Thanksgiving 2012

This was our first Thanksgiving in Hawaii, and also the first Thanksgiving I made the turkey! I was a little nervous, but it turned out awesome! I realize I probably need to invest in a roasting pan, a baster and a gravy boat... but we had a really great meal with some wonderful friends!

I had been thawing out the turkey in the fridge for 3 days, and then the day before Thanksgiving, I made Pioneer Woman's Favorite Turkey Brine and put the 23 lb turkey in a big ziplock (like XXL) inside a cylinder igloo cooler (the kind used to dispense liquid!) which turned out to be perfect because the whole bird was surrounded by the brine. Luckily this whole thing fit in our fridge! The next day, we took the bird out and rinsed it off really well. We roasted it, covered in foil, at 275 for about 4 hours.  After that, we took it out and stuffed it with orange and lemon slices, onions, thyme and sage. We then rubbed the butter (that was mixed with rosemary, orange zest and salt and pepper) all over the bird. We had fresh oranges and rosemary in our yard, so we got really lucky to have the freshest brine/butter/stuffing possible! We put the bird back in at 375, uncovered and baked for another couple of hours until the meat temperature reached 170. We let it rest 20 minutes or so before carving it, and while we made gravy. The turkey was SO good!




I put together this little relish plate to look like a turkey- which was pretty fun! I also had pretzels and dill dip out. The other food I made was PW's mashed potatoes (which can be made the day before!), maple glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, corn souffle, stuffing (I want to tweak this recipe- but I had celery and onion sauteed in butter and chicken broth added to a store bought dressing kit), PW's cranberry sauce (yum and easy!), gravy, pumpkin pecan pies and homemade cream! Of course, I made rolls (we took them to Mass that morning and had them blessed!) but I cheat and use the can rolls! We also had each guest tell us what they were thankful for, printed them on strips of paper, sprayed them with cooking spray and rolled them into the rolls before cooking. It turned out really great- they came out super clean and easily, and then we all guessed whose thankful item we got! We also play the "ABC's of Thanks" where we go around the alphabet and every person gets a letter to come up with a word that starts with that letter of something they are thankful for. Our guests brought watercrest salad and the yummiest green bean casserole I've ever had (I have to get her version!) and we had tons of drinks- wine, beer, soda, waters and sparkling juice for a special treat for the kids! It was tricky with only my oven to get everything cooked and ready- but I made a timing list and it all worked out great. If you can make ahead the pies, everything else can be ready to cook as soon as the turkey comes out and it should all work out well!

Turkey Burgers

I found this recipe on Skinnytaste- it was so yummy! We grilled them on the charcoal grill and loved the results- click HERE for the recipe.

Collard Green Burritos

 My friend, Jennifer, is doing a Whole30 day eating challenge, and she's been posting tons of her recipes on her blog. She linked to THIS one and I was so curious, I had to try it out. I love packing in tons of veggies for the kids- and it was pretty good! It can't replace the good ol' real tortilla, but nice for a lighter change!

Herb Roasted Turkey

It seems kind of crazy to be having turkey this soon after Thanksgiving, but we had a fried turkey for the holiday (YUM!) and it was so good, there were no leftovers. I had a couple dishes I wanted to try with left over turkey, and we had lots of sides left, so we decided to just do a small turkey breast for dinner last night. It turned out really great!


INGREDIENTS:
1 turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

Turkey Cheese Meatloaf

From Whitney

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup milk
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 small bag shredded carrots
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound Colby cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup ketchup (optional)


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, mix the turkey, milk, bread crumbs, carrots, and eggs by hand. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the cheese cubes into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan, and top with ketchup.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

I halved this recipe because I knew our family wouldn't finish off 2 lbs worth of a meatloaf- and served with broccoli, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls! Yum!

Turkey Slaw Tacos

INGREDIENTS:
Whole Wheat Tortilla Shells
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
Cumin
Chili Powder
Salt/Pepper
Crystal Hot Sauce
Paprika
1 bag tri-colored slaw
Marzetti slaw dressing
Green Onions, chopped
1 cup chopped pecans, roasted (just put in 350 oven for 2-4 minutes)

DIRECTIONS:
Use left over slaw from a previous night (is what I did because it makes too much for my family to eat all at once) or make the slaw (the last 4 ingredients mixed together) at least 2 hours before eating.
Cook turkey and add in red pepper, white onion and seasonings. You can adjust to taste, or just use a taco seasoning packet. Warm up tortilla shells and assemble.

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

The perfect thing for leftovers this time of year! Thanks Natalie for the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

2 (235g) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 egg, separated

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center. arrange 8 triangles in a circle on Large Round Stone. Corners of wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond of Baking Stone. Arrange remaining 8 triangles in center matching ends. Seal seams. (Points will overlap in center; do not seal.)

Measure mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper into Classic Batter Bowl.

Grate cheese into bowl and mix filling. Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Coarsely chop walnuts; sprinkle over filling. Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangle, slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

Separate egg. Beat egg white lightly; brush over dough. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut and serve. Yields 10 servings.