Thanksgiving 2009

There was a trip to Spain and starting a new job, hence the lack of blogging. I'm overdue for a post, and what better time to post a cooking entry than Thanksgiving? This year, I decided to tackle all the cooking (mostly) on my own. I also decided to cook healthy (where possible) using recipes from Clean Eating and Real Simple Magazines.

The spread (my brothers dug in before I got a chance to take good pics). Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cornbread, salad:



Sweet potato casserole (picked up from BM)


Baked macaroni & cheese:


Green Beans with roasted chestnuts:


Garlicky Mashed Potatoes:

Behind the scenes fact: I got tired from mashing the potatoes by hand, so I threw a batch in the blender. I broke the blender. Oh well...


Here was the menu:

Main Course
Pomegranate Glazed Turkey

Sides
Garlicky Mashed Potatoes with Thyme
Stuffing with Sausage and Raisins
Cranberry Sauce with Apple and Ginger
Green Beans with Roasted Chestnuts
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Organic Salad with Baby Bell Peppers, Grapes & Almonds
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cornbread

Dessert
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie

This year, I brined the turkey and it turned out to be the star of the show as it should (whew!) DELICIOUS - moist, tender and juicy!

Lost a shelf in the fridge to store the turkey:


The brine:


The cooler I brined the turkey in overnight (in the fridge, of course):


The turkey, clean of brine and dried off:


My herb rub:


My herb-rubbed turkey:


The aromatics (apple, onion, cinnamon stick cooked in the microwave and inserted in the turkey while it roasts):


After 30 minutes at 500 degrees, this is when I turned the temp down until it hit the correct temperature (another 1.5 hours):


Cooking the leeks & carrots for stuffing:


Turkey Sausage & Bread Crumb mixture for the stuffing:


I was running low on time, so I didn't take pics making the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

All in all, the meal was a hit and I wasn't even worried about the turkey or cooking all that food alone! The cooking was actually a stress reliever for me.