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ButterflyDancer

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
22
HI everyone! Barbara told me this was an amazing website! She is a very dear friend of mine who got to taste my first attempt at making all the food for Thanksgiving this year! So, I figured I might as well share my First Thanksgiving cooking story with you all....

On the menu:
Turkey
Sweet Potatoes
Country Green Beans
Waldorf Salad
Momma's Stuffing
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Dinner rolls
and Pumpkin Pie

Ok so....the bad news first! The turkey came out really dry. The popper popped and I figured it wasn't done yet because when I was preparing it, it was still a tad frozen through the center. I had to wrestle the innards out with some warm water. So I let it cook another hour after the popper popped. BAD IDEA!
The stuffing...yes a tad to doughy because I didn't add enough chicken broth ( OH THE SHAME! Momma would just laugh though.)
The sweet potatoes were to firm! However they were canned so I take no responsibility! LOL Well...maybe a little. But i think it was the brand I used.
The good news!
The Carnberry sauce was divine! Nice texture and sweet sour flavor!
The greenbeans..are hard to mess up! Everything else was easy and came out good. I am however disappointed in my first turkey attempt!:angel: Poor turkey never stood a chance!

Well, I t hough it was funny, yet a little discourageing. BUt everyone ate and was happy!

Looking forward to reading the forums more and posting more!
Happy T-day!
;)
 
Welcome to DC! Your menu sounds delicious!! ...Ok it had a few rough spots...So what? We ALL have had our moments.....I bet no one got up from the table hungry!!:) Next time you will knock it out of the park!!:chef:

Have Fun & Enjoy!
 
Useing the turkey drippings to add moisture really helped it out alot. Thank you so much for your kind words Uncle Bob and the encouragement! Annnd you are so right! Not one, nope not a person, went hungery from my table today! :-D Actually I think we just killed off one pie and a half of another!! If I drink anymore coffee I'm gonna fly to the moon. LOL
 
Useing the turkey drippings to add moisture really helped it out alot. Thank you so much for your kind words Uncle Bob and the encouragement! Annnd you are so right! Not one, nope not a person, went hungery from my table today! :-D Actually I think we just killed off one pie and a half of another!! If I drink anymore coffee I'm gonna fly to the moon. LOL
You know sharing a meal with friends or family is a wonderful thing. So your turkey was dry most are, can I share a secret with you? when I do chickens I lift the skin and force in soft butter then press it from the outside around the bird till it's all coated under the skin..I did this with a turkey last week, and we had the best turkey ever. Now back to your meal. I'd have been honored and proud to share your dinner with you . Give yourself a pat on the back and a well done.
kadesma:)
 
First I would like to say that I am so happy to have my dear friend ButterflyDancer join us!

Second, I would like to add my rebuttal to what she said! LOL Yes, the turkey was a little dry, but I have definitely had drier turkey! And as I told her, I would rather have dry turkey with people we love, and who love us, than moist turkey with people who don't care about us.

The dressing was fantastic! I like mine moist, and it was perfect (and I'm NOT just saying that!). James and I loved everything!

This was truly one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had.

:)Barbara
 

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kadesma.... thank you and your more then welcome around my table anytime! On a side note! Can you rubb down the trukey with butter then put it in a oven bag? I failed to mention that this is what I used. ( My Mom swore by it! But it was my own fault for leaving it in to long. I am totaly over it!) Thank you for your words and advice, I will deffinitly be trying the butter forceing! :) We love butter!! LOL

Barbara, as always it is a true honor to have you as a friend. Both you and James! And I have been totaly busted for you posted pictures! LOL I have to admit, my favorit dish out of the whole thing was the waldorf salad. I think I will write that down and add it to my cookbook. :) Hey no one got ill! Everyone was full and happy. What more could a cook ask for?! <3 Love ya lady! Thank you!
 
Dry Turkey

Hi,
I am new to the site too! I just read your post... Unfortunate about your dry turkey... I have a great tip for foolproof really juicy turkey. I always buy fresh turkey, not frozen... I always rinse the turkey with cold water, then dry with paper towels. Then I squeeze a fresh orange (or lemon) all over the inside and outside of the bird. Then I make a paste with herbes de provence, olive oil, salt and pepper and slather it all over the inside of the bird, and all over the outside. then I put the halves of the orange inside the bird while it cooks. I also stick a couple of cloves of mashed garlic inside, makes for delicious gravy. Yesterday, my turkey looked pretty brown after only 1.5 hours, so I tented it with tin foil, it came out perfect! I had the temp up to 350 for the first hour, then when I tented it I turned it down to 320 and finished the cooking. It popped at just at 20 mins per pound plus 20 extra minutes. I removed it from the oven and let it rest on the counter, drained off the juices and then put ice cubes in to separate out the fat, put it in the freezer, and then was able to scrape off all the fat. I used the pan to make the gravy, it turned out DELISH!!!
Happy cooking!
 
Hi,
I am new to the site too! I just read your post... Unfortunate about your dry turkey... I have a great tip for foolproof really juicy turkey. I always buy fresh turkey, not frozen... I always rinse the turkey with cold water, then dry with paper towels. Then I squeeze a fresh orange (or lemon) all over the inside and outside of the bird. Then I make a paste with herbes de provence, olive oil, salt and pepper and slather it all over the inside of the bird, and all over the outside. then I put the halves of the orange inside the bird while it cooks. I also stick a couple of cloves of mashed garlic inside, makes for delicious gravy. Yesterday, my turkey looked pretty brown after only 1.5 hours, so I tented it with tin foil, it came out perfect! I had the temp up to 350 for the first hour, then when I tented it I turned it down to 320 and finished the cooking. It popped at just at 20 mins per pound plus 20 extra minutes. I removed it from the oven and let it rest on the counter, drained off the juices and then put ice cubes in to separate out the fat, put it in the freezer, and then was able to scrape off all the fat. I used the pan to make the gravy, it turned out DELISH!!!
Happy cooking!

That all sounds so divine! Thank you for shareing your tips! Unfortuneitly, I am allergic to oranges! But I could try some fresh lemon that isn't so bad. I just have to be very careful whenever I venture into the citrus family.
Now i was watching a cooking show "Good Eats" and he has mentioned raising the temp at the begining of cooking a turkey then lowering it after a hour. I had forgotten abouti t till you just mentioned it. Maybe this will be something I try next time. The reason I didn't get a fresh turkey is because they had a HUGE sale on turkeys I got my 14.4 pound turkey for $4.89. I saved 20 bucks! So I bought 5 turkeys frozen. I have 4 more chances at getting it right! :) Thanks again for your advice!!
Cheers!
 
Welcome to "DC" and now with Thanksgiving complete everyone can concentrate on all the Holiday gatherings that will be taking place during the next month.
 

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