Every blog I write is usually 1-2 months behind. I was really good at this when I started, but have become quite the slacker.
This year I hosted my very first Thanksgiving. (Does that officially make me an adult?) It originally started as a small dinner party of five but quickly grew to a party of 18 (14 adults and 4 kiddos with people from Australia, America, Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland). In my very recent past, kitchens and recipes and cooking scared me. However, I spent the previous 10 months improving my cooking skills so I, strangely, felt completely calm cooking this massive meal.
The preparations began about 5 days out with sourcing a turkey and ham, creating a menu, and then shopping. I started cooking 3 days out. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around everything was ready and Pete, who came up from Sydney, Kevala, who flew in from Melbourne, and I went and relaxed on the beach for a bit in the afternoon. After we came back it was time to get ready and finish setting up tables, chairs, etc.
Everyone enjoyed dinner (or so they said) and after dinner we took a stroll around the neighborhood. After a lovely evening walk it was time for dessert... mmm dessert. Then the evening came to an end. As incredible as it would have been to have pulled this off alone, I definitely didn't. Bee let me throw a dinner party at her house, friends brought food, drinks, extra plates, and most importantly hungry tummies and good company. For my first Thanksgiving, it was a smashing success.
The full spread included:
Pre-dinner Nibbles
Cheese and Crackers
Olives
Roasted Tomatoes
Different Spreads/Dips
Main
Turkey
Ham
Creamed Corn
Funeral Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Honey Glazed Carrots
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Mac and Cheese
Beetroot Salad
Stuffing
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Dessert
Pumpkin Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
Cocktails
Cranberry Juice, Ginger Ale, Apple Juice, and Vodka with Lime
Champagne and Cranberry Juice with Lime
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| Let the cooking begin |
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| I'm usually a pretty clean chef... this picture shows otherwise |
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| The turkey brine is cooling on the left, the beets are boiling in the center and the bread is drying out for the stuffing |
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| Our fridge was packed and I borrowed some space in a neighbors fridge. |
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| Pete helping out in the kitchen |
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| Backyard turned dining room |
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| It was Spring in Australia so a picnic Thanksgiving was perfect |
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| The BBQ was turned into a cocktail cart |
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| The kids table |
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| Of course the adults made themselves comfy at the kid's table |
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| Champagne and Cranberry Juice Cocktail... and Pete's nose |
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| Me bartending away making the Cranberry Juice, Ginger Ale, Apple Juice, and Vodka Cocktail |
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| Kevala, Pete, and Beps in the background |
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| Sometimes Pete and I pretend we're models |
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| Me and Isobel |
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| Sometimes she takes serious pictures and I mess them up |
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| Ruben said he was going to eat the whole turkey so when it was brought out he claimed the entire tray as his own |
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| Not the best photo because you can't see everything, but it's the best one I got |
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| Pumpkin Pie... mmmmmm |
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| Dinner time at last |
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| I have a mouth full of food here and we were short one place setting so I ate from a to-go tray with chop sticks. Going clockwise: Me, Sarah, Hamish, Leanna, Pete, Kevala, and Isobel |
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| Starting in the bottom left and going clockwise is Lukas, Bee, Phil, Georgia, an empty space for Catherine (she's taking the picture), Beps, and Sam |
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| Ester, Caggy, and Ruben (this photo is missing Simon) |
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| The kids coordinated a performance |
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| Post dinner entertainment |
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| Pete, Me, Kevala, and Sarah had a photo shoot after everyone left |
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| Kev and me with Sarah in the background |
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| Let's be serious everyone |
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| Scorpio reunited with his creator |
Spruced Up Turkey
These days, commercial turkeys and chickens too often lack flavor and succulence. Here is a way to make your Thanksgiving turkey or a simple roast chicken taste like those your grandmother might have raised on the farm. The spruce branches (taken from an ornamental blue spruce or Norway spruce) impart a delightfully wild and woodsy taste. Soaking the turkey overnight in a brine solution infuses the meat with exotic, fragrant flavors and plumps the bird. Don’t feel obligated to include every single one of the ingredients for the brine if any are difficult to obtain. Rather, use the list of ingredients as a guideline and improvise as you wish.
These days, commercial turkeys and chickens too often lack flavor and succulence. Here is a way to make your Thanksgiving turkey or a simple roast chicken taste like those your grandmother might have raised on the farm. The spruce branches (taken from an ornamental blue spruce or Norway spruce) impart a delightfully wild and woodsy taste. Soaking the turkey overnight in a brine solution infuses the meat with exotic, fragrant flavors and plumps the bird. Don’t feel obligated to include every single one of the ingredients for the brine if any are difficult to obtain. Rather, use the list of ingredients as a guideline and improvise as you wish.
For the Brine:
1 1⁄4 cups kosher salt 3 1⁄4 cups sugar
2 cups honey
2 lemons, cut in half 6 sprigs fresh parsley 6 sprigs fresh dill
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh tarragon
6 sprigs fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 whole cinnamon sticks
5 whole bay leaves
8 whole cloves
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods
6 sprigs fresh tarragon
6 sprigs fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 whole cinnamon sticks
5 whole bay leaves
8 whole cloves
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
5 whole star anise
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 two-foot long spruce branch, washed and cut into small pieces
1 one-foot long piece of sassafras root, washed and cut into small pieces (If you can’t find whole sassafras root, 3 to 4 ounces of loose sassafras tea can be substituted.)
2 gallons boiling water
1. Combine all ingredients except the boiling water in a 5- gallon heat-proof container large enough to hold the turkey.
2. Pour the boiling water over the brine ingredients and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
3. Submerge the turkey in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.
For the Turkey:
1 fresh turkey, 18 to 20 pound fresh
A 2 by 2 foot square of cheesecloth2 pounds (eight sticks) butter, melted and kept warm
Spruce limbs for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
5 whole star anise
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 two-foot long spruce branch, washed and cut into small pieces
1 one-foot long piece of sassafras root, washed and cut into small pieces (If you can’t find whole sassafras root, 3 to 4 ounces of loose sassafras tea can be substituted.)
2 gallons boiling water
1. Combine all ingredients except the boiling water in a 5- gallon heat-proof container large enough to hold the turkey.
2. Pour the boiling water over the brine ingredients and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
3. Submerge the turkey in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.
For the Turkey:
1 fresh turkey, 18 to 20 pound fresh
A 2 by 2 foot square of cheesecloth2 pounds (eight sticks) butter, melted and kept warm
Spruce limbs for garnish
2. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it off under cold water.
3. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Carefully dip the
cheesecloth into the melted butter and lay it on top of the
turkey.4. Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 3 to 4 hours,
basting the cheesecloth with melted butter about every 30
minutes. The turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into
the thickest part of the thigh registers 160 degrees.
5. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the cheesecloth and place the turkey on a serving platter. Surround the platter with the spruce branches.
Copyright © 2004 by Chef Patrick O’Connell, The Inn at Little Washington
5. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the cheesecloth and place the turkey on a serving platter. Surround the platter with the spruce branches.
Copyright © 2004 by Chef Patrick O’Connell, The Inn at Little Washington
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