Friday Fluff: Turkey Day is Coming

Freedom from Want by Normal Rockwell (1942)

Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm excited. I always love an opportunity the show off in the kitchen, and Thanksgiving is one of the best there is. It's a whole holiday devoted entirely to gathering people together and eating with them. In honor of this holiday, holiest of holies among domestic goddesses (and gods*) and Foodies, I have decided to devote the entirety of next week to domestic matters concerning the preparation of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

I will not be providing a full Thanksgiving menu, I know each family's menu is steeped in tradition and usually not prepared entirely by the host(ess). Therefore, suggesting a whole new menu is not the goal, rather, I want to share some tips and tweaks to help you take your own families recipes to the next level.

*no gender discrimination here, my dad is the special occasion cook in my family

The plan is still a work in progress as I'm still beta testing two of the recipes I'm planning to include (my Dad has made these many times, but he's very much a "dash of this; a little of that" kind of cook, so I'm needing to test these with measurements).

Most of these recipes are going to be more suited to someone who is planning to host Thanksgiving (assuming hosting means supplying the dining room, turkey, dressing/stuffing, and gravy). But there are two that will be of interest to everyone. The first is the "pumpkin" pie, it's an easy recipe and travels well, perfect for bringing to a dinner someone else is hosting. The second is Turkey jello. I have it on good authority that Foodies and Paleo dieters have a thing called Bone Broth, and it's delicious, healthy, and terribly trendy. My Turkey jello is almost the same thing. So follow my recipe and skip the craziness (48hrs on the stove! Buying it for $9 per 16oz!)

What you can expect for next week:

Brine and Thaw for high speed Turkey Readiness
Turkey Jello for the best dressing and gravy
Gravy without Lumps or Tears
"Pumpkin" Pie without a Can (or the martyrdom of using a fresh pumpkin)

And for next week's Friday Fluff, I'll kick off the Christmas Season with some Trigonometry!