Week Eats v. 5 THANKSGIVING EDITION // linkup & comment with your meal plans
It’s Turkey Time. Or Pie Time. You name it.
This week’s Week Eats I’m just going to talk about Thanksgiving. For us it’s a huge meal with china & silver & starched linen napkins with a very full table.
So let’s be honest, I’ll serve leftovers & breakfast for dinner until then :) but maybe make these rolls for the morning of?
Welcome to Week Eats! Your weekly meal plan link up // comment on for inspiring each other.
For your perusal: the first week when I had lots of pictures.
The second week when you had lots of ideas.
The third week when I was out of steam and you guys saved the bacon // dinner.
The fourth week when I tried lots of your recipes and my family ooooo’d and aaaaa’d.
Back to the turkey.
Check out Smitten Kitchen’s Thanksgiving Ideas. Or Pioneer Woman.
1) Turkey
To brine or not to brine. A big turkey or two smaller. Free-range or no.
These are lots of questions.
We’ve tried it all and when serving our typical 20 group have gone with two smaller birds. A twenty pound bird is not as juicy. It’s just not, in my opinion. *note: NOT A CHEF*
Brining is lovely and makes you feel like you’re really working for your food. Of course, if you over cook it like often happens around here, it doesn’t save your juicy taste.
Free-range meat in general is a big priority for us, even though it costs more. The meat tastes much better and the animal practices are much better. Good stewardship over the earth & animals means something along these lines to us.
A few turkey recipes: Alice Waters (how can you go wrong following her?), Alton Brown (another guru in my world), and then of course, just because, there’s always Martha Stewart.
2) Potatoes.
Mashed? Yes, of course. Are you going to boil or steam them?
Here’s a great guide to picking the best potato based on your method of prep.
We do a very simple and delicious recipe: yukon golds.
wash. peal. quarter. boil. use a ricer to mash them, all old fashioned like. add cream and chopped garlic and butter. with a soon, fold them in. salt & pepppppa. DONE.
Try to avoid beating the hell out of them because mine taste like thick glue when I do. There’s some magic to the air flow through them that keeps them delicious and not glue-y. Says the woman who usually had glue potatoes til her sister gave her this ricer.
3) Sides.
Creamed Mushrooms on Chive Butter Toast.
Brussel Sprouts & Chestnuts in Brown Butter.
Green Beans & Roasted Almonds.
iCranberry Relish: similar to a recipe we make from my aunt.
4) Rolls.
Because what is Thanksgiving without the rolls? How will you gather up those nummy flakey bits of turkey & gravy?
We love a good potato roll. But really, any homemade roll is amazing. Just prep that dough overnight so you just have to let it warm & then roll out. Ha Ha Ha. <
