Scenes from Sunday

Easter Sunday turkey dinner went over really well and I 'm confident we're on the road to building another tradition for our family. Here are some photos from the weekend.

And here is how I do my dressing (not stuffing) and it has been adapted in past dinners to be both vegan and gluten-free. You just have to be aware of the type of bread you use, butter/margarine, and stock. First, I fried one onion which has been diced finely until it is translucent. I added one apple and a few mushrooms, both also diced finely. Once the onions are starting to caramelize, I added some (a dash) salt, pepper and thyme as well as a good palm-full of savoury (a Newfoundland tradition).

Then I added this mixture to coarsely chopped (or blitzed in the food processor) stale bread. I added even more savoury (I love the stuff) and then a few tablespoons of vegetable stock along with a little butter. Stir everything together and bake it in the oven, covered for the most part, until golden. The stock and butter help the flavour plus keep the dressing moist. I've had dressing that is like sawdust it's so dry. I just like this kind better. The proportions are vague because I kind of just toss everything together. It always tastes good and I just adjust more or less depending on how much dressing I'm making.
  

We're still having turkey sandwiches and I've had a request for turkey soup with the frame I froze after the meal was enjoyed on Sunday. Waste not, want not. Hope you all had a happy Easter!

Mindful cooking means mindful prep

I'm cooking Easter dinner tomorrow for my family and we're having turkey with all the fixings. I've cooked turkey dinner for a crowd before but this will be the first time in our new(ish) house and with a baby in our lives. And what did I do? Forget to take the turkey out of the freezer in time to let it thaw in the refrigerator.

So it's now being carefully watched in a sink of water while it speed-thaws. You can thaw a turkey this way if you check it every 1/2 hr and replace the water so it stays cold (40 degrees F or colder). If done this way, it should take about 1/2 hr per pound to thaw safely.

I plan on putting the bird in a brine solution overnight and popping it in the oven around 9am so it'll be ready and well rested by our dinnertime of 2pm. For turkey novices, it takes about 4-4.5 hrs in a 325 F oven for an 8-12 lb turkey and you want it to rest at least 1/2 hour afterwards to let the juices redistribute throughout the meat. The internal temperature of the bird should reach 165 F with a food thermometer for safety.

Or you can do what this lady suggests! (warning: language)

Happy Easter all!

Success!

The turkey brining the night before the big day. I didn't have any receptacle big enough for it so I brined it in the fridge's veggie crisper!

All the sides (well, most of them). The new stove makes for a great server!

The main star! The finished turkey and my dad's carving skills.

The verdict on the turkey? Awesome! I was scared right up until my dad carved the thing but the meat turned out moist, juicy and tasty. All the other meal components went over well too. So there, I did it and it went over well. Our guests had a good time and that's the main thing. Now to relax a bit, have some drink, watch some tv (football apparently) and dream about leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey crazy

It's Thanksgiving dinner at my house today. I have been brining the turkey since last night. This morning I got up, rinsed the thing off, patted it dry and prepared it for the oven. So far so good. I didn't drop it, spill the brining liquid all over my kitchen, cut myself or anything equally as horrible yet. One thing may have gone wrong, though. All my research and experience told me it was going to take a long time to cook a turkey. I have 1 1/2 hours 'till dinner though and I think it's done! The meat thermometer I'm using says it's at the right temperature. What to do now? I'm going to tent it with foil and let it rest. Then I'm going to wing it, so to speak, and rely on the premise that leftover turkey is always better. It looks great though so hopefully it'll taste OK too.

Root vegetables are boiling and stuffing, cranberry sauce and dessert is made.

If you want to know the method I'm using, check out my guest blog account of the details on Signal Blog. I'll keep you posted!

The secret is...turkey!

So I have a confession. I've never cooked a turkey before. Our thanksgiving is coming up and though we usually go to my parent's house I've decoded to do the whole turkey shing dig at our place this year. We have new appliances and it's well past the time I've learned to conquer this meal myself. I've done the research and have experience with enough poultry and vegetables to give me the confidence to go into the kitchen guns blazing (or baster blazing?). I'm going to try the America's Test Kitchen method of brining since I'm a food science nerd plus it just sounds fun.

Writing it down here makes it real. So stay tuned because I'll be blogging about my attempts with one of the most important meals of the year. There may be a few surprises!