Recipe Exchange

Holiday Recipes Today's Tips

It is the season to give thanks, but it is also the season for lots of entertaining, cooking and eating! Below are some of the BEST Holiday recipes around, starting with one of the moistest turkeys you will ever experience (courtesy of Emeril Lagasse). The sweet potato cups are also courtesy of Emeril, and they add a very special and new twist to an old traditional favorite. The pumpkin pie is a variation on the standard �canned� recipe, and uses up those wonderful pumpkins sitting on the doorstep!
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Brined and Roasted Turkey
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
Brine, recipe follows
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into 8ths
1 large orange, peeled and cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting
Turkey Broth:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Reserved turkey neck and giblets
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 small bay leaf
3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth
3 cups water
Gravy:
4 cups turkey broth
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.
For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
Brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.
Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.

Brandy and Orange-Mashed Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups
7 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
4 large oranges
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let rest until just cool enough to handle.
Lower the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the orange cups by cutting the oranges in half and scooping out the pulp, leaving only the shell. Set aside.
While still somewhat hot, peel the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Discard the skins and tough, stringy fibers. Add the butter, and with an electric mixer, beat out the lumps. Add the sugar, eggs, orange juice, heavy cream, and brandy, and mix until smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well. Re-season, to taste.
Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the orange cups, mounding and smoothing the top. Bake until puffed and slightly golden, about 20 minutes.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 cups fresh Pumpkin Puree, recipe follows
3 large eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg for glazing
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
Pate Brisee, recipe follows
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin puree, and 3 eggs. Beat well. Stir in evaporated milk and combine. Set aside.
Roll the pate brisee out into a 12-inch circle between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Fit pastry into a 9-inch glass pie plate; trim dough evenly along edge, leaving about a 1/2-inch overhang. Pinch to form a decorative edge. If the dough begins to soften, chill for 15 minutes.
Combine remaining 1 egg and heavy cream. Brush glaze very lightly on edges of pie shell. Fill pie shell with pumpkin mixture. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Pate Brisee:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Put the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. All ingredients should be cold. Add the pieces of butter, and process for approximately 10 seconds, or just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (To mix by hand, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 table knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.) Add 1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water, drop by drop, through the feed tube with the machine running (or into the bowl if mixing by hand), just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky; do not process more than 30 seconds. Test the dough at this point by squeezing a small amount together. If it is crumbly, add a bit more water. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Grasping the ends of the plastic wrap with your hands, press the dough into a flat circle with your fists. This makes rolling easier than if the pastry is chilled as a ball. Wrap the dough in the plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour. Lightly butter or spray with vegetable cooking spray the pie plates or tart pans you will be using. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Place the pastry in a plate, pan or in a pastry ring that has been set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and press it into the bottom edges and along the sides. Trim the pastry using scissors or a sharp paring knife, or by rolling a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Cutting the pastry an inch or so higher than the edge of the tart pan and tucking this overhang to the inside of the pan will give extra height and reinforcement. Crimp or decorate the edges of the pastry, if desired. Chill the pastry-lined pan until ready to use. Unbaked pastry shells can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, for up to 1 day; for longer storage, they can be frozen.
Pumpkin Puree:
1 (5-pound) sugar pumpkin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut pumpkin into quarters. Rub flesh with vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet; flesh side up. Bake until soft, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel and put through a food mill fitted with a medium disc. Yield: 5 1/4 cups.

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