Thanksgiving 2008

It was Turkey Day here in the U.S.A.. Spent it sleeping. ^_^ Then we spent Friday cleaning because Jia Tyan (Jia Nin's sister) and her colleague from the Michigan State University joined us for a turkey meal on Saturday instead of Thursday, giving the usual traffic hassles and last minute shopping rushes a miss. I roasted the turkey, Jia Nin made the cabbage casserole, croissants, pasta salad (not in photo) and gaucamole (not in photo) while her sister and friend brought the relish, stuffing and beer. For my first try at cooking a whole turkey (turkey burgers don't count!), it turned out pretty good. I adapted a recipe from the Good Eats cooking show (highly recommended!). Used the drippings from the turkey to make the gravy (add a cup of wine to dissolve the drippings, reduce in a sauce pan on high, add 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of heavy cream). The photo above was just after carving, before being picked clean of meat. The carcass is now in a pot, being rendered down for stock. Looking forward to Jia Nin's borscht soup. Yummmmm.. We didn't escape the final Thanksgiving Tradition though: Leftovers. The wings and drumsticks will make great snacks and the breast meat (and scraps) are to be used in the coming week's lunch sandwiches (yes, a whole week! 5 working days!). Next goal: surviving Christmas.