Impress friends and family this holiday season with these fabulous recipes from Chef Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen Published by Melcher Media Inc.

Turkey with Mushroom Gravy

Serves 10

Suggested wine pairing: Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley

Turkey + Gravy

12–14 lb fresh turkey

1              head garlic, halved crosswise

1              lemon, halved crosswise

4 T          extra-virgin olive oil

1              onion, quartered

Handful of fresh herbs

1              white onion, finely diced

2 T          chopped fresh tarragon

8 oz        white mushrooms, washed and quartered

8 oz        oyster mushrooms, torn into thin strips

3 T          all-purpose flour

6 c           chicken stock

The day before you plan to roast the turkey, pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub the bird all over with the cut side of the garlic and then with the lemon halves, squeezing the juice all over, then stuff the garlic and lemon in the bird. Lib­erally season the turkey inside and out with salt and white pepper. Place the turkey in the roasting pan and refrigerate it (uncov­ered) overnight to allow the skin to dry.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Rub the entire bird with oil and season lib­erally inside and out with salt and pepper. Put the onion and herbs in the cavity of the bird, but don’t pack them tightly—leave space for air to circulate. Insert a metal skewer into each of the turkey’s thighs; this helps conduct heat through the meat so that it cooks more quickly and is done at more or less the same time as the breast. Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 155°F. (A turkey requires about 12 minutes per pound at 350°F, so a 12-pound turkey will take about 2 hours total.) Before carving, the turkey should rest for 20 minutes.

When the turkey is done, transfer it to a serving platter and tent it with foil to keep warm. Place the roasting pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan juices and cook until lightly colored, using a spoon to scrape all the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the pan. Cook over high heat, stirring with a flat sauce whisk, for 3 minutes. Add the stock and simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Trans­fer to a saucepan and cover to keep warm.

Cornbread-Sausage Stuffing

2½   lb cornbread (use any basic cornbread recipe)

4        sweet or hot Italian sausages

½  c  (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 c     finely diced celery

1         softball-sized celery root, peeled and diced

1         red onion, finely chopped

2 T     fresh thyme leaves

1 T     celery seed, crushed

2 c     chicken stock

½  c   chopped Italian parsley

3         large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 3-quart casserole.

Cut the cornbread into chunks and spread them out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until lightly browned and dry; let cool, then transfer to a large bowl.

Pierce the sausages in several places, then cook them in a sauté pan over medium heat until cooked through and sizzling; remove them from the pan and slice them. If there’s more than about 4 tablespoons of fat in the pan, pour off the excess.

Melt the butter in the pan, then add the celery, celery root, onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook the vegetables until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme and celery seed, and cook just until fragrant. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.

Add the contents of the pan, the sausage, and the parsley to the cornbread, stirring to mix. Season, then stir in the eggs. Turn the stuffing into the prepared dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.