Here we are the night before Thanksgiving day. My turkey is thawed and I have my menu planned out.
The menu is as follows:
- Wolfgang Puck’s Brined Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy
- Traditional Mashed Potatoes (simply put – boiled potatoes, half and half, butter, and salt and pepper)
- Green Bean Casserole with French Onions
- Plain Green Beans
- Maple-Glazed Yams with Pecan Topping
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Turkey Stuffing
- Crispy Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
I am going all out, as usual, and have added some yummy hors d’oeuvres to my menu.
Hors d’oeuvres on the menu:
- Mini Venison Burgers
- Bacon Deviled Eggs
- Tomato-Artichoke with Feta and Goat Cheese Bagel Chips
- Lil’ Polskas in a Blanket
- Petite Cucumber Sandwiches with Garlic N’ Chives Cheese Spread
- Red Pepper and Spicy Chipotle Hummus Cucumber Stacks
*** I will post recipes in a later post for those who are interested.
I am going to have 8 people for our formal sit-down dinner. It sounds like I’ll be having a lot of food, but I thought that with the wide selection on the hors d’oeuvres I’ll be able to accommodate everyone’s pallette. Plus I am expecting friends to trickle in after they have gone to their previous engagements and am sure they will want to snack as the night goes on.
Here are some pictures I want to share with you of the food preparations.
Prepping the Turkey
Cleaning the turkey:
Placing the turkey in brine:
Like most people, I don’t have a very big refrigerator. All the space is needed and will be taken up by all the other foods I will prepare ahead of time tonight. So I had to come up with a clever solution. I bought a brand new bucket. At first I counted on it being cold as it has been, however today it has been beautiful here. The temperature has been in the 70’s. So after some careful thinking I came up with this solution. Lined my bucket with 3 new bags. Poured the brine in. I used a large glass bowl and my old pizza stone to weigh down the turkey then tied up the bags. Next I lifted the entire bucket with its contents and placed it in a large storage tub. (Since it wasn’t going to be that cold, I couldn’t let the bucket stand on its own. I had to basically build my own cooler.) I filled it with ice and let the turkey brine on my deck overnight.
I used 2 pots to make the brine and had to chill the bigger pot, using cold water and ice in the sink, to get it down to room temperature. My house is smelling pretty “briney”. It’s not a bad smell, just very strong.
Preparing the Beurre Manie:
- 2 ounces butter mixed with 2 ounces of flour until it forms a soft dough
- After adding the flour to the butter, first rub the flour into the butter
- Mix together the butter, garlic, chopped rosemary, and sage to make a Beurre Manie (compound butter)
Apples and Onions with Sage and Rosemary Stuffing:
- 3 apples, quartered and cored
- 2 onions, peeled and quartered
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 4 sage sprigs
Preparing Some Hors D’Oeuvres
Garlic N’ Chives Cheese Spread:
Bacon Deviled Eggs:
I started my day yesterday at 9:30AM. I went out and bought all the ingredients and supplies needed. Then I came home and started to prepare all of this. I’m hoping tomorrow everything is going to go well and it’s just a matter of roasting the turkey and assembling the side dishes and the hors d’oeuvres. I’m soooo tired and must go to bed now. It’s 1:30AM on Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!!! For now….Good night! 
