Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 was my second go at making a Thanksgiving meal and this year definitely created some keepers for next year!  Like I said in my Thanksgiving preparation blog entry, I used Alton Brown's recipe again and this year was even better than last year.  

The meat was super super moist.  This year I was a little more creative and covered the bird in chopped rosemary and thyme mixed with butter to add additional flavor to the outside.  It was definitely a success.

So the one thing I was the most worried about was the stuffing.  I had tried out a stuffing recipe but did not like it at all.  After consulting with some good friends, I was set on trying a stuffing with corn bread.  I'm not a huge fan of corn bread by itself, so I was a little anxious, but after watching Bobby Flay's throw down against the Pioneer Woman (if you don't know, it's an amazing food blog) and seeing her victory, I knew I had to use her stuffing recipe.  The recipe calls for a mix of corn bread and French bread, and let me tell you, the mixture is heavenly!  The French bread prevents the stuffing from being too mushy, and the corn bread crumbles and keep the stuffing a perfect moistness.  Pure genius!  So a couple of nights before Thanksgiving, I made some corn bread, and I cut them into cubes to let it air dry.  I cheated and bought the French bread at the store and also cut them into cubes to let them dry.

I think one of the other reasons why this recipe is SO delicious is because it incorporates so many herbs!  Sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley.  What an awesome mix.  It was even more awesome because I got to use the parsley I grew from seeds.  It was definitely rewarding.  So anyway, the recipe I used was this one.  I will definitely be making this one again next year. 

For dessert, I made Emeril's chocolate cream pie again (forgot to take picture) and Paula Deen's five layer bars.  The five layer bars are so easy to make and so good!

 For my side dishes, I made sweet potato fries, which were good but nothing to brag about.  This will probably be a side dish I will switch out next year.

 For the mashed potatoes I used a Pioneer Woman recipe.  I know mashed potatoes are not hard to make, but REALLY good mashed potatoes add a little more something than just butter and milk.  The Pioneer Woman's potatoes call for butter, cream cheese, half and half (I indulged and just used heavy cream), pepper, and seasoned salt.  I thought that the seasoned salt was a unique touch and really loved how it made it taste.  The potatoes were really creamy!  I will definitely be doing them again.  The recipe is here.

For green beans, I debated between a green bean casserole, but decided that too many things to cook in the oven will just complicate things.  So I went simple with green beans with garlic chips and almonds.  I felt like the almonds added a slightly fancy touch without adding any extra work.  I boiled the beans then shocked them for firmness then slowly made garlic chips in olive oil and added the almonds to make them crunchy.  After that, I just added the beans and sauteed them.

Now, as much as I hate cheating when making big meals, these rolls are worth cheating for.  Gary's sister came to spend Thanksgiving with us, so we had her buy 5 boxes of Lion House roll mix (Utah thing) and they are so freaking good!  And even though they came out of the box, they are still time consuming and involve lots of steps.  Marci made the rolls and they were absolutely delish.

Now I forgot to take a photo of the gravy, but this year's gravy was thicker and creamier than last year, which was great.  Instead of cooking the neck and giblets in a pan while the turkey was cooking, this year I added four cups of water to the roasting pan and let the neck and giblets cook right under the turkey.  This way the flavor of the neck and giblets was infused with the turkey drippings (and it was easier because you didn't have to have them separate).  This also prevented my drippings from burning (like last year), so I was able to make better use of them.  This year I bought one of those fun canister things that separate your dripping from the fat.  It was helpful (although not necessary) so I could use the fat to make the roux then the drippings to add in later for flavor.  

 Finally, like last year, I made Kuma her own Thanksgiving meal.  I made a similar recipe to last year.  Just mixed in some chopped carrots, turkey, and rice.  This year I added a little bit of gravy to create extra flavor for my special pup.  Kuma, of course, enjoyed every last bit of it.

Thanksgiving was extra special this year being able to share it with Marci.  I'm so glad that she was able to be there and eat with us as we create family traditions.  Each year that we have Thanksgiving, we find new dishes that we like, and it's so fun to think that in 10 years, these will be the dishes that we make that will be so essential that it won't be a Peterson Thanksgiving without it.  I definitely hope to keep finding better things to make each year as our family grows, whether it is with animals or future babies :)  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!