It’s been more than 10 years since I last cooked Thanksgiving dinner. However, this year, Michael and I did not go to EMP on Thanksgiving as we’ve been doing. Instead, circumstance dictated that we remain at home in NJ. Jen and Louis normally go to his parents. But Jen decided to come out to NJ for a few days and be with us on Thanksgiving while Louis went to his parents as usual. Jen and I don’t often get to cook together, so that would be fun! (Coming out here also gave her a chance to meet up with several of her Marlboro friends. They’d be in NJ celebrating Thanksgiving with their parents who still reside here.)
When I did do Thanksgiving, I always used a kosher turkey. At first, it was because we kept kosher. But even when we stopped, I still continued to buy a kosher turkey because the koshering process, which is essentially brining, made for a flavorful and juicy bird.
This time, I decided to order a cooked turkey from Whole Foods. I purposely ordered a big turkey (10 lbs.) so we’d have plenty of leftovers. Jen could take some home, and Michael could overdose because he loves turkey. We picked it up two days prior to Thanksgiving, and I kept it in the frig until then. Turns out, it wasn’t fully cooked, so it came with finishing instructions along with a disposable roasting pan. I also ordered two large containers of gravy because for me, turkey is absolutely nothing without gravy – and lots of it!
Jen arrived Wednesday morning. After lunch, we baked a pumpkin pie. We also cooked meatballs for an appetizer.
Turkey Day
According to the instructions, the turkey required between 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours finishing time in the oven, plus some standing time before carving. We planned to eat around 2 p.m., so we prepared the side dishes before finishing the turkey.
The instruction said to brush the skin with oil or smear it with butter before putting it into the over pre-heated to 325 degrees. I’d always brushed the kosher turnkey with peanut oil, so I used that here. By the way, the turkey was not stuffed.
Finished and waiting to be carved.
Dinner Is Served!
Brioche Dinner Rolls
“Swedish” Meatballs
I got this recipe nearly 50 years ago from a neighbor (long ago moved away). The beef is flavored with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. The sauce for the meatballs consists of two ingredients: ketchup and beer. Definitely not Swedish (hence, the quotation marks). But that’s what she called them, so we always call them that. We hadn’t had them in ages. Label them delicious!
Carved Turkey
The turkey was very flavorful. So, a good decision getting this Whole Foods bird.
Gravy
Excellent!
Dressing – My Own Recipe
Honesty compels me to say that even though I have the recipe written down, having not made it for so many years, I didn’t get it right and it somehow turned out too soupy. It had always been delicious, so a real disappointment. I did manage to correct it somewhat when we had our leftovers meals, but still not anywhere near as good as it should have been.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Seriously delicious! There was actually a lot more but Jen started to serve them before I was able to take the picture.
Roasted Broccoli
Michael and Jen are big broccoli fans (me, not so much), so this was essentially for them.
Cranberry Sauce
As you no doubt can tell, this is the stuff that comes out of the can. Sue me! We love it! I used to make fresh cranberry sauce, but we still preferred this kind.
Pumpkin Pie
As I did in the past, we used the recipe that’s been on the Libby’s pumpkin label since forever. And, no, we didn’t make the crust. We used a crust from Oronoque Orchards which comes two to a package in your supermarket freezer. An excellent pie!
Pumpkin Pie and Breyer’s Vanilla
Overall, with the exception of the dressing disaster, this was a thoroughly enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner. I hope all of you felt the same about yours.
