I think I've mentioned before that The Mister and I are spending Thanksgiving in New York City. We've never been to the city together, so we're really looking forward to the trip. But, as excited as we are, we're still sad that we'll be missing Turkey Day with our families.
I've decided that if we have to miss our families, we shouldn't have to miss out on turkey too. So, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner - only a week and a half early. This Sunday, our sisters and some friends are coming over for a traditional Turkey Day dinner on an untraditional day.
It will be my first Thanksgiving dinner but, perhaps foolishly, I'm not too worried. I've tried to limit the number of side dishes and think I've planned appropriately so that everything will make it into the oven at the right time. I'm also planning to make a few things ahead of time. Between the turkey, the sides and the desserts, this is a must.
Here's the problem - what the heck should I do with the turkey??? There are so many options, how do I choose? Deep fried? Wet brined? Dry brined? Traditionally roasted? Herbed Butter? Soaked cheesecloth? Stuffed? Unstuffed? Ahhh - it's enough to make a girl lose her mind!
What to do when faced with such a culinary quagmire? I find myself asking "What would Ina Garten do?"
Thank heavens for the Food Network! A quick search and there it was - the answer to my poultry predicament. Ina's Perfect Roast Turkey recipe. Simple and classic, just like the Barefoot Contessa herself! Here's hoping I'm able to pull together a Thanksgiving dinner that would make Ina proud!
By the way - I am SO glad I didn't ask "WWMSD?" ("What would Martha Steward do?" - obvs!)Because according to this, Martha is a fan of the brining method. A 15 pound turkey swimming in a giant bag of salt water in my fridge for 24 hours? Yeah - that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
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10 comments:
Congrats on your first Thanksgiving Dinner! You will be a superstar! Roast Turkey is the way to go, are go going to have the cranberry out of a can? Thats my fave!!! Haha! Where are you going in the city? I love Manhattan
Make the turkey in the picture!!! It looks fantastic :)
Make the turkey in the picture!!! It looks fantastic :)
Too funny! I do what Martha Stewart does! AND it is quite a disaster but tastes delish! ;)
How fun! I think it will turn out fantastic!!
We're having our own Thanksgiving dinner for friends too! We will be spending T-day at the in-laws, who have a non-traditional meal, with lots of low-fat, Weight Watcher food. It's fine, but we need our mashed potatoes with fat gravy and green bean casserole and turkey and stuffing! What is Thanksgiving without it?! So every year, we make our own turkey day meal with all the classics for our friends. That way everyone gets plenty of leftovers and we all get our gravy!
Best of luck on your turkey. You can't go wrong with a classic roasted bird!
OH MAN! I want to come over!!!! Enjoy your trip, JEALOUS! KRUGER
Brining is a PAIN IN THE A$S, but it also results in such a delicious, moist turkey. Good luck! So jealous of NYC!
That will be so fun!! And you will have so much fun in NYC! I will have to ask my sister the name of this place...she lived in NYC...but it's home cooking and popular among the locals for Thanksgiving. So fun!
How fun! Wish I was going to NY :)
This is what I did last year and the turkey was the best we had ever had..
Soak turkey in a salt, garlic, and sugar brine...(2 days)..THEN take some softened butter, mix garlic and your favorite herbs, then stick in a ziplock bag..roll up like a tube and freeze. When your ready to stick the turkey in, take the ziplock bag out and slice butter into coins, this makes it easy to slide the butter under the skin. PROMISE YOU it will turn out great! :)
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