No More Turkey-less Thanksgiving!

After years not celebrating Thanksgiving the traditional way, we decided 2010 is the best year to start doing just so. Last year we did our own version of Thanksgiving by cooking roasted soy sauce chicken, fried rice and I think some sort of stir fried greens (I only remember the roasted soy sauce chicken and fried rice, but there was definitely a third dish). All were cooked in the dinky kitchen of our studio apartment, where all I had, was one counter space to work with. Glad to say that earlier this year, we moved to a bigger apartment with a decent sized kitchen.

This year, duck was considered but I was determined to have turkey. And to think that I'd never cooked a whole turkey before, it was quite a scary thought. It. is. huge. My conscience was telling me "what if the turkey isn't cooked through, you donkey!" (yep, somehow my conscience sounds like Gordon Ramsay) I planned the whole thing, even googled "Thanksgiving dinner menu". I can't quite pinpoint the reason why, but cranberry sauce sounds repulsive to me. And to be honest, I don't know what to expect (tastewise) from a pumpkin pie, so I didn't dare to make it without ever tasting one myself...

In the end, my husband and I agreed to roast turkey wit h stuffi ng, mashed potatoes, baked yam, green beans of some sort and chocolate tart for dessert. 2 nights before Thanksgiving, I made the chocolate tart and refrigerate it. Then the night before the T-day (my husband called it Turkeyday), the stuffing was prepped. We bought an eleven pounder turkey, and just in case the gravy didn't turn out right, I grabbed a pack of turkey gravy mix (which fortunately wasn't needed).

Upon seeing the turkey, my mom was amused. And her comment was "Remember that episode of Mr Bean where he got his whole head stuck in the turkey?" yeah I do remember that one... The whole time I was prepping the turkey, my mom kept on going in and out the kitchen, giggling.

 

The giggle-inducing turkey

Overall, it was a great first Thanksgiving ever. I'm thankful for the family I have! Now, what shall I make for Christmas?

 

Mashed potato with turkey gravy and grated cheese on the side

 

Stir fried green beans with bacon bits

 

Dark chocolate tart with messy whipped cream

 

(Clockwise) Rice, turkey, baked yam, green beans