Days of fall: Turkey

Roasted Herb Rubbed Turkey with stuffing


Herb Stuffing

1 large rib celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups plain croutons, or dried bread cubes
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed,
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
chicken broth, about 2 cups maybe more depending on your dried bread cubes

Saute celery and onion in a skillet with a little bit of butter. When the vegetables begin to soften add garlic and saute about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and remove from heat. Add the spices to the broth mixture stir to incorporate. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Add broth mixture and stir until bread is moistened.

Roasted Herb Rubbed Turkey

2 Tablespoons herbs de Provence
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons Wegman's basting oil

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small prep bowl combine the salt and spices together to make the dry rub. Set aside. Pour basting oil into a separate prep bowl. Prepare your roasting pan and turkey. Rinse turkey inside and out pat dry with paper towels. Gently stuff turkey with herb stuffing. Tuck legs under skin fold or use cooking twine to bind them together. Begin rubbing herb rub over the breast of the turkey. Rub more along legs, wings and back of turkey. Using fingers distribute the basting oil by rubbing into the skin all over the turkey. Add a cup of water to the pan to prevent drippings from burning. Cover loosely with foil and cook for 30 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven baste and cook another 30 minutes. Remove from oven, baste, remove foil and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add more water to the pan as needed, the pan should have some liquid in the bottom to prevent burning. Return turkey to oven for 60 minutes. Remove from oven. Baste and cover with foil if browning too quickly. Return to oven for 30 minutes. Baste again and cook 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and check internal temperature using an instant read thermometer. If the temperature is not high enough return to oven 30 minutes longer, the temperature should be 180 degrees for the meat and 165 degrees for the stuffing. Let turkey rest 30 minutes before carving. Reserve pan drippings for gravy.

Roasted sweet potato wedges
(recipe from Real Simple) makes 6-8 servings

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 pounds small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, and spices. Add the sweet potatoes. Stir to combine. Spread wedges on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. (foil lined, sprayed with cooking spray is a good idea) Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until edged are dark brown and wedges are crisp about 1 hour turning once, midway.

You can cut and season wedges up to 2 hours ahead of cooking.