Kissing the lipless
This is a gloating post…I’ll be honest about it…I’m going to gloat. Please avert your eyes if you’re not up to it…I’ll understand.
Our feast was perfect and I know why.
- Purchased a locally grown free range turkey grown by Matt Smith (bottom right)
- Brined the turkey over-night in a very simple solution
- Baked 4 pies in store bought crusts the night before…they had plenty of time to chill
- Created a unique and tasty cranberry chutney from this recipe
- Made 1 gallon of the most fabulous gravy ever
- Made my simple dinner rolls
- Made dressing using store-bought bread cubes, onions, celery, and herbs…it was perfect
- Roasted turkey until instant-read Thermapen read 165
- Didn’t over-indulge on champagne…served Beaujolais Nouveau instead
- Didn’t serve mashed potatoes, green beans, or anything else nobody ever really wants
I think numbers 1, 5, and 10 were crucial to this unusual success. Our leftovers are pretty sparse but I can make more rolls, and dressing…and we have plenty of turkey, gravy, and chutney left. The turkey was the best turkey…EVER.
This taught me that the secret to a blissed out Turkey Day is to Keep It Simple. I’m writing this so I won’t forget…oh and because I’m so happy.
10 Responses to “Kissing the lipless”
1 Andy 24 November 2007 @ 12:17 am
wow, everything looks great Vanessa!!
sorry for the late post, but it was pretty cool meeting you and your husband at the Farmer’s Market last weekend!!
we avoided the potatoes and green beans as well, well…forgot about the beans until the last minute :)
we did have sweet potato casserole (Cooking Light), stuffing (simply recipes), cranberry chutney (tummy treasure) and the turkey (also simply recipes). Also made some delicious butternut squash but didn’t take that out until Friday because we thought that we had enough with the stuffing and sweet potatoes.
I’m glad your day went well!
2 vanessa 24 November 2007 @ 8:14 am
Andy,
It was great to meet you and your family…thosse girls are a whirlwind of charm. Tell Sarah I’m looking forward to the pumpkin cookie recipe.
Your feast sounds delicious. I love Elise’s blog Simply Recipes…she always does a fine job.
3 Barry 24 November 2007 @ 1:49 pm
Sorry, Vanessa. Everything looks and sounds great, especially a gallon of great gravy, but no mashed potatoes? You’re messing with the cosmic balance of the universe with a gallon of gravy and no mashed potatoes. Kill the dinner rolls or a couple of pies, but don’t mess with the great Tri-essence of Thanksgiving: turkey, gravy and mashed. Good thing we made 3X the mashed we event wanted over here so as not to screw up the equieverpoise of Wisconsin.
4 JEP 25 November 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Love the photo!!
5 Jef 27 November 2007 @ 2:47 pm
No mashed? Honestly, I’d ditch the turkey before the mashed potatoes. Turkey is just a mere sidenote to the feast of mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing.
6 MadLisa 27 November 2007 @ 8:53 pm
I’ll have to agree with Jef. My family would stage a mutiny without mashed–with me in the lead..!! But Jef, these heritage turkeys are divine. I didn’t even brine mine. Nothing. An 18 pounder, 475°F with the convection on, and in 90 minutes we had a dark golden, crispy, moist, hunk of deliciousness to be thankful for! Mashed p., fresh cranberry sauce, simple bread stuffing, thick, silky gravy, roasted sweet potatoes. 7 very happy people around the table.
7 vanessa 28 November 2007 @ 5:08 pm
Barry, so glad you preserved it…whatever the heck it is.
JEP, thank you!
Jef, MadLisa is right…the turkey was insanely good and cooked so fast, was so moist, and flavorful. Next year we want two…one for the freezer for February.
MadLisa…for us it’s the dinner rolls, turkey, and gravy…that’s our holy trinity.
8 Barry 28 November 2007 @ 9:39 pm
Sorry for the typos in my last sentence. I meant to write: “Good thing we made 3X the mashed we even wanted over here so as not to screw up the equaeverpoise of Wisconsin.
Sorry I confused you by misspelling equaeverpoise, which is a concept of universal equilibrium propounded by one of the great 20th-century Midwest crackpots, Alfred Lawson, whose remaining followers maintain the University of Lawsonomy in Sturtevant, WI.
9 stockton 29 November 2007 @ 3:22 am
is the post name a reference to The Shins, or am i mistaken? Great band!
10 vanessa 29 November 2007 @ 7:20 pm
Barry, wow…that is some great information…thanks!
Stockton, yes indeedy…they’ll change your life!
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