We're heading into the last of 2011. Today was a time for me to tidy and clean and reflect on what a Merry Christmas I've had: my kids at home; delicious food and sweets, lots of wonderful gifts, some great sale shopping in the city, visits with friends-- all the makings of a great Christmas.
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This morning I tucked the rest of our Christmas turkey into turkey pot pies; this turkey was a most delicious one. I cooked it a little differently this year (a la Jamie Oliver). So I wanted to share the recipe with you.
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Christmas morning while the youngens' still slept, I put some festive music on the CD player, poured myself a glass of apple cider and began. I chopped fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, sage, marjoram) with a handful of dried cranberries; this was kneaded into a generous lump of soft butter. Using a soup spoon, I loosened the skin from the turkey breast (much easier than it probably sounds). The herb/butter mixture gets inserted under the loosened skin and gently worked around the top and down the sides. (As the turkey cooks, this will baste the meat and keep it moist.) I stuffed the cavity of the turkey with half an apple, orange, lemon, onion and more herbs. Skewer it firmly closed and roast as usual.
.Here is the beautiful result.
.I let it rest for an hour or so. When I carved (and those nibbly bits dropped off), I can attest to the fact that it was soooo delicious and moist and fragrant.
.I pre-made the dressing a week ahead and froze it. We are a bread stuffing family here; but I added a little cooked ground turkey for flavor, generous portion of bread cubes, and some chopped onions, apples, cranberries and herbs, as well as melted butter and chicken stock. (I also pre-made and froze a mashed potato, cream cheese, sour cream, chives casserole.) I thawed these 16 hr in the fridge; and after the turkey was cooked and while it was resting, I cooked these for an hour in the oven.
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The dressing was very good but does need some further tweaking.
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But overall, this was the best Christmas dinner I've ever made! And my guests all agreed that this was the best Christmas turkey they'd ever eaten! High praise indeed!
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These new recipes will definitely all become part of my Christmas dinner menu for future.
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Hmmmm! What'll I'll prepare for New Year's?
In spite of the delicious turkey, I think I'm ready for beef again!
10 comments:
Ah Jamie Oliver--I do love his cooking. Nice to hear that you tried it and it turned out nicely! Maybe I'll try that on my next turkey, or even a roasted chicken!
Loved your recipe for doing the turkey and boy it was delicious looking.
We do bread stuffing too. BUT this year we had ham for our Christmas Eve dinner.
For New Year's it's always pork roast with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. No dessert this year as I'm on a strict diet due to health reasons. The kids may bring dessert. Speaking of kids, I don't yet know who is coming. I need to call those girls and see what's what.
Even with my hubby and I it's always a celebration.
Happy New Year. I'm a big fan of your blog!
Barbara
esp your sales finds...
Looks yummy. We didn't do turkey this year and it was nice. Being Southerners we have ham and black eyed peas on New Years so...
Oh YUM!
That sounds soooooo good.
Glad you had a great Christmas!
It sounds like you've had a lovely Christmas dinner. You're brave trying new recipes for the big occasion. I'm afraid I'd have to test it out a couple of months ahead of time. But then you're brave, and a good cook, and I'm not. Have a happy new year's eve.
Happy New Years! sandie
Sounds like some awesome food was had at your house.
Happy new Year to you and all at your house.
This looks delish, and we alternate like you suggest, turkey, ham, roast beef, etc. for different holidays.
Your Christmas turkey and all the trimmings do sound wonderful as well as your pot pie with the leftovers. We usually only have turkey on Thanksgiving, but I do love it. Hope you have a Happy New Years Eve ! And a happy New Year too!
Sounds wonderful. Can I come next year??
Happy New Year Sandy!
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