Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving (the after party of digesting and drinking) were a big hit.

Appetizers
Cheese Ball
Spinach Artichoke Dip (Alex and Jenn)
Boiled Shrimp (Mom and Dad)
Bacon Wrapped Oysters (Bennie and Melody)
Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Weenies (Bennie and Melody)
Tamales (Mom and Dad)

Main Course

Turkey
We started with a 14 lb bird and set it in the fridge about midday on Sunday to start defrosting.  On Wednesday during the day we started the brine which was based on Pioneer Woman's favorite brine.  The main change we made was to reduce the salt since our bird was smaller. Also, instead of measuring out the water, the brine was boiled in a 4 quart pot that was almost full then it was poured over the bird and then we just added enough water to cover the bird.  We used one of the large oven bags for poultry to put it in and tied it tightly, being sure to get most of the air out.

The turkey was baked at 500F for 30 min and then I placed foil over the breast portion and turned the oven down to 350F.  The bird cooked until it reached 161F on the thermometer that was placed in the thickest part.  If I remember correctly it took about 2 hrs for our 14 pound bird.  Once done cooking we took it out and covered the whole thing in foil until we were ready to eat.  Mom still complained about how hot it was 2 hours later when she was cutting it up.

Macaroni and Cheese
Brussels Sprouts
Green Beans
Two large bags of defrosted (previously frozen) green beans were placed in a casserole and tossed with almost a full Kraft container of shredded Parmesan cheese.  Add a bit of pepper and butter for good measure then bake at 350 until the beans are tender to your liking, perhaps 30 minutes.  With 10 minutes left top with some Fried Onions.  (Note - Next time I will add some mozzarella as well for a little more of a melty texture)
Dressing (Alex and Jenn)
Scalloped Potatoes (Alex and Jenn)
Cocktail Shrimp Salad (Bennie and Melody)

Rolls

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/11/buttery-cloverleaf-rolls/

Desserts

Brittle - Peanut and Spiced

Toffee
Apple Pie (Mom and Dad)
Coconut Cream Pie (Mom and Dad)

Pumpkin Pie

Hershey Bar Pie

Dinner for One - Beefy Peas

Don't hate me but these pictures really are terrible.  It is impossible to make split peas look delicious since they have this terrible muddy green color about them.  Not to mention that I am using my 3Gs iPhone with bad lighting to take these pictures.  They have no hope.

All that being said, I am loving eating these meals.  It is a one pot wonder at it's best.

Start by boiling one cup of peas with 2 cups of water for about 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them and if they start to run out of water then add more.  Try to not add too much water so the leftovers aren't soupy.  As the peas are boiling toss in the beef and any extra flavors.  The beef I used was about a cup of leftover roast.  When you stir the peas the beef will shred into the soup.  Depending on how salty the beef is you may want to toss in some bouillon, but isn't really necessary.

Here is my first bowl of soup the night I made this.  Looks yummy, no?

Since there were plenty of leftovers, I did my favorite thing to do...create a patty/cake out of it.

Combine
1.5 cups of the leftovers
1 egg
1/3 cup flour

Drop roughly a quarter cup of the mixture into bread crumbs then flatten the mixture out in a hot skillet that has a bit of oil.  Cook both sides until crispy and you get something like this.

The texture and taste were pretty awesome.  I served them with dijon mustard, sour cream and sriracha.

Since I really don't eat much there are still two portions of soup left and one portion of the patties.  The leftover patties are going to go into a tortilla with some mustard and arugula for lunch one day and the soup will just be reheated with some water to thin it out a bit.   Who knew peas could be so versatile?