Holiday turkey ideas from local cooks

  • By Judyrae Kruse Herald Columnist
  • Tuesday, December 11, 2012 9:18am
  • Life

If you chose baked ham or prime rib for Thanksgiving dinner, you might be planning to roast a turkey for Christmas.

What luck, then, because Arlington cook Jo Green offers us a chance to try her favorite turkey technique and says, “I thought you might enjoy this recipe. I love to cook and trying new recipes makes my day.”

Next, the credit for the stuffing recipe goes to longtime Forum helper, Marysville cook and cookbook author Dianne Berst. Taken from her cookbook, “Sharing Our Best,” she originally shared her popular recipe with us in a Nov. 24, 2002, Forum column.

Holiday turkey

Stuffing (homemade, packaged mix or the following recipe)

112-15 pound turkey, ready to stuff

1teaspoon salt

1/2teaspoon pepper

1/2teaspoon garlic powder

1/4teaspoon allspice

1/2cup water

1cup port wine

3slices bacon

1/2cup margarine or butter, melted

Stuff turkey. Rub bird with salt, pepper, garlic powder and allspice. Place turkey in a roasting pan and roast in a very hot (450 degrees) oven for 15 minutes. Pour water into roasting pan, then pour port over turkey. Place bacon on turkey breast. Cover turkey and roasting pan with foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake, allowing 20 minutes per pound of turkey for total roasting time.

One hour before it’s done, discard foil and bacon. Brush turkey with melted margarine or butter. Baste every 15 minutes with drippings until done.

Sausage and apple stuffing for turkey

1pound pork sausage

2(8 ounce) packages seasoned stuffing bread cubes

1/4cup butter or margarine

1medium onion, diced

2cups chopped celery

4cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced

Brown sausage until thoroughly cooked and crumbled. Remove from frying pan and drain off grease. Melt butter or margarine in pan, add onions and celery and saute until onions are transparent, then add the diced apples and cook until slightly soft. Add sausage to mixture. Stuff the turkey, then bake any stuffing that does not fit into the cavities of the turkey in a casserole dish. A 2-quart casserole dish of stuffing will take approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees.

The next Forum will appear in Friday’s comics pages.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.