Thanksgiving Dinner, Turkey Help, Cooking Turkey
Food & Cooking Tips
Thanksgiving Dinner, Timing is EVERYTHING!
I took the turkey out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator four days before Thanksgiving so that it would thaw thoroughly. I also kept an eye on it to make sure it was thawing. The day before Thanksgiving I got the turkey out, removed the giblets. I covered the turkey with plastic wrap and put it back in the refrigerator.
I cooked up the giblets in water
with celery, onions, salt, pepper, and sage, just like my Mother and Grandmother
did. I simmered this most of the day. This is the broth I used in the
stuffing and gravy. It made all the difference in the world. I made both
stuffings the day before and stored them in the refrigerator. Note: Do
not put the stuffing into the turkey until you're ready to put it in the
oven. Two things off my list for Thanksgiving day. I also made the cake
and the Pearl Onion au Gratin, and the Cranberry Compote, five things
off my list.
My mother-in-law was making her dessert specialty, Strawberry Trifle and
the mashed potatoes. My sister-in-law was making the sweet potatoes. That's
eight things off my list for Thanksgiving Day. That meant that from the
Thanksgiving Dinner menu all I had to prepare on Thanksgiving Day was:
Turkey
Glazed Ham
Peas
Candied Carrots
Green Bean Casserole
Creamed Corn
Cranberry Jelly
Madeira Gravy
Rolls
Pretty easy, especially since the peas, creamed corn and rolls only needed heating up, the jelly needed to be slid out of the can onto a plate. So I had to fuss with the turkey, glazed ham, candied carrots, green bean casserole and Madeira gravy.
Thanksgiving morning. I knew the turkey had to cook 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. It had to be out of the refrigerator 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to going into the oven. It had to be ready by 4:30. So, the turkey came of of the refrigerator at 10:45A. The stuffing that went into the turkey came out of the refrigerator at 11:30A. I stuffed the turkey and put it into the oven at 12:15. 4 1/2 hrs of cooking would mean it would be ready by 4:30-4:45. Since I needed to take the foil off for one hour for it to brown, take foil off turkey was on my list at 3:30. We checked the temperature so we were sure the turkey was done. The thigh temperature should be 175 degrees and the stuffing 160-165 degrees.
My
schedule looked something like this:
10:45A ......Turkey out of refrigerator
11:00A
11:30A.......Sage stuffing out of refrigerator/preheat oven
11:45A
12:00
12:15P.......Turkey (stuffed) into oven 325 degrees covered with foil
1:00P
1:30P
2:00P
2:30P........ Ham into convection oven 325 degrees - glaze every 15 -
20 minutes
3:00P
3:15P
3:30P..........Foil off turkey
3:45P ........Apple sage stuffing out of refrigerator
4:00P ........Pearl onion au gratin out of refrigerator
4:15P.........Apple sage
stuffing into oven
................... Make green bean casserole
4:30P ........Turkey out of oven, out of roaster, cover with foil, rest
20-30 min.
.................... Pearl Onion au Gratin into oven
....................Start
Madeira gravy
....................Make candied carrots
5:00P .........Pearl Onion au Grain out of oven cover with foil
....................Green bean Casserole in oven
....................Check apple sage stuffing add liquid if needed
....................Start heating peas and corn
....................Start carving turkey
................... Ham out of oven, carve
5:15P.........Apple sage stuffing out of oven
....................Dinner rolls in oven
5:25 P .......Green bean casserole out of oven
....................Dinner rolls out of oven
EAT!
As you can see a lot was going on around 4:30 I had my sister in law keep watchful eye over the Madeira gravy after I started it and my mother-in-law carve the turkey and ham while I saw to the other dishes.
I'm an admitted "A"
type so I like lists and I like organization. I liked this list because
I was able to relax knowing I was doing what needed to be done. I had
plenty of time to relax and get the table set. I got all the serving dishes
and serving utensils out. When my mother-in-law and sister-in-law walked
in the door I know they were surprised how well everything was going.
This really worked for me. I know that it can work for you. It's so simple. Figure out what time you want to have dinner and work backwards from that time.
Every Thanksgiving since I've been married I've heard about the time my sister-in-law left the giblets in the turkey when she cooked it. I also hear about the time she forgot to cook the stuffing. I'm sure that in the years to come I'll make a few blunders of my own.
What made this Thanksgiving
so enjoyable for me was adding new dishes. That's definitely a tradition
I'll continue. My nephew wanted to know if I had made that "green
bean stuff" and was very happy that I had. He also tried a bit of
everything - without being asked!
As Thanksgiving approaches we'll be adding more of our favorite Thanksgiving
recipes.
Our
Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
Bourbon
Cranberry Sauce
Campbell's Green
Bean Casserole
Fresh
Cranberry Orange Compote
Homemade Turkey Broth
Madeira Gravy
Pearl Onions au Gratin
Sage, Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Tips on Cooking a Turkey
Try
Some of our Tasty & Easy Green Bean Recipes
Blanched Green Beans
Fried Green Beans
Green Beans a'la Waterman's
Green Beans Almondine
Green Beans Almondine (with a hint of lemon)
Green Beans Almondine (with an Asian flair)
Green Beans Almondine (with mushrooms)
Green Bean Casserole (Campbell's)
Green Bean Casserole (Cook's Illustrated)
Green Beans in Sour Cream & Tomato Sauce
Green Bean Salad
Green Bean Salad, Provencal
Green Beans with Ginger Butter
Green Beans with Shallots
Greek Green Beans
Greek Potatoes and Green Beans
Italian Green Beans (St. Anna Beans)
Oven Roasted Green Beans
Pears with Green Beans & Bacon
Sesame & Portobello Green Beans
Stir-Fried Green Beans with Pork & Chilies
Sweet & Sour Green Beans
A guide to canning fresh green beans
France is the birthplace of modern canning. During the Revolutionary War the government of France needed a way to make food available for it's troops out in the field. They offered a money reward to the first person who could come up with a way to do this. In 1809 a French confectioner developed a vacuum sealing method using glass jars. Thus canning was born.
Russian Green Beans in Sour Cream & Tomato Sauce
This is a recipe that we attribute to The Best Foods of Russia by Sonia Uvezian. It's a tasty and delightful green bean dish unlike any other we've had. It was our first attempt at Russian cuisine and a success! We used regular fat sour cream but you can certainly substitute light.
Home | Varieties of Green Beans | How to Grow Green Beans | Canning Green Beans | Freezing Green Beans | Green Bean Recipes | Link to us | Vegetable and food links | Privacy Policy | Sitemap
