Hello, Frankly My Dear readers! It’s Anna from Park Avenue, and I am so excited to be guest posting on Jenni’s blog today. I have been working with her this month through a sponsorship, and I couldn’t love her blog more- not to mention the awesome giveaways she is always hosting!
With the Thanksgiving holiday being just a few days away, I wanted to share with you a simple, but delicious turkey recipe. My husband and I hosted our first Thanksgiving this year for his family. They all came in from Atlanta this past weekend to celebrate the holiday a little early with us since we will be traveling to my hometown for Thanksgiving Day.
My party-planning, host-loving self was ecstatic about our first official hosting of the most important meal of the year, but my worrisome self was a little scared about attempting to cook the star of the meal- the beloved turkey. Eeekk.
I love to cook. But never have I ever cooked a full turkey. So who did I call? My Granny, of course. How do grandma’s know everything when it comes to being in the kitchen? With the help of her turkey tips, and a few hours spent pinning turkey recipes, I finally had in mind what I wanted to do. I took things from her recipe that I liked, and a few from others, and made my own little creation!
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Here’s what you’ll need:
12 pound turkey
2 celery stalks
1 yellow onion
1 lemon
1 stick of butter
Sage
Rosemary
Lemon Pepper
Salt
Recipe:
-Preheat oven to 325 degrees
-Pat turkey dry with paper towels
-Season cavity with salt and lemon pepper
-Over medium heat, melt butter in small skillet
-When butter is just about golden, add 1 stalk of rosemary and 4 or 5 sage leaves
-Cook for 60 seconds in butter
-Pull herbs out of butter and place in turkey cavity
-Chop celery stalks, onion, and lemon in half and put in turkey cavity
-Using a pastry brush (or hands), paint the herb butter from skillet all over the turkey (be overly generous with the butter- this creates that nice golden brown skin)
-Season the whole turkey with salt and lemon pepper
-Place turkey in a roasting pan with a rack
-Lightly place foil over turkey
-Put in the oven and cook for 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours (take foil off for the last hour)
-Let rest for 30 minutes before carving to serve
Turkey Tips:
-Wash turkey and clean out (take the bag and neck out)
-Tuck turkey wings under
-If smaller or bigger than a 12 pound turkey, look at the turkey packaging for cook time
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And there it is- a delicious turkey recipe that isn’t too much fuss. Everyone loved it, and I have to admit I was very proud of how my first turkey turned out! You can go so many ways when cooking a turkey, and this is one that is sure to please your guests.
I think it’s so fun to take bits and pieces from different recipes and make it your own according to the ingredients you like. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, and if you’re hosting this year for the first time like me…don’t worry- you’re going to do GREAT!
Thanks for reading and a big thank you to Jenni for letting me share on her blog today. Check out my blog for more details on my Thanksgiving menu and tables cape.
Happy Thanksgiving!
XO, Anna