Best Ever Mashed Potatoes

Figure out how many potatoes you need for your group.

Fresh Potatoes, Mashed Servings: 25 Serving Size: 1/2 cup Amount Needed: 7 pounds
(from BHG http://www.bhg.com/thanksgiving/planning/thanksgiving-food-shopping/)

Wash, Peel, & Boil your Potatoes until done.  at this point drain the potatoes and place them on a greased (butter or olive oil) cookie sheet.  bake them at 350 for at least 30 minutes.  The goal is to dry out the potatoes as much as possible.  Once you have dried them out you want to run them through a potato ricer or we use the Fruit & Vegetable Strainer on our Kitchen Aid Mixer to speed up the process.  (You made need to add a little cream to get the dry potatoes to move through the strainer).

At this point there are still no measurements, you just add soft butter and cream to the potatoes until you get the consistency you want.   At this point you can season them as you please, we just do a little salt so the potatoes can just compliment the flavor of the Turkey, Gravy, Stuffing, etc.

We were given this recipe by Ethan at Communal Restaurant in Provo Utah (one of our favorites)
http://heirloomrestaurantgroup.com/blog/category/communal/
http://communalrestaurant.com/

Juicy Turkey

we kinda followed the citrus brine with this recipe from allrecipes

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
3 Hrs

Ready In:
3 Hrs 20 Min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons ground dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons rubbed dried sage
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• (we used fresh rosemary, sage and thyme and rubbed under the skin with butter)
• 1 (15 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 orange, cut into wedges
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne
• (we skipped the carrots & celery and stuffed the bird with peeled oranges, wedged, & a peeled chopped onion)
• We dumped one bottle of sparkling grape juice over our turkeys and didn't even use the chicken broth.

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that will be long enough to wrap over the turkey.
2. Stir together the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey, then stuff with the celery, orange, onion, and carrot. Truss if desired, and place the turkey into the roasting pan. Pour the chicken broth and champagne over the turkey, making sure to get some champagne in the cavity. Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey, and seal. Try to keep the foil from touching the skin of the turkey breast or legs.
3. Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear. Uncover the turkey, and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Citrus Turkey Brine

I got this recipe here at Allrecipes

we made this brine for our turkeys this year and "soaked" them for 2.5 days, in my opinion brine-ing is a MUST and turns our wonderfully juicy turkeys!

Prep Time:
10 Min

Cook Time:
15 Min

Ready In:
2 Hrs 25 Min

Original Recipe Yield 1 1/2 gallon

 

Ingredients

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 1/2 gallons water

Directions

1. Combine the orange juice concentrate, orange slices, lemon slices, lime slices, thyme, pepper, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water in a large stockpot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. 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. Allow turkey to marinate 1 to 2 days before cooking. Remove the turkey carefully. Drain and discard the excess brine and pat dry.
3. Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster.