Thanksgiving Dinner – Oh How I Love Thee!

Thanksgiving dinner to me, is the most important meal of the year! I look forward to this coveted meal starting from about Halloween on. I lovingly start planning my menus, watching cooking shows, and looking online for recipe inspirations. This year I decided to make my Thanksgiving dinner very special I will make all of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes that are usually made by popularratories such as Thanksgiving, and made by Famous Dishchens or Zingy’s.

I plan to make just a few dishes and tasty sides, along with a small organic turkey, but I also plan to put a gourmet spin on each of them. To start with I’m going to make a gourmet appetizer tray with just a couple offerings. First will be Bacon, Bourbon Tarts with a Bourbon Whipped Cream. I found this Brian Boitano recipe online and it is heaven! How can someone be so good at two things? Cooking and ice skating! Next will be the appetizer of Mini Beef Wellington. This is aFive Ingredient Fixrecipe I have made on numerous occasions. Every time I make them the crowd goes wild and with only five ingredients or less they are a must for my Thanksgiving dinner!

Now on to the turkey – gobble, gobble! This year I plan to take a trip to Whole Foods and buy a small organic turkey. As has been mentioned on my website before, I plan to put a small amount of the Organic Turkey Seasoning on the bird before roasting in the oven. This will keep the skin from touching the wood before roasting. I will not be stuffing the bird, but serving the stuffing on the side. The nice thing about this is that the flavor of the turkey will stay with the skin and cool in the oven, rather than the sausage making your mouth water.

The majority of Thanksgiving dinners stick to a familiar pattern. The roastmaster rolls out the roast and then moves to the trusses. At this point they can be covered with pastry bags or foil and put into either the oven or a slow cooker. I have my doubts about leaving the skin on, but recollecting how tender and juicy the flesh is. It seems a little unnecessary to have the skin on, and I could see some folks getting a little angry about that. I will also have to check out the carving on the turkey to make sure it is decent.

The turkey will be carving with the aid of a fork, but simplified slashes will do. The meat can be carefully moved about the kitchen with ease. The best assistance I can give to the poor creature is to arrange the creatures around the pan, once they are safely in place. This makes sure they don’t run out of space on their own.

An hour or two before dinner is due, I will crack open the final few things and start the gravy. For this I will use both the cast iron wok and the outdoor frying pan. I will not be looking at my stove in this meal. The cast iron wok is great for this kind of cooking. It is heavy duty and is a reliable pan. The best cooking tends to be done in this pan.

If I am going to use the outdoor frying pan, I will put it on a large heatproof surface and heat on medium/low. I will not be looking at the stove in this meal. The cast iron wok is great for this kind of cooking. It is heavy duty and is a reliable pan. The cast iron wok is great for this kind of cooking. It is heavy duty and is a reliable pan.

Prior to cooking starts, I will remove the chicken from its packaging and let it cool in the fridge for an hour. Every once in a while it will remain moist so I will just close the lid without changing the temperature. The chicken will be ready to eat.

I will then add both liquids in the pan. Cold water is added to begin the cooking process. The liquid can be pre-cooked in the fridge for another couple of hours.

The taste is great and surprised at the spice the robust vinegar and mustard have. The chicken is done when all the liquid is absorbed and there is no more mustard or vinegar. The remaining ingredients can be degloved with a vegetable brush. I like to see the whole process as the grains cook and become crunchy. The wonderful thing about this meal is that there is no sauce to clean up.

This is a fantastic meal to make when you are on a diet, as the flavors meld quite nicely. There is no meat with the exception of the crust and I use very little sauce. There is just the crust, which is crunchy, and the rest of the ingredients which are all welcome. I served this with French bread on the side.