Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was a success this year! The kitchen only got filled with smoke once, but it dissipated quickly and the delicious aroma of turkey and sweet potatoes soon returned. Also, I failed to get ANY photos of dinner or preparation. I'm really bummed about that. I'll try to make some of these dishes again in the coming weeks and get pictures of those to add on here later, with the exception of the turkey. I was really excited to wear one of the aprons my grandma had sent me a week or so back. It's really cute, especially with my tiny pregnant belly, and I wish I had gotten photos of that too.

So here's how the day went.

I got up around 8am, had a nice slow and easy morning, and after a couple of hours I rubbed olive oil on three large sweet potatoes, poked each of them several times with a fork, wrapped them in foil, and baked them for about an hour.

Then I removed my turkey from its wrapping, took out its neck (but put it inside the oven bag to bake with the turkey) rinsed the turkey inside and out, dried the inside out with some paper towels, and made up a recipe for it, basing it off of one I saw on TV the other day. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving isn't about eating healthy and drinking green smoothies. It's about being thankful for what we're blessed with, eating delicious food, and enjoying life's simple but abundant pleasures. Here's my basic turkey recipe:

(Sorry, I don't usually measure of my seasonings. I just added a shake or two here and there, depending on how strong a spice or herb is--less clove and sage, a little more rosemary and cinnamon, more orange zest and pepper...)

One 12 pound turkey, thawed
2 oranges
1 onion


Combine:
2 cubes of butter, softened
salt
pepper
sage
rosemary
cinnamon
clove
orange zest


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While raw, carefully separate turkey skin from turkey breast, making a pocket and being careful not to tear or make holes in it. Tuck some butter mix into turkey skin/breast pocket. Rub remaining butter mix over the rest of the turkey, as well as inside the body cavity. Slice one onion into large chunks, and 2 oranges in half. Place inside turkey's body cavity. Place in oven baking bag, then into large baking dish, and bake in the oven for 3.5 hours.

I got the turkey in the oven a little before 11am. Then I scooped out the sweet potatoes into a large bowl, discarded their skins, and stuck them in the fridge to cool more.

Then I had about 3 hours to clean and tidy up the house. Bob had gone surfing that morning, and around noon he called wondering if he could have his surfer friends and their family come over for a light lunch. He then clarified by asking if we could make tortilla soup with our new Blendtec. I was just excited to use that blender again, so I was excited about it. He stopped by the grocery store and bought all of the ingredients fresh, then came on home. I put everything in the blender, and pressed the 'soups' button, and in 90 seconds we had a steaming hot soup for 8 people ready to be eaten. Add lime, avocado slices, and tortilla chips, and it was perfection.

Our friends went home for their own Thanksgiving celebration after about an hour or so.

Around 2pm I made the broccoli casserole:

2 bags frozen broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
cheese (I used a pre-grated four cheese blend)
1/3 C of butter
1 tube of Ritz crackers, crushed (crush them in the tube before opening it--it's easier that way)

Steam broccoli for 5-6 minutes. Place broccoli in a casserole dish, evenly distributed. Pour cream of mushroom soup over broccoli, spread evenly. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese over top of that (I'm a cheese-lover, so I used a couple of good-sized handfuls). In a separate bowl, melt butter and pour in ritz crackers. Mix well, and pour over top of broccoli/cream soup/cheese. Bake for 30 min at 350.

Before I put it in the oven, I made the sweet potato casserole:

Combine:

3 C cooked sweet potatoes (bake them for an hour, cool, then peel)

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C evaporated milk (try evaporated goat milk or try almond milk)

1/2 C melted butter (try 1/3 C coconut oil)

1 tsp cinnamon

Place in greased 8 x11 casserole. Mix topping and spread over top. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Topping:

1 C brown sugar (try 1 C evaporated cane juice + 1-2 tbsp of molasses)

1/3 C flour

1/3 C butter (try 1/4 C coconut oil)

1 C pecans

1 C coconut

optional: sprinkle mini marshmallows on top.


Once I finished putting together the casseroles, the turkey was done. I pulled that out of the oven to let it rest before opening the oven bag and letting Bob carve it. Then I put the casseroles in. I tried a fancy variation of the sweet potato casserole, where I baked it with just the topping so it would get crispy, and then add the marshmallows and broil it for a minute or two to brown them..... And I forgot about it. After a few minutes Bob noticed smoke coming out of the oven. I pulled out the charred marshmallow topping and rushed outside with it to avoid getting anymore smoke in the house. Once it stopped smoking, I went back in, saddened by my mini-fiasco. It was an easy fix though. I grabbed a metal spatula and scooped off the blackened marshmallow topping. Then I added more marshmallows, and tried broiling it one more time. I checked it ever 30 seconds and didn't take the oven mitts off my hands until it was ready to come out of the oven, so as not to forget about it again. I saved the day and no one could even tell I had messed it up the first time. 

Then I made the stuffing:

I sliced a granny-smith apple and added it to a Stove Top mix and 5 minutes later it was done.

My mother in law had made the cranberry jello sauce and rolls the day before, Aunt Wei Wei brought Chinese dumplings (made from scratch, and she's Chinese so these are legit and SO good), fried rice, and 2 pies from Costco--one pumpkin and one pecan. We all sat down and ate at about 4pm (even though it was all ready by 3pm.... Family always shows up late, you know...)

So here was our dinner menu:

turkey

stuffing

sweet potato casserole

broccoli casserole

cranberry jello sauce

dumplings

fried rice

rolls

pumpkin pie with whipped cream

pecan pie

juice or water for drinks

Not bad for planning and preparing my first Thanksgiving nearly all on my own! I think delegating is the key--the less I had to cook, the more I kept my head on and enjoyed the day.

We had a wonderful time visiting together: 

myself,

Bob, 

Lana (my mother-in-law),

Aunt Wei Wei, 

Uncle Bud, 

Sinjin (Bob's cousin and Bud and Wei Wei's son), 

David (a Chinese guy who is renting a room in Aunt Wei Wei's house), 

and the two missionaries from church, Elder Geier and Elder Kirchoeffer. 

We had a good time visiting with family, telling stories, and getting to know each other better. It was memorable and really made me appreciate the family I married into.

Happy Thanksgiving!