Happy Thanksgiving - What's your story?

[LuFins Dad]

For whatever reason, Karla and I stayed up late last night.. I mean late enough that we were going to bed when @kluurs was getting up. We still got up at 7:30 to get the turkey out of the brine and dried for a couple of hours. We used a Dutch oven for the bird this year, and I am pleased. The high sides help heat it evenly.

[LuFins Dad]

I imagine I will be asleep by 8, lol, but Lucas is supposed to wake me up when he gets home for a glass and a cigar…

[Horace]

Successful dishes tonight. The vegetables were a hit and the ribs were good. Veggies were Brussels sprouts fresh cut off the stalk with Italian balsamic from our recent trip. And salt and pepper and olive oil. Baked for a while until slightly browned on top.

[Mik]

Love getting them on the stalk.

[jon-nyc]

@Horace Nice.

People don't realize the vast difference between quality balsamic vinegar and average grocery store stuff.

[jon-nyc]

By the way my Turkey turned out really good this year and was not much of a pain at all. I got a Shady Brook Farms pre-brined turkey (which I didn't really until I was opening the package to brine it). I went ahead and added some salt to the outside of the bird anyway and let it sit about 6 hours in the fridge (I meant to do it the night before but forgot).

Threw in some aromatics, tied it up and cooked it. No basting either. Color was perfect, texture was, well, roasted turkey. I didn't make gravy because last year I found myself the only one using it, everyone else prefers my cranberry sauce. So I just made the cranberry sauce (10m) and not worrying about gravy makes the turkey cooking easier. I made some potatoes au gratin and a caesar salad. Kt was only 3 of us so I didn't make a truckload of sides.

Other than salting the bird, I didn't lift a finger until noon and we ate at 5:30. Not bad really.

[Mik]

Yeah, the 300 sides thing escapes me. It just makes Thanksgiving more caloric and tedious. Make a couple or three good things. Most of my dinners are a protein and some sort of vegetable, period.

Teh Marry Me Chicken turned out really good, Janet praised it which is far rarer than it should be. Neither one of us could finish more than half a chicken breast.

Tried some frozen broccoli. Won't make that mistake again. Ugh.

[jon-nyc]

I think all of my dinners are a protein and a vegetable.

Occasionally rice as well (not as ‘the vegetable’). Potatoes or pasta maybe half a dozen times a year each. Probably less.

[Mik]

We will sometimes have a starch. I refuse to give up pasta, just don't make a lot of cream sauce or butter sauces. I nuked up some jasmine rice last night to soak up the sauce. Down 51 lbs this morning.

[jon-nyc]

Cool.

[LuFins Dad]

[jon-nyc]

Yeah I thought of that too.