Kitchen Adventure: Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

This year, for a number of reasons, I have decided to host my families thanksgiving dinner.

We go to John's grandfather's every year for a family dinner one night then to my parents' for the other night. It's a great excuse to eat a lot of turkey and sides.

 

I've always wanted to take on the lengthy task of preparing thanksgiving dinner, as I've never cooked an entire turkey before.

It also works out to be a great idea this year because my parents are still in the process of having their kitchen renovated, so they are currently sans oven.

 

So!

One week from today I will be hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner!

 

Which brings me to my first of many Thanksgiving related posts this week:

 

How should I make the turkey?

 

I've narrowed it down to 3 options.

Feel free to leave meyour opinions in the comments!

All recipes and photos (minus the text that I added) are courtesy of Martha Stewart.

 

1. Cranberry Glazed Turkey

 

 

2. Molasses Glazed Tukey

 

 

 

3. Roast Turkey with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

 

 

Let me know which one you would pick!

"Thanksgiving" Soup

Yes, I realize it's a little too early for Thanksgiving.

Although when you think about the fact that it's already mid-September, Thanksgiving (Canadian version) isn't actually all that far away.

Regardless, this post has nothing to do with Thanksgiving other than the fact that I named my soup to reflect the ingredients found in it.

Feeling ever-so-slightly stressed on Monday, I posted a recipe for a Comfort Soup. I was missing several of the necessary ingredients so I scoured my fridge to find something else that would warm and comfort me while I tried not to turn every hair on my head white.

Side note: I've been finding the occasional white hair when my hair starts to grow out and the highlights no longer cover the first 3 inches from my roots (I'm cheap and try to go as long as I can in between appointments). There's such a satisfaction in plucking them out, not because I feel like I'm avoiding the aging process but instead because those suckers are as thick as whiskers!

That's how they're supposed to feel, right?

...

Am I turning into an old man or a cat?

Apologies, apologies, I digress.

Craving something comforting for dinner, I remembered I had ground turkey in the fridge that I had meant to use in the cavatappi gratin.

I decided that turkey meatballs would be both warm and comforting so I started prepping my necessaries.

When I first began cooking I would make meatballs by pulling off a small chunk of ground beef, rolling it between my hands, then frying it in a small puddle of oil.

Flavourless.

Then one day I discovered something that changed my life for the better:

The Food Network.

I don't recall which show reformed me and my meatball masacres but I've never made meatballs since without adding in an egg to bind it (One egg to rule them all. One egg to find them. One egg to bring them all and in the darkness bind them...I've had too much alone time this week. Send help), among other things.

This soup was created over the course of 2 days.

I made 10 meatballs on Monday night then cooked up the rest of the turkey in a pot.

I didn't have potatoes or kale so I grabbed some on Tuesday and put it all together last night.

I also should have gotten chicken stock but luckily we had a few packets of beef stock kicking around so I was able to flavour the broth. The beef certinly isn't bad but I'm going to recommend you use chicken broth.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet. In a bowl, place 1 pkg of thawed ground turkey. Using a fork or a wooden spoon, mix in 1 egg, 1 cup chopped green onion, 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used very finely diced halloumi - needed to use it up and thought it might offer an interesting texture because of it's high melting point), 1/4 cup sour cream (using this in place of ketchup gave the meatballs such a tender consistency), 1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Mix together until combined.
• For meatballs: scoop about 1 tbsp of meat out of the bowl and roll between your palms to create a ball. Place on the baking sheet and repeat. Bake for about 30 minutes, longer if you make bigger meatballs.
• If you choose not to do meatballs, brown the meat in a pot over medium heat, stirring every so often to break up the meat and to ensure it cooks thoroughly.
• Meanwhile, set a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook 3 potatoes until they become tender (stick a fork in them to test this), about 15-20 minutes. It's okay if the potatoes are not entirely tender at this point because the potatoes will cook again later. Once tender, cut the potatoes into large chunks. If you want to remove the skin it should slip off of the potato fairly easily at this stage.
• Rinse the potato pot and add one of the potatoes, cut up, back to it. Add in 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp milk and mash the potato.
• To the mashed potato add in 6 cups of water and about 6 tbsp of chicken stock. If you use canned broth use 2-3 cans. Add in the rest of the potatoes and add in the cooked ground turkey.
• Chop up enough for 2 cups of kale then add to the soup. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow the soup to simmer until the kale has wilted. Serve and enjoy!

Now to try and write a history essay outline for this 7 week course...

*I've updated this post with information on how you can support the Ride to Conquer Cancer!

Easy Summer Dinner Idea: Turkey Burgers

As I mentioned yesterday, John handed in his Master's thesis and, being the kind girlfriend that I am, I made him a celebratory dinner.

Since summer is officially in it's late stage, I wanted to make the most of one of my favourite summer foods: hamburgers.

I put a healthier spin on things and opted for ground turkey instead of ground beef at the grocery store.

Someone had mentioned avocado to me in the last little while and it was stuck in my head. I figured avocado on a burger would also go better with turkey than with beef.

So it was settled.

I set up for dinner on the balcony.

The burgers turned out really tasty.

John opted for jalapeno havart on his instead of the slab of brie I added to mine.

I also made potato and sweet potato home fries to make it a burger and fries kind of meal.

To make the

Potato and Sweet Potato Home Fries:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Thinly slice 1 white potato and 1 sweet potato.
• Place in a baking dish and toss with about 2 tbsp olive oil. Add salt and pepper.
• Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour or until a fork easily pierces the potato wedges.
  

I also made a condiment-mixture to go with the fries. In a small bowl mix together 2 tbsp mayo, 2 tbsp BBQ sauce, and 1 tbsp guacamole (just blend together the leftover avocado with a few cherry tomatoes). Then dip away with those fries!

If you want to make the best turkey burger you'll ever have, here's what I did:

Jamie's Turkey Burger

1. In a bowl, mix 1 pkg ground turkey with 3 tbsp chopped chives, and 1 egg. Shape into patties, wrap in saran wrap and place back in the fridge.

2. In a pan over medium-low heat, fry 5 peices of bacon. When the bacon reaches your desired crispness, remove from it from the pan and blot with paper towel.

3. Using the fat rendered from the bacon, place the turkey patties in the pan and cook over medium heat until the turkey is cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes per side.

4. On one half of the hamburger buns spread 1 tbsp of grainy mustard and on the other half spread 1/2 tbsp of mayo. Place a slice of jalapeno havarti or brie on the mustard half. Layer 1-2 slices of bacon on top of the cheese. Layer thinly sliced avocado over the bacon. Place the turkey burger on top of the avocado and top with the mayo-ed bun. Press down gently to keep the burger together.

5. Serve and enjoy! If you transfer the turkey straight from the pan to the burger the cheese should start to melt just enough to make it perfectly soft.

I also mentioned that I bought a nice(r) bottle of wine yesterday.

Being someone who usually prefers white to red, I found I really liked this red:

Folie a Deux's Menage a Trois.

It's a clever name. This California red wine is a "delightful blend based on three varietals" of grapes: zinfandel, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon.
It has a bit of a sweeter taste than most of the reds I've had and I like sweeter wines.
And for around $17 it's not a bad price either.

I've been searching and narrowing down my selection for September's Good Things.
Can't believe how fast August has flown by....
Love this song (Summer's End) by the Foo Fighters and I always associate it with this time of year.
Enjoy