you like to have a Christmas dinner New Orleans style? The Commander's Palace, a 100-year-old plus restaurant in the heart of New Orleans' Garden District, is famous for its fine food. At Christmastime, especially, guests love to savour recipes which have been traditional in owner Dick and Ella Brennan's family for a very long time.

But it doesn't matter if you can't make Christmas at the Commander's Palace this year. These recipes, as recorded in The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook, will be a "trip'' in themselves: ROAST TURKEY WITH OYSTER DRESSING AND GIBLET MUSHROOM SAUCE Turkey at Commander's is very highly seasoned with our Creole meat seasoning.

Yams Richard and cranberry-orange relish are its easy-to-prepare accompaniments.

1 18-lb. fresh turkey Creole meat seasoning (recipe follows) OYSTER DRESSING 1 plus 1 lb. (1 1 sticks) unsalted butter 4 cups diced onions 21 cups diced celery 11 cups diced green bell pepper 4 bay leaves 41 doz. oysters, chopped (reserve liquor) 11 tsps. minced garlic 9 cups fresh bread crumbs 11 tsps. salt 3 tbsps. Creole seafood seasoning (recipe follows) GIBLET MUSHROOM GRAVY 2 qts. strong chicken stock 5 tbsps. unsalted butter 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped onions 1 cup chopped green bell pepper 21 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 1 cup Burgundy wine To prepare turkey: Set aside neck and giblets. Rub turkey inside and out with meat seasoning or seasoning of your choice.

To make oyster dressing: Melt butter in a heavy skillet and saute onions, celery, green bell pepper, and bay leaves until wilted. Add oysters and garlic and cook for 10 minutes.

Moisten fresh bread crumbs with 4 cups oysters liquor. Add moistened bread crumbs and dry bread crumbs to the vegetable-oyster mixture and mix lightly.

Add salt and seafood seasoning and cook for 10 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F.

To stuff turkey: Turn turkey breast down and fill neck cavity loosely with stuffing. Pull neck skin over stuffing and secure to back of turkey with skewers. Turn turkey breast side up. Fold wing tips under, and fill cavity lightly with remaining stuffing. Tie legs together over cavity opening or, if your turkey has a metal clamp, return it to its original position, holding the legs in place.

IMPORTANT!: Do not stuff turkey with the warm dressing until just before roasting. If you want to stuff turkey in advance, make the stuffing ahead of time, let cool, then chill thoroughly before using to stuff the bird.

To cook turkey: Put turkey on rack in open roasting pan, breast up, and roast in the preheated oven for about 8 hours, or until juice that runs from the thigh when pierced deeply with a fork is clear.

To make gravy: Cook neck and giblets in stock for 2 to 3 hours, or until they are very tender and the stock is reduced to about 5 cups. Chop giblets and tender meat from the neck and set aside separately from the stock.

Melt butter in a small skillet. Add flour and whisk over medium heat until roux is smooth and golden. Stir it into the stock. Add onions and green bell pepper and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Strain stock, return to heat, and add giblets and neck meat, mushrooms, and wine. Cook 5 minutes longer before serving.

Transfer turkey to a warmed serving platter and carve. Serve some sliced white and dark meat to each person, along with a spoonful of stuffing and a generous serving of gravy.

YAMS RICHARD 4 sweet potatoes 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter Pinch of ground cinnamon Miniature marshmallows BAKE sweet potatoes until soft. Peel and cut into quarters. Place in bowl, add remaining ingredients, except marshmallows. Mix with electric beater while still warm, which helps the butter to melt and blend. Raise the beaters and remove any "strings'' in the sweet potatoes.

When well mixed and smooth, spoon into buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle marshmallows on top and bake in 350 degrees F. oven until marshmallows are golden. Serves 4.

CRANBERRY RELISH FOR TURKEY 1 lb. cranberries 2 oranges, peeled 1 cup sugar 1 oz. rum 1 oz. Grand Marnier PUT all ingredients in container of blender or food processor and mince finely. Refrigerate overnight. Serves 8.

CREOLE SEAFOOD SEASONING 1 cup salt 1 cup granulated or powdered garlic 1 cup freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsps. cayenne pepper 2 tbsps. thyme 2 tbsps. oregano 1 cup paprika 3 tbsps. granulated or powdered onion COMBINE all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a large glass jar and seal airtight. Keeps indefinitely. Yield: 2 cups.

Note: If black pepper is not to your taste, reduce the quantity to half.

CREOLE MEAT SEASONING 1 cup salt 3 cup granulated or powdered garlic 3 cup freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste 1 cup paprika COMBINE all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a large glass jar. Seal tightly. Keeps indefinitely.

ROAST GOOSE WITH RED CABBAGE AND APPLES This is a splendid alternative to turkey. The Commander's Palace uses a traditional recipe, adding New Orleans seasonings, and serves the goose with red cabbage and apples, an old German accompaniment. Alternatively, you might serve it with Yams Richard and Cranberry Relish. Yield: 3 cups. Serves 8.

1 young goose, about 11 to 12 lbs., ready to cook Salt and freshly ground black pepper 5 sage leaves, chopped 1 sprig rosemary 6 cups chicken stock 1 cup chopped onions 1 tsp. black peppercorns 8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted RED CABBAGE AND APPLES 2 med. heads red cabbage, shredded 1 cup sliced apple 1 cup Burgundy wine Juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp. sugar 1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 apple, finely diced Salt, freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 2 cups red Burgundy wine To prepare goose: Rinse and drain bird. Cover with cold water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry inside and out. Remove excess fat from cavity and reserve for the cabbage.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Rub outside of goose with salt and pepper. Sprinkle salt, pepper, sage, and rosemary in the cavity. Put breast up on rack in roasting pan. Add 4 cups stock, onion, and peppercorns. Basting frequently with butter, cook in the over until the stock in roasting pan evaporates. Roast until tender -- a total of about 2 hours. Goose is cooked when juices run clear from thigh when pricked deeply with a fork.

To prepare cabbage and apples: While goose is cooking, combine cabbage, apples, wine, lemon juice, and sugar. Marinate 1 hour, tossing occasionally.

Put reserved goose fat in a skillet and cook over low heat until all the liquid fat is rendered out. Pour 3 tablespoons of the fat into a heavy saucepan or kettle. Add cabbage and apple and a dash each of salt and pepper.

Cover and braise over medium heat until cabbage and apple are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. To serve goose: Remove from roasting pan. Carve all meat from the goose and keep warm.

To finish: Put bones in the roasting pan, sprinkle with flour, and saute for a few minutes. Add remaining 2 cups chicken stock and wine.Cook a few minutes longer, stirring constantly. Strain.

To serve: Pour sauce over slices of goose and serve with cabbage and apples.