Here is the follow-up Video to Preparing Your Turkey Part 1. In this one, I try not to drop the turkey, try carving it for the first time, all while trying not to step on my parent’s dog. Let me know what you think!
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the Holiday turkey so that your family and guests think you are a Foodie Star. This was the first time I had ever cooked a holiday meal for my family ~ it was loads of fun and yes they Oohed and Aahed over my turkey!!
Every year my Nona makes the cranberry sauce for the Holidays. This year though, we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving together. So I called her up and asked her for her cranberry recipe. She didn’t want to give it to me. It was a secret. Seriously. I had to ask her for over five minutes to tell me. She told me the recipe was handed down to her by her mother-in-law almost 50 years ago and if I was going to post it on that thing called the Internet I better give her credit. Yes, she is quite the character!!
What a gorgeous woman inside and out – Lola Trimmer
This is my Nona, Lola Trimmer’s Top Secret Cranberry Sauce Recipe… please don’t tell anybody! Shhhhh
Ingredients:
Don’t the grapes look so pretty!
Boil the water in a saucepan and then dissolve the sugar and Jell-O in it. Use the final container (my Nona says you should use the pretty one!) that will hold your cranberry sauce. To grind the cranberries, put them in the food processor and pulse them until they chopped up, but not pureed. Add the grinded cranberries, and the quartered grapes to it and mix well. Pour the Jell-O water mixture over the top of the cranberry mixture and stir well. Saran wrap the container and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.
Drain the oranges and pat dry. Once the cranberry sauce is firm, place the oranges on the top in a creative pattern – she suggested a smiley face 
I am going to add fresh raspberries to mine. This recipe is super simple, but oh so delicious.
The cranberries in this pic still need to be decorated – trying to decide on what I want to do. Decisions, decisions.
Did you read Brine That Turkey! for my favorite brining recipe? You should! Brining helps make your bird moist and delicious. After you rinsed the turkey off and patted it dry, you are ready to make your guests Ooh and Ahh over your Thanksgiving Turkey.
Ingredients:
To make the basting mixture: In a sauce pan, melt 1 stick of butter. Then add in half of the bottle of wine, 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1.5 tsp onion powder. Mix over low heat until combined.
With the breast side up, bend the wing tips underneath the bird. If you are stuffing the bird with homemade stuffing do so now. If not, insert these ingredients into the cavity: Apple, half an onion, 1 garlic clove, a carrot, and celery stalk. On the bottom of the roasting pan, place the remaining carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips, onions, and garlic cloves. Rest the wire rack on top of the vegetables.
Flip the bird over and tie the legs with cotton twine to the tail. Make sure it is tight, but tie with a bow tie so it is easy to release later. Place the turkey on the wire rack inside the roaster.
Rub soft butter on the skin all over the turkey. Even rub the butter underneath the skin on the turkey breast. Affix the neck skin to the breast using a toothpick. Fold the cheesecloth so that it will fit over the turkey. Don’t cut it – use all of it. Dip the cheesecloth into the butter wine basting mixture then lay it on top of the turkey, breast side up.
Flip the bird so that the breast is facing down in the roaster.
Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn your oven down to 350 degrees for the remainder the of time. Baste every 30 min or at least once an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the turkey over so it is breast side up. At this time, you will want to melt another stick of butter and add the remaining wine. Bake the turkey until it has an internal temperature of 180 degrees. During the last hour, you might have to put aluminum foil over the legs so they do not burn.
Yes. You need to brine your turkey before you put that bird into the oven. You do not want a dry, bland tasting meal – you want people to ooh and ahh over how moist and full of flavor the meat is. Here is my tried and true brining mixture. What exactly is bringing you may ask? The process of brining or soaking meat in a solution of water and salt, before cooking. Yes – it really is that simple. As it soaks, the meat absorbs the brine, then retains it during cooking.
Don’t forget to make sure your turkey is defrosted (remember it can take up to two days to defrost!) before you begin.
| Cold Water | Salt | Time | |
| Turkey 12-17 lbs | 2 gallons | 1 cups table salt or 1.5 cups Kosher salt |
6-12 hours |
| Turkey 18-24 lbs | 3 gallons | 1.5 cups table salt or 2.25 cups Kosher salt |
6-12 hours |
*Important to remember, cup for cup, table salt is stronger than Kosher salt. If you use Kosher salt in a brine, multiply the amount of salt called for by 1.5 times.
Mix these additional ingredients together until they are fully dissolved into the water:
Heat one gallon of water, pour in all of the ingredients including the salt, and stir thoroughly until the ingredients are completely dissolved. Refrigerate until the brine is cold. In the largest stock pot that you have or 5 gal pail, fill it with the brine mixture water. Put your turkey into your pot gently and add the rest of the water. Ensure that the breast it is fully submerged. The entire bird must be submerged for the full brining period. Refrigerate the bird for the recommended time.
Once the turkey has brined overnight, remove it from the brine, rinse it off, and pat it dry. You are now ready to prep your turkey for the oven. Need help getting it into the oven and onto the table? Ooh and Ahh Turkey
These potatoes are a sure crowd pleaser and are so good, you will have to exercise for a week after eating them. Enjoy!
Ingredients
10 lbs potatoes, cubed with skins on
1 lb pancetta or bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, dry or fresh
1 stick butter or margarine
16 oz sour cream, light
1 cup milk
8 oz cream cheese, light
16 oz Velveeta (1/2 loaf)
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz Asiago cheese
8 oz shredded 4-cheese Mexican cheese
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp pepper
Directions
Put all the potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water then cook on high. Once the water starts boiling, salt the water. Once a fork goes through the potatoes easily, drain the potatoes and return the potatoes to the stock pot.
Add the butter, cream cheese, and spices and start mashing potatoes with a hand masher. Add in the milk, sour cream, scallions, and parsley and keep mashing. Once the potatoes are creamy, but slightly lumpy, add in all the cheeses. Save 1 cup of the Asiago cheese.
If making ahead of time, transfer the potatoes to a casserole dish and top of with the remaining Asiago cheese. May refrigerate up to 72 hours or freeze for up to 4 months. To warm up, heat in the oven at 375 for 30-40 minutes.
If eating right away (my personal favorite) transfer to a serving dish and top with the remaining Asiago cheese.
Serves: 18-20 (makes great leftovers too!!)
Pancetta Mashed Potatoes
I am a Social Media Specialist and Editor based in Phoenix, AZ. I absolutely love everything about organic gardening, decadent food, and my all time love, yummy wine. ~ Read More  |
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