It’s awfully nice to attend Thanksgiving at someone else’s house. There is less stress not being the hostess (or host) of the event. It is much, much easier to arrive with a side dish than it is to plan and coordinate the meal. I should have been happy to visit with family and friends without having to worry about them all in my home. However, there was something missing…leftovers!
To me, the best part of the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey sandwich for lunch the next day. Leftovers are a hit or miss when eating elsewhere and it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. That’s why I hosted my own Thanksgiving meal last night…Thanksaturday if you will.
I had never made a turkey before, but I like to cook and I’m pretty good at it. So how hard could it really be, right? Well, it was hard! To start, the wrapping on the turkey said the icky parts of the turkey were packaged in two bags and shoved into the cavity. I only found one! I had my hand shoved in that turkey’s butt for a good 5 minutes trying to find bag #2. I couldn’t, which worried me, but I felt the first bag that included the neck and it felt like the other parts were also inside so I figured I was good to go. The turkey was prepped and put in the oven to cook for the directed 3 and a half hours.
The 3 and a half hours turned into about 5 hours. In the mean time, prepping the side dishes so they were all finished at the same time as the turkey and each other was quite the task. Especially when the turkey took forever to cook. Once it finally did, it looked beautiful!
This was also the first time I carved a turkey. It went pretty well until I got through one side and located the 2nd bag of “goodies”. They were still securely sealed inside the baggie but I truly think they crawled inside the turkey after I put it in the oven because I had checked it inside and out for that 2nd bag.
Without further ado, the meal was finally prepared! We had turkey (of course), smashed potatoes, gravy, lemon roasted asparagus, and cranberry sauce.
It was an uncomplicated meal, but it sure tasted good. Plus, we all finished the evening with our own set of leftovers to make sandwiches with this week.
I would have considered the lack of leftovers to be a profound plus. That's one of the reasons that I've half decided to go with a rib of beef for Christmas. But I may well change the mind and go with the bird, only the breast though.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds though that your oven is on the blink for it goes twenty per pound and forty for the bird once the oven is up to heat. Five hours, that's just wrong unless you've a side of beef on the go.
What will you have for Christmas if you went with a Turkey now. How will you face into that amount of in less than a month.
Good for you! It looks delicious. And now, I'm hungry for leftovers.
ReplyDeleteYum! That looks wonderful! I have never done a turkey before either...still haven't. Maybe some day!
ReplyDeleteYou have the best ideas : ) Laughing my head off about the second bag. That is too crazy! Why do they even send those things along? Who wants that stuff? ICK!
ReplyDeleteI must say, that looks delicious! And that's pretty gross about the second bag. The first time I cooked a turkey I didn't even know about the bag. Oops!
ReplyDeleteWe did the same thing...left the bag of yucky stuff inside the bird...Oops!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely have to have turkey and all the trimmings the morning after Thanksgiving...I loved candied yams, mashed potatoes and peas with stuffing....and biscuits!
ReplyDeleteI knwo you love to cook and the most fantastic turkey directions come from Chef Marc. He has the directions for a high heat turkey...anyone with a convection oven should cook their turkey by his recipe....it takes an hour...YEP! One hour!! It is by far the best ever....aside from deep frying....which I would not do but leave to the Captain.
Google Chef Marc and if you can't find him, email me adn I will scan the recipe fromhis book I bought.
14 school days until WINTER BREAK!!