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Main Dish: Terrific Turkey
Dessert: Mini Pumpkin Spice Cakes
Beverage Bar: Heartwarming Wassail
Centerpiece: Holiday Floralpiece
Music: Various Artists, Thanksgiving:
A Windham Hill Collection
Turkey Tips
Here are five ways to serve up a fabulous feast.
- It's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with warm gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. A large turkey will stay warm inside for about thirty minutes.
- The safest way to defrost a turkey is in the refrigerator. It takes 24 hours to defrost every five pounds of turkey. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity before the turkey fully defrosts. The turkey should be placed in the oven only when it reaches room temperature.
- If your gathering requires larger than a 20-pound turkey, it's better to buy two smaller turkeys. They'll stay juicier and be easier to cook.
- Give your stuffing seasonal flair. Take a trip to the Farmer's Market and buy grains, wild mushrooms, root vegetables and fall fruits so your stuffing is as seasonal as it is savory.
- Many wines go well with turkey, so the secret is to match the wine to the side dishes. Sweet side dishes need a sweeter wine; heartier side dishes require a more robust wine.
Thoughtful
Thanksgiving
Welcome family and friends with fall colors and fruits of the harvest. Give the gathering a heartwarming start with Windham Hill’s Thanksgiving CD and traditional Wassail cups, made festive with a silk autumn leaf clothespinned to the stem. Decorate the table with homey earth tones – a brown corduroy remnant with pinking sheared edges for a tablecloth and squash yellow napkins tied with leather shoelaces. The main attraction is food, so turn the turkey (see recipe below) into a colorful centerpiece, flanked by fruit-toned Holiday Floralpieces. Complete the look with gravy bowls filled with store-bought chocolate-covered coffee beans and oranges, kumquats, mini squash, pumpkins and pinecones scattered around the table. For dessert, serve a different kind of pumpkin – Mini Pumpkin Spice Cakes.
Terrific
Turkey
PREPARATION:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove giblets from turkey. Clean and rinse the turkey inside and
out and
thoroughly pat dry with paper towels
TURKEY WITH STUFFING:
If you're stuffing the turkey, prepare stuffing ahead of time and spoon
into main cavity just before cooking the turkey. This is the more traditional
way to prepare.You should know that some believe cooking a turkey without
stuffing is safer.
TURKEY WITHOUT STUFFING:
To add subtle flavor to your turkey, place a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
and sage in the main cavity. You can also insert a quartered orange and/or
apple to keep the turkey moist. Prepare stuffing in a separate dish and
add turkey drippings for additional flavor.
- Insert a disposable pop-up thermometer (available at most grocery stores) into the innermost thigh of the turkey. Once red indicator pops up, your turkey is ready.
- Generously rub butter over the entire turkey to sear in flavor and tenderize the meat as it cooks. Depending on your taste, the butter can be flavored with herbs, garlic, citrus, spices and/or honey. Make a simple herb butter by combining:
| 1 | stick or 1/2 cup softened butter (not margarine) |
| 3 | tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary |
| 3 | tablespoons chopped fresh sage |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons grated fresh orange peel |
| 1 | tablespoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 4 | teaspoons salt |
- Tuck the wing tips under the turkey and loosely tie the legs together to hold the shape.
- Cook approximately 20-25 minutes for each pound of turkey.
TURKEY WITH STUFFING:
Remove stuffing and place in serving bowl. Place foil over top of
bowl to keep warm. Transfer turkey to a serving platter.
TURKEY WITHOUT STUFFING:
Remove fruit and herbs from the cavity and transfer turkey to a serving
platter.
- Tent turkey with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. This lets the juices circulate throughout the turkey, making it moister and easier to carve.
- Reserve pan drippings to make gravy.
