Our First Turkey

On Sunday we got the day off because of the holiday so we decided to cook a turkey that had been sitting in our freezer since November.  And this just isn't any ol' turkey it was a Mary's Heritage Turkey.  A breed that is similar to the wild turkeys that roam around, so no it did not have white feathers all over.  It also did not have a huge breast muscle because it wasn't bred for that, but it was awesome.

Along with this beautiful bird we had homemade buttermilk biscuits, turkey gravy, mashed yams, collard greens and blood orange sorbet.

For the bird we just followed the recipe that was on the packaging and it turned out amazing, very tender and moist.  I was really nervous about cooking my first turkey but I am glad it turned out so well.

The buttermilk biscuits came from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Ingredients: (we doubled the recipe to make about 20 biscuits)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 scant tsp salt
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbls cold butter
7/8 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a food processor.  Cut the butter into bits and blend it into the food processor.  All the butter should be thoroughly blended before proceeding.

3. Move to a medium bowl and stir in buttermilk, just until the mixture forms a ball.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it ten times; no more.  If it is very sticky, add a little flour, but very little; don't worry if it sticks to your hands.
4, Press into a 3/4-inch and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass.  Place the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet.  Gently reshape leftover dough and cut again.

5. Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the biscuits are a golden brown.

 They are amazing with some honey on them.

We also made some collards with onion and garlic and just sauteed them until wilted.  For the mashed yams we just added a little cinnamon and coconut oil.  For the gravy we just used pan drippings, some water/milk and a little flour.

The meal was amazing and I was very pleased that everything turned out at planned.
Happy Eating.