The big day is upon us!

Happy Turkey day!!  It's almost 9 am...and the coffee is brewing!  Time to make a quick breakfast for my DH then I'm going to start on the prep work for the Stuffing. If I had more room in my refrigerator I would have done some last night...cause this is gonna take a lot of work!!!

Ok, in re-reading the recipe for the stuffing....wow...maybe I should have gotten up at 7...oh well no turning back time...let's dive in...

Cube the sourdough,

Chop 6 cups of onion

Chop 2 cups of celery

3 pounds of granny smith apples (peeled cored and cubed of course)

2 pounds of parsnips peeled and cubed

Now to start cooking everything!

Toast the bread in the oven, cook the sausage, saute the veggies, then saute the apples, and then more butter and the parsnips...more butter and the fresh sage!  Then mix it all together!

Stuff the turkey (after patting it dry, and finding the giblet bag...SO THAT's where it is! hee hee)

Put the rest in a buttered dish (glad I have another dinner to go to...cause this made a LOT!)

Then we started the gravy,

and the turkey glaze!

While that was cooking I finished up the cranberry relish!  My dad says it's just like what his mom used to make!  Best compliment ever!!!

Then before we knew it an hour had passed and it was time to glaze the turkey!

And then it's time for a short break....when we return it will be time for prepping the cauliflower, carrots and potatoes!


Of course during that little break my mom took Fergus on a walk...and while she was gone the turkey was done...heee hee....so I got to chopping again and got the cauliflower

Garlic...yum!

Salt, pepper and the garlic with rosemary all mixed together!

And the carrots going

And of course I forgot to start the potatoes...

Luckily I always cube my potatoes instead of just quartering...so they were ready a lot faster than we thought!  And then there was the "we forgot the rolls" moment...but mom got those rolled out and rising!

Once everything was in the oven I started the gravy with the all important Applejack Brandy...and had a bit of an accident...lets just say that roux burns really badly when you splash it (think hot marshmallows that doesn't come off) on your face, chest and hand...a quick douse in the sink, and a bit of first aid from my DH and I was back to cooking.   

All in all it was a long, wonderful day in the kitchen!

I did THIS!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, from my family, to yours!

How to Brine a Turkey and other fun!

My kitchen is ready for "destruction." Today is the day I start to brine the turkey.  I have never done this before...should be fun! Of course when I got the turkey out of the fridge (after 2 days) it was still frozen...SOLID! Oh well into the sink it went with cold water...that aught to thaw it! Right?

Step 1: Simmer 1 quart of the apple cider with the salt, allspice and bay for 5 minutes stirring regularly...and of course get distracted during this step and forget to stir...but it's all good (and Mom if you are reading this as I'm sure you are, I am having FUN, and I'm not super stressed....a bit stressed, but it's ALL GOOD!)

Step 2: Add the remaining 3 quarts of apple cider and 4 quarts of water. Well my stock pot is apparently NOT big enough (as evidenced by the picture below) so I only got 3-1/2 quarts of juice and 1 quart of water into the pot with the turkey, that is almost too big for the pot...glad I only went with a 15 lb turkey instead of the 20 lb bird the recipe called for...

Step 3: Place turkey in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight...I'll wait to pull this beauty until I have to....should have started this last night...oh well...it's ALL good! If it's good then I know what to do, or not to do for next year...

Now that the turkey is in the fridge, time to start the cranberry sauce cause I'm crazy like that making everything from scratch!

The cranberry sauce is pretty straight forward and simple...messy,  but simple

Only three ingredients (at least for part 1)

In a large sauce pan (and seriously, as I learned later you need a LARGE sauce pan) combine the cranberries, orange Juice

and sugar

Bring to a boil while mixing, then turn to medium heat

Keep stirring, and don't look away, cause when I did, cause I was getting my immersion blender it almost boiled over...don't make that mistake...and do be careful, as when those cranberries start to boil they like to "pop" and splatter everywhere.  This is why you need a LARGE sauce pan.

I did blend everything to get a mostly smooth texture (also messy, but fun, cause I LOVE my kitchen toys!)

After the 10 min on medium you can carefully transfer the thick mixture to a bowl and stick it in the refrigerator till cool, then cover. It's oh so pretty! I think next year if I have an extra pair of hands I may strain  this step...we'll get the verdict in a few days.

After I was done with these two Thanksgiving dishes, and mostly done with a batch of key lime cupcakes I decided to make a drink.  Hello Bloody Mary (not spicy)!

I am really looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family! And I'm not being sarcastic.  Happy Cooking and Enjoy!