56 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019
Ready for the
Holiday?
Add some variety
to your traditional
Thanksgiving meal.
CLASSIC ROAST TURKEY
Prepare about 1 pound of turkey per
Thanksgiving guest — you’
ll be sure to
have enough.
Ingredients:
1 (12- to 16-pound) whole turkey, neck
and giblets removed
Olive oil
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. dried dill
Kosher salt and pepper
Paprika
2 cups white wine or chicken broth
Directions:
Set oven rack to lowest position. Preheat
oven to 400°F.
Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry
with clean paper towels. Sprinkle main
cavity well with salt and pepper.
If cooking stuffing or dressing in the
bird cavity, stuff with your favorite stuffing
and “truss” closed. Place the turkey on a
rack in large roasting pan (or place turkey
in a two-stacked large disposable roasting
pan). Tuck wing tips under the bird and
tie the legs together loosely with string.
Rub the turkey well with olive oil and
sprinkle the seasonings over. Place in the
prepared pan and pour the wine or broth
in the pan around the turkey.
Place turkey in oven and roast the tur-
key 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and
roast for 30 minutes more. Begin basting
the turkey every 30 minutes with the col-
lected juices while you continue to roast
the turkey for 2-3 hours more, or until
the leg juices run clear when poked with
a fork (registers 175°F with a meat ther-
mometer). Note: If the turkey becomes
too dark/golden before it is cooked, cover
with foil until the meat is cooked through.
Remove foil in the last 30 minutes of
cooking to crisp the skin.
Remove the turkey to a platter and let
stand about 20 minutes before carving
and serving with reserved juices or gravy.
Makes about 12-16 servings.
CHERRY LEEK CHALLAH STUFFING
Ingredients:
¾ cup sweetened dried cherries
½ cup white wine (any kind)
¹/3 cup butter or olive oil
1 cup finely diced onions
2 cups thin-sliced leeks (white
Arts&Life
thanksgiving
T
hanksgiving food starts with
turkey. It’
s the most anxiety-raising
food most people will prepare. So
much so, that some people will order an
expensive bird already cooked rather than
attempt it themselves. Relax. When you
realize a turkey is really just a big chicken,
you’
ll see it isn’
t difficult at all.
Here’
s a tip — if you don’
t have a
roasting pan with a rack (that will lift the
bird from the bottom of the pan so that it
is golden all around — turn your turkey
upside down halfway through the cooking
process. This way the fleshy turkey bottom
skin becomes as golden as the top. Turn
the turkey rightside-up again when the
bottom is golden. I usually don heavy-
duty, thicker than usual dishwashing
gloves and turn the turkey this way to
protect myself from the heat.
Another thought — a turkey will
continue to cook long after you remove it
from the oven (all that interior heat does a
good job of finishing the roasting job), so
don’
t be tempted to overcook your bird.
And because we cannot live on turkey
alone, here are lots of great side dishes to
serve with it.
Annabel Cohen
Food Columnist
continued on page 58