Holiday Dinner Recipes Sure to Impress
Over the past several years, Corrine Kozlak has immersed herself in collecting, testing, and tasting many maple syrup recipes. The 40 tried-and-true ones in her Maple Syrup cookbook have been approved by friends and family as winning holiday dinner recipes.
In today’s post she shares three recipes with you, our readers. How about Maple-Basted Roasted Turkey Breast, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and a side of Maple-Bacon Brussels Sprouts for your new favorite holiday dinner recipes?
Maple-Basted Roasted Turkey Breast
This is really good when you are hungry for roast turkey but don’t want to make a whole bird.
INGREDIENTS
Turkey
1 cup water or apple juice
1 (7- to 8-pound) whole bone-in turkey breast*
Salt, to taste
1⁄2 apple, cut in half
1⁄2 onion, peeled and quartered 1 stalk celery, halved
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
Glaze
1⁄2 cup butter
1⁄2 cup maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil. Pour 1 cup water in bottom of pan.
To make turkey breast, rinse with cold water; pat dry, and sprinkle cavity with salt. Place turkey upright in pan, and stuff cavity with apple, onion, celery, rosemary, and thyme.
To make glaze, melt butter with maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour over turkey to coat.
Roast turkey 2-21⁄2 hours, basting with pan juices as desired, until an instant-read thermometer registers 175–180 degrees. Let turkey rest
20 minutes before slicing. Heat pan juices and pour over sliced meat.
Serve hot.
*This recipe can be used for a whole turkey as well; increase ingredients
as needed.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Put away your recipe for sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows. This rich recipe is full of natural sweet potato goodness. Even better, this recipe may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
INGREDIENTS
4–6 large sweet potatoes
8 sprigs thyme, divided
6 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 cup maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 300F.
On a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, place 2 to 3 potatoes and 3 sprigs thyme. Fold foil around potatoes and seal tightly. Repeat with remaining 2 to 3 potatoes and 3 sprigs thyme. Place pouches on a baking pan, and roast 2 hours. Remove from oven; cool.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until slightly browned. In the bowl of a stand-up electric mixer fitted with a whisk, add butter, maple syrup, and thyme leaves from remaining 2 sprigs.
Peel sweet potatoes. Discard peelings and add potatoes to bowl of stand-up mixer; beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Maple-Bacon Brussels Sprouts
This recipe will turn any brussels sprouts hater into a brussels sprouts lover. Be careful not to burn them.
INGREDIENTS
1-11⁄4 pounds brussels sprouts, stemmed and cut in half lengthwise or sliced thin
4 slices bacon, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400F.
Place brussels sprouts in a shallow roasting pan; top evenly with bacon pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, and stir to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes or until sprouts are cooked and caramelized, stirring after 10 minutes.
If you enjoyed this post, sign up for our newsletter now! You may also enjoy Corrine’s Rhubarb: 50 Tried & True Recipes cookbook and her recipe for a rhubarb cheesecake. If you tried her recipes for your holiday dinner, we would love to hear from you.
Last but not least, there is still time to enter our GIVEAWAY for a copy of Corrine’s book and a bottle of Grade A Maple Syrup.
