Allie's Turkey Recipe

1 thawed 14 lb turkey

1/4 cup salted butter

2 tablespoons each of cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme

2 stalks celery, cut in half

1/2 onion, chopped in half

1 carrot cut into sticks

2 cloves of garlic

2 cups broth (chicken or veggie are both ok)

Pour broth into the bottom of a roasting pan and place your rack into the pan. Place turkey on the rack. Rub entire turkey inside and outside with butter. Sprinkle with seasonings. Stuff veggies into cavity. Cover with foil loosely.

Bake at 350 degrees 3 to 4 hours or until correct internal temperature.

Collins Family Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup of butter in small pieces
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
mini marshmallows

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch slices, layer them in the bottom of a baking dish. Put a small piece of butter on the top of each slice and salt them lightly. Cover with foil and bake 350 degrees until fork tender. Crumble brown sugar and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake uncovered until brown sugar has carmelized (5 minutes?) then top with marshmellows. Turn oven heat up to 400 degrees and place pan in the oven (watch it carefully) in less than 5 minutes the marshmallows will start to brown on top and melt on bottom. When that happens it's time to eat.

Old Deviled Eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp dill pickle relish
2 tbs finely grated onion (I run mine through the microplane)
1 tbsp whole mustard
1/2 tsp vinegar
dash of cayenne
6 hard boiled eggs

Slice hard boiled eggs in half. Remove yolk and mash in a bowl and add remaining spices.
Spoon egg yolk mixture into egg whites. Chill for an hour or overnight and serve.

Holiday Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 bag of pre-washed spinach
1 c chopped apples
1/2 c chopped red onions
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/4 c craisins (dried cranberries)
4 sticks of bacon crumbled (reserve grease)
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese
6 T olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
1 T brown sugar

Salad Dressing Prep:

In a heat safe bowl combine 2 T bacon grease with brown sugar. Stir until sugar desolves and add dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in olive oil until frothy dressing is ready. Reserve to toss with salad.

Salad Directions:

Poor salad dressing in the bottom of a large wooden bowl. Add apples, pecans and onions. Top with spinach, blue cheese crumbles, craisins, and bacon. Toss before serving (by leaving the dressing on the bottom the salad will not wilt before serving)

Stuffed & Drunk Turkey Breasts

This recipe was very popular during my catering days. It is grate sliced on top of a spinach salad like the one I will be posting on Friday.

Ingredients:

1 (4-5 lb.) pkg. turkey breast half
1 (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix for turkey, prepared using ale instead of water
1 med. apple, chopped
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. chopped onions
1 ale (for stuffing prep)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse turkey; pat dry. With knife, loosen lining under skin leaving all but one edge attached. Toss stuffing with remaining ingredients in large bowl. Spoon into pocket under loosened skin. Secure opening with toothpicks. Place, skin side up, in shallow roasting pan. Roast 1 1/2 hours. Baste with pan drippings; cover loosely with foil. Roast an additional 45-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is great for the Holidays because it's a little fancier than a normal mashed potato. PLUS it's too fattening to eat often...so the Holidays seem like a nice time to splurge.

Ingredients:

1 lb of red potatoes
1 stick of butter (1/4 c)
1 stick of cream cheese (8 ounces)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 T salt
2 T white pepper
1 HEAD of Garlic
2-3 T olive oil

Directions:

Cut the top off a head of garlic. Place it in foil and coat with Olive Oil. Wrap into a foil baseball and place in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. You'll smell it when it's done. Squeeze the warm, light brown garlic out of the skins on to a dish and mash them with a fork then reserve it until later.

Boil pototoes (cut larger ones in half or chunks) until fork tender. Drain and mash. Add butter and cream cheese and stir. Add garlic and seasonings. Stir in cream slowly until your potatoes are the consistancy you like them.

Pumpkin Roll Cake

PUMPKIN ROLL FILLING

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Let cheese and butter soften while cake cools. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Refrigerate until needed to spread on cooled cake.

PUMPKIN ROLL CAKE

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. flour (sift once before measuring)
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. nuts, chopped

Beat eggs, pumpkin, sugar and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Sift in dry ingredients. Pour into greased and floured sheet cake pan (10 x 15 x 1/2 inch). Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 370 degrees for exactly 15 minutes. Loosen edges with knife and turn out immediately onto cloth that has been dusted with powdered sugar (place cloth sugar-side down over cake in pan, hold tightly over pan and flip over). Roll as for jellyroll using cloth to ease hot cake into curl (nuts will be on outside of roll). Roll cloth and cake together, then place on rack to cool. When cool, unwrap and unroll cake, spread with filling, and re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Slice thinly after filling is set.

Penny's Cranberry Relish

My Aunt Penny gave me this recipe when I first moved out from living with my parents. Her only request? Make it only at the holidays...that's what keeps it special. So I'll ask that you do do the same.

Ingredients:

1 jar rasberry preserves
1 bag whole cranberries
1-2 T freshly grated ginger
1/4 c apple or orange juice
1 T orange or lime rind
2 apples (diced)

Directions: Place cranberries and apples in the food processor. Blend until the consistancy of pickle relish. Stir in ginger, rinds and rasberry preserves. Add apple juice until the consistancy that you like. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge *up to 6 days* or freezer.

Originally this recipe it called for OJ and orange rind...but I'm allergic so I adapted it

If your cranberries are very bitter...you might need to add a tablespoon or two of sugar.

I make this recipe at least two days before I want it. It gets better with time...plus it saves on the amount of things you do on an actual holiday!