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Holiday Roast Turkey with Herbal Rub

1 13 pound whole turkey, fresh or thawed
1 medium onion, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey and reserve for the broth.
3. Rinse the turkey with cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Place onion and lemon quarters in the neck and body cavities.
5. In a small bowl, mix the oil with the herbs, salt and pepper.
6. With your finger tips, gently loosen the skin from the breast without pulling off the skin.
7. Place 1 tablespoon of the herb mixture under the skin; and replace the skin.
8. Rub the cavities and outside of turkey with the remaining herb mixture.
9. Secure the neck skin to the back of the turkey with skewers. Fold the wings under the back of turkey. Place the legs in tucked position.

Note: May be prepared to this point, covered, and refrigerated for several hours.

10. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large shallow (no more than 2-1/2 inches) deep roasting pan.
11. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful it does not touch the bone.
12. Cover bird with a loose tent of foil. Roast turkey in the preheated oven for about 2-1/2 hours.
13. Remove the foil and baste bird with pan juices.
14. Continue to roast for about another hour, until meat thermometer registers 180°F in the thigh.
15. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
16. Transfer to a large platter and serve with gravy.
Yields 18 servings at 6 ounces per portion

Good Old Fashioned Bread Dressing

3 to 4 loaves of white bread (or 5 if you like leftovers)
2 cups water
insides of the turkey
1 or 2 onions
2 bunches of celery
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoons sage
oysters (optional)
mushrooms (option)
chicken broth

The night before
1. The night before you want to eat the stuffing, break the bread into small pieces (about 1 inch squares) into 2 huge bowls or pots. Let the bread sit overnight to dry out.

The next day
2. The next day, remove the insides of turkey and boil them in water in
2/3 quart sauce pan until cooked (about 20 to 30 minutes).
3. Remove the insides from the saucepan for later use or discard. Keep the broth and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. Chop the onion and celery and place into food processor until minced.
6. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
7. Sauté the onion and celery in butter until heated through. Do not brown! (Sauté the mushrooms also at this time, if wanted).
Note: Depending on how much stuffing you want and how much celery and onion you’ve chopped, you may have to sauté the onion and celery in two parts.
8. Once cooked, pour the onion mixture directly over the dried out bread.
9. Sprinkle the sage over bread mixture.
10. Take your turkey broth and pour slowly over the bread mixture. The bread will shrink as you do this. Be careful not to pour too much water in.
11. Mixture thoroughly.

Note: If you need more liquid, open a can of chicken broth and pour over bread. If you need more spice, add more sage.

13. If you are using oysters, add them now.
14. Once stuffing is of a consistency that it will stick together and does not look too dry, do not add more liquid.
16. Either stuff in turkey to be baked in oven, or put in 9 x 13 pan.
17. If using oysters, it is recommended that you bake the stuffing in a pan so as to ensure the oysters will be cooked through.
18. Bake in 350°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the stuffing to have a nice brown crust on top.

Note: If you are cooking the stuffing in a pan and not inside the turkey, try stuffing the turkey with small apples. It smells wonderful and the apples have a great flavor when you take them out.

Real Homemade Turkey Gravy

1 package neck, heart, gizzard from turkey giblets
1 medium carrot thickly sliced
1 medium onion thickly sliced
1 medium celery rib thickly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 turkey liver
3 tablespoons fat from poultry drippings
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a 3-quart saucepan, place neck, heart, gizzard, vegetables, and salt in enough water to cover, and cook over high heat.
2. Heat to boiling.
3. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Add the liver and cook for 15 minutes longer.
5. Strain broth into a large bowl; cover and reserve broth in the refrigerator.
6. To make gravy, remove the cooked turkey and roasting rack from the roasting pan. Pour the poultry drippings through a sieve into a quart size measuring cup.
7. Add 1 cup giblet broth to the roasting pan and stir until the crusty brown bits are loosened.
8. Pour the deglazed liquid/broth into the measuring cup.
9. Let the mixture stand a few minutes, until the fat rises to the top.
10. Over medium heat, spoon 3 tablespoons of fat from the poultry drippings into a 2-quart saucepan.
11. Whisk flour and salt into the heated fat and continue to cook and stir until the flour turns golden.
12. Meanwhile, skim and discard any fat that remains on top of the poultry drippings.
13. Add the remaining broth and enough water to the poultry drippings to equal 3-1/2 cups.
14. Gradually whisk in warm broth mixture.
15. Cook and stir, until the gravy boils and is slightly thick.
Makes 14 servings at 1/4 cup per serving

Home Sweet Home Potato Casserole

2 pounds sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Mixture will be very soupy.
3. Bake for 1 hour.

Crackpot Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes

Cooking spray
6 to 8 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 cup Velveeta cheese, chunked
1-1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
Salt and pepper

1. Spray the crockpot with the cooking spray.
2. Fill the crockpot with half of the sliced potatoes.
3. Layer half of the soup, velveeta cheese, Cheddar cheese, and milk.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Layer remaining the remaining potatoes.
6. The layer the remaining soup, velveeta cheese, Cheddar cheese, and milk.
7. Cook on high for about 6 hours.
Note: You need to check to see if you need to add more milk. You can preboil the potatoes for quicker cooking.

Yummy Pineapple Cheese Salad

2 (16 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained; reserve the juice
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups miniature marshmallows
3 in. off of a 3 pound loaf of Velvetta cheese, cubed
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
l medium egg
l tablespoon sugar

1. In a large bowl, mix the pineapple chunks, marshmallows, and cheese.
2. In a medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch and water.
3. Beat the egg, pineapple juice, sugar into the cornstarch mixture to blend.
4. Cook over low heat until thick.
5. Cool slightly and pour over the pineapple mixture.
6. Mix well

Country Bumkin Pumpkin and Praline Pie

2 pie crust

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon bitters (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 (29 ounces) can pumpkin
1 (12 ounces) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup milk
1 cup water

Praline:

4 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Filling:
1. In a large bowl, mix the sugars, flour, bitters, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
2. Stir in the egg in and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter over low heat.
4. Add the pumpkin and simmer, stirring occasionally until the purée thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
5. Gradually stir hot pumpkin into sugar mix, stir in evaporated milk, milk and water.
Note: If desired, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Praline:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and pecans.

Prepare crusts.
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Spread half the praline mix in each crust.
3. Bake until the praline is golden brown and bubbly, around 10 minutes.
4. Cool slightly.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F.
6. Pour half of the pumpkin filling into each crust and smooth top with spatula.
7. Bake until pumpkin is firm and crusts are golden brown, about 1 hour.
8. Cool completely and serve.
9. Garnish with whipped cream or topping, if desired.

These recipes are excerpts from the cookbook “Chef Carlo Cooks with Teens”...Enjoy!