The Turkey Day

The turkey was heavy and slippery.

The rub I made had grated sweet onion so it was naturally thick.

It wasn't overdone, but the skin had a nice golden color.  Maybe the sugar in onion helped!

Let's eat!

I need a lesson in serving turkey.  Slicing it nicely wasn't easy.

It's missing deviled eggs.  I almost forgot to serve them.

This is our tale of how the Thanksgiving went this year!

Jen and I hit the stores on Sunday morning at 8:30 am to buy ingredients for the feast on Thursday.  We wanted to make sure that no items on our lists are sold out at the store.  I had been gathering recipes for a while and finalized on the menu the night before.  Jen's menu sounded like something out of a fancy restaurant.  She was going to serve prosciutto wrapped pears! 

This was my menu for this year:

Herb Rubbed Turkey (13 pounder) with Gravey
Kale and Sausage French Bread Stuffing
Walnut and Sweet Potatoe Casserole
Deviled Eggs
Green Beans with Bacon
Gluten Free Corn Bread
Pumpkin Pie
Gluten Free Chocoalte Pumpkin Cupcakes

There were a lot of planning involved, because this was my first year hosting Thanksgiving.  I had an odd pride and didn't want to mess anything up.  I started preppping on Tuesday.  I baked chocolate pumpkin cupcakes on Tuesday.  I baked cornbread and had sweet potato casserole ready to go on Wednesday.  I also cooked kale and sausage for the stuffing and prepped green beans that day to make things easier on Thursday.   The drinks were well stocked and all we waited was the guests, grandpa Bob, Marsha, Aaron and Tina. 

The karma was not with us that day for all parties, unfortunately.  Bob and Marsha decided not to make the trip due to weather concerns (from Lewiston, Idaho) and Aaron got very sick with pneumonia.  When the fact finally sank in on Thursday mid morning, I stood in my kitchen staring at the pots and pans with mountains of food in them.  What are we going to do with all these food??  Luckily, my friend Hanae and her children decided to come over and I recsumed cooking until about 2:00 pm.

The food turned out great, so Mike said.  I thought the turkey was a tad dry, but Mike thought it was the moistest turkey he'd ever had.  The sweet potato casserole was a hit and my favorite was the french bread stuffing.  I am not going back to those dry bread cubes anymore!  Sean liked the cornbread and turkey.  He had a LOT of turkey that day.  Saya and Aly didn't eat much but they were distracted.  I had fun chatting with my friend and the children had fun playing together. 

I wished the family could joined us, but we will have many more opportunites to celebrate it together.  I feel bad for Bob and Marsha to miss it and Aaron for being so sick.  I wished I could send the food over to Aaron and Tina who are new to Portland and being far from family.  I had a great practice run, so I predict a fancy feast next Thanksgiving. 

I am surprised to say this but I really did enjoy cooking for two straight days.  Maybe I watch too much cooking shows, but for two days I imagined myself as a creative chef who knows what she is doing in the kitchen.   It was fun exchanging ideas and shopping with Jen, who is far more knowledgeable about groumet cooking than me.  Cooking turkey isn't easy and I will alter the temperature next year or perhaps use a V-rack and add some wine on the bottom to keep the bird moist.  I should get it eventually and will write the recipe down for my girls in the future.

For once, I felt like a good wife and mother.  That feeling is pretty addictive and I think I might have a potential to become one of those grandmas who whipps up food so comforting, everyone wants to come home and eat!

p.s.  I made tuekry udon the next day, turkey porridge the following morning, and turkey pot pie the day after.  I also made a huge pot of turkey broth by boiling turkey bones!