Cornbread Stuffing, Roast Turkey & Pan Gravy

Cornbread Stuffing
2 cubes of butter
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 lb. Italian sausage
The turkey liver
6 cups of cornbread, coarsely crumbled (give the rest to the chickens)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup Madeira or sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt all but a couple of tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet, add chopped onions and cook over moderate heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the onions color lightly. Scrape into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze sausage from casing, put it in the same skillet, and set over medium heat. Break up the meat as it cooks. When it's lightly browned, transfer it to a sieve set over a small bowl and let the fat drain through. Meanwhile, in the same pan, melt the remaining butter, add the turkey liver. Brown it over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then chop it coarsely and combine with the onions in your bowl. Add drained sausage meat, cornbread crumbs, salt, a few grindings of black pepper, thyme, and parsley. When you're ready to stuff the bird, moisten the stuffing with the booze and cream and taste for seasoning. Remember to wait to stuff the bird until just before roasting, and to only fill it about 3/4 full--it will expand.

Roast Stuffed Turkey
Try to get an organic bird, or at least one that hasn't been fed hormones and antibiotics.

Have your 10- to 16-pound turkey at about 70 degrees before roasting. Allow 20 minutes per pound roasting time.

Preheat your oven to 450. Melt a cube of butter. Wash your bird under cold water, rinsing out the cavities, then dry it inside and out, taking care not to puncture or tear the skin. Stuff the crop and cavity with cornbread stuffing, then sew those openings shut or use safety pins to close. Tie ends of legs together so they'll stay close to the body, and bind wings close, too. Set stuffed and trussed bird on an oiled rack in your roasting pan, breast side up. With a pastry brush, brush the outside of your turkey with some of your melted butter. Place your turkey, uncovered, in your oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Brush with melted butter every 20 minutes while the bird cooks, until you can start basting with your pan drippings. If the bird starts to get too brown before it's done, cover it. Cook to an internal temperature of 190 degrees or until the thigh juice runs clear. When you're sure it's done, let it sit on a warm platter while you make your gravy.

Pan Gravy
Skim fat from your pan juices into a small bowl. Pour defatted pan juices into another bowl, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the stuck bits. Pour 3 tablespoons of the fat into a small skillet. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir over low heat until the flour is absorbed and slightly toasted. Add about 1/2 cups of the liquid--the degreased pan juices and the stock you made yesterday--and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until you have a good rue. Add another 1 1/2 cups of the liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until your gravy is thick and smooth. Don't let it get lumpy. If it gets too thick, add more stock, or ass milk or cream or beer. Season with salt and pepper and the giblets you chopped. Pour into a warm saucepan or piutcher and serve.