Thanksgiving Highlights

Thanksgiving day was wonderful. The night before we made pumpkin pies. I rolled out the crusts while my husband mixed up the filling.

The pies turned out beautifully and tasted delicious!

The morning of Thanksgiving I set the table and got things ready. Some of the side dishes I set out ahead of time. I love these dishes we inherited when my mother-in-law passed away. The just look and feel like Thanksgiving.

I brined my turkey overnight in a solution of 4 quarts pineapple juice, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt; 6 garlic cloves cut in half, and 4-6 whole bay leaves. I soaked it for 12 hours for a 12 pound bird. I trussed the turkey according to  Alton Brown's you-tube video. I cooked it for 30 minutes in a 500 degree oven (unfortunately I had the rack too high so the skin got a little dark; I'm not supposed to eat the skin anyways); then lowered the heat to 350 and placed an aluminum foil skin over the white meat and cooked until the thermometer in the breast was 161 degrees (about another 1 1/2 hours). I'm making detailed notes here so I can repeat process in 2012. This way I don't have to rack my brain trying to remember how I made it so good this year....and let me tell you, it was delicious!!!!!! The white meat was sooooo juicy, and I'm not usually a white meat lover.

We started the meal with Harvest Squash and Mushroom soup garnished with yogurt and slivered almonds. Note to self: the children HATE this. We followed it with a spinach salad which the kids did consume.

Two of my side dishes were sweet potato casserole (there are sweet potatoes under all that brown sugar and pecan crust) and green bean casserole which I doctored up with sour cream and cheddar cheese....yummy!

Even the animals seemed to enjoy the day. Jake, the Brittany, and Pepper, the black cat, are resting here on the back of the couch.

The cows came up to the fence and ate some leaves and grass before moving off. I love my adirondack chairs! Don't you?

Carolyn "Care Bear" King

Placing the Rocks

We purchased 4 boulders from the local stone company and they weighed in at over 4000 lbs. The first one, pictured here, was placed in the upper retaining area in the planting bed under the red maple tree. We planted 50 baby vinca plants all around it. I can hardly wait until everything grows in next summer.

The next rock was so heavy the contractor had his employee lay on top of the Bobcat as he brought the boulder down the hill to try to keep it level. They looked like they were having fun!

It was murder trying to get the big boulder up over the patio edge. After several tries and failures with the little Bobcat, the contractor went to get the big Bobcat and that worked. The second boulder is actually going to be a water feature in the planting bed. The stone yard drilled a hole in the rock and inserted a tube for water to spill out.

Above on the left you can see the water box (covered in cardboard) in a rectangle hole in the planting bed. A close up of the water rock is on the right. It's currently waiting to be placed on top of the box after it is completely installed. Also on the left you can see in the distance our new set of adirondack chairs under the trees in the lowest bed. I've wanted these chairs for almost my entire marriage, and now I have a set. Woo hoo!

The third rock was at the bottom of the sloping hill and is used to deflect a pipe of water that is draining from our gutters and driveway. It actually got placed upside down, but we like it better this way.

Some more shots of the guys getting it in the right place.

Here are some shots of the rock from a distance without the additional shrubbery. And below are several shots after we planted several bushes and moss around the rock.

 

 Below the fourth rock is next to the potting shed on the way down from the garage side of the house. The picture on the left shows before I planted all the bushes and moss around it and the shot on the right show it after. We're still waiting for all the grass to grow in and the fence to be installed. Hmmm....I wonder when that'll happen.

Feel free to look at older posts (mostly in August) to see many of the before and during pictures of the hardscape process.

Carolyn "Care Bear" King

Thanksgiving Day Dinner Menu

Thanksgiving Day 2011 Menu

Spinach Salad with Soy Sesame Dressing

Harvest Squash and Mushroom Soup

Hawaiian Brined Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Turkey Gravy

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Pillsbury Big & Buttery Crescent Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Spinach Salad
Fresh Spinach
Bean Sprouts
Sliced Mushrooms
Chopped Hard-cooked Egg
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Green onion, sliced

Soy Sesame Dressing
4 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame seed
2 tsp honey
1 clove garlic
dash cayenne
salt & pepper to taste

Harvest Squash and Mushroom Soup
3 c cooked butternut squash
2 T butter melted
1/2 c diced onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch cayenne
8 oz diced mushroom
2 1/2 c chicken stock
yogurt
toasted almonds

Heat squash in a saucepan. In separate pan saute onions, garlic, salt and spice in melted butter until very soft, adding water if it sticks. Add mushrooms and cook another 10 min. Puree together with squash adding chicken stock if too thick. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and toasted almonds sprinkled on top.

Hawaiian Brine
4 qt pineapple juice
2 c brown sugar
1 1/3 c soy sauce
1 c salt (1 1/2 c kosher or coarse)
6 cloves garlic cut into halves
4-6 whole bay leaves

Heat all to dissolve sugar and salt. Let completely cool. Soak turkey 1 hour per pound in refrigerator. Rinse and cook 30 min at 500 degrees, then turn down oven to 350, cover breast with aluminum foil,  and cook until breast is 161 degrees in temperature.

Sweet Potato Casserole
6 c mashed yams
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter
1 T vanilla
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 c coconut and/or 1/2 c raisins (optional)

Combine above and pour into buttered dish. Top with topping below.

Topping
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1 c pecans (chopped)
marshmallows (optional)

Mix sugar and flour, cut in butter. Stir in pecans and crumble over top of potato mixutre. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. Scatter marshmallows over top and brown the last minute.

Carolyn "Care Bear" King

Now We Wait for Growth

There's new grass seed on the right of the steps under the hay.

You can see the arborvitae across the fire pit deck level. When they grow in they will provide lots of privacy on the north side of the property.

There are lovely fountain grass plants along the base of the lower retaining wall. Each plant is lit up at night, lighting them very nicely.

Here's a great view of the 5 arborvitae plants down the sloping hill.

Traveling up the path by the garage are many plants of the perennial variety.

The front walkway is bordered by mums in yellow, burgundy, and orange. I let them grow too tall this year. I need to trim them short until the end of July next year instead of stopping on the 4th like I

 did this year. On the right I decorated the mailbox with a pumpkin cover. I'd like to get a different design for each month of the year.

Here are the rock-shaped speakers for the yard when the wires get hooked up. I like the brown speaker better. Time to get out some spray paint.

Carolyn "Care Bear" King