Slice of joy: Dive into the world of yummy delicacies

Juicy roast turkey

Ingredients

Servings: 12 people

• 12 lb turkey, (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary)
• Salt and Pepper for the inside and outside of the bird

For Flavored Butter:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, not extra virgin, plus more to drizzle on top
• 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon, plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp salt, I used sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

For the Stuffing:

• 1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
• 4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 lemon, quartered

Method-

Seasoning, Stuffing and Tying up a Turkey:

• Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
• In a medium bowl, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash /stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn't easily stir into butter but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes). Take a whiff of it; you'll fall in love with how fresh it smells!
• Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey; being careful not to tear the skin
• Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavour.
• Rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
• Stuff turkey with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.
• Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drum stick; deep into the dark meat. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
• Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
• Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it's fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it's out of the oven).
• Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep the drippings from roasting pan for gravy. Now you can decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.

2. Plum Cake

Equipment-

• cooking pan
• 6 Inch Cake Pan
• OTG or Oven

Ingredients

For Dry Fruit Mixture

• 2 cup Raisins (Black Raisins, Seedless)
• 10 Dates chopped finely
• 10 Dried Prunes chopped finely
• 1/2cup Tutti frutti
• 1/2cup Candied fruits (citrus peel, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple)
• 1 cup Orange juice

For Caramel

• ¼ cup Sugar
• ¼ cup Water

Dry Ingredients (to Mix together)

• 2 cup Plain Flour
• 2tsp Baking soda
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Dry Ginger Powder optional - 1 tsp
• ⅛ tsp Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Ground Cardamom

For Plum Cake Batter

• 100 grams Salted Butter
• ½ cup Sugar
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp Orange Zest
• 3 large Eggs
• 5 tbsp Cashews chopped finely

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180-degree c. Line a 6 inch round pan with parchment paper. Grease it lightly with oil or butter and set aside.
• Start by boiling the dried fruits. Take all dried fruits in a pan. Add in orange juice and cook for minutes till the dry fruits is soft. Set aside so it cools down.
• Make Caramel. Take ¼ cup sugar in a pan. Heat and cook till sugar starts to caramelise. Swirl the pan gently so all the sugar gets evenly cooked. it should look golden in colour. Now add in ¼ cup water and mix well. The caramel should be smooth and flowy. Set aside so it cools down.
• Mix the dry ingredients together. Take flour, spice powders and baking soda in a bowl and mix well. Set this aside.
• Now let’s make the batter. Take butter, sugar, vanilla and orange zest in a bowl and mix together using a whisk or hand blender till smooth and creamy. Add in eggs and mix till creamy.
• Now add in the dry ingredient mixture, cooled dried fruits, cooled caramel sauce and combine gently to form a thick batter.
• Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 45 mins and 1 hour. Sometimes it may take longer. Insert a toothpick to check whether the cake is baked or not. the tooth pick should come out clean.
• Now remove cake pan from oven and let it cool completely. Invert the cake into a plate. Slice and serve.