• 125g unsalted butter
• 100 g Brown sugar
• 300g plain flour 
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 2 tsp ground ginger 
• 1 tsp baking Soda

For Icing

• 2 egg whites
• 400g Confectioners sugar (or thereabouts)

For decorations

• Selection of sweets of your choice

 Preparation:

1. Cut out house templates

1. Preheat Oven to 400F
2. Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a pan over low heat. 
3. Mix the flour, baking soda and ground ginger into a large bowl, then stir in the butter mixture to make a dough.
4. Roll about one quarter of the dough. Put your template on top and cut out the shapes, then transfer the pieces onto a lightly greased  baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
5. Bake all the sections for 15 minutes or until firm. Leave to cool for a few minutes to firm up.
6. Put the 2 egg whites in a large bowl, stir in confectioners sugar 100g at a time to make a thick, smooth icing 'glue'. Put the icing 'glue' into a piping bag. Pipe lines of icing along the wall edges, one by one, to join the walls together. Use hand  to support the walls from the inside, then allow to dry.
7. When the walls are dry, fix the roof panels on. The angle is steep so you may need to hold these for a few minutes until the icing starts to dry. Let it dry completely, ideally overnight or at least for a few hours before decorating it with your favourite candies.

Husband Says: "Cats and dogs living together! Streets filled with lava! End of the world man! End of the world! Carmen isn't kidding when she says these little buggers are more work than one might imagine. Expect roof collapses, gingerbread man casualties, frosting entrails strewn about the battlefield that will become your kitchen. Suit up soldier, its time to build a gingerbread house! We did end up successful in the end thank God. I wouldn't live in our little gingerbread house because well, it isn't up to earthquake code. But I would show it off, maybe sell it to the highest bidder. Eat it? Naw, too proud of it. Good times all around. Just be wary of the prep time for these things, they can be dastardly!"

For all household head chefs around the world, there is nothing quite as daunting a task as preparing a successful holiday meal, and roasted turkey is often the most feared dish. Feared especially for those who may be hosting family for the first time. That’s not because of its heavy weight or of how easy it is to end up with a lump of dry turkey, but because it far too often is a dish that turns out disastrously. Thankfully, there are a few easy tips to ensure the table centerpiece becomes a successful family tradition.

I want to dedicate this recipe to my wonderful mother-in-law, who despite of her busy festival schedule, still found time to give me advice and even put it down in a long email! And to my aunt in Chicago, who patiently explained the whole turkey cooking process to me on the phone. Twice.


If it wasn't for these two great ladies, and as my husband would say, "character building" action, of putting my hand up the turkey 's arse and pulling out his dead chopped off head, our first Thanksgiving turkey would would never have even happened.

Cook Time :  about 4 hours

Serve:  6  ( or  2 people for 3 days )

Estimated Cost: $25

Ingredients

• 1 whole turkey ( e.g  14 Ib )
• 1 large Onions , quartered 
• 1 Lemon, halved
• A lot of butter
• Chicken Broth
• Garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• (Optional) Marinate Injection: See  Butter Based Injection Sauce by Derrick Riches 

Preparation (modified from my mother-in-law's directions)

1. A few hours before cooking (or  ideally the night before) rinse thawed turkey under cold water & pat dry with paper towels. Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin around the bird. Melt 2 cubes of butter. If you have Poultry Seasoning add 1 1/2 tsp of it to the melted butter. Add salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder & set aside. Inject the turkey with marinate injection.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
3. Chop pieces of butter and put under the skin of the turkey. Baste the outside of the turkey skin with the butter and  herb mixture. 
4. Put salt & pepper inside cavity of turkey and stuff turkey cavity with quarter pieces of onions and lemon halves. Truss ( use those little metal stakes that come with string especially for to sew up the openings of the turkey and tie around the wings and legs. 
5. Place the turkey breast side up in a roasting pan. Place in pre-heated oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Pour chicken broth into roasting pan around turkey. 
6. Roast for 1 hour then baste with pan juices and more of the melted butter mixture every 30 minutes. 
7. When the turkey looks dark golden brown cover with tin foil. Continue roasting about 2 hrs (or more, depending on the size of the turkey,  see Turkey Dinner Calculator)
8. Take turkey out of oven and let sit for 30 minutes.

Husband Says: "This turkey will forever be known in Anderson lore as 'The Great Turkey O' 2011'. To say it was a success would be an understatement. Carmen was worried about it turning out dry, I was just worried about it not being SUPER AWESOME and guess what? It defied super awesomeness. It was AWESOME SAUCE. No really, the gravy was divine. We at turkey for three days straight, be damned our tummy aches from turkey overload. It was that good. Thank God we don't eat this too much during the year because I'd be a fatass and would have to make the same new year's resolution every year: Lose fatass turkey weight. Can't wait till the next one. IZ NIZE! BIG SUCSEZ!"