New Year's Dinner

New Year's Dinner

I was happy to have Mom over for the holiday, and she really loved our dinner and of course, Red Velvet Snowball Cake. This was a very special dinner for us, because it was our first time making a turkey. I have eaten my Mom's amazing turkey every Thanksgiving and wanted to see if I could succeed at making my own. I want to thank Clinton Kelly from The Chew for the inspiration. I watched him make Clinton Kelly's Lemon Sage Turkey and I had to try it. I did not brine the turkey. Maybe if I have a bigger kitchen some day I will try brining. This turkey was super flavorful and juicy. The end result exceeded my expectations.

This is the turkey recipe:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Thanksgiving-Clinton-Kelly-Lemon-Sage-Turkey.

Making the compound butter for the turkey - shallot, garlic, sage, lemon zest & juice

Making the compound butter was very easy. You just have to be real careful when placing the compound butter under the skin of the turkey. Just take your time with it and use a spatula. I was grateful Allen did this for me!

This is what the compound butter looks like with the ingredients blended together

I made Turkey Gravy too which was also a first for me. I read a couple of gravy recipes and this is the recipe I used:  

Heat 4 cups of chicken stock and pan drippings from turkey (remove excess fat) in a pan in low to medium heat. Add 1 bay leaf.
 
In another pan, melt 1/2 stick of butter and 4 tablespoons each of chopped carrots, celery, onions and minced garlic and cook in butter until it is slightly browned.
 
Stir 4 tablespoons of flour into the butter and veggies to make a roux. Cook for a few minutes until the roux turns golden brown in color.
 
Slowly pour the stock in the pan with the roux, whisking as you add it. Do not stop whisking. Once incorporated stop whisking, return to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce by a third.
 
Strain the gravy through a mesh strainer. Season to taste with kosher salt. This gravy was delicious.

Turkey Gravy

I also made Potato Salad which my Mom totally loved. I posted the recipe earlier this year. Here it is:
http://twofrys.blogspot.com/2011/04/potato-salad.html. This is truly a "winning" recipe!

Potato Salad - yum!

Allen made his hearty and yummy Green Bean Casserole. I am so happy to have leftovers because I think it is even better the day after.

Allen's hearty Green Bean Casserole

Allen bought me Paula Deen's Cheese Biscuit Mix and they were amazing and super easy to put together. Oh Paula, we love you!

Paula Deen Cheese Biscuit Mix - oh so good!

Allen made Turkey Stuffing and it paired deliciously well with my Turkey Gravy.

Allen's Turkey Stuffing!

Yay, here's to a great 2012 and lots of leftovers.

-Sophia & Allen/Two Frys