My Thanksgiving Feast

Here are the highlights from my Thanksgiving this year. Long story short, I basically made everything this year and more importantly, roasted my very first turkey. I think as long as you are prepared for the day and have knowledge on how to cook a turkey, it shouldn't be a terrifying experience. Don't let it's size and weight scare you!

Reima's Turkey Recipe



Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Pat defrosted turkey dry with paper towels. Tuck wings under and tie legs close to chest.

(Place turkey either breast side up or down on a rack, depending on how moist you want the turkey breast and if you don't care/care on how the turkey looks afterwards)

Then place into a pan.

Rub butter all over the turkey and under the skin on the breast.

I repeated the same thing with both olive oil and vegetable oil.

Sprinkle and rub on salt, pepper, and paprika.

Peel off fresh rosemary by pinching the top of the sprig and sliding your fingers down to remove the herbs. Chop the rosemary and sprinkle onto the turkey. *I didn't chop them this time because I loved the rosemary as is.

Stuff the turkey with fresh oregano and rosemary sprigs.

Cover the turkey with foil and place in oven.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F about 20 minutes after the turkey has been in the oven.

It depends on the weight of the turkey, which determines how long it's in there. *My turkey was 19 lbs and ended up being in there for a little over 4 hours.

*I saw online that it should be between 3 1/2 to 4 hrs for a turkey that weighs between 16-22 lbs.

About halfway into the roasting, I rubbed on a mixture of the oils, salt, pepper, and paprika and covered it again.

An hour before the turkey was removed, I removed the foil.

I couldn't find the meat thermometer so I tested the juice of the turkey by seeing if they ran clear or still had the red color. Remember, the turkey legs take the longest to cook thoroughly!

Let sit for 20 minutes to allow the turkey to rest and for the juices to redistribute.

This should make for one flavorful and tender turkey!

*To answer the previous questions from the last blog post, the turkey was incredibly moist and very flavorful! Could definitely taste the herbs and seasonings. I'm also more of a dark meat fan, but this time, I really enjoyed the whole turkey overall and am extremely proud of myself. :) Fortunately, I wrote everything down so that the next time, I have something in writing and also allow for more flavors to pop into the recipe!


I also put pumpkin into 3 different dishes instead of the traditional pumpkin pie. Oh and I did not use canned pumpkin. I cut a pumpkin, scooped out the seeds (roasted them!), cut the pumpkin into chunks and steamed them, peeled the skin off, and mashed them.

One way was Pumpkin Pie Vanilla Pudding.

Second, was a pumpkin pie walnut spiral with puff pastry.

Lastly, made a Pumpkin Pie with a Puff Pastry crust.

To accompany these desserts, I hand beated heavy whipping cream (this time with an electric beater because the last time I did this by hand, I couldn't feel my arm after! PROPS TO THOSE WHO DON'T FEEL PAIN WHEN DOING THIS!!). I added a little over 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tsp of a mixture of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg or aka Pumpkin Pie spice. How fitting!


Here's the group of Pumpkin Pie Puff Pastries.

Close up of my homemade whipped cream.

Yeah, I had extra puff pastry dough and made a separate one for me. :)

Besides the above, I also made:

Stuffing
Gravy

My Cranberry Sauce:
Fresh cranberries
Sugar
Water
1 Cinnamon Stick
Nutmeg
Ginger
Grated orange peel from one orange
Juice of half an orange

Corn
Mashed Potatoes
Salad
Sweet Potato Apple pie (My recipe is tagged in a blog post. A stomach satisfying pie..Mmmmm)

I hope everyone had a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving with your family and friends. This is no doubt my favorite Holiday!