I have several great recipes for roasting smaller turkeys, say under 18 pounds. If you can easily turn the bird on its side, I like this one. If you don’t mind adding some butter, this cheesecloth covered turkey one is good as well, but requires frequent basting. I haven’t yet started brining, as is all the rage. I bought a fresh turkey at Costco for .89/pound. I followed the guidelines from The Perfect Recipe, which hasn’t failed me yet.

I rubbed some butter all over the bird and salt and peppered it. Inside the cavity, I put some chopped celery, carrots, and onion, plus some fresh parsley and a bit of dried thyme.

I put the turkey breast side down on an adjustable V-rack, inside a large roasting pan. I used some kitchen twine to truss the bird a bit, and hold the wings in close to the body. I used a few pins to pin up various other loose parts. I poured a cup of water into the bottom of the pan. Oh, when I cleaned out the turkey I put the neck in a larger saucepan (I had to break it in half to fit it) and added the gizzards and heart, threw in a carrot and a stalk of celery and half an onion, then covered with water (at least a quart). This simmered very low until the turkey was done.

And here’s where things varied from my normal.

I preheated the oven to just 250 F. Yes, 250. I cooked the turkey for 3 hours, breast side down, basting now and then. Yep, 3 hours at 250.

I turned the bird then, breast side up, and baked another hour still at 250, basting again. When the bird is as big as this, turning it can be a bit tricky and I would recommend two people. Have one hold the pan and maybe the rack if needed while the other uses old clean towels (or paper towels in a pinch) to flip the bird over.

For the 5th hour, I basted and turned the heat up to 400. In another hour, it was done perfectly. My thermometer read a little lower than is suggested but my brother pulled on the wing and leg and pronounced it “almost overdone.” I pulled it out and covered it very loosely with foil while we popped all the side dishes into the oven (dressing, sweet potato streusel, green bean casserole, and creamed onions), while I started the rolls baking in the convection oven above.

After half an hour, I lifted the turkey up and drained all the juices into the pan, then moved the bird onto the cutting board for my brother to carve while my mom and I made the gravy. We need LOTS of gravy so don’t bother skimming much out. We place the roasting pan over two burners and turn to medium. We just sprinkle flour over and stir it in until enough flour has been added to make a paste. We stir that another minute or two, then started adding the broth we made from the neck and gizzards, using a whisk to incorporate it. We kept adding broth and simmering and stirring until the gravy was the consistency we like. It needed no salt or pepper to be declared perfect!

The turkey truly was perfect. The thighs and dark meat were done thoroughly. The breast was also fully cooked but not dried out. My brother is a convert. He mentioned that when I’d cooked the prime rib from this same cookbook a few years ago he’d been doubtful but it had also been PERFECT and he’s saved my writeup to use later. So now he’s a convert to this lower temp roasting for larger birds.

Thanksgiving feast

I never got a chance to post my Thanksgiving menu prior to the holiday but will post it here today so I can refer to it next year.

Appetizers

Green olive dip
Humus
Salmon spread from my sister
Spinach dip from my niece
Various vegetables cut up for dipping
French bread cut up for dipping and spreading
Deviled eggs

Dinner

22 pound turkey – roasted this way
Mashed potatoes
Dressing, with pears, contributed by my Mom
Creamed onions, a family tradition
Sweet potato streusel, a new family tradition and much beloved by a few nephews
No-Knead Dinner Rolls, a recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Green salad with blue cheese
Cranberry sauce
Green bean casserole from my sister
Red hot gelatin salad

The desserts

Desserts

Cherry pie
Pumpkin pie
Lemon meringue pie, baked by my daughter
Hazelnut pear torte from my niece
Cranberry cheesecake from my niece

What a feast!

I don’t use the microwave to actually cook much. I melt butter, heat milk, reheat leftovers, etc. But my girls found this microwave brownie recipe in Mom’s Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day. It’s perfect for a quick dessert without a lot of fuss!

• non-stick cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled a bit
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Spray the inside of an 8×8 glass baking dish.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and flour.

In a larger bowl, whisk together the cooled butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet with a wooden spoon.

Scrape the batter into the baking dish. Microwave 4-7 minutes on high, just until the brownies are “done” in the middle.

Let the brownies cook on a rack 5-10 minutes, then cut into squares and eat. How easy is that?!

This is good for a fairly quick but yet special breakfast. It served 3 of us about perfectly. You spend a few minutes getting everything ready, then pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.

• 6 Tbs butter
• 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• 5 Tbs powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 425.

Melt the butter in a 10 inch oven proof skillet while you get the apples ready. Take 2 Tbs butter out and put in a small bowl for the batter. If the butter is melted before the apples are ready, turn the heat down. Put the sliced apples in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice and toss, then toss with the sugar and cinnamon. With the heat on medium, add the apples and stir, cooking about 3-4 minutes until the apples are tender.

In a blender, mix the eggs, milk, flour, reserved melted butter and salt. Spread the apples so they’re evenly distributed in the pan and turn the heat off. Pour the batter over the apples and put the pan in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

Turn onto a plate so the apples are on the top, sprinkle with a bit more powdered sugar if desired and serve.

I don’t normally buy these “dinner kit” type meals but because of the blog I was offered a box for free to try out. The box contained pasta, seasonings, sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. I supplied a pound of chicken, a bit of butter, and 3/4 cup milk. The box said it served 4. Normally it sells for about $4.79. (You can get a $1 off coupon here but they make you install a coupon printer file.)

I was a bit nervous when I saw how little pasta was included but then I tend to cook for leftovers and am notoriously bad at (over) estimating pasta amounts. I made up about 3/4 of a pound of carrots, cooked a slightly new way, as a side dish so we did eat that as well. The 3 of us had our fill of pasta and chicken and carrots and I have more than a serving left for a nice lunch.

The directions were clear and easy to follow. You’ll need 2 pans (3 if you do the side of carrots). It’s not a one-pot wonder, but it is quite tasty! We all really liked it. And I checked out the nutrition label and see that under 1/3 of the calories are from fat. By serving with a vegetable you’re certainly getting into the realm of decently healthy.

$1.78/serving based on 4 servings

Boneless skinless chicken breasts: $1.99
Box dinner: 4.79 (or $3.79 with coupon)
3/4 cup milk: .30 ($4.79/gallon)
2 Tbs butter: .05 ($3/lb)

I haven’t seen the KFC ad about this but really liked this post on Grist. Nice cost breakdown of a meal duplicating the KFC dinner. Add a pound of greens and you could still get under $10.

The local grocery had a ten pound bag of potatoes on sale for $1.99 this weekend. Really, unless you’re a low-carb person, quite a good deal. I bought a bag and came and home and scrubbed and poked about 2/3 of the bag to bake. When they were done, I made twice baked potatoes for later, flash freezing them, and a batch of potato soup for tonight’s dinner and half to freeze later.

I also peeled and diced and parboiled another half a dozen potatoes to freeze for hash browns later.

If you’re seeing similar sales in your neck of the wood, this site has a great many ideas for freezing potato dishes.

The twice baked potatoes are a great hit around here for an after-school snack on cold days. My youngest will pull out half a potato (or two if they’re small) and microwave them for a snack after school. And I like having a nice side dish nearly ready in the freezer.

I’ve not tried the hash browns before but will try to remember to report back. Certainly cheaper than buying a bag of frozen hash browns!

We’ve made and loved the baked potato soup before and we were all just fine with the texture after freezing. I’ll serve it as a main dish the first time, like I did tonight when it’s fresh, and then heat smaller portions later to round out another meal later.

Other costs to the baked potato soup I served tonight included half a pound of bacon (except we only used 1/4) and 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese, plus an onion, and some dried herbs. The chicken broth was homemade so nearly free (most folks throw away the bones). For the 2 cups of half and half mentioned in the recipe I used 1 cup half and half and one cup 1% milk.