<p>Reporting back from turkey cooking. We did the Barefoot Contessa kosher turkey (pre-brined!) with a whole onion, head of garlic vs stuffing in the cavity. A little 3 oz jar of white truffle butter slid between skin and meat all over the breast, palpitated to spread. Brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with S&P and thyme. Tied up with kitchen twine to hold the wings and drumsticks close to the body. Cooked at 325, covered loosely with tinfoil after 90 minutes – then a little more than an hour longer till thermometer in breast hit 160 degrees F. </p>
<p>It was really quite good. My DH was very skeptical about the truffle butter but it produced a great flavor. The Kosher bird was not as fatty as most of our past birds, even the organic ones. The dressing cooked stovetop was just fine, I mixed in pan drippings before serving.</p>
<p>My old 1990 Food & Wine raspberry fudge cake was the resounding winner among the desserts. MommaJ’s gravy recipe was outstanding – but labor intensive. I think it could have simmered three hours vs six. </p>
<p>Crock pot mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese were their usual genius in and unto themselves. :)</p>
<p>Ebeeeee – I cannot figure out how to post my scan from the Food & Wine magazine. I could email it if you want to pm me your email address. Sorry! Not smart today.</p>
<p>Can’t remember in what thread someone asked about the Costco mashed potatoes. I purchased the Costco yukon gold mashed potatoes (they also had another brand). Everyone gave me grief when they saw that I had not made them but in the end they were happy with the flavor and texture. The Whole Foods prepared turkey gravy was a miss. It was okay but nothing special.</p>
<p>I made mashed white and sweet potatoes, mixed with coconut milk, carmelized onions and garam masala spice. The recipe is in “Soul of a New Cuisine”, a book on African cooking.</p>