Thanksgiving 2024 - Cranberries

 Thursday, November 28, 2024

At 9:40 Dale started the cranberries. He brought 2 cups of water and a half cup of sugar (the recipe on the bag called for 2 cups) to a boil. 

He rinsed off the cranberries...

And by 9:43 added them back to the pot and took the burner temperature from hi to 3.0.

He let them sit for a while but continued to stir them from time to time. 

At 9:55 Dale called me in to taste them to see if they were sweet enough. He had turned the temp up to 4.0. At first I thought they might need a little more sugar but as I let them sit on my tongue a little longer I decided they were just right. 

At 10:02 Dale scooped them out of the pot.

They stayed out until they came down to room temperature and then we put them in the fridge.

Thanksgiving 2022

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Dale made the cranberry sauce at around 9:30 a.m. It's the item that makes the most sense to make ahead of dinner since it can just sit in the fridge. 

We follow the Nigella Lawson turkey recipe from her book Feast. It's on page. 

Dale gave the turkey a bath around 11:30. 

We pulled out the giblets and saved them for making the gravy. 

Post bath.

I dried the turkey off.

Between cleaning and food prep I'd check in on the parade once in a while. 

And sip on my Bloody Mary. 

Turkey was in the roaster just a little before 1:00.

Dale buttered it...

...and had it in the oven by 1:06. For the first half hour the oven was set at 4:00.

After the turkey was in the oven Dale had the giblets ready to boil then simmer. 

The turkey got basted with white wine after its first half hour in the oven. The oven temp was turned down to 350 and the turkey's next hour of baking. 

I got started on the sweet potato casserole at 1:50. The recipe I used is the same one I used last time. I drained the yams a little better this go-round. It turned out pretty well overall. Although I halved the recipe I didn't do so with all ingredients. Next time I'd recommend trying to be more precise overall. That said it still turned out pretty well.  

The turkey after an hour and a half in the oven...

...which is when we flipped it over. It went back in for another half hour. Upon removal we tented it with aluminum foil and let it rest for an hour before I cut it. I did the cutting which is my usual duty. I generally do a hack job but it all ends up okay. At some point I should look up the official way to do it. 

When the sweet potatoes were done we put them in the oven warmer until we were ready to serve up Dale's awesome Brussels sprouts. The Stove-Top stuffing was made right at the very end. Getting everything in serving dishes and on the table was quite busy but pain-free. 

Mom and Noel came over around 3 p.m. For hors d'oeuvres we had olives, pickled herring, crackers, and wasabi peas. Dinner was on the table at 4:37 p.m!

Mom brought an apple pie her friend Joanne made for her and Noel brought over a pumpkin pie from Mrs. Kowalski's. 

I had meant to make fruit salad but got distracted the last hour of prep. For next time I think the only things a might add would be corn and maybe dinner rolls. However, that said, what we had was more than enough. 

Thanksgiving Day 2020 - Cranberries

Thursday, November 26, 2020

We got the cranberries started first. 

12 oz. cranberries

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Dale put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and dissolved the sugar by stirring it over medium heat (5.0 on our stove). He then added the cranberries and stirred them occasionally once they started popping, keeping them at medium. He took them off the heat after 10-15 minutes. 

Thanksgiving 2016 - With Mom

Thursday, November 24, 2016

With Mom at the Normandy Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis. They put together a great Thanksgiving dinner. Served family style, it included their signature popovers,  caramelized Brussels sprouts with lardons, apple chestnut stuffing, maple sweet potato puree, gravy, cranberry compote, and of course turkey.  We all went for the pumpkin pie for dessert although apple and pecan were options. The pie was top shelf.

Thanksgiving Morning 2014 = Cranberries

With the pie in the oven, Dale made the cranberries. Cranberries are added to a saucepan with one cup of water and half a cup of sugar that have been brought to a boil. The boil until shortly after the skins come off. Dale also added a little bit of cinnamon. 

Thanksgiving 2013 - The Feast

Top left: The turkey we bought was unfrozen but Dale determined it was still somewhat so in the center. We let it thaw just a bit longer.
Top center: Dale made cranberry sauce. The recipe on the bag calls for adding 1 cup of sugar. Too much. Last year Dale put in a quarter cup. Too little. This year he added half a cup. Just right!
Top right: Turkey basted with red wine. 
Middle left: Dale boiled the giblets and diced some of them to add to the gravy.
Middle center: The backyard on Thanksgiving Day.
Middle right: Checking the turkey's temperature.
Bottom left: Appetizers of pickled herring and gouda cheese. 
Bottom center: The table is set.
Bottom right: Pumpkin pie and coffee for dessert.

Note: I made a fruit salad with whipping cream and two cans of fruit cocktail just like  Grandma Alice used to make. She added bananas to hers so I did too. Mom made the gravy and also brought sweet potatoes. It ALL turned out very well!

Thanksgiving 2012

We're at my brother Pete's house for Thanksgiving. Dale, Mom, and I left this morning very early to fly to Memphis. In Memphis we rented a car to drive to Jacksonville, Arkansas which is just outside Little Rock and is where Pete and his family live. Pete and his wife, Stepanie, made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey, ham and sausages. What a feast! I sat next to my nephew, Xander. He would only eat turkey and I helped cut it up for him. We had pumpkin pie made with cream cheese made by Stephanie for dessert. Abby, Xander, and Emma were all very well behaved.

Thanksgiving 2011

Today turned out to be a beautiful, 59 degree, sunny day. Dale and I took the turkey out around 10:30 and got the neck and giblets out. That damn metal hook thing is always a bugger (you have to push down, not up, on it to get it out). Rinsed it all off and patted it dry. We let it sit for a couple of hours to bring it up to room temperature. Dale had the turkey patted down again, buttered, seasoned and in the oven by 12:30. Basted it every half hour. Made the cranberries at around 2:00. Got the giblets boiling at 2:15 to use in the gravy. Turned the turkey at 2:30. The turkey came out of the oven close to 3:00 so it could rest for an hour. Mom made green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. We ate around 4:00 and it was all delicious. I think it was our best turkey ever. Watched The Bishop's Wife later with Mom and ate pumpkin pie and had coffee. It was a beautiful, relaxing day.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Cranberries

Cranberries

Top photo: Just after being put in a cup of water mixed with about 2/3 cups sugar.

Middle: Cranberries with breaking skin as they heat up.

Bottom: The finished product (which, by the way, we forgot to set on the table).