Thanksgiving 2009

Ha! I bet you thought I stopped blogging since I haven't posted for weeks, but I'm back. Technically I didn't go anywhere, but having the in-laws in town for 5 days is excuse enough not to blog =) So on to Thanksgiving:
Scott and I have been excited for months to cook our very first Thanksgiving dinner. We hosted Scott's family this year at our house. There were 8 of us for the big meal, and Scott and I blended our family food traditions to come up with a new "Scholly" Thanksgiving tradition.

Thanksgiving 2009 Menu

Bourbon-brined all natural Deistal roasted turkey (18lbs!)
Cornbread-sausage stuffing (my mom's recipe, adapted by Scott with a few changes)
Mashed Potato Casserole (my grandmothers' recipe)
Stuffed Melatons (Scott's mom's recipe)
Brussel Sprout Hash (overtook both our family's tradition of peas)
Gravy with Mushrooms (a McCarthy tradition)
Homemade Tangerine Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Ice (my Nana's recipe)
Homemade Pumpkin Pie (Libby's canned pumkin's recipe)
Chocolate Eclairs (Mother-in-law's recipe)

And there you have it, a nice blend of our traditions with a few things of our own. I have to say, the biggest hits of the dinner were the mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and the turkey. My very favorite part of the meal was the turkey skin, which I sneaked a few bites of while Scott was carving. It retained the flavor of the bourbon and had a crisp crunchiness from being basted all day.....mmmmm!
For those unfamiliar with brining, I will explain the process (which I had no part of, this is totally Scott all the way). On Tuesday evening, Scott cleaned the turkey and put it in a huge stock pot with 2 gallons of water mixed with sugar, salt, and bourbon (not sure the quantities, but I think its like a cup of salt and cup of sugar, and 2 cups bourbon, something like that). He then left the turkey in the brine for 24 hours, in the fridge (I swear the glass shelf almost broke from all the weight). After 24 hours, he rinsed the turkey off and returned to the fridge on a cookie sheet to dry until the next morning. The next morning, he seasoned the bird and began to roast it. Brining is supposed to keep your turkey nice and moist, and it really works. The bourbon did not penetrate the meat like we thought it would, so next year Scott wants to try basting it with a bourbon glaze while it roasts.
Another curious menu item is stuffed melatons. Melatons are a squash, and you stuff the squash halves with breadcrumbs, shrimp, and celery. It is really tasty, and represents the New Orleans heritage of Scott's family...they found a way to sneak their seafood into Thanksgiving =)
So our first Thanksgiving was a huge success. We used our wedding china for the first time, drank a magnum of Whitehall Lane Merlot, and ended the night with a game of Balderdash. Pictures of our day:

Prepping potatoes
Peeling celery for the melatons (yes, Scott peels his celery...it gets rid of the stringy part that you can't chew)
Cranberry Ice in the ice cream maker
Quince paste and manchego cheese appetizer
Mother-in-law Linda frosts the chocolate eclairs
Chopping brussel sprouts (it took forever!)
The veggies for the cornbread stuffing
Taking something out of the oven, not too exciting, but I thought I look darn cute =)
The table ready to go!
Cranberry Ice on our china
Ta da! Our first Thanksgiving dinner!
The whole gang (minus photographer Scott): Linda, Kelly, Jessica, Lennon, Jeff, Carolina, me (Jessica and Lennon are Carolina's sister and brother-in-law...Carolina is Jeff's girlfriend)