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½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the parsley, mint, anchovies, garlic, shallot, lemon zest and juice, capers, jalapeño, red pepper flakes, and olive oil in a bowl and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

TURKEY 101

Classes on how to roast a turkey sell out faster than any of the other classes I give at my restaurant, Lolita. In the fall, it’s the main question I get from people: How do I roast a turkey? So here’s how I do it and always end up with a beautiful, golden-brown bird that’s completely cooked and juicy inside.

One of the main mistakes people make is buying a bird that’s too big. I recommend you buy a ten- to twelve-pound bird, and if that’s not enough buy two birds rather than one bigger one. Turkey is the one animal of which I don’t prefer to use heritage breeds; I find them to be tough and dry.

To cook the bird, you’ll need a large roasting pan and cheesecloth to cover the entire breast. Season the bird a day in advance with plenty of salt, about two tablespoons for a ten-pound bird. I never fill the carcass with a stuffing; when you do, you have to overcook the bird in order to fully cook the stuffing. If you want to serve a stuffing, bake it separately. Instead fill the cavity with aromatic vegetables and herbs, such as onion and fennel, which perfume the meat and keep the bird moist.

I melt butter with herbs and soak a piece of cheesecloth in the butter. I then drape this over the turkey to keep it moist and ensure that the turkey will be a perfect golden brown every time. I roast it in a hot oven until the juices run clear and, finally, let it rest for at least fifteen to twenty minutes to finish cooking and allow the juices to redistribute themselves.

And that’s all there is to it. There’s no reason to think that cooking a turkey is tricky or difficult.

Serves 6 to 7

One 10-pound turkey (neck and gizzards reserved)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 head of garlic, halved through its equator

4 sprigs of fresh oregano

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 lemon, quartered

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 fennel bulb, quartered

¼ cup picked fennel fronds

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

¼ cup Chicken Stock or turkey stock or water

The day before roasting, rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water, set on a clean kitchen towel, and pat dry. Season the turkey inside and out with the salt. Wrap the turkey in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours prior to roasting to bring to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 425°F with the oven rack set on the lowest rung.

In the turkey’s neck cavity, place a few cloves of the garlic, a few sprigs of oregano, a few sprigs of thyme, and a quarter of the lemon. Wrap the neck skin over and around the cavity to enclose the seasoning ingredients. In the body cavity, place half of the remaining garlic, half of the onion, half of the fennel, the fennel fronds, 2 lemon quarters, and half of the remaining oregano and thyme. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack set into a large roasting pan. Fold the wings and tuck the tips underneath the bird.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the remaining garlic, onion, fennel, lemon, oregano, and thyme to the pot with the stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and continue to cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, soak a double layer of cheesecloth big enough to cover the bird in the butter mixture and drape over the breast and legs of the turkey. Pour the remaining contents of the pan over the bird, pushing the pieces of vegetable and herbs into the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the neck and gizzards to the bottom of the roasting pan.

Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 45 minutes (there will be the distinct possibility of smoke