Our very first hosted Thanksgiving is coming up…here’s what’s cookin’…
Apple-Brined Turkey
Homemade Mashed Potatoes Using Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Cheese Straws
The Cheesecake portion of the Petite Fours (and the white chocolate if we’re feeling like we want to beat ourselves up
Spiced Cranberry, Orange, and Cabernet Franc Marmalade
Green Bean Casserole
Thanks for the stuffing recipe ideas! We decided on Cranberry, Walnut & Apple Cider Turkey Stuffing from cooks.com!
Ice Cream Pie
Corn, with butter. And unicorn giggles.
Happy Early Thanksgiving everybody! (next week is Happy Current Thanksgiving)
Apple-Brined Turkey, made with Lynfred Riesling!
As you may have noticed, things are pretty backed up to start off the year. However, we’ll hopefully be catching up soon.
For this post, we accomplished something that we haven’t done yet, so I had to post it: we. cooked. a. turkey.
Out of ALL the previous recipes, this one freaked me out the most. From the horror stories of exploding turkeys to Clark Griswold in Nation Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and the dried turkey husk, the turkey has always been a mystery to me, something only master chefs could…well…master.
However, with some prep and care, that is definitely not the case. But first, ya gotta brine!
brining: In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which meat is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking.
The brining of the turkey was a very interesting process, especially done by one person (person number two taking a nap at the time), however it was definitely worth it. Apparently brining is how restaurants keep their turkeys so moist, and it was definitely the case with this one. We won’t make another turkey without it.
One thing I was worried about was just the cooking in general, but for the most part (and partly due to the brining) it was “set it and forget it” except for some basting and checking of the temperature.
And I KNOW the final turkey picture is the artsy one and not the real one…I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product! It wasn’t far off, though. And our guests said it was a success!
Below is the recipe for the brine…check out wikihow or even the instructions given with the turkey you buy on how to cook it - it’s really not too bad.
(PS - I did forget to take out one of the two bags inside the turkey - I missed the giblets but got the neck - however everything turned out fine).
Recipe from the Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Chris Smith
INGREDIENTS
2 quarts unsweetened apple juice
2-3/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup Kosher salt
4 ounces fresh ginger root - peeled and sliced thin
18 whole cloves
4 bay leaves
4 medium oranges, quartered
1 bottle Lynfred Riesling
2 quarts cold water
1 fresh turkey (12 to 14 pounds)
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 turkey oven-roasting bags
DIRECTIONS
NOTE: START THAW 48 HOURS BEFORE PREP
NOTE 2: PREP 24 HOURS BEFORE COOKING
1 - In a large pot, combine the first six ingredients.
2 - Bring to a boil, cook and stir until salt and brown sugar are dissolved.
3 - Stir in oranges and wine. Remove from heat.
4 - Add cold water and cool the marinade to room temperature.
5 - Remove giblets and neck from turkey (discard or save for another use).
6 - Place a turkey sized oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag and add turkey.
7 - Carefully pour cooled marinade into bag, squeeze out as much air as possible.
8 - Seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan or other large container.
9 - Refrigerate for 20 to 24 hours, turning occasionally to ensure the entire turkey gets covered.
