Why is it that people are afraid of making/preparing turkeys? I was definitely scared. I was scared I was going to screw it all up, that it'd be too dry, that it wasn't the correct 180 degree temperature and thus that I was going to poison my friends. You may be asking yourself why on earth I would be making a turkey in October. Well, Columbus Day (this last Monday) is Canadian Thanksgiving. No, I'm not Canadian, but our friend Pete is and he and his wife always celebrate it. At first, they invited us over for a nice dinner with other friends, and only asked that I bring my famous candied yams. No prob. But, the people who were going to do the turkey bailed on them due to scheduling conflicts, and since both Pete and Barbara work, they asked me to do it. (Since, you know, I have no job and have nothing better to do than fuss over a turkey all day.) Barbara wanted me to use this special orange glaze on the turkey, stuff the turkey with dressing, and make the gravy. I agreed, but I admit I was a little bit put-off at all the work. The turkey, after all, IS the dinner and the work. Plus, I had the added pressure of never having done a turkey in my life. This combination made me have a few meltdowns during the cooking process. But, in the end, the turkey tasted good. Everyone complimented me and Pete and Barbara were very thankful. I personally thought it was a little dry. I couldn't use a turkey bag b/c Barbara wanted me to use the glaze (I had to baste it every hour), and that turkey bag makes all the difference in the juicy-ness of the turkey. The stuffing was pretty good, though definitely not up to my mom's. (She doesn't stuff the turkey with her dressing, she makes it all from scratch). And the gravy...well, it was orange-y from the glaze. Overall, I'd rate it just okay. Luckily, I had the experience before I throw my own Thanksgiving dinner. Since Elliott has tests before and after Thanksgiving, we won't be going home for it. Instead, I'm having all the optometry couples over and making a full blown turkey dinner. Now, I'm not as scared of the turkey. I now know what those giblets are and what a turkey neck looks like. I know exactly what to expect now, and my 2nd turkey is going to be lots better!
P.S. Thanks, Mom, for being on emergency turkey on-call. Sorry for disrupting your day so many times, but turkey carcasses are a little scary. :) I couldn't have done it without you!
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4 comments:
I've only cooked two turkey breast.
The whole turkey scares me.
Heck, the chicken I just roasted scared me.
You want me to stick my hand where and pull out what?
I'm use to dismantled birds that have no resemblance to the real thing.
Fancy sauces always sound fancy to me, not good.
Good Luck on your next turkey!
Way to go, I would be nervous too. Believe it or not, I haven't done one yet either. Scary!
P.S. Thanks for the birthday wishes to Cru, he was a little weirded out by the phone call, but overall I think he liked it!
YIKES! You are a trooper for agreeing to do this. The most I could put together would be some rolls. Speaking of, do you have a fabulous recipe for great dinner rolls? I am a 'roll-experimenter' lately and would love to swap recipes.
Good job! I have often been scared at the thought of when I have to cook a turkey. As far as I'm concerned it's my dad's job!
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