The Best Turkey Ever with No-Fault Gravy

This is the best of the best turkey recipes I've ever seen and guess what? It's my adult daughter's creation. Ever since she shared this with us we have enjoyed the moistest and tastiest  turkeys ever. This past Thanksgiving, she was actually in town and we got to taste her version firsthand. The one below is my morph. It's a guaranteed winner. If you need a larger amount of turkey for your feast, cook two instead of one big one. Be sure you have a digital thermometer.

A DAY OR TWO AHEAD OF TIME:
Prepare a brine for your 16-lb turkey. Using a large lobster pot, place your unwrapped turkey (with innards removed) inside and fill with water. Temporarily remove the turkey as you add brine ingredients to the pot.
- 2 cups Kosher salt
- 2 cups sugar
Stir to dissolve, then add up to 2 heads of garlic, roughly chopped (no worry about peeling away skin, you will discard later)
Place the turkey back in the pot and cover. If you live in a cold climate like Minnesota in the winter, you can just chill the pot in the garage. Otherwise, refrigerate. 

A COUPLE HOURS BEFORE COOKING:
Bring turkey to room-ish temp by placing in sink with cold water. Discard the contents of the brine pot. Pat turkey dry and preheat oven to 325. Form a thick ring of heavy duty foil in the shape of a "U" and place in the bottom of roasting pan.

Microwave 1 stick unsalted butter til soft, place in small bowl. Make paste by adding large handful of fresh rosemary and one other fresh herb like oregano or sage. Turn turkey over so breast is on top and carefully insert hand to separate skin. Shove paste between turkey body and skin. Place turkey breast-side down onto foil ring in roasting pan and place 1 & 1/2 garlic heads (cut in half) inside the bird.

Butter the exterior of the bird and salt and pepper to taste.

COOKING:
Place turkey in preheated oven and set timer for 1 hour. At that time, baste with chicken or beef broth (whatever you have on hand) cover entire body to keep wet. Set timer for another 1/2 hour and check to see if bird is browning too quickly. Add foil to wings if necessary and baste again using drippings in pan in addition to broth.  Set the timer for another 20 minutes. When timer dings again, check temperature. You want the turkey internal temp to read 165 when digital thermometer is inserted in the thickest part of the body. Continue to cook in 10+ minute increments and baste until the bird registers 165 in two different spots. It will take under 3 hours - sometimes faster.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest up to 20 minutes before carving.

NO FAULT GRAVY
No more cans or jars, you can do this in your large skillet!

Melt one stick unsalted butter with 3 cubes of chicken bouillon (or equivalent) over medium heat. Whisk in up to 1/4 cups Wondra. Enough to make a sand consistency and bring to boil for 1 minute. Add turkey drippings if available, add 1 carton reduced fat chicken broth and stir in 1/4 heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste, return to boil and stir til thickened. Reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

You can add all kinds of other fun to the gravy like fresh parsley, sautéed mushrooms or onions. Or... all of the above.

Are you kidding? Spot LOVES this meal cuz she gets all kinds of scraps! Depending on how many eaters, you'll enjoy leftovers for sandwiches or casseroles. When reheating, be sure to drizzle with more broth to keep it moist.

10 Layer Chicken Parm

Apparently I haven't made my famous Chix Parmesan in 18 months. When I looked up the original recipe I decided to change it up a bit this time. Hence the "10 layer" title. It goes to show that chicken parm is a recipe to keep on the menu radar a bit more often.

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, whisked and placed in Ziplock bag
2 cups Panko placed in another Ziplock with Kosher salt and Ground pepper
Fresh basil leaves
1 can flavored diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Classico tomato sauce with basil
1 red onion, diced and sautéed
Up to 8 garlic cloves, minced and sautéed
3/4 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
1 - 2 sliced fresh Roma tomatoes
1/2 package Fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente  cooked with 1 TBSP kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Unsalted butter
Oblong baking dish

DIRECTIONS
Get the Fettuccine cooking. When it's done, drain and dollop with 1 TBSP unsalted butter. Put a lid over the pot to keep it warm til the rest of the meal is ready.

Sauté the onions and garlic, adding the mushrooms. When done, drain over paper towels and set aside.

Dredge each breast in eggs, then Panko mixture. Pack the Panko to the chicken. Cook on medium heat with pre-warmed extra virgin olive oil til both sides of each piece is golden brown.

Preheat oven to 350. Layer in the following order and bake tented  with foil for 25 minutes. Uncover and continue baking another 10-15 minutes til cheeses have melted. Serve over Fettuccine.

10 LAYERS from bottom to top:
1.  Spread the diced tomatoes on the bottom of the baking dish
2.  Place the browned chicken breasts over the tomato base
3.  Sprinkle half the mozzarella over each breast
4.  Place several fresh basil leaves on top of each breast
5.  Sprinkle half the parmesan over each breast
6.  Pour the sautéed ingredients over all
7.  Add the Classico tomato sauce plus a generous pinch of kosher salt on top
8.  Add remaining mozzarella
9.  Top each breast with the Roma slices
10. Cover all with the rest of the parm

Beats the other recipe. Juicy and totally yum. 4 paws! 

Orzo Chicken Lemon Soup

This is one of my favorites and sooo easy to make! We serve it with toasted crusty bread. You add a nice leafy green salad to make it a complete meal.

Ingredients

2 cooked chicken breasts, cut in small pieces
8 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup orzo
3 eggs
2/3 + cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 TBSP lemon zest
Mediterranean salt, ground pepper to taste
4 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary

In large saucepan, brink stock to boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium low, add orzo and cook uncovered until tender, about 15-20 minutes. About 5 minutes before pasta is done, add the chicken pieces.

Place eggs in a mixing bowl, whisk will adding in lemon juice. Stir in zest. Keep whisking and slowly add a ladleful of the hot stock to the egg mixture. Slowly add the egg mixture to the stock in saucepan and stir. Stock should thicken slightly.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley.

Spot didn't give a paw rating because she thought we were cooking onions. Once she realized we weren't, she sat at our feet with high hopes.

My Daring Easter Feast

I had no idea what I was signing up for when I decided to make Prime Rib for our Easter dinner. Yes, I've had it now and then over the years (and even once at Sardi's as an unknowing 6th grader) but never understood how hard it is to make, how special it truly is and crazy expensive. I was just thinking it was time to have a holiday meal without fowl on the menu.

With my ignorance fresh in hand, I began searching the internet for recipes. When I asked a dear friend who has about 600 cookbooks and is my cooking guru for her suggestions, I got nervous when she told me she had never made Prime Rib. Ack! She sent me a bunch of ideas and they are my bibliography for a recipe I morphed when I casually mentioned to another friend what I was about to tackle. "Oh, you should talk to my sister, she makes this all the time and it's great!" She gave me the confidence to venture forth.

OUR MENU (everything with a # is made from my lov'n kitchen)

* Brie & Bruschetta

* Organic Greens and Parmesan Salad Dressing#

* Rosemary Prime Rib#

* Gruyere & Parmesan Potatoes Au Gratin#

* Fresh Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes# (recipe straight from allrecipes.com)

* Hershey's Chocolate Cake# with Buttercream topping

* And why not a Pumpkin Pie with New York Vanilla Ice Cream while we're at it?


For this entry, I will focus on the main meal. In the next blog, I will share the recipe for the cake. That way, I get points for two entries this week!

Seriously, I broke all the rules by making so many new recipes all at once!



ROSEMARY PRIME RIB
I bought a boneless 5 lb Prime Rib Roast, so adjust as needed... (I wanted leftovers cuz COLD PR is wonderful!)

Night before cooking: season with Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper and Paprika on all sides. Place in a jumbo Ziplock and refrigerate. Turn the bag whenever you are near the fridge. No stress, even if you just flip it twice - great.

3-4 hours before cooking: take the PR out of the fridge and set on a plate on the counter and bring to room temperature.

When ready, preheat oven to 450. Remove meat from bag, brush all sides with Kitchen Bouquet. Shake on Garlic salt, more ground pepper, paprika and generously cover all with fresh Rosemary. All sides need to be covered. Insert Meat thermometer into a side. Place on roasting rack inside roasting pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temp to 275 and continue baking until temp reads 133 for medium rare. (This took us 2 1/2 hours)

Remove and cover loosely with foil and let sit for 20 minutes, (now you can finish up your side dishes and get that gravy going) then slice and serve.

AH MAZE ING!!


MADERIA GRAVY
In large saucepan, melt 3 TBSP of unsalted butter. Whisk in 2-3 TBSP Wondra until thick paste is formed. Boil briefly, continuing to whisk. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of Maderia red wine, in small quantities. Be sure fully mixed before adding more. Slowly add a 32-oz carton of low sodium beef broth. Whisk in enough Kitchen Bouquet to tint gravy a medium-dark brown. Go crazy with ground pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered for about 20 minutes til slightly thickened.


GRUYERE & PARM POTOS Au GRATIN
I will never use cheddar cheese again!

1. Wash and slice 5 baked potatoes as thin as you can without harming yourself
2. Place slices in 5 quart pot with enough water to just cover potatoes (you will add more water as you slice)
2. Thinly dice 6+ cloves garlic, add to pot
3. Add generous pinch of Kosher salt and ground pepper to pot - bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and cook @ 8 minutes more - just don't let them get mushy
5. Drain in colander, add ice cubes to keep potos from sticking
6. When ready, layer 1/2 of the potatoes in a 9 x 13 baking pan
7. Drizzle 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream over all, generously cover with ground pepper, sprinkle 1 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese over all
8. Layer the rest of the potatoes, drizzle 3/4 cup more of heavy whipping cream, cover with pepper and 1 cup freshly shredded Gruyere cheese, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup more of the freshly shredded parm
9. Bake at 350 for 1 hour... or as we did, 30 minutes in the oven with the P R at 275 and then 30 minutes alone at 375 til cheese just bubbles


GREEN BEANS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES
Surprise... I pretty much followed this allrecipes.com recipe except we did not chop up the beans or halve the tomatoes.

Not only did Spot give this 4 paws, so did my hubby, my son and our other son! This is our new Special Dinner. Now I just need to watch for the meat sales in order to find out when we can have it next.