Pomegranate Glazed Organic Roasted Heritage Turkey

This year, I shelled out the bucks for an organic heritage turkey. It cost 3x more, but we had a pregnant woman in the family and what the pregnant woman wants, she gets. Like in years pass, I followed Alton's Brown no-fail roasted turkey method. It include brining the turkey in salted vegetable stock overnight, roasting at 500 degrees and then 350 until the meat reaches temperature. It's much quicker and juicier than the traditional 6-8hr slow roast.

Same as last year, I used the pomegranate glaze to baste the turkey. It helps the nice color, crispiness and glaze of the turkey.

After sitting in the brine overnight, the turkey rinsed and dried:

The herb rub and aromatics (I stuff the turkey with the aromatics along with a bunch of sage and rosemary):

The herb-rubbed turkey:


After 30 minutes:

As you can see, the turkey is nice and brown. After lowering the heat, I removed the foil to cook the breast to temperature:

Thanksgiving 2009

There was a trip to Spain and starting a new job, hence the lack of blogging. I'm overdue for a post, and what better time to post a cooking entry than Thanksgiving? This year, I decided to tackle all the cooking (mostly) on my own. I also decided to cook healthy (where possible) using recipes from Clean Eating and Real Simple Magazines.

The spread (my brothers dug in before I got a chance to take good pics). Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cornbread, salad:



Sweet potato casserole (picked up from BM)


Baked macaroni & cheese:


Green Beans with roasted chestnuts:


Garlicky Mashed Potatoes:

Behind the scenes fact: I got tired from mashing the potatoes by hand, so I threw a batch in the blender. I broke the blender. Oh well...


Here was the menu:

Main Course
Pomegranate Glazed Turkey

Sides
Garlicky Mashed Potatoes with Thyme
Stuffing with Sausage and Raisins
Cranberry Sauce with Apple and Ginger
Green Beans with Roasted Chestnuts
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Organic Salad with Baby Bell Peppers, Grapes & Almonds
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cornbread

Dessert
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie

This year, I brined the turkey and it turned out to be the star of the show as it should (whew!) DELICIOUS - moist, tender and juicy!

Lost a shelf in the fridge to store the turkey:


The brine:


The cooler I brined the turkey in overnight (in the fridge, of course):


The turkey, clean of brine and dried off:


My herb rub:


My herb-rubbed turkey:


The aromatics (apple, onion, cinnamon stick cooked in the microwave and inserted in the turkey while it roasts):


After 30 minutes at 500 degrees, this is when I turned the temp down until it hit the correct temperature (another 1.5 hours):


Cooking the leeks & carrots for stuffing:


Turkey Sausage & Bread Crumb mixture for the stuffing:


I was running low on time, so I didn't take pics making the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

All in all, the meal was a hit and I wasn't even worried about the turkey or cooking all that food alone! The cooking was actually a stress reliever for me.

Thanksgiving Leftovers #1

After a day and a half of eating heavy, starchy high carb food, I wanted something light for dinner. I put together a simple salad, using the leftover turkey, greens, bell peppers, and honey roasted almonds.