I love all these recipes that are in the newspapers and on TV around Thanksgiving time. It is great to see all this interest in cooking. There are lots of hints and ideas about preparing turkey and hotlines, etc. I read all the hints. One year, it was all the rage to deep fry the turkey. I pass on that. Sounds like way too much dangerous hot oil to me. This year, the rage seems to be about brining the turkey with dry salt. Sounds like a pretty salty turkey to me. This year, I'll make the turkey as I always do. Thanksgiving is one of those meals where I don't need a recipe card. I have done it way too many times to need recipes. Still, I'm always interested to see what they come up with to talk about.
Yesterday we went to Trader Joes. If I never cooked at all, I think I could manage a Thanksgiving meal at Trader Joes. They were handing out cornbread stuffing made from a box, and the stuff was pretty darn good. Add some fresh sauteed onions and celery and I think you'd have it. They had mashed garlic potatoes from a box and gravy mix that didn't look too bad either. The cranberries were from Wisconsin. Living in Massachusetts, I'm not going to eat Wisconsin cranberries. Eat local must not be one of their mottoes.
So, Thanksgiving dinner for me has already started. We bought the brie and crackers, we bought the potatoes, squash, and 3 kinds of apples for the pie. We have three turkeys in the freezer and now only have to decide on which one will be crowned Thanksgiving king. (I always make those white paper crowns for the turkey legs....call me old fashioned.)
Here's the menu: [spoiler alert for Michael and Michelle]
Brie and crackers, bacon-wrapped teriyaki shrimp, roast turkey with cornbread stuffing, (yes, we do brine our turkey in salt water for a few hours) pear & strawberry fruit salad, cranberry sauce with orange slices, crispy rolls & cold butter, sweet potatoes with pecans, roasted squash with rosemary, real mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and George's wonderful gravy. For dessert we are having pumpkin pie and apple pie with ice cream or whipped cream.
The mad scramble in the kitchen right before we serve is nothing new either, but it will all come to the table fine and it's going to be one really tasty Thanksgiving!
Have a great day.
