My absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving is cooking the turkey! There is something about getting up early with my son Cashton and prepping the bird while we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
This year after my prep work was done I made everyone a light egg cup breakfast ( I will share this easy recipe in a future blog) and headed off to a holiday spin class with my sisters-in-law. It felt great to get our sweat on for 45mins at CycleBar, especially knowing the feast ahead.
My goal was to have my 18lb turkey in the oven by 11am which is why I rinsed the dry brine off the turkey, made the bird stuffing, and marinated the veggies for the pan before I left for spin. That way all I had to do when we got home was throw the veggies in the bottom of the pan, stuff the bird and get that big boy in the oven!
Here is my recipe for the perfect champagne turkey.
Shopping List:
Turkey
William Sonoma Dry Brine
Brine Bag
Champagne
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Shallots
Rosemary
Chicken Stock
Butter
Seasoning
Stuffing (I use Stove Top Turkey Stuffing)
Twine
Tin Foil
Directions:
- 24 hours before cooking, take thawed turkey and rub with dry brine. Place in brine bag and refrigerate overnight.
- This is an optional step but you can marinate your veggies in chicken stock the night before as well. Just mix carrots, shallots, garlic, and celery in a large zip lock bag and add stock.
- The next morning rinsed brine off bird and dry. Place on rack in roasting pan and mix melted butter and seasoning together. Brush bird with mixture and slide a few slices of butter under the skin around the breast. Garnish with rosemary.
- Add veggies to the bottom of the roasting pan. The veggies and drippings are AMAZING when done.
- Make Stove Top stuffing. I recommend 3 boxes.
- Stuff bird right before baking and tie legs together with twine.
- Bake at 350. The time is based on the weight of your turkey but I have included a time to weight chart below.
- Let bake uncovered for 30 mins only basting with chicken stock until skin is browned, then cover with tin foil and start alternating between champagne and stock every 30 mins.
Caramel Apple Mimosa:
If you listen to our show you may know that my mother is a wonderful bartender and she always comes up with the most amazing cocktails for my events and holiday parties. This year she opted to make a Caramel Apple Mimosa for our brunch spread before Thanksgiving dinner. Here is what you need to make this sparkling beauty happen!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz of Stoli Vanilla Vodka
Apple Cider
Prosecco
Ice
Garnish with rosemary and whole cranberries
Caramel, cinnamon, and sugar for the rim
Table Design:
When it comes to table design, I have been working on this look for weeks. I really wanted to use our wedding china that we have only pulled out a handful of times in 10 years. I revolved our silver Vera Wang Grosgrain settings and chargers around the soft gold hues that our dining room is decorated in. I enhanced these colors by renting gold Chiavari chairs from Party Reflections and adding white and gold pumpkins along with crystal candlestick holders for our centerpieces. To keep these colors from falling flat I wove eucalyptus garland through the table runner for a pop of green.
Our Aupair Elena was sweet enough to help me with place cardholders. I have terrible handwriting and I am well aware of it. Elena also helped me with the labels from Cashton's birthday party so I knew she was the right person for the job! I found some adorable Thanksgiving place cards at Sur la table. They were 2 dimensional and featured a turkey with real feathers for some holiday flare.
When we sat down for dinner this year I started to reflect on our Thanksgiving holidays of the past and decided that this Thanksgiving was my favorite of all. It's not often you can get BOTH sides of your family together, especially when they are scattered along the east coast. This year's turkey feast left me feeling extra loved and blessed like no other.
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