Citrus Poultry

While this recipe was originally made for Turkey, it would be great for a whole Chicken as well! 

Ingredients 


20 lb turkey (can use smaller just decrease the amount of below ingredients)
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
15 clemintines - grate peel (4+ tblsp)
2 large onions - quartered
1/2 cup butter - room temp
1 tsp pepper
4 cups chicken broth

Directions 

1. Rub salt and clementine peel together in small bowl. Sprinkle some seasoned salt in main and neck cavities of turkey. Place turkey in large roasting pan. Reserve 4 teaspoons clementine salt for roasting; sprinkle remaining salt all over turkey. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate turkey overnight. 
2. Rinse turkey thoroughly inside and out; pat dry. Rinse large roasting pan and wipe dry. Place rack in pan; place turkey on rack and let stand uncovered at room temperature 1 hour. 
3. Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 375°F. Tuck turkey wing tips under.
4. Cut 12 clementines into quarters. Stuff cut clementines and onions into main cavity. Tie legs together loosely. Spread butter all over turkey. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon pepper and reserved 4 teaspoons clementine salt. Pour 3-4 cups chicken broth into pan. 
5. Roast turkey 45 minutes; baste with pan juices. 
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Roast turkey until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, basting occasionally with pan juices, adding more broth to maintain liquid level, and covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 3 3/4 hours. 
7. Transfer turkey to platter; tent with foil and let rest 30-45 min.

Sage and White Cheeder Mashed Tatters

This was made for thanksgiving and was an excellent complement to Turkey, but would be great with most meats!

Ingredients 

4 pounds russet potatoes - cut into cubes
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp minced fresh sage
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 1/4 cup (9oz) grated sharp white chedder
1 tsp minced sage

Directions 

1. Butter 8- to 10-cup baking dish. Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons sage; stir until butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cream and milk; bring to simmer. 
3. Drain potatoes; return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. 
4. Add cream mixture; mash potatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 cups cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. 
5. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and 1 teaspoon sage. 
6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake potatoes uncovered until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes

Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic; chill.  If you do this, make sure to get it out at least 5 hours prior to make sure it gets to room temperature before it is put into the oven.

Cranberry Dijon Chicken

This is Ashley posting here - I haven't been very active on this blog over the last couple years . . . mostly because grad school budgets are hardly conducive to gourmet cooking . . . unless you consider scrambled eggs gourmet.

But now I'm back in the world of paychecks and trying to re-discover the joys of cooking (and eating) well. This weekend I felt like something different and holiday-ish so I experimented and, half to my surprise, it ended up being DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/2 cup cranberry juice (I used the 100% juice kind that's sweetened with other fruit juices - I actually think a real unsweetened cranberrry juice would be even better.)
2 tbs dijon mustard
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh cranberries

Other Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
flour
nutmeg
olive oil
white wine
cranberry juice (in addition to marinade)
black pepper
candied walnuts


Combine all ingredients and marinate the chicken overnight. Save fresh cranberries from the marinade.

On a plate (or in a freezer bag) combine 1/2 cup of flour and another 2 tsp of nutmeg. Lightly coat marinated chicken breasts with flour mixture. Slowly pan fry the chicken breasts in 2 Tbs olive oil. Don't worry if there is some burning/sticking of the flour coating.

When chicken is cooked remove from pan (I don't know how long exactly this will take - it will depend on the size of the chicken breasts).

De-glaze the pan using 1/2 cup white wine and 1/4 cup cranberry juice. Add cranberries from the marinade and simmer for 5 minutes. As the cranberries cook crush them with a fork into the sauce.

Return chicken to the cranberry/wine mixture. Allow chicken to simmer as the sauce thickens. Add a mixture of flour and nutmeg 1 Tbs at a time to thicken sauce into a gravy. Remove from pan. Serve chicken breasts topped with sauce and candied walnuts.

I don't have a camera at the moment, or I'd share pictures, but it is an attractive dish with the red of the berries (and candied walnuts are always pretty).

I didn't try this because I was just cooking for myself, but a festive serving suggestion would be to serve the chicken over a bed of white rice topped with cooked spinach. I think it would taste good with the sauce and you'd have all your Christmas colours :D