Last year Cheyenne & I went out for bbq the night before Thanksgiving {as we do} at our favorite Southern barbecue restaurant and found out that they had deep fried Cajun spiced whole turkeys for people to order for the big day.
"Chey, that is what we are doing next year. They smell delicious and just think how easy it will be to have them make the turkey since our baby will be crawling around by that point." I said. All Cheyenne could do was drool in response to the idea of a turkey from Yam Yam's {the restaurant}. That very minute we put a reminder on our cell phones to order our turkey from there the first week of November 2010.
Cut to 6 weeks ago. Cheyenne, Amelia, & I hopped in the car and headed for Yam Yam's for dinner with visions of brisket and pulled pork dancing in our heads. However, when we pulled into the parking lot it was more than obvious that they were out of business. Our hearts sank at the idea of losing our favorite bbq joint when it dawned on me "oh my god what about our turkey?!"
Now, if you know me at all, you know that I start work on my Thanksgiving menu and prep in May of each year. I had spent months and months researching, testing, and coming up with an authentically delicious Cajun flavored Thanksgiving menu. Without that deep fried and spice injected bird the whole menu would be a waste. I considered buying my own turkey deep fryer and doing it myself until i remembered that I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains almost every Thanksgiving. Fryer hot oil+rain splashing in=inferno engulfing my house. So doing it myself was taken off the table. I looked into other local restaurants that sell pre-cooked turkeys but wound up at a loss there as well - either they didn't fry turkeys or they did but didn't have organic free-range birds {a non-negotiable must}.
I finally gave up on the whole endeavor and went back t the drawing board. I've come up with a menu that will be insanely good {of course} though not at all similar to the one I envisioned all year.
Menu:
Herb-rubbed organic free-range turkey brined in an Oregon chardonnay with apples & spices. I'm roasting it myself because even though it might be extra work now that Amelia is here I really do love making everything myself so that I know what's going into our food.
Yukon Gold mashed potatoes - here's the deal: i make the very best mashed potatoes in the universe. I'm not giving away ALL of my secrets to the perfect mashed spuds but I will tell you that I swear by a potato ricer. I got mine about 4 years ago from William Sonoma and will never ever make mashed potatoes without it.
Dressing - I use artisanal breads, herbs, chestnuts, celery, onion, and dried cranberries. It's pretty darn good.
Sweet Potato Casserole - My mom makes this every year. It is hands down my favorite thing to eat but is so decadent that I only allow myself this treat once a year.
Fresh Green Beans - roasted with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, onions. & almonds.
Cranberry Relish - I perfected my recipe for the BEST homemade cranberry relish a couple of years ago. It's so yummy and easy that I wont consider making it any other way.
Apple Pie - I have a few different recipes that I like so I'm going to have to narrow that down in the next day or two.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle - Yes. It's as good as it sounds and it's super easy. I stole the main recipe from Paula Deen {whom I normally hate}. I've tweaked her recipe a bit {instead of cool whip I make my own whip cream, instead of a gingerbread mix I make my own, etc.}.
"Chey, that is what we are doing next year. They smell delicious and just think how easy it will be to have them make the turkey since our baby will be crawling around by that point." I said. All Cheyenne could do was drool in response to the idea of a turkey from Yam Yam's {the restaurant}. That very minute we put a reminder on our cell phones to order our turkey from there the first week of November 2010.
Cut to 6 weeks ago. Cheyenne, Amelia, & I hopped in the car and headed for Yam Yam's for dinner with visions of brisket and pulled pork dancing in our heads. However, when we pulled into the parking lot it was more than obvious that they were out of business. Our hearts sank at the idea of losing our favorite bbq joint when it dawned on me "oh my god what about our turkey?!"
Now, if you know me at all, you know that I start work on my Thanksgiving menu and prep in May of each year. I had spent months and months researching, testing, and coming up with an authentically delicious Cajun flavored Thanksgiving menu. Without that deep fried and spice injected bird the whole menu would be a waste. I considered buying my own turkey deep fryer and doing it myself until i remembered that I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains almost every Thanksgiving. Fryer hot oil+rain splashing in=inferno engulfing my house. So doing it myself was taken off the table. I looked into other local restaurants that sell pre-cooked turkeys but wound up at a loss there as well - either they didn't fry turkeys or they did but didn't have organic free-range birds {a non-negotiable must}.
I finally gave up on the whole endeavor and went back t the drawing board. I've come up with a menu that will be insanely good {of course} though not at all similar to the one I envisioned all year.
Menu:
Herb-rubbed organic free-range turkey brined in an Oregon chardonnay with apples & spices. I'm roasting it myself because even though it might be extra work now that Amelia is here I really do love making everything myself so that I know what's going into our food.
Yukon Gold mashed potatoes - here's the deal: i make the very best mashed potatoes in the universe. I'm not giving away ALL of my secrets to the perfect mashed spuds but I will tell you that I swear by a potato ricer. I got mine about 4 years ago from William Sonoma and will never ever make mashed potatoes without it.
Dressing - I use artisanal breads, herbs, chestnuts, celery, onion, and dried cranberries. It's pretty darn good.
Sweet Potato Casserole - My mom makes this every year. It is hands down my favorite thing to eat but is so decadent that I only allow myself this treat once a year.
Fresh Green Beans - roasted with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, onions. & almonds.
Cranberry Relish - I perfected my recipe for the BEST homemade cranberry relish a couple of years ago. It's so yummy and easy that I wont consider making it any other way.
Apple Pie - I have a few different recipes that I like so I'm going to have to narrow that down in the next day or two.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle - Yes. It's as good as it sounds and it's super easy. I stole the main recipe from Paula Deen {whom I normally hate}. I've tweaked her recipe a bit {instead of cool whip I make my own whip cream, instead of a gingerbread mix I make my own, etc.}.
If you're don't have anywhere to be on Thankgiving come on over! We'll have lots of food, lots of good Northwest wine, lots of laughs, and lots of fun!
2 comments:
Wow! This sounds spectacular. It's a very impressive menu and I must say, I'm so happy to hear a fellow gastronome who likes to make things from scratch too. Good job momma!
Thanks! It was delicious! The kitchen is my "zen place".
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