Take one homemade centerpiece....
Add a brand new gravy boat...
And, voila! A beautiful Thanksgiving table.... for the beautiful new tradition. This Thanksgiving Bradley and I hosted "the feast" at our home. It went perfectly... almost too perfectly. We got up early and made cinnamon buns and started a fire and mixed up mulled cider in a big pot on the stove.
Since we live in the south, our Thanksgiving weather can take on many forms. We can be in short sleeves or we can be bundled up. Rarely does it snow, like I wish it would. My preferred Thanksgiving weather is cloudy and cold, and wouldn't you know it... that is just what I got for my first Thanksgiving. There were only a few setbacks. We both burnt ourselves and I almost took the end of my finger off.... but that wasn't going to stop us from reaching our 2 o'clock deadline.
Maple-Glazed Roast Turkey Breast
recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine
my tweaks in red
1 whole turkey breast on the bone (6 - 7 pounds)
3/4 tspn each dried sage, thyme and fresh ground pepper i used whole tspn's
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 bay leafs
Glaze:
1/3 cup maple syrup i used 1/2 cup
3 tblspns coarse-grained Dijon mustard i used 4 tblspns
Preheat oven to 375*
Remove skin and excess fat from the turkey breast. Rinse well and blot dry with paper towels. Position the breast in the roasting pan on the rack, put the bay leaves in the bottom of the pan. Melt the butter and mix it with the other 3 ingredients. Rub over the breast, try to keep most of the herbs on the bird.
Cover the pan completely with foil. Roast 1 & 1/2 hours.
In a medium bowl mix the glaze ingredients. Remove foil from bird. Spoon about one third of the glaze over the breast. Return to 375* oven, uncovered, for 20 minute intervals, taking it out and glazing every 20 minutes, equaling 60 minutes. Let the turkey sit for 20 minutes before you carve it, to let the juices redistribute.
Since we live in the south, our Thanksgiving weather can take on many forms. We can be in short sleeves or we can be bundled up. Rarely does it snow, like I wish it would. My preferred Thanksgiving weather is cloudy and cold, and wouldn't you know it... that is just what I got for my first Thanksgiving. There were only a few setbacks. We both burnt ourselves and I almost took the end of my finger off.... but that wasn't going to stop us from reaching our 2 o'clock deadline.
Our menu was simple, yet fancy. There was portobello wild rice with barley, green bean casserole, chicken n' dressing, Paula Deen's Mashed Baked (with my little twist, bacon instead of French's Onions), asparagus casserole (a family staple at Thanksgiving), giblet gravy, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, croissants, caramel crunch apple pie..... and of course... the star of the show, the talk of the table, the feature of the feast.... ladies and gentlemen may I present to you... my very first.... TOM TURKEY!!!!
Maple-Glazed Roast Turkey Breast
recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine
my tweaks in red
1 whole turkey breast on the bone (6 - 7 pounds)
3/4 tspn each dried sage, thyme and fresh ground pepper i used whole tspn's
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 bay leafs
Glaze:
1/3 cup maple syrup i used 1/2 cup
3 tblspns coarse-grained Dijon mustard i used 4 tblspns
Preheat oven to 375*
Remove skin and excess fat from the turkey breast. Rinse well and blot dry with paper towels. Position the breast in the roasting pan on the rack, put the bay leaves in the bottom of the pan. Melt the butter and mix it with the other 3 ingredients. Rub over the breast, try to keep most of the herbs on the bird.
Cover the pan completely with foil. Roast 1 & 1/2 hours.
In a medium bowl mix the glaze ingredients. Remove foil from bird. Spoon about one third of the glaze over the breast. Return to 375* oven, uncovered, for 20 minute intervals, taking it out and glazing every 20 minutes, equaling 60 minutes. Let the turkey sit for 20 minutes before you carve it, to let the juices redistribute.
~~~~~
The turkey was so so so good! You almost didn't need cranberry sauce, the glaze was so sweet. The balance of sweet and savory was perfect and this will definitely be the turkey recipe for years to come.
Once the spread was on the table, we took a quick second to pause and let the new tradition sink in and start it off right, with a picture to mark the event.
Once the spread was on the table, we took a quick second to pause and let the new tradition sink in and start it off right, with a picture to mark the event.
Don't be surprised at the gallon of sweet tea next to every plate... didn't you read the title of my page?! Southern, baby!
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