We hosted out-of-town relatives this year for Christmas, and I really wanted to cook a turkey since it had been a while since I last cooked one. I was in the kitchen all day but everything turned out delicious! I will share with you all the recipes I used this year on Christmas Day...
Emeril's Turkey I have made this a few times and love the flavor. I don't make the giblet gravy; just use the turkey part of the recipe. And, I always cook a bigger bird (17-18 lb) so I nearly double the other ingredients since this recipe calls for a smaller bird.
Gravy My Grandma makes the best gravy. However, I have not watched her do it so I know I don't do it like her... therefore my gravy doesn't turn out nearly as good :) But, in making the turkey recipe above, I am able to easily make a pretty decent gravy. After taking the turkey out of the roasting pan, pour all drippings into a large bowl or Pyrex glass 2 qt measure. Let it sit for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top. With a large spoon, skim off several spoonfuls of the fat/grease and put it in a medium saucepan. Put it over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of flour and whisk it well. Let it cook for a minute, and keep whisking. While still whisking, pour two or three cups of the drippings into the pan. Allow it to come to a boil, and you can see how thick your gravy will be. If it's too thick, add more of the liquid.
Mashed Potatoes Pioneer Woman says not to use a hand mixer on mashed potatoes, but I always do. I do most of the work with a potato masher by hand, but I always finish them with a hand mixer to ensure ultimate creaminess.
Stuffing My mother-in-law's delicious recipe; yum!
Sweet Potatoes Super easy, and who doesn't love marshmellows on top?
Rolls I was assigned to bring rolls for Thanksgiving at my Grandma's this year and I made these, and to fancy them up I put a small pat of butter in the big end of each triangle before rolling them up. I also brushed them with melted butter before baking. However, I found that they actually turned out too buttery for me (and I didn't think there was such a thing as too buttery!) For Christmas dinner I made a double batch, and I melted one stick of butter to spread on them before rolling up. So for each rolled-out circle (each circle yielding crescent 12 rolls) I spread 2 T butter. I thought they turned out just right this way.
Peas I actually did not make this recipe because I ran out of time (the turkey was done! I hadn't made the gravy! The sweet potatoes had browned!) but I had every intention to. We did eat peas, just regular frozen cooked peas that I added a pat of butter to after draining.
... and we had cranberry sauce (whole berry) from a can. I had to simplify somewhere! Dessert was a Costco cheesecake. Today I'm loving the leftovers... my favorite part about a big turkey dinner! And then in another few days I'll take the turkey carcass out of the freezer and make some turkey soup.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!
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