Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb Butter and Raspberry Cranberry Sauce

Turkey is kicked up several notches with this recipe from Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast

1 6-7 pound bone-in/skin-on turkey breast
4 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Gravy

1 cup chicken or turkey stock
1/4 cup sherry
3 Tbs unsalted butter
3 Tbs flour

Turkey Breast preparation adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

1. Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

2. Preheat an oven to 425°F.

3. Mix butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in medium bowl with the chopped herbs. Mix with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.

4. Carefully separate turkey skin from meat over breast; avoid breaking skin.

5. Work the butter mixture under skin on both sides of breast and rub skin of turkey to evenly distribute butter over breast.

6. Spray a V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set inside large roasting pan. Place turkey in rack with skin side facing up; pour 1 cup of water into roasting pan. Roast turkey for 30 minutes.

7. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to roast turkey until thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour longer.

8. Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

Gravy preparation from Liz Barbour

1. While the cooked turkey is resting, set the roasting pan over medium heat.

2. Skim the fat and add the stock. Bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Rub the 3 Tbs of butter and 3 Tbs flour together to form a paste.

4. While the stock is simmering, whisk in the paste mixture one tablespoon at a time.

5. Add the sherry, bring to a simmer and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Carve the turkey breast, transfer to a platter and serve the gravy alongside. Serves 6 to 8.

Raspberry-Cranberry Sauce

Liz Barbour’s Creative Feast

3 cups
1 package of fresh cranberries
1 package of frozen raspberries, thawed
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

1. Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature.

2. After the cranberries have cooled completely, gently stir in the thawed raspberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Additions: Make this a savory sauce by adding one Tbs of fresh chopped rosemary and 1/2 tsp of salt with the cranberries and sugar.

Serve this sauce savory as the topping to Brie tartlets. Purchase Pepperidge Farm Filo tart shells. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the rind from a wedge of Brie. Place about 1 tsp of Brie in each tart shell and cover with 1 tsp of savory cranberry-raspberry sauce. Bake for about 7-10 minutes. Serve hot.