Thanksgiving Part Two

Now on to the ham, turkey and dressing. I wanted to stuff the turkey with it but everyone talked me out of it. I think it tastes better that way but didn't want to give my guests food poison. The ham came from Honeybaked Ham and was super tasty. I just wanted to show off my plate!

The boys carved the turkey before I had a chance to take of picture on it. I found a brine recipe on Allrecipes that got rave reviews so I decided to give it a go. Glad I did. It was moist and tasty.

Turkey Brine (from Allrecipes):

1 gallon vegetable broth
1 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried savory
1 gallon ice water

In a large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary, sage, thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature. When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Stir in the ice water. Wash and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine. Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.

I did keep the drippings. I put it in a stock pot over medium high heat and added a packet of gravy mix. I whisked it till it was thick and put it in the gravy boat.

The dressing is a recipe handed down to me from my mother. She found it in a magazine when it was time for her first Thanksgiving. My mom knows it by heart so I am not sure which magazine it came from!

Mom's Stuffing/Dressing (from memory):

2 (6 ounce) packages cornbread stuffing mix
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet add butter, onion, celery, and seasoning and cook till onions are translucent. Add sausage and brown; drain. In a large bowl mix cornbread stuffing and meat mixture. Add desired amount of chicken broth till mixture is moist. Transfer mixture to a medium baking dish. Cover, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.