Bacon and Herb Roasted Turkey, Stuffed
You’ve heard of the 12 days of Christmas. You know the song. Well, you probably know some of the song…who really remembers each verse? This is the story of the 16 Days of Thanksgiving….what happens when suddenly you realize you’re going to host a party for around 30 people with just a couple of weeks notice. Life doesn’t stop, but the party goes on.
Day 16
It started with a text from my spouse while I was on a business trip. It turned out this year’s Thanksgiving volunteer host couldn’t do it. We could step in, but did we want to? Ok, yes, we can step in. I’ll worry about what that means tomorrow.
Day 15
I’m determined not to think about this yet. I have a store to Grand Open.
Day 14
I just tasted the most amazing triple cream brie. I must have this at the Thanksgiving dinner I’m hosting.
Day 13
Set the tables
Ok, I’m starting to panic a little. Let’s see, how many tables do we need? How many chairs?
Day 12
I’m creating the invitations today. Evite.com is awesome. I found a classy invitation (sans turkey, because I think it’s really weird to feature the animal you are devouring). I’m gathering the email addresses and checking them twice because Santa has nothing on us. It turns out Evite doesn’t tell you if you get a bounce back email. You just don’t invite that person. Awkward……
Day 11
I keep discovering the missing invitees. I checked the list! How could this happen?
Day 10
Cheese and crackers
Some people are responding and many are using the interactive tool to tell me what they bringing! Awesome! Look, someone is bringing an appetizer! A dessert! Sweet potatoes! Plus, I found out we should be getting a ham, so that’s less turkey to prepare.
Day 9
I have another business trip today. After an early morning flight, I spent the entire day around food and being reminded that I needed to plan this dinner. Let’s see, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, what else?
Day 8
I have another Grand Opening today. I finally got dinner at 9:30pm. Is Thanksgiving really a week away?
Day 7
Today, I found the menu I made the last time I hosted Thanksgiving. I cut 3 of the sides and remade a new menu. I plan on keeping it nice and simple.
Days 6 and 5
I completely blew off Thanksgiving. I went to a football game and got home at 3am.
Day 4
Today I shopped for decorations and tableware. Here’s the problem with Thanksgiving. It isn’t a big retail holiday. There is one end cap with some paper plates and a few accessories. The craft store has one shelf of clearance items. I know I left this to the last minute, but come on! If this was Dec. 24, I would still have 4 rows of décor!
Day 3
The menu is finalized so I shopped for the food today. I got an excellent deal on the fresh turkey and found everything on my list except the fresh thyme and chives. I really wish the herb garden I had attempted had actually worked out. I think I have a purple thumb.
Day 2
Oh house of mine….could you clean yourself? Please? Little children of mine, could you please put your toys away? Why do I keep finding socks in the kitchen and cups in the bedroom? There is too much to vacuum, too much to dust, too much to mop!
Day 1
Let the chopping, slicing, mixing, and baking begin. This is a little easier than I thought it would be. Isn’t there more I should be doing?
Day 0
Dinne is served
The tables are set, the house smells amazing and the guests are arriving! Happy Thanksgiving!
Menu:
Bacon and Herb Roasted Turkey – take off from Emeril’s recipe, this is amazing. It is the juiciest, most flavorful turkey I have ever had. I brined the turkey for 12 hours prior to roasting.
Mashed Potatoes- (standard recipe) Peel and cut 8lbs of russet potatoes into quarters. Cover with cool water and bring to a boil. Cook 20 – 25 minutes until soft. Drain. Melt and warm 2 sticks butter and 2 cups heavy cream on med heat until very warm, but not boiling. Mix butter and cream mixture into potatoes using mixer or potato masher. Add chopped chives for garnish.
Stuffing – (family recipe): Break 2.5 loaves white sandwich bread and leave overnight to slightly stale. Melt 3 sticks of butter over med high heat. Add 2 sweet onions chopped fine. Cook 45 mins. Add 2-3 tsps sage, 2-3 tsps thyme, and 3-4 tablespoons poultry seasoning to the bread. Add the butter and onion mixture. Mix and stuff into turkey. Cook extra in covered dish after adding some chicken broth to moisten for 20-30 minutes at 350. – I have always loved this stuffing. It is probably one of my favorite foods. Simple, but so good.
Green Bean Casserole – yes, that one.
Corn Casserole – Paula, I can always count on you to add a stick of butter. But dang, that is good food!
Plus all that the family brought!
