do this. For presentation purposes, go for the turkey crown. For max speed and ease, remove both wings and legs, and then further separate legs, thighs, wings. Or go even further and completely debone the whole bird.
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/turkey-butchery-how-to-separate-legs-crown