Mission: Thanksgiving

So my original plan for Thanksgiving involved a movie and Golden Corral.

(Pitiful, huh?)

I was apparently in a pretty whiny deployment slump that day and never really thought about it.


Then a few days ago, I was talking to a friend how, since it was just going to be me and Sami, I wasn't going to cook a big meal and we were just going to go to a restaurant.

And I realized I was breaking one of my cardinal rules: Not doing something just because of deployment.

Also, Sami is getting to the age she understands what Thanksgiving is about and I don't want one of her first memories about Thanksgiving to be a boring one.


I miss the Thanksgivings from my childhood. (Which very well may be a figment of my imagination.) I come from a rather large extended family. Between my parents, I have a dozen or so aunts and uncles and several cousins. When we would go to Texas for the holidays, it was amazing. Some of my earliest memories are standing around my grandmother's bustling kitchen while people made various things, the other cousins played in the backyard, and if you were the lucky grandchild that year...you got to go up into the loft to get something down!

I still remember those lofts. I remember my grandparent's super long table where all of the food was laid out. My memory is probably skewed on this, but the table could easily seat 10-12 and there was always people sitting around the living room and the backyard. (November in Texas is amazing)

One of my happiest Thanksgiving memories was the year everyone from Texas, came down to Arkansas to spend it with us! It was also one of the first years I remember my mother giving me the job of buttering the turkey. I got up extra early just to do that and I had never felt so special. (I was a dramatic child. I really was)

I want Sami to have the same great memories of Thanksgiving. So far, its been kind of hit or miss.


In the last few years this is what we've done:


2010: The McCauley's came to town, so we celebrated the day before. Then on Thanksgiving, we went over to the Ollivant's for dinner.

2009: Golden Corral. There was no way I could cook a turkey or even a chicken in the oven at our old apartment. That and I believe that was about the time there was a lake in the kitchen. . .

2008: We got to celebrate with the amazing McReynolds' family. Which was absolutely amazing.

2007: Was spent at my aunt and uncle's house. Which is always a great time. I truly love my aunt and uncle more than I can express.

2006: Was insane. We had to go to 4 different celebrations and Samantha was still a young infant. It was definitely crazy.

2005: I worked.

2004: Brandon was a young baby and we spent it at my ex-in laws. Oh joyful.

So in many ways this is the first year I will have cooked it all by myself. Scary, huh? I'm nearly 30 and haven't cooked a Thanksgiving meal completely by myself. Even when Matt and I were together, we spent it at my aunt and uncle. (Where Matt almost got my 2 year old cousin drunk. . . Not on purpose at least!)

But I bought a tiny little Turkey breast and all of the fixings.


And you all get to witness if I fail, or if I succeed.


In *almost* Real time!


Cause I'm going to blog it!


P.S I started this blog around 16:45....


And then I skyped with my brother until 20:00

That's just how I roll.


20:00 MST


Here is my turkey!!!





Cute, huh?


AND its thawed. I'm just that good.




20:05 MST


I forgot my groceries in the car...if you know me, you know this is a normal occurrence. I have issues with grocery shopping...


20:15 MST



Got the groceries in! AND I left several things out of the photo.
Including water, brown sugar and a few other things...This led to lots of cursing when I remembered them. The joys of not using the recipe. 


20:20 MST



Ohhhh! Oranges are sliced!!!


20:35 MST


Soo the brown sugar was hard as a rock....Time to soften







Still softening..


Still softening....



Ah fuck it. 



20:50 MST

FINALLY


Ohhhh hot water melts the brown sugar!!!



Simmer Simmer Simmer!!




20:53 MST




GARLIC. I forgot the freakin' garlic!

20:58 MST


And the cloves.




21:04 MST 


I finished the brine! I finished the brine!!! OMG I finished the brine. 


And boy does my kitchen smell tasty!!!!


Now to let it cool. Ever watch a pot boil?


Try watching to return to room temperature...agony.



22:12




The turkey is in the brine! The turkey is in the brine!






And now it sleeps....See you in several hours ,Turkey Burkey. 



1 comment

  1. Cute turkey! We're going to be using pretty much the same thing since it's just DH and I. =) Who needs a huge turkey with 2 people anyway. lol Good luck!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make my day!