Tuxedo Turkey Recipes

TUXEDO TURKEY

Steps:

• Cook turkey as desired.
• Preheat oven to 425.
• If needed roll pie crust on floured surface to obtain a 12 inch cirle. Cut a small wedge out of the "top" of the pie crust. Cut this wedge in half to make two smaller wedges. These two wedges form the bow tie.
• Along the sides trim the edges about an inch deep along the bottom third of the crust. From this trimming you should make one rectangle and two circles. The circles are the buttons and rectangle mark the bottom line of the cummerbund.
• See the diagram for clarifications.
• Carefully place the large piece of crust on the turkey. It actually fits better if you put the "neck" of the tuxedo between the legs of the turkey. While it is "upside down" it looks better this way. You may need to trim the crust a bit to fit.
• Place the smaller pieces on the turkey as shown in the second diagram. Moisten the back of the pieces with water before applying them and press lightly so they stick.
• Combine egg yolk and water and divide between two small bowls. Add red food coloring to one and black to the other.
• Using a small pastry brush paint the bowtie pieces red and the buttons and trim black. Careful paint the edges of the large piece black also.
• Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until pie crust is golden.

EASY, NO FUSS THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• If the turkey is frozen: Thaw in the fridge, 24 hours for every 5 pounds of Turkey. I like to give myself 1 extra day, just to be safe.
• Remove the thawed turkey from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature.
• Adjust your oven rack so the turkey will sit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the herb butter by combining room temperature butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage. (You'll use the remaining fresh herbs for stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey)
• Remove turkey from packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the inside the cavities of the bird. (Reserve them for gravy, if you want, or discard them). Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels.
• Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.
• Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.
• Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan*.
• Microwave the remaining herb butter mixture for 30 seconds (it doesn't need to be completely melted--just really softened). Use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.
• Roast at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature (inserted on middle of thigh and breast) reaches about 165 degrees.
• (I remove the turkey from the oven once it reaches 160 degrees. Then, I tent it with foil, and let it rest on the counter. It will continue cooking under the foil, to reach 165 degrees F.)
• ***Check the turkey about halfway through cooking, and once the skin gets golden brown, cover the top of the turkey with tinfoil, to protect the breast meat from overcooking. Alternately, you could start cooking the turkey with it tented in foil, then during the last hour or so of cooking you can take the foil off to let the turkey brown.
• Allow turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-carve-a-turkey/
• Reserve any drippings and juice remaining in your roasting pan to make turkey gravy.

KAHLUA TUXEDO TORTE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat Kahlua over medium heat until bubbles form around edge.
• In blender combine hot Kahlua and chocolate pieces.
• Process until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Add powdered sugar, egg yolks and butter and process until smooth.
• Transfer to bowl, cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until spreading consistency.
• Holding long, serrated knife parallel to working surface, slice cake into seven layers.
• place first layer on serving plate or tray and spread with chocolate mixture to form frosting layer about 3/8- inch thick.
• Add second layer of cake and continue to frost until all cake layers are used.
• Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve, up to 24 hours ahead.

TUXEDO

Steps:

• Chill a coupe glass. Rinse with absinthe, if using, then toss out excess liquid.
• In a mixing glass three-quarters filled with ice, stir the gin, sherry and bitters until chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into the coupe glass. Garnish with lemon twist.