I am proud to report that my first turkey turned out FAB!
I had good instructions which helped immensely (thanks to Dr. Lala and DC Rush Hour!) and I did a little improvising, too.
I microplaned a head of garlic and mixed it in with the melted butter I rubbed into Lorena Gobblit's breast. I wasn't sure if I was doing the rub-with-butter part right. The butter kept sticking to my hands and falling off the turkey in chunks, rather than staying ON the turkey where I wanted it. All that work and I just end up with savory hands?
After ending up with carbonized vegetables with my roast chicken, I opted to put the veggies in with the turkey for the last hour of cooking. Just right!
I mixed up a salad my mom makes (lettuce, hardcooked egg, sliced olives and mayo), made some tarragon marinated mushrooms, whipped up a pumpkin pie and made enough stuffing for 16 people. I should have halved the recipe, but I'd dried enough bread for a full batch, so I felt committed. Mike made a fourth batch of potatoes (mashed then riced) to great effect.
I'm still fine-tuning the art of getting everything done at the same time (and giving the turkey 30 minutes to rest), so we sat down to dinner close to 9:00 pm. We had intended to hit the 10:00 pm show, but cleanup took longer than expected.
We watched a couple more episodes of The 1900 House and let the meal settle a bit. Then we whipped cream in the KitchenAid and smothered slices of pumpkin and pecan pie with it. YUM.
All in all, a successful endeavor. One that I might try next year on Thanksgiving, instead of the day after.
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6 comments:
Excellent! Sounds like you and Mike had a fabulous Thanksgiving.
One trick with the butter for next year is to melt it in a pan and use a pastry brush. With the cold bird and butter, the butter has a tendency to firm up when it hits the bird.
And now I'm off to brine and cook my little 8 pound beauty. I just have to figure out the difference between table salt and sea salt...
Aha! That makes sense, to have the butter warmer/melty.
I should add, it will still firm up, but 95% will actually stick and you won't find yourself fighting a clump of butter and the bird.
As for turkeys, never bother with anything less than 12 lbs. I did an 8-pounder last night and it's barely worth the time. You end up with about four pounds of meat, when it's all cooked and sliced. On the other hand, it's just enough for sandwiches for a couple of days.
I'm surprised how fast the turkey is going. I may not have much for soup at this rate!
See, now that salad of your mom's sounds like it must call for - iceberg lettuce! Yeah, am I right?
Actually, it also sounds really yummy - can you share the recipe??
Yeah, I'm craving old-fashioned american cuisine these days...and taco bell, of course.
Yup, I have half a head of leftover iceberg. Could that mean BLTs on the menu this week?
The salad is sinfully easy:
1/2 head of iceberg
4 or more hardcooked eggs, diced
1 can sliced black olives
1/2 cup of Miracle Whip or mayo
Cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl until coated with dressing. Chill or serve at room temperature.
I like a little more bite in the dressing, so I mix in a teaspoon of white wine vinegar. I bought a jar of capers, thinking I'd stir some in but I forgot.
Sorry I can't help with the Taco Bell fix.
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