Friendsgiving + Thanksgiving 2017

Last year I wrote, "One of these days...

(not my wreath but my brother's)
I'll make a turkey!"

This happened to be THAT year...

In fact, I made not one, but two turkeys.

But first, my colorful Friendsgiving plate from work.

There were two types of cranberry sauce, my version plus Trader Joe's.

I made my first turkey for my Friendsgiving test run which was about two weeks before the Monday of Thanksgiving week.   This was an 11 pound turkey which cost nearly $22. The turkey prices were not quite below $1/lb yet. This was $1.88/lb from Walmart.  I bought it a few days before so I could defrost in the fridge and then in a bucket of water. That was a pain in the ass because you have to change the water out every half hour.  For every five pounds, it's a day in the fridge or using the water in a bucket method, one  pound every half hour.


These Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing flavored chips are seasonal. I bought one bag at first. Then ended up buying several more the following week. It didn't quite taste like turkey to me, but more of the seasonings. They have a nice crunch because they are kettle cooked.

Bert bought me a fat separator so I could use it to make gravy with the drippings.

I have to say for my first time, it came out pretty nicely.


The bird was seasoned inside and out with a lemon and some herbs stuck inside the cavity.  Also, I bought a nifty new non-stick roasting pan (my old one was shot) with a handled rack. Costco. $29.99.

Carved nicely by Bert. I invited D to try the practice run; TC invited a classmate as well.

Test run was a success.  Not shown, my from scratch cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (made in the Instant Pot) plus stuffing.

The spread - turkey, mashed potatoes (red and white with skin on), homemade gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, caramelized onions and a shredded kale, brussel sprouts salad with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds (brought by D). In the front was a honey apple streusel pie (which had a great topping).


That was a pretty good test run.

Later that same week, I saw that the prices had gone down for Butterball turkeys. Since real Friendsgiving was going to have an expected 15 people, I bought an 18 lb turkey figuring on leftovers for folks to take home.

Here the leftovers from the Friendsgiving test run. The stuffing was cornbread with Andouille sausage. I wasn't too fond of it. My cranberry sauce was boiled down with water, sugar, orange zest and juice with maple syrup and toasted walnuts added at the end.  The caramelized onions were pretty easy to make as well. I prepared two lunches for Mr. TJ and La Ley.  Mr. TJ said the turkey breast meat was really moist and juicy. I was really happy to hear that because I didn't think it was, ha ha.


Now for the real Friendsgiving..

KD helped me make the gravy which had vegetables in it. We used turkey neck stock  (no giblets). We both hadn't used this particular recipe before.  The roux wasn't as brown as I would have liked, but it came out pretty nicely. Sorry no picture of the 2nd turkey. It didn't look as pretty as my first, but here it is all sliced up.


Lovely. Bert shredding the meager met off the turkey neck. TC was grossing out over this.

Gravy making...


Because several folks who were invited were vegetarians, I made farfalle with butternut squash and and chard.

TORC brought roasted brussel sprouts with bacon (not vegetarian).

Sh e also made Cous cous with raisins and pine nuts (with feta cheese on the side).

MN and her husband brought a spiral sliced honey baked ham which was delicious.

KD, brought cornbread stuffing wiht pork sausage, cranberries and walnuts, along with corn pudding.

The dessert table before putting the Friendsgiving cake on it - Assorted candies (honey mints, Andes mints and Andes toffee), pecan pie bar from Trader Joe's, a sliced almond Kringle (also from TJ's),, fresh fruit, sweet potato pie (made by one of TC's friends), plus assorted cookies.

It's the return of the Chantilly berry cake from Whole Foods, courtesy of D (who also made the homemade mashed potatoes).  This cake is so great. We first tried this when my uncle bought it for my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary this summer. My dad liked it so much, he bought it for his own birthday the following month.



For the actual DAY of Thankgiving...

We watched the floats for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade...

I had my dishes ready to bring to my brother who was hosting.   Bagged salad, caramelized onions, cornbread stuffing 2.0 (made with mushrooms and green apples and celery), plus sliced almond Kringle...

I made this before leaving, Kirbie's recipe for garlic green beans

The spread...

Turkey, ham, brussel sprouts with balsamic and cranberries, corn pudding (made by my sis), bacon corn, Red Lobsteresque biscuits, plus mashed potatoes and you know the rest.



The whole family was there. My siblings and I didn't want our parents to stress out with hosting and to do any cooking (although they brought two dishes; they can't help it). The kids all had a good time and we all enjoyed each other's company in my brother and his girlfriend's new home.

I'm thankful that my parents are still around, at 78 years of age. They are getting weaker with age and I cannot take them for granted.  I'm thankful for my family as well as my health. That's all I could wish for, material things don't matter.