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Thanksgiving2011

Todo:

• Buy flowers
• Wash extra dishes - Turkey serving plate, etc.
• Find stuffing recipe
• Caramelize some onions
• Replace creamed onions
• Buy wine
• Post mortem
  • The bad:
    • The turkey was a bit cold, with ice still in the cavity. It should have thawed maybe twice as long as recommended (maybe 6 days for the 15 lb turkey, not 3-4).
    • I totally messed up the timing on the turkey. I used the thermometer, and it told me the turkey was totally done after like an hour. I cut into it and it definitely was not done. I then cooked it for another hour or two, and the thermometer said it was wayyy overdone, but in fact it was perfect. I'm still not sure what I did wrong here.
    • We were able to juggle most of the food, but the creamed onions were too much, even with Mindy and I working overtime. Next time, pre-make some of the stuff, in particular the creamed onions.
    • The stuffing recipe is ok, but I would like to do a more traditional kind next time.
    • Need another w (we had 2).
  • The Good:
    • The roaster did a great job on the turkey.
    • The gravy was good.
    • It went well despite bad timing, so a good lesson is that when something doesn't go right, don't fret, just make do.

Schedule

• Thursday
  • 11:00 - Take turkey out of the fridge to thaw
  • 12:00 - start turkey prep (4 hours total)
    • 12:25 - start giblet broth (1.5 hours)
  • 2:30 - Start stuffing
  • 2,4 - expected arrival time
  • 4:00 - Plan for dinner now (which will probly result in being ready after 5)

Devices

• Turkey: (Roaster/big china serving plate)
• Stuffing: Large Saute Pan (stovetop/smaller clear pyrex bowl)
• Gravy - Saucepan (stovetop/gravy crystal)
• Mashed Potatoes - Pasta pot (stovetop/small blue pyrex bowl)
• Butternut Squash Soup - Dutch oven (stovetop/4 soup bowls)
• Southern Biscuits & Jam - cookie sheet (oven/wooden bowl)
• Condiments - butter dish, gravy, salt, pepper,
• Creamed onions - small saute pan (stovetop/blue serving bowl)
• Cranberry sauce -
• Applesauce - (nothing/???)
• Edamames - plastic (microwave/???)
• Asparagus
• Cheese & Olives
• Turkey
  • buy the best quality turkey available (organic, free-range, etc.)
  • Bring it to room temp! ( keep it out for 1 hour to ensure no ice)
  • 15 lbs (3 days to defrost)
  • 1 lemon
  • salt & pepper
  • Olive oil or butter
  • Onion
  • Celery
  • 2 carrots
  • Parsley
  • Fresh Rosemary
  • Fresh Thyme
  • Alum foil
  • Cooking twine
  • Timing:
    • 3 days - Thaw turkey
    • Bring turkey to room temperature
    • 400 degrees 1st 1/2 hour
    • 350 next 2 hours
    • 225 next hour to 1.5 hours
    • Last 4-5 minutes right-side-up in broiler for brown top (nahhh, why bother?)
    • Desired temp: an hour before the turkey should be done. You want a resulting temperature of 175°F for the dark meat (thighs and legs) and 165°F for the white meat (breast)
    • Let it rest 15-20 minutes
• Stuffing
  • http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/roast-turkey-rosemary-sage-stuffing-1356
  • See also good housekeeping book
  • Make broth from neck, gizzards, etc
  • One loaf day-old french bread
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
  • 3/4 cup of currants or raisins
  • Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
  • Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
  • Timing:
    • Make stock for ~1.5 hours
    • Toast walnuts for a few minutes
    • Cooks ~20 minutes
    • cooks on low another hour
    • Calls for Large Dutch Oven
• Gravy
  • Corn starch
  • Water
  • salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste
• Butternut Squash Soup
  • 4T butter
  • 1 large white onion
  • 3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cubed
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 golden delicious or northern spy apples
  • 1 potato
  • 1 bay leaf
  • nutmeg
  • (Garnish w/ a small dollop of cream)
  • Timing: Saute 7 min
  • simmer 45 minutes
• Applesauce
• Southern Biscuits & Jam
  • Buttermilk
  • Butter
  • (flour)
• Edamames
  • I think these just get mic for a few minutes and then salted.
• Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
  • Potatoes
  • Butter
  • (Caramelized onions)
  • Salt
  • Sour cream
  • Equipment: Pasta pot
  • Timing: 45 minutes or an hour
• Creamed Onions with Wine
  • 2 lbs small white boiling onions
  • Bottle chardonnay
  • Bay leaf
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • Salt
  • Heavy Cream (1 cup)
  • Butter (1 tsp)
  • Timing: Peeling onions will take a WHILE
  • 45 minutes or so to cook
• (Pie)
• Wine