I am a domestic Goddess! #7. Cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and #17. Cook a pie from scratch

I often feel like a broken record when I type up my experiences for my bucket list.  The same sentiment surrounds each and every item on my list.  I set out to accomplish things I have never done but knew I wanted to experience before I turned 30.   Justin & I have been married now for three years but have been together for nine years.  From the beginning, Justin has always been the cook in our home.  Strangely enough, he enjoys cooking.  Even after a long day at work he will come home and wants to cook.  How did I ever get so lucky?  Because my spouse loves to cook I never try to cook.  Occasionally I will feel a need to be domestic and cook dinner; it is rare.   When I put together my 30 by 30 I definitely knew I had to add a few cooking excursions to the list.  In the 29 years of my life, I have never cooked a Thanksgiving turkey.  In my younger years while living at home with my parents, I was responsible for making green bean casserole.  To anyone who has made this dish, you know it is super easy.  One can of soup….one can of green beans….one can of fried onions…Viola!  Green bean casserole!  If I were to think I a meal that is challenging I think of cooking a turkey.  I remember watching my mom cook turkey throughout my life and it always seemed challenging.  As I now know as an adult, my mom’s skills in the kitchen may have been lacking (accept my apology, Mom, I mean know disrespect but you know it is true).  Cooking Thanksgiving turkey does take preparation, time and patience.  I cheated a bit and used my husband as a source of information instead of flying completely solo.   Thanks to a fun suggestion from a co-worker, I started to plan the 1^st Annual Friendsgiving, which coincidentally fell halfway to Thanksgiving Day.  As expected, my experience was just that…7. Cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner by myself. 

Since apple pie is as American as Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to attempt a “two for one” and knock out 17.  Make a pie from scratch. 

After I had made the decision to host “Friendsgiving”, I knew I had to invite a big group.  Thanksgiving is known as the time to spend with family and friends.  Since my family lives far away, I invited our closest friends over for dinner.  Our final count was 9 people (plus a newborn and a 4 yr. old).   I researched the amount of turkey required per person and learned to plan for 1 lb. per person.  Due to being out of season we had slim pickings at the grocery store.   I ended up buying a 12 lb. turkey and planned to have left overs. 

Like all families, our group was very diverse.  I already mentioned the newborn and the 4 yr. old plus a vegetarian and a gluten free diet added up to a non-traditional, traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  My gracious friends offered to bring side dishes to help me in my turkey adventure.

I decided to make my pies in advance.   I was tempted to wear a dress and heels as I baked to get into my domestic goddess role, but decided on red lipstick instead. 

I only learned after my attempt at piecrust from scratch that even Justin struggles to make one.  Of course he doesn’t tell me this until am almost in tears.    

The recipe I choose was from Food Network Magazine’s Thanksgiving issue.  I believe it was titled, easy piecrust.  Lies, lies, lies!  I followed all of the steps as written and did not end up with dough that would roll out.  I improvised by mashing it together like it was Playdoh.   It worked though it wasn’t pretty. 

BUTTER!!! 

The dough all wrapped up and ready to chill.  

While my dough chilled,  I started peeling the apples.   

More butter!

All sliced and buttered!  YUM YUM! 

This is where the recipe started to fail.  After chilling in the fridge, my dough was a sticky mess.   I could not figure out the right amount of flour that would roll out the dough without sticking to the rolling pin.  This was the most frustrating part of the entire pie experience.

I finally resolved to pie the crust together because it would not roll into one round piece.  About this time I had swore off baking for the rest of my life.  

Not to attempt the lattice.  This was even more challenging.  In the end I was sticking to pieces together and hoped they would cook together.  

After my struggle with the lattice I realized I forget the last amount of butter for the inside of the pie.  So I stuck it on top of the lattice.  Justin reminded me that it would melt, duh!! 

A close-up of my apple pie before it hit the oven

And finished!  It looked & tasted delicious

The apple pie part wasn’t too bad.  Peeling and coring the apples was a pain but I wanted to use fresh apples.  I cooked down the apples on the stove, added the sugar, flour, etc. and poured on in. 

I made a chocolate sugar almond pie with a pretzel crust in addition to the apple pie.  I made the pretzel crust from scratch and it was equally as difficult.  I used honey wheat pretzels, which turned out more like a graham cracker crust.  The pie itself was pretty easy to make and it ended up like a pudding pie.  The con to this pie is that the almonds I bought were delicious on their own.  I ended up eating the rest of them in one sitting.  So good!

Here is the end result.  Per my husband's request, I also made a pumpkin pie.  

In the end, the apple pie was my favorite.  It tasted amazing.  The process of baking the apple pie was more fun and what I imagine baking to be (if that makes sense…).  I am excited for fall to buy orchard apples in town and make the pie again.  The chocolate almond pie was also good and quite easy.   But I am more of a fruit pie kind of girl.  I wish my spouse would eat other fruit pies like peach or blueberry.  Oh well, apple will have to do until I have more people to cook for.

The first thing I did after purchasing my turkey was named him Fernando.  I felt my experience would go much smoother if I gave my bird a name.  We had a connection and worked together well.  I started thawing the turkey a day before our dinner.   That was not enough time, of course, so Justin set up a thawing bath in our kitchen sink. 

Once thawed, it was time to remove the nasty bits that are hidden inside the bird.  I pulled out what I thought was the bag of parts but Justin quickly informed me that was not everything.  So I kept digging.  It was still a little frozen which made it difficult to dig deep inside the bird.  My hand was so cold!  Finally I looked in front of the turkey and found the neck!  It was the most disgusting feeling ever!  I’m not sure why I screamed but I did.  I have dissected a few animals in my day but when I saw the neck I freaked out.  I quickly threw it in the sink and them move it to the trash. 

All in to locate the nasty bits

I was told it was be in the chest cavity so I kept digging.  Fernando was quite chilly on the inside

Not only was it gross but it was also frozen.  Must get out of hands as fast as possible!

Justin couldn't capture my final reaction fast enough so I am a blur.  The neck was disgusting!

I again chose a recipe from Food Network Magazine’s Thanksgiving issue to cook the turkey.  I went with a simple recipe for my first time.  I was quite amazed at all of the different ways to season a turkey.  Since we were celebrating halfway to Thanksgiving, I wanted the bird to taste traditional.   I stuffed Fernando we onions, carrots and apples and seasoned him with salt, pepper and A LOT of butter.  Once the bird was in the oven, the cooking part was a breeze.  I did learn that our meat thermometer does not withstand oven temperatures.  Oops! 

After cooking for about 4 hours, it was time to carve him up!  I managed to get as much meat off the bones as possible.   It was time for dinner! 

The lesson I learned from my cooking experience…I need to be more patient.  With time I have become a better cook.  I also learned that I am happier when I am successful.  Oh and that I can improvise and it can still taste good.  No one noticed that the lattice on my apple pie was pieced together.  All that mattered was the taste and that a bottle of wine is accessible to calm my nerves. 

I had fun with this one.  Justin & I enjoy entertaining friends at our home and all too often he is the one making the food.  I learned that there is no need to be fancy with the meal.  Simple seasoned turkey and homemade apple pie does the trick.  Next time, I am definitely buying the piecrust!

I piled it high!  What an amazing meal!

It was definitely a successful 1st Annual Friendsgiving