The perfect Thanksgiving meal

Oct 24, 2011 5:24 PM by Courtney Dial

Posted in Food & Recipes / Entertaining / Entertaining Menus & Recipes

We all know it can be a lot of pressure to host Thanksgiving for your family! Don't fret, because we have your turkey recipe covered, along with side dish suggestions & Thanksgiving-inspired cocktail ideas!

From the turkey to the trimmings!

Serve up this Thanksgiving meal idea to earn all-star reviews from the fam. We've pulled together our absolute favorite dishes and prize-turkey recipe to make cooking that perfect Thanksgiving meal a breeze. First up is a super-moist roasted turkey that will please even Grandma!

Super-moist roasted turkey

Serves 8

Prep: 15 min | Cook: 3 hr 20 min

Ingredients:

10- to 12-pound fresh whole turkey or frozen whole turkey, thawed
1/3 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 large shallot or onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, sage and/or thyme*
1 envelope Knorr® Roasted Turkey gravy mix, prepared according to package directions

*Substitution: Use 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, sage and/or thyme, crushed.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove giblets from turkey cavities and rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Season, if desired, with salt and freshly-ground black pepper; set aside.
Combine Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, chopped shallot and herbs in medium bowl; set aside. Starting at neck opening, gently loosen skin on turkey and evenly spread 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture under the skin. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
Arrange turkey, breast-side up, in large shallow roasting pan with rack; rub remaining mayonnaise mixture over outside of turkey. Tent with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Decrease oven to 325 degrees F. and roast turkey 1-1/2 hours. Remove foil and continue roasting, about 1 hour, basting occasionally with pan juices, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F. Let stand, covered loosely with foil, for 20 minutes before carving. Serve with hot Knorr® Roasted Turkey gravy.

Gourmet green bean casserole

Superstar sides

We all know that side dishes are often the Thanksgiving faves so we pulled together our favorites to complement the super-moist roasted turkey.

Spiced apple cake

To-die-for desserts

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without some pie! Serve up these decadent desserts while playing fun games with the family for ultimate bonding time.

Pair these dishes with a delicious Thanksgiving cocktail like a Caramel pumpkin-pie tini or Cran-apple punch!