The Star of Christmas Dinner...Mayo Roasted Turkey!

In all seriousness, my Christmas dinner is pretty much an exact replica of our Thanksgiving dinner, and why not? It's phenomenal and if it ain't broke...I am not going to touch it! Some recipes have been passed down from my great grandmother and some I have borrowed from others. I have perfected my side dishes after years of helping my mother make them and then as an adult, making them to take with me to the home of whomever was hosting that years holiday dinner. This year though, I took a stand and we decided to have Thanksgiving at our house. Then I panicked. I had never cooked a turkey. EVER. So I began my Pinterest search for a recipe that seemed fool proof and amazing. Spoiler alert...I found one. Thanks to Amy at She Wears Many Hats, I cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal which included the BEST turkey I have ever had (Sorry Mom and Dad...It was that good). We barely had leftovers it was so incredible. Plus, I made the gravy with the drippings and shut your mouth. Heaven.

Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey

• 11 lb. whole turkey, (completely thawed)
• 6-7 fresh sage leaves, rough chopped
• 5-6 fresh thyme stems
• 2-3 springs of rosemary
• 3 springs of oregano
• 1½ cups of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons pepper
• 3 stalks celery, rough chopped
• 1 large onion, rough chopped
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, salted
• (adjusts all seasonings & mayonnaise as needed for size of bird)

*You can usually find a small "poultry seasoning herb" container with exactly the right amount the sage, thyme and rosemary instead of buying a ton of each. If your grocer has them they will be next to the fresh herbs and produce

Instructions (for step by step instructions with images, view original recipe here)

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Lay turkey in a roasting pan (the disposable type works fine for us)
3. Remove leaves from herbs stems. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano to mayonnaise; combine well. Rub mayonnaise/herb mixture all over outside and interior of bird.
4. Liberally salt, and pepper turkey. Add the celery, and onion, inside and out, and tuck the butter in the cavity.
5. Roast turkey in 450°F oven for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350°F, and insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful not to touch bone. Continue roasting, uncovered, until internal thermometer reaches 160°F. Cover legs with foil partway through roasting if desired (which we didn't worry about and it came out perfect). Depending on size of turkey, total cook time will be around 1½-2 hours. Once the thermometer reaches 160°F in the thigh, check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast to make sure it reads 160°F as well.
6. Remove from oven. Cover with foil and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes (depending on size) before carving.
7. Set aside turkey drippings and juices for gravy.

***Our turkey was just under 11 pounds. We cooked it 30 minutes on 450 and then about 1½ hours on 350***

You are going to love it. The pic below is how ours came out!