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T-Day Cooking

Many families bring out favorite recipes for the holiday season, but there is always room for something new at the table. Here are three recipes, each offering an unconventional twist on traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Enjoy!

Roast Turkey with Maple Herb Butter

For turkey:
1 14-pound turkey
2 cups apple cider
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbl. chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tbl. chopped fresh marjoram or 2 tsp. Dried marjoram
1-1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery with leaves
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
2 cups chicken broth

For gravy:
3 cups chicken broth
3 tbl. all purpose flour
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 tbl. apple brandy (optional)

For turkey:

Reduce the apple cider and maple syrup in a sauce pan to about half a cup, under high heat. Remove from heat and add the butter, half of the thyme and marjoram, 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon peel, salt and pepper. Mix well until the butter has melted. Refrigerate, covered, for about 2 hours. (Can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Thoroughly dry turkey skin using paper towels. If you plan to stuff the turkey, loosely insert stuffing into the main cavity of the bird. Remember to remove the giblets before stuffing. Loosen shin by inserting your hand under the turkey breast skin. Use about 1/2 cup of maple butter and rub the turkey breast under its skin. Also rub the outside of the turkey. Keep about 1/4 cup of maple butter to prepare the gravy. Loosely tie the legs together and if necessary, tie the stuffed cavity to maintain the shape of the bird. Place turkey on a rack in a pan. Surround the turkey with the onions, celery, carrots and turkey giblets in the pan. Seasone the vegetables with the remaining thyme and marjoram. Add 2 cups of broth to the pan.

Roast turkey, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 dregrees and cover turkey with aluminum foil. Continue to roast, covered and basting occasionally with pan juices, until a meat thermometer reads 180 when inserted into the thickest part of thigh. Alternatively, roast until the turkey juices run clear when the thickest part of thigh is pierced with skewer (2 and a half hours for unstuffed turkeys or 3 hours for stuffed turkeys). Remove from oven, remove turkey from rack and let stand untouched for at least 30 minutes. Save the pan juices and vegetables for the gravy.

For gravy:

Separate juices from solids and remove as much fat from the pan juices as possible. Using chicken broth, bring the volume of the pan juices up to 3 cups. Place liquid to a sauce pan and bring to a boil under medium heat. Combine the reserved maple butter and flour in a bowl to make a smooth paste. Add paste to broth, mixing continuously to prevent the formation of lumps. Add some fresh thyme and a bay leaf. Continue to heat, mixing frequently, until it boils and the mixture reduces to form a sauce. Add apple brandy and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cranberry and Apricot Sauce with Cardamom

8 whole green cardamom pods
2 cups apricot (or peach) nectar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
12 ounces dried apricots, quartered
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Crush cardamom pods coarsely in a mortar and pestle. Discard empty shells.

Bring the apricot and lemon juices, the sugar, and honey to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add cardamom and dried apricots and cook for about 4 minutes. Add fresh cranberries and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool a little, and mix in the lemon peel. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature.

Sausage, Cranberry, and Corn Bread Stuffing

1 1/2 loaves Corn Bread
2 cups pecans
7 leeks (about 1 pound; white and pale green parts only)
3 celery ribs
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
2 cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves, chopped
2 cups chicken broth

Crumble corn bread into 1/2 inch pieces, spread in a large baking pan, and bake in a 325 degree oven until just dry, or about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer into a large bowl.

Toast pecans in the oven until their insides are golden, which should take about 15 minutes. Cook cranberries with sugar and a little bit of water over moderately high heat in a small saucepan, stirring, until some begin to burst, or about 5 minutes.

Cut leeks into 1/2-inch pieces. Wash them well, and place on a strainer to drain. Chop celery into 1/4 inch pieces. Cook leeks and celery together in a skillet with the butter over moderately low heat, stirring until leeks are tender, or about 25 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and crumble into small pieces. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked through.

Mix into the bowl of corn bread the pecans, sausage and vegetables mixture, cranberries, parsley, and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss together.

Losely fill the bird's neck and body cavities with room-temperature stuffing immediately before roasting.

Enjoy!!

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