turkey

I love turkey on Thanksgiving, but then I need to take a little break from it for a while—and making something to freeze for later is the perfect solution. Tossing the turkey breast in olive oil keeps it tender and moist, and the shallot, lemon zest, parsley, and vermouth give the final pie a little extra sparkle.

My husband and I love New Orleans. He proposed in New Orleans. We go to New Orleans annually and gobble up the cuisine as fast as possible. The inspiration for this is deeply engrained! I LOVE Joe's Stuff which you can order here OR - go there and pick some up in person! http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/ Also we swear by the Zatarains rice but you can use your favorite long grain white rice.

This method produces an amazingly crisp skin and some very juicy meat. It requires a lot of time and a very low oven temperature, so it's a good method for those with kitchens with two ovens (lucky!) or for when you're cooking the turkey ahead of time and reheating gently before the big meal.

When we were kids, my stepmom Jennie made fantastic turkey, wrapped in bacon and roasted to juicy perfection. Jennie is a great cook—following instincts and sense of flavor rather than recipes, and I don't remember her ever making a bad meal. This is my version of her bacon bird. I used a 14-pounder, but if you want larger or smaller, just adjust the amounts and times accordingly—this is your bird!

My secret to flavorful gravy is starting with a base of bacon. Put a few slices in a pan and let it render low and slow until the bacon is crispy, the fat has all melted out, and those toasty, tasty clumps start to gather at the bottom of the pan. (Bonus: You’ve got yourself some crispy bacon for tomorrow’s sandwich...or right now's snack.) Briny tamari gives this gravy that special oomph of flavor that turkey drippings would normally add. Not to mention, a few splashes make your gravy the perfect shade of brown. Anytime I'm making a dish ahead of time, I add in some fresh herbs just before serving to awaken the flavor and give it that "I just made this" look.

This is a variation on a classic northern Italian dish, vitello tonnato, which is normally made with rare roast veal. If you've never had it, it seems like an unusual pairing, tuna and veal. But, oh, does it work. And the same goes for turkey.

Since I already love Amanda's spatchcock-braise-roast method for cooking chicken, I thought—why not turkey, too? I combined her method with AntoniaJames's recipe for Spatchcocked Turkey and Tom Colicchio's recipe for Butter-Roasted Turkey.

There are several things about this dish I really like. The stuffing is mature. What do I mean by that? Well, for me, most stuffing I eat reminds me of being a kid and is to a certain degree, kid friendly. This stuffing while kid friendly lends a mature flavor to the entire dish. I also like the fact that the turkey only takes about 45 minutes to bake unlike a whole stuffed bird.

I used to order this dish at a place in Cancun called Los Almendros. 20 years ago it was a sort of funky little place in the shade of a giant almond tree, across from the old bull ring.

For all sorts of reasons, you might want to knock out the turkey early this year—the oven’s on the fritz, or too many sides or pies will be hogging it, or maybe you just like to get ahead so you can kick back come Thursday.