My First Thanksgiving - The Update

Well, Thanksgiving was a success. Unfortunately, I failed you. I didn’t take any pictures. To be fair to myself, on top of preparing the meal, I had a lot on my mind. My father-in-law ended up having to have a triple bypass on Wednesday and my thoughts were with him more than on this blog.

He made it through the surgery very well and is recovering like a champ. We had something to be very thankful for.

On to the meal – I was nervous about making the turkey, just because I’ve heard so many people talk about how difficult they are to make well. Honestly, the worst things about it were A) it was HEAVY and slippery, and B) I got the heebies when I had to reach in and remove the neck from the body cavity. Other than that IT WAS EASY!

Here is what I did (beyond the basic rinse and pat dry). On Wednesday night I softened three sticks of salted butter. To the butter I added about 2 tablespoons each of chopped sage and rosemary, about a third cup of thyme, the zest of one lemon and a half capful of Garlic Garlic. I then wrapped this in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to let it harden. The next day after the basic prep work, I gently ran my hand up between the skin and meat of the turkey and put slices of the butter mixture over the whole thing. I stuffed the cavity with two halved lemons, an onion (quartered), three bulbs of garlic and the remainder of the butter mixture. I brushed the outside of the bird with olive oil, lightly salted and peppered and added a light coat of paprika over the whole thing (to make it look prettier and browner). I tented the bird and roasting pan with foil (I was sure to seal it well) and let it roast. I didn’t bother basting, the butter under the skin kept the meat so moist and the herbs really gave it good flavor.

(from the Good Housekeeping website)

Wednesday night I made the cranberry sauce. I mentioned that I was going to use this recipe and I did. I didn’t have any whole star anise and although it would have been super pretty, I wasn’t about to shell out the money to use them on only one dish. In place of the star anise, I used about a teaspoon of Warm Up Mulling Spice. It was fantastic. This recipe tasted so good and made my house smell wonderful.

My mashed potatoes turned out well. I imagine that mashed potatoes are something that would be difficult to mess up but to be honest, I’ve never made them before. We rarely eat potatoes in my house so it just isn’t something I think about. I used a basic recipe with ten pounds of potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and buttermilk. Next time I do these I will do something to jazz them up a bit. Not that they were bad, I just like a little more flavor in my food.

I made my stuffing exactly how I planned to. I used four boxes of turkey flavored Stove Top, replaced half the water called for with chicken stock, and added a chopped onion and celery to the mix. I baked it at 350 for about a half hour to give it a crunchy crust and it was amazing. I love Stove Top J

(from the Better Homes and Gardens website)

 

For my sweet potatoes I ended up using this Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. It was super easy, I made it up the night before and just had it ready to pop into the oven the next day. Even though it was a little too sweet for me, it got rave reviews from my family and I think it will make a comeback next year.

I need to thank my mom for making the Green Bean Casserole and pies (apple and pumpkin!). They were fantastic and a great help! I ended up not making anything else, we had so much as it was. After all, there were only five of us (including a two year old!). I’m so proud of myself for doing this, I really proved that anything is possible!

How was your Thanksgiving? Did anyone else step outside of their comfort zone or host for their first time? I’m looking forward to Christmas and showing my craft projects. It is going to be a great season!

Mmmmm...tomatoes

I love tomatoes.  You name it, if tomatoes are involved, I'm all over it.  I also love garlic.  The first time I cooked for my husband, I think it was our second date, I made spaghetti with meat sauce.  I used so much garlic in my sauce that my husband got sick.  You see, for someone that was used to food on the more bland end of the spectrum, the sudden influx of garlic triggered a major detox. Nevertheless, the spaghetti was wonderful and he stuck around.  Now he's used to garlic and other flavors :)

Last month I was paging through the new issue of Better Homes and Gardens and I came across this recipe.  Wow. Even before I read the recipe the picture had me hooked and I just knew I had to try it.  Luckily, a couple weeks later, my husband decided to go out of town for the weekend with our daughter so I decided to host a wine and appetizers party with my girlfriends.

I was not disappointed!

Ingredients

• 1-1/2  lb.  cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/4  to 1/2 cup  extra virgin olive oil
• 7  cloves  garlic, peeled, split lengthwise and green shoot removed
• 1  bunch  fresh mint, trimmed
• 1  to 2 tsp.  coarse or flake salt
• 1  tsp.  freshly ground black pepper
•     toasted slices of rustic bread
•     Goat cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wash and drain tomatoes well. Pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a nonreactive (such as earthenware) 2-quart baking dish place tomatoes in a single layer. Pour on olive oil so they are very well coated and there should be a thin layer (1/8 inch) of oil on bottom of dish. Toss in garlic, mint, salt and pepper.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes or until tomato skins split and soften but tomatoes still retain their shape.
4. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Spoon or mash over slices of toasted bread and serve with goat cheese. Makes 8 servings.

I used basil instead of mint and didn't use any goat cheese but it was still uh-mazing! I doubled the recipe so I did have some left over. To use it up, I added it to my homemade marinara sauce.  (I'll post that recipe another time)

So, what are your food passions?  Have you ever seen a picture of something and fallen in love at first sight?  Let me know!

Linking up to: