I feel like I can give Ned a run for his money this week (gosh I miss that show). I wasn’t worried about using leftovers from that ginormous turkey because I was hoping to fill the freezer with pot pies. Here’s stage one complete- I’ve made the filling and dispensed it into many little pie tins. Some of these are frozen and some in the fridge but once they have crusts they’ll all go down into the chest freezer. Daniel’s regular Thursday appointments at the recruiting office will put a serious kink in dinner making so I’m hoping these will fill the gap. Think I have enough to last me through the end of January? I hope so!
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Brined Roast Turkey We use a rectangular plastic bin for doing the brine that just fits into our refrigerator. Combine all ingredients except the turkey and stir vigorously until the salt and sugar are well dissolved. Chill completely then add the turkey and let sit overnight in this solution. The next morning loosen the skin all over. Because the turkey has been brined there is no need to salt it. Season with pepper and rub butter and herbs de Provence under the skin. Place the turkey on a rack in the roasting pan breast side down. Roast at 350 F for 90 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and flip the turkey so that the breast is right-side up. Continue roasting until the turkey measures 165 F with the meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part. I tent the turkey with foil until the last 30 minutes of cooking. The juices should run clear when the thermometer is removed. Allow the turkey to stand, tented with foil, at least 30 minutes before carving.
Spice Cranberry Sauce 4 cups fresh cranberries Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add cranberries; boil 7 minutes or until cranberry skins pop. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat, and allow to cool. Transfer to a lidded container and chill until ready to serve. 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon honey 1 cup skim milk, 100 to 110 degrees F. Dissolve yeast and honey in milk in a large bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and egg, stirring mixture with a whisk. Add 4 1/2 cups flour; stir until a soft dough forms. Knead dough in the bowl until smooth and elastic. Add enough of remaining flour to prevent sticking. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Punch dough down. Cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough into 20 equal portions. Shape each portion into knot and place on nonstick sheet pan. Brush rolls with melted butter. Cover with a cloth and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover rolls. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 8 minutes. Rotate pans; bake an additional 7 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. (If you are making these ahead take them out when they *just* begin to brown. Freeze until the day you need them, then thaw and reheat at 400 F until lightly browned.)
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Last year we discovered 
I did manage to knit the 
Black Friday shopaholics we are not. We all got a good nights sleep and then eventually made our way in to Boston for the day. We started off with a few hours in the Copley mall and then made our way to Newbury street for a nose around. There was no heavy duty shopping but a few bits and bobs were picked up and then we headed home for a rousing game of 
Joining us for Thanksgiving this year were Jason’s parents and my sister with her kids. Back in June the meat CSA sent a letter that the turkey poults had arrived, both Spanish Chocolate and Naraganssett and we planned to request a turkey when they became available. It’s a flat rate no matter the size so we requested a medium. This is only the third year the farm has raised turkeys so they are still working the kinks out. This year a medium turkey turned out to be 31 pounds. We worried about how to cook such a beast and I bought a disposable pan rated for 25 pounds, the largest I could find. (My lovely copper roaster is a few inches to small for this big beastie.) With the hearth kit removed he fit nicely into the oven and I have to say it was the juiciest turkey I’ve made to date. The table was set and we had just enough china for the 8 of us. We had no major mishaps, the turkey was done on time, Heather’s sprouts where a hit and the kids love the rolls and mashed potatoes.
The last couple days have been a flurry of baking and cooking. I made turkey stock, oyster cornbread stuffing, 2 pie crusts, pecan pie, sweet potato rolls and prepped noodles and shrimp for Daniel’s alfredo as well as making some fresh cranberry sauce. The pumpkin pie is from Fine Cooking 95, the crust from FC 101 and the pecan pie from FC 101 minus the coffee and toffee. I’ve been making the cranberry sauce since the early 90’s and it originated in Southern Living Magazine. The sweet potato rolls are something I tried after we moved out to Westford so they are sort of new and originated in Cooking Light Magazine.
Gwen had another checkup yesterday. She goes in for fluids and a brief exam every three weeks now. They know when we’ve arrived because unless there’s a dog in the waiting room she’s very vocal. She’s doing well though. Her weight is stable now and fluids every three weeks is usually keeping her hydrated enough that she doesn’t need anything more drastic. It was chilly and damp and she was really shivering by the time we arrived so I will try and crank out a sweater for her before our next visit. I think something like 
I recently bought a few more inks for my fountain pens. These are Noodler’s inks from the Eternal line which is waterproof once dry. I thought perhaps a waterproof ink would be best for addressing letters and things which could get exposed to inclement weather along the way to their destination. I’m just discovering all the fascinating inks that Noodler produces and I’m sure I’ll add more before I’m done. One of my new pen pals asked if I made scented ink which sent me questing for recipes. As a soaper I have plenty of essential oil so it would be an easy thing to try. (Don’t worry Melanie, I won’t ever send you anything scented!)
The best flowers are the ones that show up completely unexpected as these beauties did Friday night. Daniel was up and about early yesterday morning trolling the kitchen for something to eat. I have all sorts of lovely summer fruit down in the freezer so I broke out some blueberries to make this lovely 
Look! Some knitting I can post about. These are going to be the