Thanksgiving 2008

This year Beth & I made the Thanksgiving meal for her family that visited us. For weeks we narrowed down our list of dishes and settled on recipes. 

  • Turkey & Gravy: I have never liked the turkey that I had eaten at family parties. It was always over cooked and shredded into large chunks which makes it very difficult to chew. I choose a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated that called for the bird to be split into the breast, drumsticks, and thighs before roasting. This was supposed to make the process easier but I think that it was just as difficult as roasting the bird whole. The recipe calls for roasting at 275º for 2-3 hours and then crisping the skin at 500º right before serving.

    The bird was very moist but lacked flavor which isn’t surprising since it was only seasoned with salt and pepper with aromatics beneath. Next time for a small group I buy a breast and drumsticks separately to cut down on the butchering. I will also consider brining or seasoning the bird some other way.

    The gravy was really good and I’m not sure if I would change anything about it. It didn’t thicken up like I had hoped but a little cornstarch brought it together.

  • Mashed Potatoes: I salted the hell out of the water for once and you could really taste it in the end result. I peeled them as requested per Beth.

  • Green Bean Casserole: I have wanted to make Alton Brown’s homemade casserole ever since I saw him prepare it on television. It calls for fresh beans, fresh mushrooms, homemade onions, and a creme sauce. The texture of the beans was little off but the sauce and shrooms were great. I burnt my onions a little but forgetting to flip them as they baked. I will definitely tackle this again and watch my onions better.

  • Mac’n’Cheese: I’ve never had this dish at Thanksgiving but we’re in the South now and we thought that it would be enjoyed. I choose a simple recipe from Emeril that only used Cheddar. The problems started when my sauce wouldn’t thicken. I checked all my measurements and other details of the recipe and couldn’t find anything I did wrong. I added more cheese and eventually cornstarch as well to bring it around. The consistency of the noodles and cheese was almost fluffy after it baked which was surprising, but not terrible. The shredded cheese and breadcrumb topping failed miserably. The cheese didn’t melt.

  • Corn: We had bags of frozen corn from her parents. I put a little butter, salt, and pepper. It was fool proof.

  • Rolls: I wanted to make homemade yeast rolls. We thought about frozen and then decided that the rolls wouldn’t be too difficult to make. They really weren’t that difficult but didn’t turn out like Beth wanted. They were much too small and dense. I enjoyed their taste and tough exterior though.

  • Cranberry Sauce & Butter: I saw a picture and recipe for cranberry butter weeks ago and wanted to try to make this beautifully colored butter. The sauce was extremely easy to make. I really don’t know why anyone would settle on the canned stuff. But I don’t think I cooked my sauce long enough for the butter. The skins and pieces that were still in there didn’t mix very well with the butter I forget to set out. It didn’t mix well but it did have the tangy taste I wanted.

  • Lava Cakes: Beth & I made individual lava cakes for dessert. I made the chocolate balls for the center the night before and had the batter ready to be made as soon as the savory dishes were consumed. The result was a well formed cake but much too bitter for the tastes of everyone. It was disappointing for me that it was so close. We topped it with a raspberry sauce I made the night before.

I may sound like a failure after reading my negativity but it really wasn’t. Overall it was awesome for the first attempt. I know I made it very hard on myself but mostly because I wanted to challenge since I enjoy cooking. Next time I would probably settle on a much smaller list of dishes and hopefully choose some I am experienced in making. I told Beth that a dish like lasagna would have been awesome to eat, easy to make, but obviously not very Thanksgiving-ish. 

After the meal Andy & I walked to the hotel they were staying at while the rest drove. It was a very close hotel and you could see our building from their corner room. We came back ate pizza, played dominoes, and enjoyed catching up.