Crowd-pleasing Thanksgiving Recipes for the Home Cook

SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY
by NYT’s Melissa Clark
(with my modifications)

Ingredients:

1 20 lb. turkey
Coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoon black pepper
2 lemons, zested and quartered
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch rosemary
1 bunch fresh sage
24 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 bottle hard apple cider (12 ounces)
Dry white wine
2 onions, peeled and quartered
6 bay leaves

Herbed butter ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
fresh chopped thyme


Preparation:

Step 1
Remove any giblets from the cavity. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with ½ teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 12 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).

Step 2
Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).

Step 3
When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.

Step 4
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a ¼-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 12 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Mix together ingredients for the herbed butter and massage generously all over skin.

Step 5
Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 3 1/2 more hours. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.


SAGE, SAUSAGE & MUSHROOM STUFFING

Ingredients:
1 16oz Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
Fresh sage
Garlic powder
Salt
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 12oz bag favorite stuffing mix
2 cans sliced water chestnuts
2 cups celery, finely chopped
1 8oz package mushrooms, diced
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 14oz can low sodium chicken broth
Black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Brown the meat with seasonings until cooked through. Combine stuffing mix and browned meat into a large mixing bowl.

2. Sauté chopped onions until soft. When almost soft, add the celery and slightly sauté.

3. To the mixing bowl, add the onions, celery, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Season with black pepper.

4. Pour melted butter and chicken broth over the mixture and stir to combine. Use just enough to moisten the mixture without drenching it.

5. Taste and season, if needed.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease casserole dish with butter.

7. Pour mixture loosely into greased dish and cook for 30 minutes. Mix stuffing and bake for another 30 min or until desired consistency. Cover with foil if starts to get too brown. Uncover foil for the last 5 minutes.


CRANBERRY SAUCE

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/911...

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
by Farrukh Aziz

https://www.cubesnjuliennes.com/roast...