Thanksgiving Dinner Recap - The Sides

Some of the side dishes that I served at my Thanksgiving dinner really need to mentioning - the mashed potatos, the corn (that I forgot!), the mashed sweet potatos... They are pretty self explanatory!

There are a few dishes though, that I wanted to share.

First, the stuffing - or dressing - whichever you prefer to call it. I imagine this a huge staple of a turkey dinner. I, for one, was never much of a fan of stuffing, but I am learning to like it. And I am still learning to make it! I have yet to do a stuffing that turns out completely right.

For this stuffing, I used this recipe from Mrs. Wheelbarrow, slighlty adapted. And that was probably part of my problem - the 'slightly adapted' part!

I fully intended to make my own Challah, but never got the time to do so. Bread baking from scratch takes time. This loaf was an estimated 5-ish hours from start to finish. And when you work full time M-F, that can be difficult! So, I ended up with plan B. I bought a loaf of bread - the store I purchased from didn't have any Challah, so I opted for a round, artisan french type of loaf. I cubed it and let it sit out to stale some, but it wasn't enough, so I had to toast it in the oven. Even after uping the oven to 400* after the normal recommend cooking period, and letting it cook longer, it still had a slightly soggy taste to some bites - which always seems to be my problem with stuffing. I imagine, had I followed Mrs. Wheelbarrow's recipe to a T, it would have turned out as good as it should have!

With that being said, it was still good, and still edible :) And I'll try it again, only next time, with the Challah!

The dinner rolls were a big deal for me. I never have luck with making my own bread of any kind, especially when yeast is involved. But this time, it worked!! I was so happy. The rolls were a tad 'heavy', however, I fully intend to say that is probably my fault, again! I probably made then larger than they needed to be. But regardless, a home baked roll is where it is at. And I am enjoying these left overs for breakfast with some honey and butter.

This is the roll recipe I used from Jessica at How Sweet It Is.

And, of course, the Cranberry Sauce. I forgot to get an individual picture of it, but here are the fresh cranberries cooking. Seriously people, get out of and over the habit of the 'cran in a can'. FRESH cranberry sauce is so rodoculously easy it is insane! And it taste much better! And it is better for you, I am sure :) Now that I have done this one, I plan to make this many more times while fresh cranberries are still in season.

I used the Homemade Whole Cranberry Sauce recipe from Deb at Smitten Kitchen.

And let me just tell you, this little man was a cranberry fan!

Tomorrow - homemade pumpkin pie ... like, as in, made with homemade pumpkin puree.

Thanksgiving Dinner Recap - Turkey & Gravy

My first Thanksgiving dinner was a success! There were a few bumps along the way, which I'll recap, but all in all, no complaints!

Today, I want to showcase the bird and the most important part of the whole meal - the gravy!

I chose to do a dry brine on my bird. The simpler the method, the better, I think. I also thought it would be neat to do a 'traditional' liquid brine, but for starters, I don't even have the fridge space to accommodate that.

I used this 'method' for the dry brine and I think it worked great.

Gravy is a big deal for my husband and I. We love gravy - we are condiment people ;) And we don't just love any gravy -- it has to be real, good gravy! My mother-in-law does a fantastic one and in our opinion, make the meal. As hubby was carving the bird and I was getting all the sides plated, I told him I needed to do the gravy, but I wasn't sure how I wasn't to go about it. Sometimes I have luck with gravy, sometimes I don't. And for this time, I didn't want it to be a time when I didn't have luck! I knew I wanted it to be like my mother-in-law's, and I had my mushrooms ready to go. So we did the only logical thing we could think - we called her and said 'HELP! How do you make your gravy?" :)



Dar's Turkey Gravy

This is a 'little bit of this, little bit of that' type of recipe. You have to trust your judgement when you make it, but in the end, it usually ends up being the best!

You will need [and adjust according to how much drippings you start with]:

Turkey Pan Drippings/Juices and whatever else fell into the pan

1 package of mushrooms, diced and sauteed (I sauteed in butter and a little olive oil)

Approx. 1 cup of cold water, divided in half

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Method:

Pour the pan drippings into a sauce pan and add about 1/2 cup of water and the sauteed mushrooms -- eyeball, more of less water, depending on how much you had of the pan drippings, and how diluted you think you like your gravy. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to about medium - you want a very gentle boil now. Mix your cornstarch with the other 1/2 cup of cold water and then slowly pour it into the sauce pan. Stir continuously and cook 3-5 minutes or so until all flavors are combined and the starch has cooked into the gravy giving it a nice 'gravy' consistency.

This is what worked for the amount of drippings I had in my pan after roasting a bird that was almost 12#. As I mentioned above, you may need to add more water and cornstarch if you have more drippings after roasting a larger bird.

This gravy is where it is at. I am telling you. Hubby will be so mad tonight at dinner when we sit down for leftovers and he realizes that I used the last of the gravy for my leftover lunch today :) Whoops!

Single Word Sunday

TURKEY!



My Turkey Rant

Tomorrow is my big debut....my first Thanksgiving dinner for my tiny little fam!

I have been researching and preparing all week for this dinner.

The turkey has been in the fridge, in a dry brine, since Thursday. The Pumpkin Pie dough and Challah bread for my stuffing started Friday night. And, as you read this Saturday, I am making more preparations and picking up last minute things at the local farmer's market.

My goal was to make this as much of a SOLE Thanksgiving dinner as possible - meaning the food is sustainable, organic, local and ethical. Most of this was not a problem. The turkey, however, is another story. I wanted to purchase one from a local farm, but I learned I was a little late in the game reserving one. I did find one farmer who still had some available, however, they were rather large and I was only looking for something around 10-12 pounds. So, I ended up at a local grocery store - Giant Eagle. I didn't really want to go this route, but it is what worked for this time around. Next year I will know better and make a reservation with a local farm early!

I could have stood at their turkey display all day trying to figure out what I wanted. They did have a few 'fresh' turkeys under their 'Nature's Basket' line, which are labeled as a 'all-natural' turkey. Upon further reading on the packaging, it stated something to the effect of the USDA not allowing any growth hormones etc to be added to poultry. I can't say I had ever heard this before, actually, I have heard the complete opposite! But the way it was worded made me believe that this statement applied to any turkey in front of me, not just the Nature's Basket line. I ultimately knew better - marketing at it's finest. Everything is so misleading you can't trust any labels anymore.

I opted for the plain 'ol Giant Eagle branded 'fresh' turkey since it came in a size I could work with. It was not labeled 'organic' or that it was 'all-natural' and not pumped up with hormones. It did say 'No MSG'. I am not stupid, I knew it wasn't the ideal turkey I had hoped to serve, but it worked for me this time around and it was fresh, which was nice. I wasn't convinced anyways, that the 'Nature's Basket' branded turkey was truly any different than this one, other than the packaging. Once I took it home and 'undressed' the bird, it was a complete disappointment. The whole inside of the turkey was frozen!! I couldn't even get the neck and other goodies out. This wouldn't have been such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that I paid about $1/lb extra for a turkey that was supposedly fresh.

(Photo Credit: Giant Eagle.com)

Of course this isn't ruining the dinner. It is not like the turkey is bad, or inedible. It is just the point. The principal. I came to terms with the fact that this years bird wouldn't be from a local farmer, but at the very least, I would have hoped that when I purchased a turkey stating 'fresh' on the packaging, as opposed to the neighboring cooler of 'frozen' birds, that I would truly be getting a fresh bird!

Just a few other random rants - why does a bird pumped full or hormones and garbage cost more than a bird left to free-graze on bugs? One would think that it cost more to pump all those hormones than to let the bird feed off bugs...I'm just saying.....

And, if you think I am overreacting about this in general...about buying a bird from a grocery store instead of a local farmer, just google something like 'turkeys from giant eagle' or 'turkey from the grocery store', 'giant eagle turkey' and you tell me how you feel about all the recalls due to salmonella that pop up. Seriously, big ag sucks! Know what you grow!! Here is one more good food for thought article - and now I have to stop because I am going onto a completely different tangent!

So, where do you purchase your bird?

Baby Food: Banana's

Oh the places we go with a Banana!

I, for one, love them. So I usually help myself to a few tastings :)

At 8 months, we have now done a few things with a Banana.

Banana [& Milk] Puree

The most obvious, is a banana puree. I let them get very ripe. Like, black and you think it is trash ripe. If you worry about fruit flies, throw it in the fridge. Once they are ripe enough for my liking, I throw it into the mini food processor and puree away with some milk. Now, here is where I probably have to clarify - I used breast milk (and no, I don't taste test after I add the milk!). If you use formula, then you can add your formula. I would note that this is something I usually reserve to make only when it will be served immediately because pureed banana doesn't look real pretty after a few hours in the fridge...and then, if you add the milk, you have a whole other issue to worry about with storgae!

Sauteed Banana & Butter

Yes, sauteed Banana...in butter. Take a ripe Banana and 1 tbsp of butter and saute it in a pan. Once it's sauteed for about 5 minutes or so, pour into a bowl and mash it up a tad with a fork. Depending on the age of your baby, you may need to fully puree it. At 8 months for my little guy, we can leave it lumpy!

Variation - Mix it with some plain yogurt - sure to be a pleaser -- trust me! I waited until about now, 8 months, to start giving the babe yogurt. I have done some reading, that in smaller amounts, plain yogurt is good for them.

The possibilities of what you can do with a Banana in baby food are endless. Here is another combo I have done:

Banana's & Mango

Some good things to note about the banana:

• It comes in it's own carry case! Duh! So, once your baby is more of a 'toddler', how easy is it to throw a 'naner in the bag and go! No special packing care required!
• Banana's have amylase, which is a wonderful enzyme to help aid digestion - it seems a lot of people think banana's can be binding for a baby, but it is actually just the opposite - in moderation, of course!
• Banana's can actually improve nutrient absorption, according to a study published by Digestive Dieases and Sciences

Chocolate Baked Donuts with Kahula Glaze

Other people are right. These donut pans are addicting!

Donuts are so easy to whip up & bake and the options are endless.

I was having some company over and in my chaotic state to get the house cleaned, baby fed, horses taken care of etc etc...I was able to whip out a few batches of these bad boys!

I used Frieda's recipe for Chocolate Cake Doughnuts, and then added my own spin with a Kahula glaze. It was the only sane thing to do, seeing as a bottle of Kahula was staring me blank in the face.

And always, sprinkles for good measure.


For the Kahlua Glaze, take 1 cup of confectioner's sugar (that's powdered sugar, folks!) and mix in about 3tablespoons of Kahula. You be the judge on the amount of Kahlua you use...it all depends on the consistency you like your glaze to be. 3 tablespoons worked for me. And upon biting into one of these, a friend proclaimed "Oh, they taste like alcohol!" - perfect, right?! :)

The Basket

This is what we do in our [rare] spare time.

It's purely for our own amusement.
... and more fun now that the babe can sit up on his own!

 

You might not be able to tell, but in this picture below, he is giving us the signal to "Loop 'er around again, Dad!"