How to Roast the Perfect Turkey

Well, folks, now that I've successfully made a turkey, it's time to share a guide that I wish had existed when I was doing all of my research. Because I obsessed over every single step, I've boiled down my final recipe to the 3 essential steps that you need to know to ensure a perfect turkey. I, for one, find it comforting in hindsight to know that there are only three major things that I really needed accomplish correctly in order to tame my turkey, as opposed to the laundry list of items (3+ pages!) that I encountered while preparing. So, here are my 3 major steps to a great turkey, with tips on how to jazz up each step for an even more decadent turkey (but I promise, none of it is time consuming or difficult). First will come a quickie cheat sheet with your basic steps, followed by a detailed description of exactly how to do all of the steps, and the science behind why they work. I hope this helps out fellow novices, or those looking to pare down their roasting routine.

Turkey Roasting Cheat Sheet
3 easy steps to a perfect turkey--every time

1.Wash and Brine: Remove all innards stored in the turkey's cavity (check large and small cavity openings) and wash turkey with cold water inside and out. Fill a bucket lined with heavy duty garbage bags or a large stockpot halfway with cold water. Add 2 cups of kosher salt and stir until dissolved. Add turkey to container and more cold water to cover. Cover with a lid a refrigerate for 8-18 hours.

2. Dry: Remove turkey from brine 2 hours prior to roasting. Drain all liquid from cavity and dry turkey thoroughly inside and out. Place it on a roasting pan or large platter and set in the refrigerator uncovered for a minimum of an hour or until you're ready to roast.

3. Roast: Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Season your turkey with salt and pepper and any herbs or spices you'd like (additional fat like oil and butter is also optional). Place turkey in a roasting pan alone or with 2 cups of the liquid of your choice if you'd like to make gravy (chicken broth will do). Roast it in the 500 degree oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your bird, then lower the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (again, depending on the size of your bird). Once the time has passed, place a meat thermometer in the turkey's thigh (try to avoid touching the bone). You're looking for an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees and juices that run clear. If it's not ready, roast at 15 minutes intervals until you get 165 degrees and clear juices. Once you do, pull turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 25-45 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

Now that you know the fundamental steps to roasting your turkey to perfection, read below to find out exactly how it all works, along with a few tips from me on how to make it extra tasty.

Step 1: Wash and Brine

The first step to preparing ANY type of poultry is to remove the neck and gizzards from the cavity. It sounds gross and feels grosser, but make sure to look in both ends of the turkey. The neck bone is typically closer to the large cavity opening, and the bag of innards is usually closer to the smaller end, so make sure to take a look everywhere. Then your turkey is ready for washing. Run it under cold water, inside and out, giving him a good shower. When you're done, take a quick look and make sure there are no rogue feathers or quills sticking to the skin (most come pretty well picked over, but it's worth a check--I've always found at least one), just like you would a chicken.

Now you're ready to brine. The dirty truth about brining? It's just water and salt. Even if all you did was to toss your turkey into a lobster pot, covered it with cold water and 2 cups of salt and left it in the fridge overnight, you'd be brining, and your turkey would be all the better for it. It's that simple! You don't need to boil anything or use fancy ingredients. If your turkey is large like mine, use a very large lobster pot or a bucket lined with 2 heavy duty garbage bags. If it's smaller (under 15 lbs) you can probably fit it in your largest pasta pot. Fill it halfway with cold water, add 2 cups of kosher salt and stir until the salt is dissolved. Then add your turkey and more cold water as needed until it's fully submerged. That's it! Cover with a lid and let it sit for 8-18 hours in your fridge (if you don't have room in there, a cold porch or basement will do just fine). If you'd like to experiment as I did, add handfuls of your favorite spices and ingredients. I used peppercorns, bay leaves and brown sugar, but feel free to add anything from ginger to jalapeños.

Step 2: Dry

This step may seem too simple and silly to warrant it's own section, but you wouldn't believe how many people forget to do it (and do it well) and end up with a limp bird. Moisture is the mortal enemy of crispy skin, and as such, the only wetness that should ever come into contact with your turkey while roasting should be a fat that will help it crisp (this includes NOT basting...but more on that in Step 3). Remove your turkey from it's brine 2 hours before you intend to put it in the oven. Dry it thoroughly with paper towels inside and out, making sure to drain all liquid from the cavity. Place it in a roasting pan or large platter uncovered and back into the fridge for an hour to dry. The cold will help the skin tighten back up and dry it by pulling out any moisture. Think about how your face reacts to winter cold--the same science is at work here, only in a positive way!

Step 3: Roast

Once your turkey has dried you're ready to roast it. Another dirty secret? You could sprinkle it with salt and pepper, toss it in a roasting pan and throw it in the oven and be fine. There's enough fat in the skin to get it crispy and keep the turkey moist, so technically you don't even need a rub. And since you've brined, the meat has been plenty tenderized already. But, if you're a skin junkie like me, you might want to add some extra herbs and butter for some extra dark browning. Start by preheating your oven to 500 degrees. It's high, but it'll come down later. Then add whatever you'd like to your turkey. I used a little canola oil for added crispiness and some dollops of butter where I really wanted to see some darkening (a little food styling trick to help you get that Norman Rockwell turkey). I sprinkled the whole thing with chopped herbs (thyme, sage and rosemary) and filled my pan with a cup each chicken stock and apple cider. This way I'd have a delicious gravy that cooked itself without any effort on my part. Juices and herbs from the turkey would add flavor and salt and the heat from the oven would help it reduce and thicken slightly.

Once you've doctored your skin however you see fit, put your turkey into the 500 degree oven for 30-45 minutes (this depends on the size of your turkey), then lower the temperature to 375 and roast for 2 hours. The high temperature will again help shock the skin, helping it to brown and crisp. It's too high to continue roasting at that temperature because the skin would burn before the inside was cooked, which is the reasoning for lowering the temperature. Try to avoid opening the oven if possible, which would allow all of the built up heat to escape, and DO NOT baste. By wetting an already crispy skin, even with delicious juices, you are softening it and ruining it's chances of crisping. The mythology that basting will help keep meat moist is just that--a myth. Turkey skin is a waterproof barrier to meat just like your skin is to your flesh, so trust me when I say that none of that basting liquid is getting anywhere near the turkey meat. It's being absorbed by the skin and softening it the same way your skin absorbs lotion. Not to mention that it washes away anything you've rubbed on your turkey skin for added flavor.

If the turkey breast is browning too quickly, cover it with foil. Start checking in at about 90 minutes for doneness. Using your meat thermometer, poke the thickest part of the turkey, like the thigh, careful not to touch the bone, which can give you a false read (the bone conducts heat more easily than the meat and will therefore be significantly hotter). Once you reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees, lightly push the spot where you've inserted the thermometer (I just used a spoon). If the juices released run clear, remove the turkey from the oven and cover lightly with foil so the meat can rest for 25-30 minutes and all of the juices can redistribute. Your turkey should rest (as any large piece of meat should) so that the internal juices have a chance to settle within the meat, keeping it juicy. If you cut into it immediately after pulling it from the oven, all of those juices will come streaming out of the meat and onto your plate instead of keeping the meat moist. If you've put any juices for gravy in your roasting pan, I recommend letting the turkey rest in a separate dish or carving board so you can put your roasting pan directly over the stove (I let mine reduce naturally over the flame to really concentrate the flavor). Once the resting time has passed, all that's left is to carve and serve and you're done!

-Laura

The Bird Is the Word

Well, Thanksgiving came and went at my house, blowing into town like those weird fall Nor'easters and disappearing just as quickly. I was overwhelmed with good wishes from readers and friends, all of which I took to heart and I think played a major role in making my first Thanksgiving behind the stove a rousing success. As I mentioned previously, my nerves were centered primarily around all activities involving the turkey. Adding an extra layer of fear to my day was my decision to try brining for the first time. I'm not sure what made 2009 the year of the brined turkey (although I think Alton Brown's mighty endorsement may have played a considerable role), but I couldn't go anywhere without a testimonial about how brining is an absolute must for a juicy and flavorful turkey. So, I decided to heed the advice of the more experienced masses and embarked on the surprisingly difficult journey of finding a 5-plus gallon bucket in New York City. Normally I scour the city looking for urban-ized accessories (i.e. small), of which I found plenty in place of the real-world bucket required for this endeavor.


But eventually the Home Depot came to my rescue with a traffic cone hued paint bucket that would house our turkey overnight. After removing the neck and gizzards that were stuffed inside and giving him a nice shower (inside and out) with cold water, our nearly 19 pound bird was ready for his salty soak. Since I was a newbie I took it easy on the brine, stealing a few simple tips from different recipes. I first lined the bucket with two heavy duty garbage bags, which made clean-up a cinch. Then, with the bucket halfway filled with cold water I tossed in 2 cups of kosher salt and gave the mixture a stir until all of the salt was dissolved. A cup of dark brown sugar, five bay leaves and a handful of peppercorns went in next, followed by the turkey and enough additional water to cover. Making sure it was fully submerged we clamped the lid on and hoisted the bucket onto its new spot in the fridge where it would brine for about 18 hours. The next day, bright and early we removed the turkey from its brine, careful to empty any juices that had collected in the cavity. We gave him a good pat dry (again, inside and out) and left him uncovered on a roasting pan in the fridge for an hour so the cold would help remove any remaining moisture on his skin. If there's one thing that was emphasized in all my research it's that a wet turkey will not crisp up, no matter how hard you try, so it's better to take a few extra minutes to ensure that your turkey has no extra moisture, especially on its skin (that's him chillin' down below).


Once the turkey was nice and dry I rubbed it generously with butter and canola oil (if it were a chicken I'd do all butter, but because of the long cook time and high temperature needed for a turkey it could all burn), then seasoned the bird lightly with salt and pepper. I preheated the oven to 500 degrees, sprinkled the entire bird with chopped rosemary, sage and thyme for a nice herb-y crust and filled the roasting pan with about a cup of chicken stock and another cup of apple cider, in order to create a rich base for my apple cider gravy. After tossing the neck into the pan I popped the turkey into the oven for 45 minutes, then lowered the temperature to 375. This shocks the skin, allowing it to immediately crisp and brown. I checked in on it periodically to make sure the breasts weren't browning too quickly, while also being careful not to open the oven door too often, which allows the heat to escape and causes the oven temperature to drop. Much to my surprise it only took 2 hours and 15 minutes for the thickest part of the turkey to register between 165 and 170 degrees and for all of the juices to run clear. I took it out to rest for 30-45 minutes and in the meantime managed to get the rest of the meal done, with a tremendous amount of help from my mom, a bona fide kitchen rock star. Once the turkey was sliced and plated we all dug in with enthusiasm. I couldn't believe how delicious the meat tasted. I'm generally a bigger fan of the Thanksgiving sides than I am of the meat, but this time all of the meat was juicy and tender. The brine had really worked it's way through to the meat, so every bit tasted as if it'd been seasoned with salt, instead of just the outer bits. Once I tasted it I knew that I was immediately sold on brining. After all, it took very little hands on time considering how much flavor it imparted to the meat. All in all I must say that it was quite the successful feat, and I'd like to encourage anyone that will be roasting a turkey this Christmas or in the coming future to try brining. Your turkey will not only be instantly tenderized, but infinitely flavorful. And of course as always if you do try it, I'd love to hear how it went and what you did. Did anyone else out there brine? Later on this week I'll make sure to post my full recipes!

-Laura

Thanksgiving Scramble

This weekend I bought my very first Thanksgiving turkey. Tonight, for the very first time I'll brine a turkey, and tomorrow, for the first time ever, I'll cook one. These are a lot of firsts for one week, not to mention that there will also be a first ever meeting of the in-laws over Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say these are quite a few firsts, but of course I am most frightened by the prospect of completely ruining Thanksgiving for everyone by making a terrible turkey. Even though it's a daunting task I think that I'm finally ready. It's been requested by several parties that I keep the side dishes simple and store bought because that's what they were used to in their homes. And even though a small part of me died as I pulled 4 cans of cranberry jelly from the supermarket shelf and into my cart, I must say that I'm also a bit relieved. After all, with the pressure of executing a half dozen new recipes off the table, I can focus on perfecting my turkey. This way, the corn will be a cinch, my mother will be masterfully making the green beans Spanish style, the sweet potatoes need only be roasted, and the mashed potatoes (my specialty) will be a breeze. I may spill a tear or two over the Stove Top stuffing and cans of jellied cranberry, but in the end I'll be a less frazzled host that gives everyone what they want.

One thing that I thankfully will NOT need to do is bake. I've taken the advice of the many magazines I've worked for (and the other dozen or so that I read) and for once not rebuffed the offers of my guests to bring a dish. Since the sides will all be really simple and no trouble to complete while the turkey (hopefully!) roasts to perfection, I asked for guests to bring the dessert of their choice. This way I won't have to fret about heating or baking anything in the oven but the turkey, and I won't be adding any pressure to an already busy day by baking. But, for those of you that may need a last minute dessert to bring to dinner, here's what I would have done if I needed one: a light and slightly tart cranberry galette. All you need is a bag of thawed frozen cranberries and your favorite pie crust, rolled out (not too thin) to about a 12-inch diameter. Other than cutting and macerating the cranberries your work is pretty much done. See below for the recipe and I'll report back next week with tales of turkey brining and Thanksgiving meals. In the meantime, have a happy and delicious holiday!

Cranberry Tart

1 14 oz bag frozen cranberries, thawed and halved
1 pie crust, fresh or store bought
2 Tbsp grape, plum or strawberry jam (or your favorite flavor)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten (for egg wash)

1. Combine halved cranberries and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator anywhere from 2 hours to overnight (the longer the better).

2. Preheat over to 350 F degrees. Roll out pie crust to a 12-inch diameter, making sure it's not too thin (you don't want the liquid the leak through when it melts). Place crust on an oiled or buttered baking sheet. Carefully spread the jam over the pie crust, leaving a 1-inch border from the edge. Top jam with the macerated strawberries and fold the edges of the pie crust over (I use a pinch method so it looks neater).

3. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle sugar onto crust. Bake tart in the oven until crust is golden brown and crispy, 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet Child Of Mine

I have had a long and tumultuous love affair with sweet potatoes. It began innocently enough. I would see them once a year at the Thanksgiving table and ignore them, finding that they were generally bland and less sexy than the cornucopia of delicious dishes before me. As I grew older I eventually came to appreciate the simple pleasure of a baked sweet potato--the way its inherent sweetness complimented a tart cranberry sauce, how when it was lightly buttered it took on an almost whipped texture, and best of all, how it tasted after streaking a coral colored forkful through a juicy puddle of turkey gravy. But after a few happy years, my relationship with the sweet potato grew stale. I found myself disinterested and more and more drawn to the green beans laced with paprika and Spanish ham. Unable to resist the temptation of a creamy and luscious macaroni and cheese. Drooling at the mere thought of crispy turkey skin and moist stuffing.

It was only after several years of formal separation that I came to see the sweet potato in a new light. It was about 6 years ago when I first spent a Thanksgiving at the Cuadra household (my Thanksgiving home away from home), where I tasted a baked sweet potato dish that showed this humble ingredient in a new light. It finally became clear to me that like so many Thanksgiving ingredients, sweet potatoes need some sort of culinary wingman--that super charismatic, can't resist flavor that elevates it to where it needs to be to win you over. In this case, the part of the wingman was played by marshmallows, which because if their intense sweetness, allow the sweet potato to shine as a slightly more savory ingredient. Now I find myself attracted to the sweet potato dish, even stealing away the crunchy browned bits when no one is looking.

I was reminded of this relationship while perusing some of the stalls at the greenmarket this past weekend. I came across so many interesting new fall ingredients, including a lovely type of sweet potato that was completely foreign to me, known as the "finger" sweet potato. These sweet potatoes were long and nubby, and for the most part thinner than your index finger. They have a slightly redder skin than your average large sweet potato, but cook much faster and have a milder flavor. It took me a while to come up with something to do with them, but once I thought about roasting, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I'd originally thought about a honey glaze, but had been wanting to experiment with a balsamic one, so I reduced some regular balsamic vinegar and sugar, then slowly melted in some butter to keep the glaze from hardening in the oven. I seasoned the whole thing with just a little salt (sometimes acid like vinegar can be interpreted by your taste buds as salty, so I didn't want to overdo it) and some dried thyme that I broke up with my fingers. It was delicious and fragrant, and left my apartment smelling of fall. Here's how to do it for yourself:


Roasted Finger Sweet Potatoes

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
2 cups finger sweet potatoes, peeled, or 2 large sweet potatoes cut into steak fries
1/2 stick of butter, cut into tablespoon slices
1/2 tsp dried or fresh thyme
salt
fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat over to 400 F degrees.

2. Simmer vinegar and sugar in a non-stick skillet or saucier over medium-low heat until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Slowly add butter 1 piece at a time, stirring to combine (I like using a rubber spatula so the glaze doesn't stick and harden).

3. Add sweet potatoes and thyme to skillet and toss to coat. Cook 1 minute further and transfer sweet potatoes to a non-stick or foil covered baking sheet. Bake, stirring often, until potatoes are browned and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!

-Laura

Fry Me A River (Or A Turkey)

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday--I know I did! As a matter of fact, you'll be seeing how my southern fried holiday went in today's post. I promised you a deep fried turkey and here it is, step by step. I did not make the turkey myself, but in the Cuadra household, where I have been spending Thanksgiving for the last few years, the Mama of the house prepares it, the Papa fries it, and then Mama carves it (it's all a very diplomatic affair, excluding the tempura green bean debacle of '04). We have a very casual meal with a small group, and all of us pitch in by making at least one dish.

Deep fried turkey is a messy and potentially dangerous sport, so it should always be done with care and precaution, and--more importantly--in the outdoors. Because you'll be dunking a genuinely large piece of fowl into extremely hot oil, you don't want to go too crazy with your turkey rub or brine. Honestly, the simpler the better. Ours was just salt, pepper and garlic powder (fresh garlic would burn). It was particularly dark and cold out this year, but we can't really complain since last year it rained and the year before it snowed. Except for a few dastardly winds, it wasn't all that bad out for fried turkey this year. Here's a very dark photo of the turkey walking the plank:

Weather permitting, this preparation takes less than an hour, usually around 45 minutes. Although it involves keeping an eye out on the turkey during the entire cooking process and possibly burning your house down, deep frying the turkey can really save you a lot of time. While the rest of us made green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, cornbread, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (I made those!) and gravy, Papa Cuadra quietly crept out, began heating the oil and made the turkey. This preparation is also a great way to get the men involved in your Thanksgiving meal prep if they usually prefer to sit it out. And without further ado, here is the finished product in all its succulent, crispy glory:

So that's it! It's not so scary, right? And believe me, that skin is crispier and surprisingly less greasy than that of any turkey you've ever had. And I'm not embarrassed to say that I ate the majority of that skin all on my own. And just to bring this whole entry around, here's a lovely shot of my plate by the end of the night:


That's about it for my Thanksgiving dinner. How did you spend yours? How did you make your turkey (or other main protein)? I hope it was as good as mine!

-Laura

It Isn't Easy Being Green

It was widely rumored that when Victoria Beckham was asked how she liked living in Spain, she responded by saying that the whole country smelled like garlic and paprika. While I can't say that I agree, I think it's pretty obvious from my recipes that they are two of the most prevalent ingredients in Spanish cooking. That's why it shouldn't be a surprise that they make an appearance twice over in today's recipe.

Since yesterday we had a vegetarian Thanksgiving side dish, I thought today we'd do one Spanish style, with slightly meatier tendencies. The dish includes chorizo, a pork sausage seasoned with both paprika and garlic, making it a wonderful ingredient to pep up any soup or vegetable side dish. Paprika and garlic are also used in seasoning the whole dish, so they're doing double duty today. I used long, pre-washed green beans not only to speed up the recipe, but to make sure that I could use them all up before leaving the house for Thanksgiving.

My mother always made a similar recipe around the holidays, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy the serrano ham that goes into her version, since I didn't want to add anything else to my fridge that might spoil over the weekend (it's soooo not in my budget right now anyway). But by all means, add some ham or bacon in with the chorizo, you'll be happy you did. This dish cooks pretty quickly because there are two methods of cooking at play. First, the green beans are sautéed with olive oil, and then they're steamed in a bit of stock. Naturally, since I was without bacon, I used pork stock, but it's perfectly fine to use vegetable or chicken stock as I usually do.

This recipe doesn't just have to be a side dish, it can also be a pasta dish. If you leave the paprika out of the oil, all you have to do is toss in your favorite kind of cooked pasta and you're done! Maybe add in some chickpeas, or mushrooms, or green peas...the add-ins are endless. I've always thought of green beans as the second class citizens of Thanksgiving, but I definitely feel like this recipe would stand out and bring them to the forefront of dinner like they did at my house for so many years. Give them a try and let me know what you think. Here's what you need:

Green Beans with Chorizo

12 oz long green beans (about 3 cups)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 chorizo sausages, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup stock (pork, chicken, or vegetable)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Heat olive oil and garlic in a medium pan. When the garlic just starts to get golden, remove pan from heat and allow oil to cool.

2. Once cooled, add the paprika and return pan to heat. Once the oil starts to bubble, add the chorizo, green beans, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes, then lower heat to medium and add stock. Cover the pan and allow to steam until liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep garlic from sticking.

3. When the green beans are done, check for salt (I've always had to add a little more) and plate. Enjoy!

**This will be the last post until after Thanksgiving. I know, I know, what will you read when you're hiding from your extended family? Well, I guess it'll be something else, but feel free to check out my archives :) Don't fret though, I will be documenting my Thanksgiving dinner, complete with deep fried turkey. Seriously, I plan on eating all of that crunchy skin. Try and stop me! Also, I always make the mashed potatoes, so stay tuned for that recipe, and we'll see if I can't get in on the green beans as well. Happy Thanksgiving!!

-Laura

Olive Tree Mail Bag #2: Three Mushroom Sauté

In this, the second installment of the Olive Tree Mail Bag, we tackle a request from Julie, who is looking for a fun vegetarian side dish that she can bring to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. I figured I'd go for a less traditional vegetable, but stick with spices that would still echo those used in the rest of the holiday dinner. After running it by Julie, I learned that she happens to love mushrooms, which is exactly what I intended to use for her dish.

Although I haven't found any evidence to support this, I am convinced that mushrooms were present at the original Thanksgiving dinner. After all, they grow in the wild all over the US, (unlike other delicious Thanksgiving treats) and they make appearances in cuisines the world over. Okay, so I don't have much of a case. But trust me, mushrooms will give your family a really nice break from all of the green and orange stuff at the table.

As much as I love mushrooms on their own, I think they taste best when multiple types are cooked together. This makes for great depth of flavor and texture, in addition to adding to the languid, tangled look of the final dish. Of the mushrooms that are available in (most) grocery stores, I chose my three favorites: shitake, oyster (Julie's fave), and crimini. These all have distinctly different flavors that layer really well together, some being sweeter than others. As I mentioned earlier, the herbs and spices include traditional Thanksgiving flavors like sage and thyme, which not only work well with mushrooms, but can be found in almost every version of stuffing, and in most brands of poultry seasoning. Much to my mother's horror (we're strictly a Spanish olive oil family), I like finishing off this dish with a pat of butter. It adds some body and gives the finished dish a nice glossy sheen. What can I say, sometimes traditional French techniques creep in.

So as you can see, if you're looking for something different to add to your Thanksgiving repertoire, this is a good dish to try. Please remember that mushrooms shrink quite a bit from raw to cooked, and what you see in the photo started out as 4 cups (ending in about 2), so don't be afraid to multiply the recipe if you're cooking for a big group. Here's how to start:


3 Mushroom Sauté

4 cups mushrooms (I used shitake, oyster and crimini)
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 sage
1/4 tsp rosemary
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
salt

1. Thinly slice all of the mushrooms after removing stems from the shitake's and oyster's, making sure to clean any grit off with a damp paper towel. Grind all of the spices (I used dried) and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil and garlic in a medium pan. Add mushrooms, red pepper flake and the ground spices to the pan and sauté. Salt to taste. If the mixture starts to look dry, add a tablespoon of olive oil.

3. When the mushrooms are cooked through, turn off the heat and add the butter. Mix until melted and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura