Thanksgiving Dinner

Shroud of Turkey (he’s dead already, you might as well properly mummify him)

Turkey, thawed, rinsed in cold water and patted dry
1 stick butter
fresh rosemary (two sprigs)
sage (1 tsp)
thyme (1 tsp)
onion salt (1 tsp)
pepper (to desire, I use about 2 tbsp freshly cracked)
cheesecloth (enough to wrap entire turkey around twice)
baster
large roasting pan

Prepare oven according to turkey weight and directions. Remove giblets, neck, etc from body cavity and make sure it is patted dry. Lightly salt and butter the interior.

Melt entire stick of butter in a flat shallow bowl and add rosemary, sage, thyme, onion salt and pepper to butter. Dip cheesecloth into herbed butter mixture until it is well covered.

Place turkey, breast down, in roasting pan. Take cheesecloth and wrap over the turkey.  Do not squeeze or drain, drape it in all of its butterfied-herbed glory.  I use enough cheesecloth to tuck underneath and cover all legs. Lay another buttered cheesecloth over the first and place in oven. If there is any remaining butter mixture, rub over the top of the wrapped cheesecloth.

Baste every hour until you hit the three hour mark. The cheesecloth will turn brown. At the three hour mark, take off the cheesecloth and flip the bird over so that the breasts are on the top. (This is critical because the first 3 hours enables the juices to sink into the breast and prevents the breast meat from drying out.) Leave the cheesecloth off and continue to baste every half hour. When the turkey gets to your desired brownness, put an aluminum tent over the top.

When timer has popped up (or internal thermometer hits 180 degrees), remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pour drippings into a pan and make into a gravy.  Carve and eat.

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Pomegranate Stuffing

2 boxes of StoveTop turkey stuffing
½ c celery, chopped
½ c sliced mushrooms
¼ c finely chopped red onion
¼ c pomegranate seeds
½ stick butter

Melt butter over medium high heat. Add celery, mushrooms, red onion and pomegranate seeds and sauté until crisp tender. Add remaining ingredients per the box on the StoveTop turkey stuffing. Place in pan and cover with foil, keep in oven to retain warmth.

 

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Froggie’s Mashed Potatoes Supreme

12 medium sized potatoes (I use russet), whole, semi peeled *
3 chicken boullion
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
½ c whipping cream
½ cube butter, softened
salt/pepper

Using large pot, put whole potatoes and cover with water. Put on high burner. Add boullion, garlic clove and salt. Put on high heat to boiling, and then reduce to medium high. Cook for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. You can test this by putting a fork in one. If it falls apart, it is done. When potatoes are done, turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes. Drain into colander. Remove garlic clove.  The potatoes should be falling apart. Pour back into pot on the [still warm] burner and this will remove any residual water. Using a masher, mash the potatoes. Then add the buttermilk, butter and cream and mash thoroughly until it is a fluffy consistency. Add salt/pepper to taste.

You will never find a lump in these mashed potatoes!

 

*Calculate potato doseage as two potatoes per person.

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Froggie’s Sweet Potato Soufflé

2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
3 eggs
1 stick butter, softened
½ c sugar
1 c caramel ice cream topping
1 c whipping cream
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Topping

¾ stick butter
½ c chopped pecans
½ c brown sugar
¾ c crushed corn flakes

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs and butter on medium mixer until well mixed. Add caramel ice cream topping, cream, nutmeg and cinnamon until slightly fluffy. Pour into pan and distribute evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes until almost firm.

Meanwhile, melt butter and add brown sugar, nuts and corn flakes. Remove soufflé from oven and sprinkle topping over it. Bake an additional 15 minutes until top is crunchy and does not show any shiny residue.

Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

 

(This dish is more popular than the pumpkin pie!)