My Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe from Picture Perfect Parties

Tis' the season for my book Picture Perfect Parties. If you want to pull off an amazing holiday soiree, dinner party, or Thanksgiving feast, now's the time to pick up a copy. As a special treat on the blog today, I have my famous Thanksgiving turkey recipe which is guaranteed to be a show stopper.I'll be back with an amazing pumpkin cocktail this week to pair with your Thanksgiving celebration from Frangelico, It will be our signature cocktail at our own Thanksgiving feast,  so stay tuned and check out the blog on Thursday.

Turkey with Pear Walnut Crispy Bacon StuffingServes 8-10

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees FYou will need:- 20 lb. Organic Turkey- 2 teaspoons flake salt- ¼ cup olive oil- ¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary- 4 cloves garlic minced- 1 lemonIngredients for the *mirepoux mixture for the bottom of the roaster- 1 carrot diced- 2 celery stalks dices- 1 yellow onion diced- 2 cups turkey stock (I use store bought)To Prepare:In the bottom of a roasting pan place carrots, celery, onion and stock. Put a rack into the roasting pan. Place turkey on the rack/Combine salt, oil, rosemary, and garlic, rub the entire turkey with the mixture, place whole lemon into the cavity of the turkey. Place in the oven with an aluminum foil tent on the top of the turkey for 4 hours, basting every half hour. Remove the tent for the last hour of baking, and bake until meat thermometer reads 150 degrees FPull from the oven and let rest.*Reserve the mirepoix for the gravy.

Stuffing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F,* note place in the oven once you have pulled the fully cooked turkey from the oven and it is resting.You will need:- 5 slices of bacon- 1 yellow onion chopped- 2 stalks of celery chopped- 3 cloves of garlic minced- 1 cup toasted walnut halves- 3 pears cored and cubed- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves- 4 tablespoons chopped rosemary- 3 links of Italian sausage, out of the casing and crumbled- 1 loaf of country bread cubed- 3 cups of turkey stockTo Prepare:In a large sauté pan, cook bacon until crispy, drain, and set aside. Reserving about a ¼ cup of the bacon drippings in the pan (discard the rest) sauté the onion, garlic and celery in the bacon drippings, when translucent, add the sausage and sage and rosemary walnuts, pears remove from heat. In a large bowl place the bread cubes and the turkey stock, add the mixture from the sauté pan, and crumble the bacon into the bread bowl combine thoroughly.Grease a casserole dish pour the stuffing into the dish. Set aside until ready to bake*Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, serve warm

Gravy

You will need:- Mirepoix defatted- 2 cups turkey stock- 2 tablespoons corn starchPlace the mirepoix into a saucepan, heat, and add turkey stock, and warm.In a small bowl place cornstarch.  Add 3 tablespoons of the warm mixture to the cornstarch, mix with a small spoon until a paste forms. Add the paste to the gravy mixture to thicken. Stir until reduced. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Serve on the side with Turkey and stuffing.Photo Credit: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn