Persimmon Turkey with Sweet Potatoes and Shallots

This year's Thanksgiving Turkey is brought to you with sides of tangerine-cranberry rice and gluten-free pumpkin pie!

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place 18 lb turkey in roasting pan after removing neck and gizzards. Take two hachiya persimmons allowed to go soft; wash, remove stems, and cut up.  Place in food processor with two packets turkey flavor enhancer (basically concentrated turkey broth), 2 tbsp pumpkin wine, and 2 tbsp golden rum.  Move to medium mixing bowl and add 2 tsp kosher salt, 2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp mint, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground marjoram, 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp crushed rosemary.  Mix together well.  Score turkey heavily with knife and pour persimmon mixture over turkey.

Take six shallots; peel and chop into bite-sized pieces, placing two bulbs inside turkey cavity loosely and other four scattered around sides.  Wash four large sweet potatoes and cut into quarters, place around turkey. Cover with another roasting pan loosely and roast for 5.5 hours.  Serve. 

I will undoubtedly use the liquids later to cook rice, to conserve that deliciousness.  The skin came out nice and crisp and tasty, and the flavor sank into the turkey while the sweet potatoes roasted up nicely.  Incidentally, this was my first time working with shallots; I saw some on sale, and so snapped up the opportunity to try them out.