Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving passed with the usual. I gained like 7 pounds and ate pie like its my job. Us Amos girls got our trot on at the Turkey trot in my neighborhood while my mom actually RAN it. She pretty much kicks everyone's ass. ( I know my sweet aunties and cousins read this blog so I try to keep the language G rated, but I gotta keep it real, yo). Speaking of ass kicking, I totally dominated hosting Thanksgiving with Braden's dad! It was my first time doing Thanksgiving dinner, which we had on Tuesday and I actually did surprisingly well even with taking care of 3 kids all day. The key is Prior Proper Planning and Preparation my friends, which you all know always Prevents Problems. Alliterations aside, prep is seriously the key to not losing your mind and going on a spiked cider panic binge.

I'm sure you are all DYING to know what I made, so I will tell you. And, in case you all think I'm some sort of cooking Wizard, I'll also tell you where I got the recipes so you can be as kick ass as me if you feel so inclined.

1) The turkey: Apple Bourbon Sage Butter Bacon Maple Syrup Turkey. No joke. It did require a little work, but soooooo worth it. It turned out amazing. You have to soak 6 cut up granny smith's in a whole bottle of Jim Beam (a small bottle) overnight, then shove all of that in the cavity of the turkey. Then you have to get 4 packs of fresh sage leaves and mash them together with a POUND of butter and then shove all that underneath the turkey skin between the skin and the meat. Not an easy task, let me tell ya. Then you wrap the whole turkey in a POUND of bacon. Then you put it in the oven for like 5 hours and pour maple syrup all over it every half hour or so. It's super tasty. Got that recipe from Jaimee Rose's blog from her friend Paul who is a chef.
2) The stuffing: I made Martha Stew's sage & sausage stuffing. Truthfully, this is the first recipe I came across that didn't involve gizzards. (Gross! Who wants to cook those?) And it did turn out awesome, but it required a lot of work and I'm not the hugest sausage fan. Braden loved it though, and he's my toughest critic so I scored on that one.
3) Mashed potatoes: I made Claudio's mashed potatoes, which are a family fave. Boil up potatoes, peel off skin, blend in a mixer with whole milk, lots o butta, salt and peppa
4) Cranberry sauce: Another Jaimee Rose item, super fast & easy. Do not give up on cranberry sauce if you've only had the canned stuff. Doesn't even compare. Squeeze 2 oranges into a pot, pour in a bag of fresh cranberries, add 2/3 cups sugar, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over med heat and stir until all the cranberries burst open.
4) Green Beans: These are Kathie's. Pour some olive oil in a pan, add in some pancetta, then throw in your green beans and saute till there not super crunchy. Once they're done, I added fresh grated parmesan because Ashlyn thought it would be a good idea. Brilliant!
5) Garlic Herb Bread. Bread machine superstar. I just used the recipe that came with the machine.
6) Cranberry Cheescake. I wasn't wild about this one. I love cheesecake but it was cranberry orange which was good, but the crust was made out of crushed oreos & orange peel which was a little weird for me. Not a huge chocolate orange fan. Other than that, it was good. Got that one from Better Homes and Gardens

So really, my thanksgiving dinner was a testament to Ratatouille: Anyone can cook. (But keep in mind, only the fearless can be great.) You should all try this stuff out. You will be proud of yourself and you will impress your husband who doesn't always think you are a domestic rockstar. Oh wait, that's just me.

Everyone be careful shopping this weekend. Braden just reported a Wal mart worker got trampled to death in NY this morning. Let's all keep our lives and our dignity people. I can guarantee nothing in WALMART can be worth either.