Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving Day. My brother and I put the turkey in the oven right at noon, as we had planned. It should be done by 4:00 and we will eat around 5:00 or so.  We told everyone to be here by 4:00 for appetizers so that will work out well.  Who is invited? My brother sent out a mass e-mail to everyone he knows and we have confirmations from at least 10 people and more may show up.  (All of my friends have plans with family so they are all set). The more the merrier, as they say!

We have a 22 pound bird this year, which is pretty big but we cook it in a turkey bag and that means it will be done in 3 ½ to 4 hours. I have had a number of discussions with people in the last week or so and have watched various and a sundry cooking shows and I find it fascinating the varied ways there are to cook a turkey. Not to mention people fussing about how to cook the turkey. Stuff or don’t stuff? Brine or don’t brine? Buy frozen or fresh? Deep fry or roast? I even saw someone on TV yesterday who said the only way to do it is to butterfly it (cut it open and lay it flat) because then it cooks quickly and evenly. Of course, that way you can’t stuff it and stuffing is one of the great joys of Thanksgiving.

As far as I am concerned, I prefer the bird stuffed and roasted. I have been making turkey dinners for years (won’t say how many) and I have never had a problem with people getting sick from the stuffing. If it is done right, there isn’t any danger.

Alton Brown on Food Network said to keep the stuffing safe, it needs to be heated in the microwave before inserting it into the bird to prevent salmonella. This makes sense to me since I have always cooked the ingredients for the stuffing (except the bread) and then added the bread and immediately stuffed it in the turkey. So my stuffing has always been heated. I didn’t realize that I was doing it to prevent salmonella. It was just the way my parents taught me to do it so it is how I do it.

I thought it was funny that on the Today Show this morning, Martha Stewart said that the stuffing should never be warm when it is inserted in the turkey or else it will cause salmonella. Well, based on my years of experience and Alton Brown’s advice, she is wrong. I trust Alton Brown more than I trust Martha Stewart. Not only for that bad advice, but also because she dresses her turkey in a butter and wine soaked cheesecloth coat and bastes, and bastes, and bastes her turkey in the butter and wine mixture while it is roasting. That is just too much fuss and bother for me. The turkey bag bastes the turkey as it roasts and my turkey always comes out brown and juicy.

The only drawback to the bag is that the juices don’t get really brown and the gravy comes out blonde. I prefer a dark turkey gravy since that is what my mom always made. Yesterday I roasted a couple of turkey legs and some veggies and then deglazed the pan with white wine and turkey broth. So I have a container of dark turkey drippings to add to the drippings from today to make a delicious dark gravy. Yum!!

What else is on the menu, you might ask? Well, we are having tuna paté and crackers and veggies with Green Goddess dip for appetizers. Then mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (baked in the oven, peeled, mashed with butter and a little brown sugar), broccoli rice casserole, green beans with almonds, cranberry sauce (homemade, of course), and biscuits. And, of course, the giant turkey and tons of stuffing. For desert, I made two pumpkin pies and an apple pie which I will serve with homemade whipped cream.

Ok…I need to stop writing about this meal because I am making myself very hungry and I have about 4 ½ hours before we eat.

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving is wonderful and stress free. Enjoy your meal and I hope you get to share it with those you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!