Recipe for Roast Turkey and Gravy

Ingredients
1 turkey, approximately 20 pounds, thawed if frozen
2 onions
2 parsley sprigs
1/4 cup celery leaves
8 cups water
A stuffing recipe or packaged stuffing mix
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon zest, minced
1/4 cup water
2 carrots, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch, stirred into 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Cognac
salt, pepper
2 whole cloves

Method

Place into a saucepan the turkey giblet and neck, plus one whole onion into which you have stuck the whole cloves. Also add the parsley, celery and eight cups of water. Add salt and pepper and simmer for sixty minutes to make stock. Strain the stock and throw out the solid materials.

Preheat the oven to 325°F and position the rack for the middle of the oven. Wash the turkey thoroughly, dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Stuff the body cavities with the prepared stuffing. Sew the turkey cavities shut, OR stuff aluminum foil into the cavities to hold the stuffing in place. Smear two tablespoons of butter over the breast. Place the turkey on a rack in the roasting pan.

Using a small sauce pan, melt the remaining butter and then stir in the lemon zest and 1/4 cup water.

Roast the bird, basting with the butter mixture every half hour or so. Once you have pan drippings, baste with the pan drippings instead.

After about ninety minutes, quarter the remaining onion. Add it to the pan along with the carrots. Continue roasting and basting.

A turkey is ready to eat when you can shake the drumstick easily. However, if you prefer the scientific method, insert an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. The turkey is done when it reaches 175°F. Remove the turkey to a cutting surface and allow to rest for half an hour. Carve.

Gravy

While the turkey is resting, remove most of the fat and juices from the pan, leaving about four tablespoonfuls of fat and juices and the vegetables. Set the pan over a burner at medium heat and scrape up the browned pieces from the bottom. Add two cups of the stock, continue stirring for about two minutes, then pour it all through a sieve.

Skim off the fat then pour into a saucepan. Add four cups of stock and simmer for five minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the gravy thickens. Add the Cognac and simmer for sixty seconds.

Pour the gravy into a gravy boat and serve with your carved turkey.

Serve your roast turkey and gravy with cranberry sauce, broccoli, yams, potatoes and your choice of harvest vegetables. For the finishing touches, add a selection of breads and dinner rolls, such as you find at Web's Best Bread Recipes