Roast Turkey with Pomegranate Glaze by MARTHA STEWART

The pomegranate glaze makes for a beautiful, burnished bird. This turkey is delicious stuffed with Cornbread, Wild Mushroom, and Pecan Stuffing or Classic Stuffing. - Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 (12 pound) fresh turkey
2. 2 onions cut into wedges
3. 3 carrots peeled and cut into 6-inch lengths
4. 3 stalks celery cut into 6-inch lengths
5. 3 parsnips peeled and cut into 6-inch lengths
6. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
7. 4 pomegranates
8. 1 quart Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth skimmed of fat
9. 3 tablespoons red currant jelly
10. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11. 1/4 cup cognac

COOKING DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse turkey breast; pat dry. Rub breast with salt and pepper.
2. Arrange vegetables in a large, heavy roasting pan, making sure that the vegetables are more or less flat in the bottom of the pan.
3. Truss legs together with kitchen twine, if desired. Rub the bird with butter, and place on bed of vegetables in roasting pan.
4. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, loosely cover bird with an aluminum-foil tent, if necessary, and continue roasting, basting every half hour with the juices in the pan.
5. Meanwhile, slice pomegranates in half crosswise. Using a hand-held wooden lemon reamer or manual juicer, collect the juice in a small bowl. Strain juice through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Combine juice and 1 cup of the stock in a small saucepan. Cook over high heat until mixture is reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in currant jelly. Set aside.
6. When a meat thermometer placed between breast and thigh reads 170 degrees, remove turkey from oven (the total cooking time to this point should be about 3 hours and 15 minutes). Discard aluminum-foil tent, and brush bird evenly and smoothly with pomegranate reduction. Lower temperature to 325 degrees, return bird to oven, and continue roasting for 5 minutes. Brush again with pomegranate reduction, and roast for 5 to 10 minutes more. Do not allow glaze to burn.
7. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and transfer to serving plate. Let turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.
8. Remove vegetables from roasting pan with a slotted spoon, transfer to a food processor, and process until smooth.
9. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings in pan, reserving juices in a fat separator or Pyrex measuring cup; discard fat that rises to the top. Place pan over medium-low heat, and add flour, working it in with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Add 3 tablespoons of the pureed cooking vegetables to pan, and stir until smooth. (Remaining puree can be served as an additional side dish or discarded.)
10. Add cognac to pan, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any particles on the bottom. Continue cooking slowly over medium-low heat. Stir constantly while adding degreased pan juices and the remaining 3 cups stock. Raise heat to medium high, and cook until the gravy thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in a gravy boat alongside turkey.

Yield: 10 servings