Stuffed

Another Thanksgiving has been survived! We had BIL&SIL, Jimmy and Karen over (Karen specnt some time with her family then cam over for dessert). I started the cooking on Sunday to help reduce the stress of everything that needed to happen Thursday to create a good meal.

Sunday I made the mashed potatoes - that included pealing and boiling up 10 pounds of spuds (minus 2 potatoes). I still had to put them in the crock pot, but the crockpot was in use because I also made a double batch of Sausage Stew to take to work for the Thanksgiving pot luck (evidently that was a hit as I did't bring home any leftovers and the 6qt pot was filled to the brim with sausage stew). Then I also washed and cut up several pounds of fresh greanbeans, then blanched them, for use in the green bean casserole. After cooking all that on Sunday, I set it out in the lean-to and let mother nature take care of keeping it cold (with lows in the high teens, and highes in the 20's, that worked out well).

Thurday dawned brightly and I got to work cooking. Okay, first I decided it would be good to vacuum, brush Missy, then vacuum again to get rid of any dog hair floating around. Then I made the stuffing, so it could cool before stuffing the turkey. Now, to be clear, I have never made stuffing before. I generally don't care for it, so don't bother. However, I found a recipe in the November 2012 issue of Prevention Magazine for sausage, stuffing that sounded awesome (with a few tweaks), so decided to give it a try. I also used their recipe for turkey in the same artcle (for the most part).

The bird was seasoned and stuffed, then ovenized. The majority of the dressing went into a large casserole, was covered with foil, then placed on the deck to stay chilled. The neck and giblets were boiled and saved for the dogs' dinner. Next I took all the mashed potatoes and started cramming them in the now empty crock pot. A layer of potatoes, then a layer of shredded cheese. Anohter layer of potatoes, and shredded cheese. Topped off with potatoes - and once again the crock was filled to the brim. Set that in the back room on high for an hour, then low until we were ready to eat.

Then it was on to house preperation - cleaning the bathroom, cleaning out the wood stove, filling the wood rack, a little scented oil in the bathroom, and a candle lit in the living room. Shortly after that, Jimmy arrived and WS came in from his final leaf clean up, and we socialized over snacks (chips and dip and a bag of mixed nuts - the peanut gallery can leave the obvious comment alone :).

Shortly before the turkey was done, I put together the green bean casserole. Then it, and the rest of the stuffing went into the oven after pulling the turkey out to let it "rest". then I got the ingredients together for Clinton Kelly's Apple-Cranberry Cobbler so it would be ready to go in when the sides came out. As an aside, I added 1/8 tsp ground cloves and a bit of ground ginger to the cobbler recipe (just because it sounded good to me).

Up until this point everything was wheat-free. I used pure cornbread for the stuffing and used a Bob's Mills gluten free general baking mix for the cobbler. However, Thnksgiving just insn't Thanksgiving without crescent rolls - so it wasn't a totally wheat-free meal. And, Karen brought a fabulous apple pie to go with the cobbler, and I couldn't pass up a slice of that.

I pushed back the dinner because after much conversation with everyone (somewhere in there BIL/SIL arrived, we watched the end of the Lion's game. It was a close game at that point and everyone was busy cheering on the team they wanted to win. So, after the game, WS carved the turkey while I tried to figure out how to get all the food, plates and serving utensils on the few counters we have. I finally moved enough stuff to allow for buffet-style loading of plates, and the feast was on (Karen arrived shortly after we started dinner). Aparently everything was good as it got really quiete, until people got up for seconds.

After that, we lazed around for an hour or so before bringing out the deserts (with ice cream and whipped cream) - then everyone lazed around moaning and groaning from their full tummies.

I managed to send most of the leftovers home with everyone else (another sign that the meal was a hit - they were eager for leftovers!), so the fridge isn't stuffed to the brim!  I'll share the stuffing recipe with you in a day or so - it got rave reviews, as did the turkey and cobbler. I was so happy it came out well since I was nervous I was using three recipes that I hadn't tried out previously!

Eventually everyone recuperated enough to find their way home - all thankfull for the family, friends, and the meal, and the day set aside to enjoy it!

 

Comments

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Had your sister not sent us home, stuffed - and with turkey and crescent rolls "to go" - I would be envious of the sumptuous meal that you set out. It all sounds wonderful! I am not surprised to hear that you were brave enough to try new recipes. Glad that you had such a great holiday.

I've never been able to duplicate my mother's dressing (made with chicken hearts & gizzards since we never had turkey) and your dad grew up on what I call "dry" stuffing. I groove on stuffing and have rarely (if ever, I don't recall it) tasted "bad"; but, I've wished that I could make "moist" stuffing as Mom used to make it.