Never too much turkey!

This time of year everyone overeats and gets waaayyy too much turkey.  I however LOVE turkey, but never think to make it any other time of the year.  And we usually end up at one or both of our parents houses so there aren't many leftovers to bring home.  So this year after my husband mentioned how much he LOVES dressing, and my chicken dressing casserole I decided to get a small turkey and make a meal for the two of us, so we get a lot of leftovers!!!  Well, a lot of turkey leftovers anyway!

Our menu is:
Turkey
Dressing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Deviled Eggs
Pumpkin Pie (my MIL made pie for us)

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!

What happened to this year?

It's only been 2-1/2 months since I've gone to work, but it seems like it was only yesterday.  Blogging has taken a back seat because I just don't have the time it seems when you factor in 9-10 hour days, an hour in the gym, then heading home to shower, care for the puppies and throw a meal together.

 

To all the working moms out there...wow, I don't know how you do it, I'm super impressed!

Alas, don't dis-pare!  I will be blogging again soon, next week to be exact!! As it is Thanksgiving week...and as of Friday my parents have officially moved to the city to be closer to my DH and me!!!  So with their new house not ready to move into, and their rental having a tiny kitchen compared to my own...I will be hosting, and cooking Thanksgiving dinner here!!!  WOO!

This means I will be able to try out new recipes, use a lot of my Spice Agent spices, and really do this on my own for the first time EVER!  And what better way to document it than to blog about it over the next few days!  I have my schedule made out, and I'm ready to get a cooking!

Today: Grocery shopping...Thank goodness for shelf stable items...

A little bit of everything here...

Apples for pie and stuffing...

Cause our fridge is stuffed!

I don't know if we can fit anything else!

Monday: After work a fun 6:30am till 5pm), gather all pots/pans etc and make sure they are ready to go!  Get all the dishes done and make sure the kitchen is clean and ready to "destroy". Check on the Turkey to see how frozen it is still...


Tuesday: Start the brine, thankfully it is an early day for me at work (done at 330) and start the fresh cranberry sauce.

Wednesday: After work, make the apple pie, and remove the turkey from the brine to drain.

Thursday: 8am, start the stuffing, 11am put the turkey in the oven, after the turkey is cooking, prep the carrots, potatoes and Cauliflower.  Clean the kitchen then finish the Cranberry sauce!  This is also the time once the prep is done that we will be making home made crescent rolls, we as in my mom and I!!!.
Turkey should be done around 5:30 or so...leaving time to bake a batch of rolls so they are fresh and hot for dinner, as well as the cauliflower and carrots...Already I am thinking ahead to next year and HOPING I have two ovens...cause that would be a HUGE help, we can do it!

Friday: After emerging from a food coma, bake a Pecan Pie for Lunch Saturday.

Saturday: Dinner at the In-Laws!

Sunday: Lounge and snack on leftovers.

I just hope somewhere in there I can find time to go to the gym...get ready for this crazy week!