Big news...
I'm about to become a real grownup!!!
I am hosting my FIRST holiday dinner at MY house!!!!!
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| Making plans.... |
Part of why Neal and I really wanted a bigger place than our townhouse was to be able to host holidays.
We do the every-other-year thing with our families for Thanksgiving. Last year we were down at my parents (remember Austin and the Great M&M Caper?) So this year it is Neal's family's turn to enjoy our company on Thanksgiving.
So we decided to host it at our new house! Which means I'm COOKING A TURKEY.
I've never done this. I've never even cooked a chicken. Well, actually there was that one time in college Jesica and I tried to bake a chicken and it kinda boiled in it's own blood in the pan and we threw it away.
Needless to say. I have NO IDEA what I'm doing.
The past few weeks have been a really fun time in my head as I read recipes, search blogs... try and figure out what technique I want to do and how to handle this whole thing...
Inside my head...
hmm.... ok, this article says "Cook a Turkey Like a Boss" that pretty much sums up what I want to do... ok... but bleach? why does it call for bleach? ew. Oh, to clean up after.
Good lord, the clean up. How am I going to fit it in the sink? I have to RINSE THE INSIDE??? Ew. that's going to be interesting. I hope I don't drop the turkey. How do you rinse the inside of a turkey???
Oh, here's a brining recipe. Maybe I should brine. Everyone says to brine. Ok, I'll brine the turkey. Wait, how am I going to brine it? A bucket? Do we have a bucket? Ok, we have a bucket.. but shoot. How am I going to fit that in the fridge overnight? Ok, never mind, we aren't brining. This sounds too involved.
Oh, dry brine! This is new. What is this? Oh, it's a dry rub thingy. Ok, that sounds good and easy. Ok cool. Definitely doing that. I can do that.
How big of a turkey do I get? 10lbs should work.... oh wait. We have how many people? Wow, ok that's 12 people. Shoot. 20lb?? Dang it, the store doesn't have 20lb! 23lb, that's way too much... here's 15... nope... ok, here. 18lb. That's gonna have to work.
Hey a brining kit! With a bag! Oh that's way easier than a bucket. Maybe I can brine then. Done. Brining here we come!
Wait. What? My turkey is pre-brined with salt? What? Can I still brine with the stuff I bought??? Hmm.. this website says no. The turkey will be a salt lick and we'll end up at Panda Express for dinner. Dang it!!!! Well now what the heck am I going to do?
Ok, well here is that "Cook a Turkey Like a Boss" article again... ok this sounds easy. Rub butter under the skin? Oh that's going to be weird. Ew.
Ok, so how long does it cook? Do I have a meat thermometer? I think I did, but I got rid of it because I never used it. Dang it! Why do I get rid of stuff? Do I need a baster too? Don't I have a baster? Oh, that's right. The baster ended up being a bathtub toy. Ok, I'll buy a baster.
Needless to say I've been all over the place with my thoughts, my plans, my game plan.. a lot of this I ended up saying out loud to my super enthused husband who gave me the glassy-eyed "mm-hmm... yep" kinda response to my ramblings...
This turkey better turn out... but thankfully we do live close to a Panda Express.
1 comment:
This is hilarious! You know we hosted 3 thanksgivings at our place on Whidbey?! We actually made a food timeline and have a list of our favorite recipes if you want some "gauge"..., not like there aren't 10 million sources for that kind of thing. :) Anyway, you'll do great! You're a great party thrower!!
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