![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Because I'd been talking with my boss about celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving while burning excess vacation days, I decided to try cooking a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the holiday (today).
I planned the menu with Gary on Thursday evening after my last work day before the break. The menu was to be roast turkey with gravy, whole-berry cranberry sauce sweetened with Splenda, green bean casserole, and bistro mashed potatoes (a recipe we downloaded for a Bears potluck long ago).
I also planned a menu for James and Shib's wedding on Saturday. James is my cousin's son and therefore shares my Irish heritage, while Shib is from India, so I chose a menu consisting of butter chicken, Basmati rice (we bought a big bag at Costco and had some leftover prepared rice from last week), lentils in red sauce (from a pouch, also purchased at Costco) and new potatoes, to be finished off with a toast of Jameson Irish whiskey.
For Sunday, bracketed with all this cooking, I chose a simple dinner suitable for eating while watching football: chili dogs, chips with salsa, and a veggie tray (crudites) with ranch dressing. Of these, the only thing I didn't already have on hand were the hot dog buns.
Of course, this led to a serious shopping day Friday. I had scheduled maintenance on my car in the morning, including a safety recall, oil change, and general inspection. When the car was done I hit the stores. I found there were no whole turkeys available so I bought a 7-pound frozen breast of turkey instead. Most everything else on my shopping list I found with ease.
Saturday's and Sunday's dinners went very much according to plan. So I'm concentrating on today's meals for this journal entry. Gary made the cranberry sauce ahead of time last night.
We started the day with bacon and omelets. The bacon we needed for the mashed potatoes, so unlike previous breakfasts we refrained from snarfing the entire package of bacon once it was cooked (I used the hotel method of baking it on wire racks in the oven). The eggs were only a little overdone, so still quite nice.
Gary likes dinner late, so rather than rush for an early dinner we had the leftovers from Saturday for lunch, around one. Not long after that I started adjusting the plan for cooking the turkey, since the Tante Marie "Just put the fucking turkey in the oven" recipe called for elaborate preparations for the pan gravy, which wouldn't be necessary since we weren't stuffing this bird and, I later found, it came with a packet of gravy but no giblets. I kept the white wine and the butter from her recipe though.
I prepared the green bean casserole around four. It turned out well but I thought it took a little longer than the recipe called for. I covered the casserole and set it aside to be reheated once the turkey was done.
As the casserole finished baking, I unwrapped the turkey breast and propped it up in the big foil roasting pan I bought for the occasion, using the baking racks I'd used for the morning's bacon in lieu of a proper turkey rack. (This is absolutely needed for a turkey breast as opposed to a whole turkey, because the breast portion is actually V-shaped and needs to roast point down.) I rubbed the turkey with butter but it wasn't sticking, so I stuffed the rest of the half-stick of butter in the neck and sprayed it with butter flavored vegetable oil. Then I seasoned the top of the turkey, poured the wine in the pan, and as soon as the casserole was done, popped the turkey in the oven about quarter to five.
I checked on the bird again about quarter after six, at which time the top was browned quite nicely while the rest of the bird was still rather pale. As instructed, I put a foil tent over the top to prevent it from burning. At 6:30 I tuned in the Monday Night Live Zoom broadcast from the chorus on my laptop while Gary started up the water for the potatoes. The turkey was ready about eight, and I made some gravy while it cooled. As soon as the gravy was done, Monday Night Live was too, and we prepared to sit down and eat by 8:30, only a half-hour later than planned.
I'm actually quite impressed with how the meal turned out. The turkey was moist and juicy, the potatoes were full of flavor, and the cranberries were up to Gary's usual high standards. Even the green bean casserole held up well despite needing a reheat. Success!
Of course, Canadian Thanksgiving is now over on the East Coast, but I just sent a note out hoping all our Canadian friends have had a happy one.
I planned the menu with Gary on Thursday evening after my last work day before the break. The menu was to be roast turkey with gravy, whole-berry cranberry sauce sweetened with Splenda, green bean casserole, and bistro mashed potatoes (a recipe we downloaded for a Bears potluck long ago).
I also planned a menu for James and Shib's wedding on Saturday. James is my cousin's son and therefore shares my Irish heritage, while Shib is from India, so I chose a menu consisting of butter chicken, Basmati rice (we bought a big bag at Costco and had some leftover prepared rice from last week), lentils in red sauce (from a pouch, also purchased at Costco) and new potatoes, to be finished off with a toast of Jameson Irish whiskey.
For Sunday, bracketed with all this cooking, I chose a simple dinner suitable for eating while watching football: chili dogs, chips with salsa, and a veggie tray (crudites) with ranch dressing. Of these, the only thing I didn't already have on hand were the hot dog buns.
Of course, this led to a serious shopping day Friday. I had scheduled maintenance on my car in the morning, including a safety recall, oil change, and general inspection. When the car was done I hit the stores. I found there were no whole turkeys available so I bought a 7-pound frozen breast of turkey instead. Most everything else on my shopping list I found with ease.
Saturday's and Sunday's dinners went very much according to plan. So I'm concentrating on today's meals for this journal entry. Gary made the cranberry sauce ahead of time last night.
We started the day with bacon and omelets. The bacon we needed for the mashed potatoes, so unlike previous breakfasts we refrained from snarfing the entire package of bacon once it was cooked (I used the hotel method of baking it on wire racks in the oven). The eggs were only a little overdone, so still quite nice.
Gary likes dinner late, so rather than rush for an early dinner we had the leftovers from Saturday for lunch, around one. Not long after that I started adjusting the plan for cooking the turkey, since the Tante Marie "Just put the fucking turkey in the oven" recipe called for elaborate preparations for the pan gravy, which wouldn't be necessary since we weren't stuffing this bird and, I later found, it came with a packet of gravy but no giblets. I kept the white wine and the butter from her recipe though.
I prepared the green bean casserole around four. It turned out well but I thought it took a little longer than the recipe called for. I covered the casserole and set it aside to be reheated once the turkey was done.
As the casserole finished baking, I unwrapped the turkey breast and propped it up in the big foil roasting pan I bought for the occasion, using the baking racks I'd used for the morning's bacon in lieu of a proper turkey rack. (This is absolutely needed for a turkey breast as opposed to a whole turkey, because the breast portion is actually V-shaped and needs to roast point down.) I rubbed the turkey with butter but it wasn't sticking, so I stuffed the rest of the half-stick of butter in the neck and sprayed it with butter flavored vegetable oil. Then I seasoned the top of the turkey, poured the wine in the pan, and as soon as the casserole was done, popped the turkey in the oven about quarter to five.
I checked on the bird again about quarter after six, at which time the top was browned quite nicely while the rest of the bird was still rather pale. As instructed, I put a foil tent over the top to prevent it from burning. At 6:30 I tuned in the Monday Night Live Zoom broadcast from the chorus on my laptop while Gary started up the water for the potatoes. The turkey was ready about eight, and I made some gravy while it cooled. As soon as the gravy was done, Monday Night Live was too, and we prepared to sit down and eat by 8:30, only a half-hour later than planned.
I'm actually quite impressed with how the meal turned out. The turkey was moist and juicy, the potatoes were full of flavor, and the cranberries were up to Gary's usual high standards. Even the green bean casserole held up well despite needing a reheat. Success!
Of course, Canadian Thanksgiving is now over on the East Coast, but I just sent a note out hoping all our Canadian friends have had a happy one.