My Twist on Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving- the American celebration of gluttony. A day in which we give thanks to the turkey, stuffing and mashed potato gods. This year was a low-key Thanksgiving for us. We opted not to travel given the holiday is sandwiched between two destination weddings we are attending. There were only going to be four of us so instead of doing an entire turkey, I opted for a turkey roulade with apple cider gravy. Along with the roulade, we had stuffing, mashed potatoes (courtesy of our friends Eric and Suzi), brussel sprouts with bacon and apple pie. Below is my roulade recipe. You will notice I opted to make my life easier by using bagged stuffing mix (shame, shame!). Don't judge. I added my own touches and frankly happen to really like the mix. I hope everyone had a wonderful and tasty Thanksgiving!

Turkey Roulade with Apple Cider Gravy (for 4)
Ingredients:
4 Turkey breasts, pounded flat to 1/4"
1 Bag Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix (or whatever brand you want)
low sodium chicken broth
1 package baby bella mushrooms
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
4 slices smoked bacon
1 cup apple cider
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 stick of butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Roasting twine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add celery and onion and cook until slightly translucent. Add the garlic and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and a tablespoon of butter. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and cooked down. Prepare the stuffing mix as directed. Add the mushroom mixture to the stuffing and set aside.

On a cutting board, lay the 4 turkey breasts side by side. Cover with plastic wrap and pound flat to about 1/4" thick. Take spoonfuls of the stuffing and place in the center of the breasts along the length of all of them. Add the remaining stuffing to a casserole to bake as a side dish. Fold the turkey around the stuffing and tie them all securely with the twine. (see roulade tying demonstration video below)



Place the roulade in a glass baking dish. Cut the bacon slices in half and cover the roulade with them. Bake in the oven until the temperature of the center of the turkey is 160 degrees F, about 20 minutes. (Do not insert thermometer through the roulade into the stuffing- you want the temperature of the thickest part of the meat). Remove from oven and let rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add flour and stir into a paste. Pour the drippings from the turkey into the saucepan and stir, removing all lumps. Add cider, cider vinegar, white wine, 1/2 cup of chicken stock and another tablespoon of butter. Continue to stir over medium, to medium high heat until thickened. Add the sage. Salt and pepper to taste.

Carefully remove all of the twine, slice and serve with the cider gravy. Enjoy!