The holidays are drawing near. This is the first year that I am having a big family holiday event at my house. The guests will number 10 (and a half). Luckily I am having lots of help from my guests so I am only responsible for a few dishes.
The major item is that I am dead set on making a turkey. I only started eating poultry this year, and as you know we didn't do Thanksgiving, so this will be my first opportunity to make and eat one! I was a little reluctant to make one as I know probably everyone else had Turkey on Thanksgiving. But my own desires beat out that of my guests.
So here are some questions:
- Should I provide a protein alternative? (Like a ham or something?)
- If no to the above, should I attempt something a little different with the Turkey, such as a glazed version? (keep in mind this is my first time!)
- My oven is totally filthy and smokes even when I turn on the broiler. I want to clean it this weekend (it is self cleaning) but it is 20 degrees outside! Any ideas for how to clean it without smoking myself out of the house?
I'll probably have much more entertaining questions as I progress with my planning.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I look forward to reading everyone else's answers as, like you probably expected, I have nothing intelligent to contribute.
Well Lakeview that would be true of a lot of subjects.
Stef, from many comments on various blogs related to Thanksgiving, the brining technique and cooking at high heat seems to be gaining favor.
A Maryland tradition calls for pairing Turkey with Country Ham (highly cured like proschutto). You match thin slices of salty country ham with the more bland turkey. Only problems are country ham is tres cher and they are a time consuming thing to prepare.
If you are cooking for 10, I would definately make both a ham and a turkey. A turkey for 10 people is going to be mightly big and it never burts to provide an alternative. You could also make a roast beef, which is very traditional for the holiday season if you think ham is too time consuming (I just buy mine already cured!) :)
when I need to clean my combi-oven, I typically yell a couple obscenities, then wash the front with a damp cloth. This doesn't really get the combi-oven terribly clean, but I generally feel a lot better.
I say do traditional on the turkey cooking, and make a kick-ass gravy or sauce to go with. Then you can start working your way through different techniques for cooking. Don't follow the brining crowd! It's gonna look like the 80's perm of early 21st C cooking. :)
Post a Comment