Since I didn’t really do too many creative things for Christmas (the one exception being all the ways I tried to get our dog to stop eating the ornaments), I’ll post some very belated photos of our Thanksgiving meal. Next up on the blog: House redecorating!
Dahlia, hydrangea, and something else from our backyard in a mason jar leftover from our wedding flowers.
Cranberry, walnut, and fennel sauce on the stove. This was really easy to make and delicious.
The set table, before the food. The Crate and Barrel Marimekko tablecloth went perfectly with our weird-colored walls and the rug from my single-girl apartment.
Maple, lemon, ginger pear pie filling
The finished pie. I froze the bottom crust a bit too long, so the top and bottom crusts didn’t pinch together nicely. A bit mutant-looking, but probably my flakiest crust.
The turkey, post-cider-bourbon brine, post-buttering.
Dave checks the turkey in the Big Green Egg.
The finished turkey. Don’t get thrown by the brown exterior — smoked turkeys will be much, much darker than you’re used to.
Dave and Dean are ready to devour the turkey.
The turkey meat was really, really pink and also really, really juicy and flavorful. The cider flavor came through from the brine, but it was very subtle.
All in all, a good Thanksgiving. Smoking the turkey in the Egg was a genius move, if I do say so myself. We swore that we’d never roast a turkey in the oven again. Not only did the turkey cook up quickly (about 2.5 hours) and taste amazing, but it completely freed up the oven and, thus, the kitchen for Dave, me, his mom, and his sister to work on all the sides. We have a big kitchen, but even so, it was starting to get crowded in there…
