Kim,

Ours turned out pretty good too. We tried somethings that we had not
done in the past, and they turned out great.
I'm not a big fan of gravy, but we made one anyhow (giblet gravy):
http://www.gosyro.com/recipes/02088....Giblet%20Gravy
Being a "meat and potatoes" guy, I don't care much for stuffing
either. But my wife wanted it, so...we had it:
http://www.gosyro.com/recipes/00584.... d%20Stuffing
I did get to pick out the desserts, though:
http://www.gosyro.com/recipes/02000....Almond %20Pie

Through the years, I've found that it is the experience that matters,
not the food. With that in mind, lousy food can create a lousy
experience. All in all it was good, and we're looking forward to
Christmas dinner.


Nexis wrote:
> This year, since I had much less fridge space to work with, I decided against brining
> the bird. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had the butcher remove the legs and
> thighs since no one here really eats the dark meat, and I used those (along with some
> additional wings and necks) to make stock for the gravy. Since I wasn't brining, I
> decided to try salting (as described in either Cook's Illustrated for Fine Cooking, I
> don't quite recall which). It's quite simple, just separate the skin from the breast
> meat, and rub kosher salt all over the flesh, then do the same inside the cavity. I
> did this Tuesday morning, then wrapped it tightly in Saran wrap. The end result: A
> delicious, moist, flavorful turkey with a nice crisp skin. So, that is one of the
> dishes that really worked for me.
>
> The second dish, if you can call it that, was the gravy. I am a fan of simple pan
> gravy and don't do alot of additions when I make it. I made stock with the
> aforementioned turkey parts, along with celery and onion, thyme, rosemary, and sage.
> When it had simmered for several hours, I strained it to find I had about 3 quarts of
> stock. So, I set this back on the heat and reduced it by half. Wow! It was so richly
> flavored! After adding turkey drippings from the bird in the oven, and a quick
> slurry, it was perfect! It received raves all around.
>
> I had made dinner rolls the day before at my mom's so when I turned off the oven
> after removing the bird to rest, I set them inside to warm while I did the veggies.
> Green beans, sautéed with a drizzle of rosemary olive oil, pine nuts, lemon zest, and
> shallots. Finished with a bit of butter and Maldon sea salt (which is lovely stuff,
> since it's very fine flakes that add a tiny crunch that is so good). I also had peas
> with milk, butter, salt & pepper (Grandma's way), corn that my Aunt Margaret put up
> for me, and mashed Yukon golds.
>
> The pies this year were a mocha cream pie and banana coconut cream pie. For the get
> together tonight, my husband also made his utterly fabulous key lime pie with Anzac
> crust. I love that stuff!
>
> I am really happy with how my dinner came out this year, and there were no
> catastrophes! How was yours?
>
> kimberly