November is here!

What is your favorite part? For me, l like the cooler weather, brisk nights…trail riding horses, listening to their hooves crunch as they step on fallen leaves..breathing in that wonderful, crisp fresh air…sitting outside while sipping on a big mug of hot tea or hot apple cider….burning vanilla, pumpkin spice and cranberry scented candles. It’s the beginning of sweatshirt, socks and jeans season with football games, roaring camp fires, people are winding down and getting ready to cozy up for the upcoming winter.

November also means Thanksgiving! I just love the Holidays. When I was a child, my mom always made them very special and I have many fond memories. We watched the Macys’ Thanksgiving Day parade every year…you could smell the aroma of turkey being roasted and baked pumpkin pie drifting through the entire house.  Our dining room table was set with mom’s fine china, crystal, silverware on freshly ironed table linens.  We always dressed up in dresses and suits for our holiday dinners.

I remember my Grandpa Rexford ( my mother’s dad) carving the turkey.  He took great pride in doing it.  He would remove his suit jacket, stand at the dining room table in his crisp starched white shirt, dress pants and tie… and with the precision of a skilled surgeon, he gracefully sliced the turkey to grand perfection.  It was a work of art.  He never got a speck of anything on his clothes! Grandpa was a walking spotless miracle!

Grandpa Rexford reminded me so much of Fred Astaire… in looks, possessing the same fluid, elegant movements, the way he conducted himself and spoke…the impeccable way that Grandpa dressed.. with his silver hair, perfectly styled in a pompadour and he wore his fedora hat tilted… just so.  Grandpa Rexford was very refined and regal with exceptional manners…he was meticulous, kind, funny, mild mannered yet fearless. He had class.  He was perfection….and I love him so much.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of my favorite holidays!  Growing up, we had the same holiday dinner traditions year after year and I loved it. In my house, I kept some of our Thanksgiving traditions with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, Mom’s/ Aunt Ruth’s Sage Stuffing and Grandma Yonkin’s Oyster Dressing.  However, my other vegetable sides, appetizer, cranberry sauce/conserves etc, I love to change up a bit. I also like to cook the turkey different ways…from deep fried to smoked to classic or high heat roasted.  All are so delicious!

 

Now, Let’s Get Cooking!

turkey on the grillRoasted Turkey on the Big Green Egg/ Charcoal Grill/Oven

Thank you to Mad Max “Beyond the Egg-dome” Rosen and to my cooking/ BBQ buddy, Doug Hanthorn “aka the Naked Whiz” for the turkey recipe and method below.  It is perfection! 

Basically, the turkey is generously coated with butter, seasoning, white wine, salt and pepper and roasted indirect on the Big Green Egg with 2 large chunks of wood (our favorite is cherry) at 325-350 degrees for about 4 hrs.  This method would work great in the oven.  If desired, you could put in soaked wood chips in a oven safe smoking tray and follow their directions for oven use.

*Note that the turkey when sliced will have a pinkish hue.  That is due to the wood added when roasting on the grill.

Two Very Important Steps

Step One. 20 to 30 minutes before you put it in the Egg (or oven), take a one-gallon zip lock bag full of ice cubes and lay it over the turkey breast for 20 to 30 minutes. What this does is lower the breast temps sufficiently so that over the course of the roasting, the breast and thighs will be done at the same time…exceptionally moist and roasted to perfection. Remove the bag of ice before Step Two. (If you don’t do anything else…try the ice method. It works!)

Step Two. Pat the turkey dry, apply your favorite turkey seasoning into the cavity and insert one small onion (halved), one half of an apple (quarter and reserve 2 of the pieces) and one lemon or small orange (quartered).

Take two sticks of butter, soften.  Add two tablespoons your turkey seasoning, salt/ pepper into the softened butter and mix until you have a nice paste then generously apply it all over the turkey. You can work some under the skin if you want to, but it’s not necessary.

Put the turkey in a roasting pan, breast up, elevated either on a v-rack or in a metal piece that raises it about 1 inch high in the pan. Take the two reserved apple pieces and place directly in the roasting pan around the turkey.

Open up a bottle of white wine (most any good white will do), pour yourself a glass if you want and pour half the bottle all over the turkey and in the cavity. DON’T drink the rest of the bottle, you will need it for your gravy. 😉

 

The Cook

Set up your Green Egg, charcoal grill (indirect) or oven to 325 degrees. My turkey weighed in at about 14 pounds. At 325°F , it took close to 4 hours to be done.

  • Roast the turkey, basting it using a bulb baster, once every 20 -30 minutes after the first hour.  There’s no need to check the bird’s temps until the last hour or two.  Very Important! Make sure the roasting pan does not go dry.  Add turkey broth or water as needed.
  • For the Egg/ grill: If using a water pan for a heat barrier, regularly check the water pan underneath the roasting pan to ensure it stays full of water.
  • When the skin starts to brown, tent it loosely with aluminum foil until about the last hour or so.
  • Remove the foil to let the skin crisp up and turn a nice deep golden brown.
  • Pull the turkey out when a deep poke in the thigh and breast results in clear juices running, and when the drumstick rotated freely at the joint. (160F breast, 180F thighs)

Very Important

When you pull the roasting pan and turkey from the egg/ grill or oven and you’re removing the turkey from the roasting pan, first tilt the bird up, so that all the great juices in the cavity, pour out into the pan (you do NOT want to lose this). Put you bird aside on a cutting board or platter and cover it with foil until ready to carve.  **Make the gravy of your liking, add the remaining wine, cook off the alcohol before adding your other gravy ingredients.  Add store bought turkey stock if needed.

Go to this link for more step by step roast turkey gravy info with photos

Cranberry Conserve :

In our house, Thanksgiving is not complete without a cranberry sauce, relish or conserve.

  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 pound fresh cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Fresh Mint, basil, orange zest for garnish optional

Place all ingredients, except mint, in saucepan. Cook, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have popped and reduced to relish consistency, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with the mint, basil or orange zest if desired. This can be made a a few days of time.  Refrigerate and bring to room temp before serving.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries (Recipe by Julia’s Album)

I have used this recipe often. It is lovely with so much color and flavor.

Ingredients 

  • Brussels Sprouts:
  • 3 cups Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, loose or yellow outer leaves removed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt, pepper

 

Roasted Butternut Squash:

  • 1 and ½ pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes (Yields about 4 cups of uncooked cubed butternut squash)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Other Ingredients:

  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

 

Directions 

Roasting the Brussels Sprouts:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Make sure Brussels sprouts have trimmed ends and yellow and loose leaves are removed. Then, slice all Brussels sprouts in half. In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt , pepper and toss to combine.

Place onto a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down, and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning, the cut sides should be nicely and partially charred but not blackened

Roasting the Butternut Squash:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded),1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon, and toss to mix.

Place butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once half-way through baking, until softened.

**Note: You can roast the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time at convection bake.

Assembly:

In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pecans, and cranberries and mix gently to combine.

**OPTIONAL: For more sweetness, add 2 or 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, if desired. Do not add all maple syrup at once, start with 2 tablespoons, then add more, if desired, and toss with the ingredients to combine.

 

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!