Thanksgiving

So thanksgiving was AMAZING. I spent it with friends this year which was so much more relaxing than with family. No drama or fights or nastiness. I was the designated turkey cooker. Since this is something I've done well the last few years I was happy to do it again. Growing up we had some really bad turkeys. We always used the little red and white popper and half the time they just don't work. I remember the one year we cooked the turkey until like 8 pm before we gave up on the popper. It was in the oven almost 8 hours! So when I saw an episode of good eats where Alton Brown explained how to actually cook one I told my mom I wanted to try it. She wanted to sleep in so she told me go for it! We have been eating amazing turkeys ever since. Heres the recipe for how he does it. 

I've never bothered with the brine... someday I'll try it. I just use the cooking method. What I did was took 1 stick of margarine, and mixed in my dry spices (I never think to get fresh) - poultry seasoning, sage, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and whatever else. I stuck the butter mixture up under the skin. I then coated the whole thing in olive oil and put it in an oven set to 500. He says to leave it in for 30 minutes - I usually end up going 40-45. The skin starts turning golden brown and seals in the moisture. I then put the thermometer in, put a triangle of foil over the breast meat - he explains this in the show but not the site - and turn the oven down to 350. The thermometer is a MUST! Get one with an alarm. They sell them at walmart for $15 but then you won't over cook the meat, or any meat you cook all year. Cook for 2-3 hours until the temperature hits 161. This was my final product. You can see the spices under the skin still and when you slice they come with and I think they give more flavor. Pouring off the broth and making gravy is also a must for me. So much better than the packaged stuff. Plus then I can make it gluten and dairy free. 

 I also made a cake for a friend who asked me too. It was delicious! Even the people who balked at it being gluten and dairy free agreed it was really good once they tried it. I bought canned blackberry filling although homemade would have been even better I'm sure. For the cake mix I added an extra egg and left out the water (or maybe used half, I can't remember now). I wanted the cake heavy, more like a pound cake, and gluten free then to be crumbly.

I left the cakes wrapped overnight and the next day I put some of the blackberries in the middle to put them together. I made this icing:

1/2 cup margarine
1 (1 lb) package confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used maybe 4 because I used no milk and wanted extra lemon flavor)

The frosting was so amazing, I'm going to have to make it again sometime. I frosted the cake with it then put more blackberries on top. The picture isn't real pretty because it kinda got squashed by a pie in the ice chest. No one cared though.

And for my pumpkin pie, I made Better Batters Perfect Pie Crust. It really was perfect. No one could tell it was gluten free at all. It was so crisp and flaky. I cooked the pie with foil over the edges for the whole time and it turned golden brown. Now to make a pecan pie with it!

I also made french onion dip using Tofutti soy sour cream, and Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Thats something I make all the time though. My dad made me some wild rice using chicken broth and sage and onion and other thanksgiving spices with almond slivers that was awesome too. Thats another one I'm going to have to make again.