Better late than never Thanksgiving recipes!

With the hectic, craziness of another holiday season behind me, I’m excited for things to slow down just a little so I can catch my breath. I’ve been in retail merchandising my whole professional life, so I’m used to the hustle and bustle that the holiday season brings. But, that doesn’t mean I’ve figured out how to juggle it. This year was especially crazy, since we launched rosieMADE in mid-November. My family relocated in June, and we have a one+ year old that keeps us busy. It’s now Christmas Eve, and I haven’t decorated our tree yet. At least it’s up, right? My husband makes a great point–is it worth decorating if we’re only going to enjoy it for a few days?

Back to the reason for the post–I’ve been wanting to share a few recipes that might be fun for you to try out, and since the holidays might be a perfect time, here you go. Each recipe is my husband’s creation, who happens to be a great cook and amazing person!

For my contributions to the meal, I entertained our daughter, and did my best to keep her out of the kitchen. I entertained the guests, ran the music, and poured the wine. Plus, I made a pumpkin pie.

Here’s the whole menu, if you need ideas for possible go withs:
Lavender Roasted Turkey
Wild rice, sausage, apple, carrot, celery, shallots, white wine and lavender/sage stuffing
Sautéed mushrooms
Sautéed French beans
Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes and vegetable pan gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Wine

Lavender Roasted Turkey (uses brine recipe)

 
Brine Recipe: 15 minutes to prep, marinate about 12-24 hours
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup coarse sea salt
1 tbsp black pepper corns
1 tbsp dry chopped onion. Large chunks not granulated
1 tsp dry minced garlic
2sprigs of purple sage. About 10 leaves per sprig
1 quart vegetable stock
1 quart chicken stock
2 quarts water
1 gallon ice

Cooking the turkey – Total cook time about 6 hours
Rinse turkey, pat dry. Rub with olive oil (about 2 tbsp).
In spice grinder, mix 1 tbsp lavender, 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp black peppercorns. Sprinkle on turkey.

Smoke at 160-180 degrees for three hours straight on the smoker rack. Breast side up.

Finish turkey in oven, by placing in a roasting pan breast side up, and arranging onion wedges, carrots, and celery around the bottom (used 6 carrots pealed, 4 ribs celery, and 3 yellow or sweet onions quartered). Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about two hours until thickest part of the thigh and breast reads 160 degrees. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Lavender Wild Rice Stuffing Recipe– 1 hour

Rice
2 cups wild rice medley
3 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp lavender
Combine water, wine, salt and lavender in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add rice, return to a boil and lower heat to simmer for about 30-50 minutes depending on the instructions with the rice.
Cook until rice about bursting and cooked.
Drain and set aside.

Stuffing
3 shallots minced
2 Granny Smith apples 1/4″ cubes
4 ribs of celery 1/4″ slices
2 carrots; pealed and diced
4 sweet Italian sausage links, casing removed and cubed into 1/2″ chunks
2 sprigs of purple sage; seasoning oil in beginning only

Add oil in a pan with the sage. Cook until sage is fragrant and slightly crispy. Sauté carrot, shallot, celery until carmelized.  Take out of pan and set aside. Add sausage crumbles.  Season sausage with lavender. Cook sausage until mostly done but not dry. Take out and set aside. Add apple to the pan and only cook until some color shows. 2 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine together ingredients. In a bowl, mix the stuffing and wild rice recipes. Use part to stuff the turkey and part as a separate side dish.