Black Friday

Cassie, Aunt Candy, Grammie, Me, Lindsey (mom is taking the picture)

I LOVE, LOVE Black Friday shopping for so many reasons. My family is heavy on traditions, which I believe is what makes our extended family so close. 

Black Friday Shopping is a tradition that has been in the family for a long time. I am sure my mom has memories of shopping the day after Thanksgiving with Grammie and her siblings. What makes Black Friday shopping so much fun is finding the best deals. My crazy family buys Christmas presents for everyone is the family (another great tradition and story for another time). Before Black Friday we all make lists of what we are getting everyone in the family and set out on Friday to find the best deals. For those family members that are hard to shop for we keep our eyes open for that gift that speaks to us. It's really is fun shopping for others and finding that one gift that you know if just perfect for them. 

Friday is also about spending time with each other enjoying our traditional top of the morning Starbucks coffee, Christmas music and candy canes. It really is a blessing to be able to spend time with Grammie and looking back this will be a tradition that we will all remember and carry on and have fond memories of.

 

This year mom, Lindsey and I decided to be a part of the crazy 3am crowd and stand in line at Target hoping to get one of the Door Buster items. We literally froze- finger tips, toes, legs, nose. Every part of our body was frozen by the time the store opened. To make the expereince even worse, we didn't get the item. I was literally one step away from it, when a man stepped in and swiftly grabbed it. Damn hesitation! If you ask Lindsey she will probably rave about the experience. Me, I'm not so sure the experience was worth the frozen bones and major disappointment!

 

How to Brine a Turkey

This year I decided to "brine" my Thanksgiving Turkey. Yes, I too had no idea what "brine" meant until I found this fabulous recipe by The Pioneer Woman.

I admit I was a little hesitant to try a new turkey-cooking-technique since my parents were coming over for Thanksgiving and eating my turkey for the first time. On the other hand I didn't really have a good go to turkey recipe so really I didn't have much to lose.  

You MUST try this recipe the next time you cook a turkey! It was actually pretty easy and makes your house smell of Holiday cheer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 gallons water
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 5 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 3 oranges, peeled, white pith removed, skin roughly chopped
• 1 (20-pound) fresh turkey
• 1 1/2 sticks softened butter
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped orange zest

Directions

Combine the water, apple juice, salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, dried rosemary, and orange peel in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat immediately, cover, and allow mixture to come to room temperature. Cool mixture in the fridge until you're ready.

To brine the turkey, remove the turkey from wrapper, remove interior bags (set aside; refrigerate), and rinse turkey thoroughly under cool water.

Place the turkey into a plastic brining bag or a very large pot.

Pour the cooled brine mixture over the top, adding extra cold water if you need more to completely cover the turkey. Seal the bag or cover the pot and allow the turkey to brine in the refrigerator for 16 to 24 hours before roasting.

Before roasting, remove the turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Then soak in a sink full of fresh water for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry. Discard brine. (This soaking process will decrease the likelihood of too-salty gravy).

Preheat the oven 275 degrees F.

Truss the bird and place it breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cover the turkey tightly with heavy-duty foil. Make sure it's entirely covered (cover over the bottom edges of the pan). Place in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes per pound (a 20 pound turkey will roast for about 3 1/2 hours).

Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the aluminum foil and set aside. Mix the softened butter with the rosemary and orange peel and rub all over the skin of the turkey, covering every single inch of the skin. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, near the hip joint. Place the turkey, uncovered, back into the oven. Continue roasting the turkey, basting with butter every 30 minutes, until the thermometer registers 170 degrees F and until the juices are no longer pink.

Remove from the oven and cover with foil until you are ready to carve and serve. Reserve pan juices to make gravy.

Cook's Note: This is enough for a 20 pound fresh turkey. You can decrease the quantity for a smaller bird.

You can find this recipe on the Food Network website.

Thank You Pioneer Woman...

for making me look like a professional! 

The Hustler and I, a couple of years back, decided to start our own Thanksgiving tradition. Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving at one of our families houses, The Hustler and I stay in and make a grandiose meal for just the two of us. We thought it would be nice and useful to know how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for when we grow up and potentially have a family other than dogs. 

Over the years we have made some monumental mistakes in the kitchen. The first year I under estimated how long it actually took to cook a turkey- like 2 hours underestimated. This same Thanksgiving The Hustler didn't realize he had to cook his pumpkin pie, which we didn't realize until his dad went to take the first bite. To add to the disaster our TV bulb went out in the middle of football. Yes this happened all in one year! 

Another year I swear we slept right through Thanksgiving! I don't even remember how the food turned out or if we even ate. 

And last year I was so determined to thaw that damn turkey I let it sit in the sink for multiple days without refrigerating it. This really freaked people out and they convinced me the night before Thanksgiving to throw it out and buy a fresh one.

This year was a little different. We invited my parents over for Thanksgiving. Talk about some added pressure! This is the first time in Hollis history that everything tasted amazing!! Everyone even said the turkey was the best they ever had!!!!!!!! This was music to my ears. I will be bragging about this for probably the rest of my life. 

I got my amazing turkey recipe from the Pioneer Woman. The secret is brining the Turkey. I'll be posting pictures and the secret recipe soon! Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!