Every year I teach a cooking class called The Thanksgiving Table; it gives me a chance to get creative with traditional fall flavors for that big meal everyone is anticipating.

I’m sharing a few of my favorites from this year in hopes of inspiring YOU!

Of course, the turkey is always the star of the Thanksgiving meal.  If you only like white meat, consider skipping the huge bird and opt instead for a few turkey breasts, either way, my Citrus Roasted and Glazed Turkey is moist, juicy and filled with flavor.

These beautiful acorn squash make the ideal cooking cups for cornbread OR your own stuffing recipe!  The key is to pre-roast the squash first so it gets tender, be sure you salt and pepper it liberally too.

Cooking time for the cornbread will be a bit longer than when using a baking dish too, so keep that in mind!

Citrus Roasted and Glazed Turkey

2 large turkey breasts

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons butter

3 oranges, divided

3 lemons, divided

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, pressed

11 teaspoon ground sage

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 onion quartered

1 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare the glaze by first zesting and juicing 2 of the oranges and 2 of the lemons.  Add the juice and zest to a small sauce pan with 2 tablespoons of butter, sugar, honey, mustard, garlic, sage and herbs and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until mixture is thick, like syrup.  Let turkey breast come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before slathering with 2 tablespoons butter.  Liberally salt and pepper the breasts. Quarter the remaining fruit and place that along with the onion in a greased glass baking dish.  Position the turkey breasts on top of the fruit and onions and add white wine to the dish. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake turkey until a thermometer reads 125 degrees.  Remove the dish from the oven and baste with glaze.  Continue to baste every 15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Let turkey rest for at least 20 minutes tented with foil before carving.

Acorn Squash with Cornbread Filling

4 acorn squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ½ cups yellow corn meal

½ cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup butter melted and cooled

1 ½ cups milk

2 eggs

½ red bell pepper finely diced

½ green bell pepper finely diced

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut squash in half and remove seeds.  Bush the surface of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 30 minutes.  Prepare cornbread by combining dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Add wet ingredients to a separate bowl along with peppers and mix very well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until combined.  Pour batter into the squash and bake for 28-32 minutes until cornbread is firm and beginning to brown. Allow to cool before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving!