So after many months, I have freed my Thanksgiving notecards from the gigantic pile of papers on my desk and plan to finish what I started last year!
This was the menu, in order of preparation:
Hot Apple Cider
Turkey (in this case, a turkey breast only)
Dinner Rolls
Mashed potatoes
Gravy (brown gravy)
Corn
Green Salad (in refrigerator)
Macaroni and Cheese (reheat from day before)
Pumpkin bread / muffins (baked the day before)
Small Cold Vegetable Tray
Stuffing
This was the plan:
1st notecard~Start the apple cider in the crock-pot on LOW. I pour 1 gallon of cider from our CSA into the crock-pot. Then I toss in a handful of "red hots" or as they are called in the store "imperials." Cover. That's it.
Deal with the oven: Take out the pizza stone and move the racks. One rack to the bottom or lowest level. The other rack to the top, making sure to leave enough room to fit macaroni and cheese dish, as well as future mashed potatoes dish.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the turkey breast, I used a little of James Beard's wisdom and most of Ina Garten's recipe for "Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast" (I found it on the food network site and it sounded yummy!) Basically, if I had the ingredients from her list, I used them. I changed the temperature and cooking time, per recommendations from my James Beard cookbook. (temperature increased to 350 degrees and time became 20 minutes per pound) I figured the range for cooking time would be 2 1/2 - 3 hours for the 8 1/2 pound turkey breast. I placed the turkey breast into the oven at 9 a.m.
2nd notecard~Next up were the dinner rolls. I planned about 3 hours for the whole process, they would go into the oven and cook, while the turkey rested. I used the Dinner Rolls recipe from the Betty Crocker Bread Machine Cookbook. Ingredients go into the bread machine on the "dough" cycle. This takes 1 1/2 hours. Giving me time to do other things before coming back to the rolls!
This is what my Dinner Roll Card looked like:
Dinner Rolls Start about 2 1/2-3 hrs before needed! 375 degrees for 15 minutes
Bread Machine 1:30
Rest :10
Cookie sheet cover and rise :30-:40 (Some wiggle room here if needed!)
Oven 375 degrees :15
After starting the rolls, I moved onto the next tasks.
3rd notecard~Prep Potatoes. I peeled and cubed the potatoes for the mashed potatoes and placed them into the pot of salted water. (*After pulling the dough out to rest, I would turn on the potatoes to cook.) Now was the time, the only time available to make the green salad and cold vegetable tray. These were placed into the refrigerator, until lunch time.
3rd notecard~Prep Potatoes. I peeled and cubed the potatoes for the mashed potatoes and placed them into the pot of salted water. (*After pulling the dough out to rest, I would turn on the potatoes to cook.) Now was the time, the only time available to make the green salad and cold vegetable tray. These were placed into the refrigerator, until lunch time.
I checked the time on the bread machine. When it had about 30 minutes left, I took the macaroni and cheese dish out of the refrigerator and placed it on the counter. I figured it would need about an hour in the oven to heat all the way through. (***I am not sure this follows current food safety guidelines, but we all survived...)
4th notecard~The bread machine signaled the time to remove the dough. After removing the dough and covering with a bowl to rest, I had just enough time to place the mac and cheese into the oven and turn on the potatoes. I returned to shape the dough and place it on a cookie sheet. I covered it and left it to rise. (I figured I had about 1 hour left before serving everything at this point.)
5th notecard~While waiting on the potatoes to cook, prepare beef broth (I use better than bouillon). Use the beef broth to make gravy. ( I make a roux with butter & flour, then whisk in the beef broth.) Keep the gravy warm, either on stove top or in oven, depending upon space available. (*Another option is to prepare the gravy the day before and reheat in the oven. When made from scratch, I have found that the gravy reheats very well!) Mash the potatoes, then place in the oven to keep warm. Start cooking the corn, now.
6th notecard~ Check the oven. When it's time, remove the turkey to rest. Raise the temperature to 375 degrees and place the rolls into the oven for 15 minutes. Now, I have just enough time to make the stuffing (I use a boxed stuffing from the store~I figure I've done enough cooking at this point.)
Now all that's left to do is get everything to the table and enjoy!
It looks like quite a bit when I read through it now. I remember being busy, but not rushed. I remember being able to sit down and eat with everyone. I remember a delicious, relaxing meal with family. I am looking forward to doing it again, next Thanksgiving.
~Tracy
