Turkey dinner

We decided to make a turkey dinner Sunday. It gave us a chance to try out a few new recipes before Thanksgiving.


I brined a bone-in fresh turkey breast in a honey solution overnight. The result was a nice, moist and tender turkey. The drippings made an awesome gravy that went well with the sage dressing.

Although I made the sweet potatoes on the grill, they can also be made indoors. The more you can cook on the grill the better. If nothing else, it frees up room in the oven!

The cranberry salad was awesome, as were the roasted Brussel sprouts.

Turkey Breast

Prep time: 24 hours
Makes: 6 serving from a 6 pound breast
Cook time: 2 hours
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 6-pound bone-in, fresh natural turkey breast
• 4-5 quarts of water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 cup honey
• 3-4 t black pepper
• 5-6 garlic gloves, peeled
• 1 small bunch fresh thyme, or about 1 T dried
• 1 small bunch fresh sage, or about 1 T dried
• 3 cups chicken stock

1. Rinse turkey breast with cold water and drain well. Blot dry.

2. In a large food-safe baggie (they sell really big ones that work great for turkeys), combine the water, honey and salt. Stir until the honey dissolves.

3. Add remaining ingredients except the turkey.

4. Place the baggie in a large pot. Make sure that the turkey is completely immersed. If needed, add more water.

5. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

For roasting:

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 T mayonnaise
• salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 325. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry. Place turkey breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.

2. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the chicken stock and stir. Remove from heat and pour over turkey.

3. Rub mayonnaise over turkey breast and salt lightly if desired.

4. Roast until internal temp in thick part of breast reaches 170. Usually a breast takes 15-20 minutes per pound.

5. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Note: For crisper skin, raise the temperature to 350 for the last 30-45 minutes of cooking

To make the gravy, take the drippings and add to a pan on the stove. Bring to a simmer, stirring. Mix 1/4 cup warm water with 1 t corn starch and mix into gravy mixture, stirring. Repeat until gravy is the desired consistency.

Dressing

This is based on a Betty Crocker recipe I found. It came out fantastic. You can use it as a stuffing if you are cooking a full bird. Since we just roasted a breast, we made this on the side.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes (see note)
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 12 cups bread, cubed (see note)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 T salt
• 1 t pepper
• 1 T ground sage
• 2-3 cups chicken stock

Note: The bread needs to be day old, and slightly crusty. If yours is not, you can sit it out overnight, or place the cubes on baking trays and place in a warm oven until crusty. Do not overcook.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter, then saute the onion, celery and mushroom until the onion is soft.

2. Add the salt, pepper and sage and cook 3 minutes.

3. Place the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of the butter/celery mixture over the cubes and toss well. Repeat until all of the mixture is used.

4. If the mixture is dry, add the chicken stock in 1/4 cup increments, mixing well. Do not over moisten.

5. Bake for 1 hour.

Cranberry Salad

Makes: 8 servings
Prep time: 4 hours
Cook time: 0 minutes

• 4 oz can crushed pineapple
• 3 oz package black cherry Jello
• 6 oz dried cranberries, rinsed
• 1 cup pecans, lightly chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar or Splenda
• Sour cream or whipped cream for garnish

1. Drain pineapple and reserve juice.

2. Add juice to 1/2 cup hot water and heat to boiling.

3. Soften gellatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add to hot water/juice mixture. Let cool until it starts to set, but don't let the gellatin harden.

4. Put cranberries in a grinder (or blender) and grind well.

5. Add berries, pineapple, nuts and sugar to cooled gellatin mixture. Mix well. Pour into bowl or mold and refrigerate until set.

6. Place mold into warm water bath and run a knife around edges to loosen. Invert onto a serving plate. Garnish with parsley and a dollop of sour cream or whipped cream.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Butter

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick slices
• 1 large sweet or Spanish onion, sliced thin and separated into rings
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. Preheat grill to medium, about 350 degrees.

2. Alternatively place potato slices and onion rings on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Brush with oil.

3. Place another sheet of foil over potatoes and seal along edges.

4. Place on grill for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

5. In a small bowl, mix the butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir in pecans.

6. Open packets and top with pecan butter. Serve.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

You can find the recipe here.

Pork Chops with Sage Cream Gravy, Corn Chowder and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This meal came out tasting great, even though the gravy should've been a little whiter in color. I think the reason for it being dark is because I did the chops in the cast iron skillet and a lot of little brown yum yums got mixed into the gravy. Regardless, it was all tasty good!

For the chops:

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
  
• 2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 T chopped fresh sage
• 4 1" center cut chops
• S & P
• 1/4 cup plus 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. In a wide bowl, whisk 1/2 cup milk with egg. In a dish, combine the panko and 1 tablespoon of the parsley and sage.

2. Season chops with S & P. Coat each with egg mix, then with panko mix, shaking off any excess.

3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chops in batches and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet. Reserve the skillet. Bake chops until just cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

4. In the skillet, heat the remaining 2 T of oil. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until golden. Whisk in the remaining 1 cup of milk and the cream. Stir in remaining parsley and sage and bring to a boil. Simmer until thick, about 2 minutes. Season with S & P and serve with the chops.

For the corn chowder:

• 4 pieces thick bacon, chopped
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• S & P
• 1 small jalapeño, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 large red potatoes, small diced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 16 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towel and remove grease until just 4 tablespoons remain the pan.

2. Add the onions and pepper to the pan and saute until tender, about 4 minutes.

3. Season with S & P, to taste and add the jalapeño and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Stir in the flour until thoroughly combined and cook for about 1 minute, or until it reaches a slight blonde color.

5. Stir in the chicken stock and potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Potatoes will become soft.

6. Add the cream, corn and bay leaf and simmer for another 15 minutes.

7. Pour into serving bowl and top with bacon.

For the Brussels sprouts:

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• S & P
• Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Slice bottoms off sprouts and mark an X across the stem with a sharp knife.

3. Put sprouts in a bowl and drizzle with oil, S & P.

4. Spread sprouts onto a sheet pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until fork-tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more salt.