Thanksgiving Turkey Breast

Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious!  Everything was from scratch - stuffing, party potatoes, cranberry sauce with pomegranates, and turkey. We even made butternut squash soup for our appetizer. 

For the turkey breast we used a recipe inspired from Ina Garten; surprisingly she did not include any butter to her recipe, so we added some in ours.

Serves: 6 

You'll need:
6 lb. turkey breast 
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup red wine
1 cup orange juice
1 cup beef broth

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, in a roasting pan.

2. In a separate bowl, make a paste for the turkey by combining the garlic, mustard, fresh herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, butter and lemon juice. Smear the paste under the skin and on top of the skin.  You may have to gently loosen the skin away from the meat. 

3. Pour the wine, orange juice, and broth into the roasting pan.

4. Roast the turkey for 2 hours (20 minutes/pound) uncovered.  At the one hour mark, baste the turkey with the wine/broth/juice mixture that is in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Baste the turkey again every 15 minutes.  (We basted our turkey four times.)

The turkey skin was a beautiful brown from the red wine.  It was also super moist and flavorful.  I highly recommend this turkey breast recipe for your next turkey dinner. 

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup garnished with nutmeg and croutons.

This butternut soup recipe is always a favorite in our house for holidays and in the cooler months. It's savory and a bit spicy. I have collected and tried several different squash soup recipes over the years - selecting the best aspects of each - and blending them into my own version.  

For this recipe you'll need:
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, grated
1 12 oz package of butternut squash, fresh or frozen
2 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with nutmeg and croutons 

Directions:
1. In a stock pot, sauté the diced onion and jalapeño in butter.  Once these ingredients are translucent add the olive oil, garlic, and grated carrots.  Salt and pepper this layer and sauté for a few more minutes.

2. Next add all the other ingredients (including another dash of salt and pepper) and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash is tender.

3. Once the soup has cooled a bit, puree the soup with a hand blender or in the blender. (If using a blender for hot liquids, remember to remove the middle lid and place a towel over the hole so the soup does not go flying everywhere.)

4. Serve hot soup with a dash of nutmeg and croutons. 

Cooking Notes: You could always use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this a vegetarian meal.  Also, this soup tastes better the next day when the flavors have had more time to develop.