Really Easy Turkey Dinner with Herb Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce with Ginger, Oranges, and Spices

I have a half a turkey left from last December --- it needs to be eaten and the students want to experience a Canadian turkey dinner. It's a real organic turkey from a real butcher. I had a small turkey cut in half , cooked one half and froze the other half.

I really like doing a half turkey because, besides being more suitable for a small household, it only takes 1-1/2 hours to cook, the outside is golden and crisp and, because the cooking time is short, the breast meat stays juicy.

You can't stuff a half turkey which does make a difference to the taste of the stuffing and the turkey, but baking it as a side dish is easier and safer. Another problem is getting enough giblets to make gravy, but then again, we don't need gravy in the hot weather.

Every family has it's own traditions and turkey dinner evokes memories of simpler days. Many people like to keep it turkey and trimmings as simple as possible. I like it simple too --- the less work the better and because my kitchen is so tiny. I go as far as I can with butter, salt and pepper and fresh herbs. But I balk at opening cans or using mixes.

Don't bother making a turkey dinner if you consider it a burden. I actually find it quite an easy dinner to make if you are very organized.

The big payoff is at least 3 days of delicious leftovers and no cooking. I am not a fan of turkey soup or recipes made of leftover turkey. I just heat up the leftovers with a fresh salad.

There are as many stuffing recipes as cooks, but my motto is that the cook chooses what to cook and the ingredients. Make your favourite stuffing recipe.


As to the cranberry sauce, I am indifferent to the canned variety but often make my homemade sauce throughout the year. We love it on bread, yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, and as a side dish with any meat.

Serving ideas:

Serve the turkey with your favourite red wine.
Roasted yam salad with garlic and tomatoes
Green salad
Brussels sprouts
Mashed potatoes with Giblet gravy Or Potato Salad with Sundried Tomatoes
Start with pro secco and Greek olives, pecans, local goat or sheep cheese or real Roquefort with a French baguette.
End with pumpkin pie with whipped cream or ice cream, a dessert wine and a cheese board again.

Really Easy Turkey Dinner --- the recipes

Herb Stuffing

1 loaf French bread, 2 days old, made into crumbs in the food processer (This is about the only time of the year the food processer comes out of the pantry.)

1/4 pound butter, melted

3 eggs

1 c. broth

1 small bunch chopped flat leaf parsley

1 small bunch chopped fresh sage leaves

1 t. anise seeds

1 finely chopped onion

Mix well and put into 1 or 2 greased casserole dishes.

Bake at 300 degrees f. for one hour.


Roast Half Turkey

Take the half turkey out of the frig 30 minutes in advance to bring it to room temperature. Rinse the turkey well. Pat dry.

Put the half turkey cut side down on a rack (if you have one) in a large roasting pan.

Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Drizzle olive oil generously on the turkey skin and season the exterior generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Put the turkey into the oven uncovered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the skin will be brown and crisp.

Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F. and cook uncovered for another 60 minutes.

Position 2 oven racks, one to accommodate the casseroles full of stuffing and one for the turkey.

Take the turkey out and cut into the leg joint to test for doneness. If still a little pink, put back for 10 minutes.

When done, take the turkey out and let stand while you make the vegetables.

Remove the stuffing and spoon the juices from the turkey pan into the stuffing or if you are going to make gravy, leave them in the pan and make the gravy in the pan on top of the stove.

Put the turkey onto a large platter or bread board and cut off the leg and wing. Pull the leg, thigh, wing and other dark meat off the bones, pull or cut it into smaller pieces leaving skin in place if possible, and place it one half of a smaller serving platter. Slice the breast with skin intact if possible and lay the slices on the other half of the serving platter. Save all the bones.

After dinner, pull all the rest of the meat off the carcass and store all leftover turkey meat in the frig for lunches and dinners.

Place the carcass and bones in a large pot of water. Simmer for 2 hours. Take all the bones out and discard. Pour the stock into small glass jars and freeze (leave 1/2" at the top of each jar to allow for the frozen broth to expand). Label with type of broth and date (e.g. "TURK 6/09"). Use in recipes where chicken broth is called for. Now you don't have to buy canned broth, boullion cubes or anything like that.

Cranberry Sauce With Spices, Orange and Ginger
2 packages frozen cranberries

Water to cover

3 c. sugar

1 large whole orange, cut into 1/2 chunks including all pith and peel. Discard any seeds.

1 t. ground ginger or 1 T. grated fresh ginger

dash each ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground cardamon (optional)

Simmer the sauce, watching closely, until the cranberries are cooked, about 2 hours. Add water if necessary.

Cool and store in 2 2-quart sealer jars. Store one in the frig to use on bread and as a side dish with meats. Whole cranberries are incredibly healthy so eating the sauce daily is not a bad idea. If you don't eat sugar in anything else (e.g. no processed food, no canned food, no boxed cereals, no baked goods, no fast food), a little sugar in your sauce won't make a big impact on your health. Freeze 1 jar for the next turkey dinner.