Happy, Thankful, and Full

Dinner turned out just right, if not better. I'm exhausted and ready to sit down with David with a glass of wine and talk about our plan of attack for Black Friday...not really. Will post details tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's The Big Day!

OMG! What have I been doing since Sunday????

Well, let's look back:

Monday - pulled the turkey from the freezer.
Tuesday - nothing...unless you count that I thought about Thanksgiving dinner.
Wednesday - busy, busy!
-cut and cleaned kale
-sliced & diced onions
-diced celery
-picked thyme & parsley off stems
-poached Bosc pears
-made sage butter
-chopped garlic
-reconstituted dried mushrooms
-made ranch dip

I opted not to brine the turkey, because it wasn't quite defrosted, and I just ran out of steam. I didn't chop my herbs as planned, either. And, I didn't make the giblet broth. Gosh, I hope I don't end up scrambling a more today. Oh well, I'm sure it'll all come together at some point today, and if I don't have time to make the broth, well, let's just say I'm THANKFUL for boxed chicken stock. Heeheehee.

It's The Big Day!

5 days to go and counting...

My gougeres. I think they look so cute and tasty. Unfortunately, I don't think I added enough salt to the recipe. They're a bit bland. Bummer. The recipe called for a large pinch of salt, which is what I put in. I was afraid to add too much salt, since the gruyere cheese is a bit salty, too. Oh well. Maybe I'll have to make something to dip them in.

Turkey Day Countdown - 3

Wow! Full Circle Farm is great! I got my weekly newsletter stating what the contents of our box will be and was able to go and change items around. When we did it a few years ago, it was only 3 items per box. This time I got to change just about everything, if I wanted. I could double some stuff, too. And, the now have a "green grocer" which means I could order other produce (for additional charge, of course) to come with my box. And, it will all be delivered to my door by 6am on Wednesday morning! Just in time for me to start prepping for the big feast.

I got to check off of my shopping list sage, thyme, parsley, kale, delicata squash, and yukon gold potatoes. I also decided to add poached pears to the menu because that was one of my original box contents. Now I have a few more things to add to my shoppinglist, but that's okay.

Yesterday, I braved Costco to pick up the gruyere cheese (along with some other necessary, non-Thanksgiving things). I have made it my end of the year goal not to go to Costco again for the remainder of 2009.

So, here's the gougeres recipe I am planning to follow. Seems pretty easy. I will grate the cheese later today - probably as soon as I log out of Blogger - and I will make and freese them tomorrow. I think I will omit the nutmeg. Check back tomorrow to see how these came out!

ACTIVE: 15 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN
SERVINGS: MAKES ABOUT 28 GOUGÈRES
Ingredients
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
Large pinch of coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
3 1/2 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (1 cup), plus more for sprinkling
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.
Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool for 1 minute. Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between each one. Add the cheese and a pinch each of pepper and nutmeg.
Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip and pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat in a 350° oven until piping hot.

Turkey Day Countdown - 2

I need to make a shopping list. I don't think it'll be too big of a list, as I've got some of it already, and we are getting some vegetables in next week from our CSA. We just signed up for the boxes this week to start next week. I'm super excited. It's with Full Circle Farm in Carnation, WA. Our first CSA was with them. Then, we did the summer CSA with Oxbow. Oxbow does not offer their boxes in the fall and winter months, which is actually when I have the hardest time buying vegetables in the store.

Anyway, I went off on a tangent...

So, here's what I have on hand:
-dried bread for stuffing
-dried wild mushrooms
-dried cranberries
-onions
-cooked chestnuts
-muffin mix
-chicken stock
-turkey is ordered & on its way
-sparkling juices for drinking
-butter
-an assortment of potaotes (if I decide to use them)

Here's what I need:
-fresh thyme, sage, and parsley
-yukon gold potatoes (maybe)
-gruyere cheese
-kale (2 bunches)
-delicata squash (x2); should be arriving with CSA
-poultry seasoning (???) it's what the stuffing called for...

I can't think of what else. I am sure I'll be adding more as the day draws near.

Countdown to Turkey Day - 1

The menu:
-gougeres
-one 7lb heritage turkey
-chestnuts and wildmushroom stuffing
-mashed potatoes
-gravy
-browned butter kale with cranberries and pinenuts
-apple cinnamon muffins

possibly more...

I've been thinking about what all I will need, but not really organized yet. I think we require a trip to Costco for gruyere cheese.