Friday, November 24, 2006

The Day after Thanksgiving

It was absolutely gorgeous today here in Chicago. The sun was shining and it was in the upper 50s. In other words, the perfect day to go outside and walk off some of yesterday's Thanksgiving turkey.

I was running low on a couple of spices so I decided to trek over to my favorite spice shop. I didn't buy anything new, just replenishing. For someone who's accumulated as much spice as I have over the past couple of months, it's always a little surprise to me when I run out of something. But I ran out of their sweet curry powder and, while I'm totally getting off on making my own curry blends, their sweet curry blend is spectacular so I figure why play around when what's already there is outstanding?

For not getting anything new, I did end up buying a lot. I got the sweet curry powder, whole Croatian sage leaves, Spanish smoked sweet paprika, Saigon cassia cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, French thyme, cumin seeds, more cacao nibs, and some tomato powder for my friend Melinda. I love going to the spice store. My bag always smells so good on the way home.

From there I walked down North Avenue to the Container Store to get some more hanging sweater bags so I can do some more organizing. I got a good start cleaning up my apartment for my brother and nephew and this year I'm determined to keep it that way. I'm going to be throwing out a ton of stuff.

And now for the turkey. Doesn't it look beautiful?
Unfortunately, this isn't the final product. I took it out of the oven when the temperature was right, then let it sit for about half an hour before I started cutting it. In the middle of the process, which was getting pretty messy (19.65 lbs. of turkey is a LOT of turkey), I realized it wasn't completely cooked. So I had to put it back in for another half hour. It ended up a little dry and not so pretty so there aren't any more pictures.

Most of it is already in the freezer. I've got a beautiful carcass and some wings for soup, and plenty of cooked meat for which I'm already starting to come up with some leftover ideas.

I did create one dish that's a keeper. I made a test version of it yesterday, elaborating on a theme I started here. I'm going to make it again tomorrow to take to a friend's house for a weekend Thanksgiving dinner.

So even though it wasn't the best turkey, it wasn't bad for the first time. Next year I'll have a little more experience behind my belt, so it will be better.

1 comment:

dejamo said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Yam! I just talked to Mary and it sounds like you guys had a fabulous time. I can't wait to see the pictures and hear more about the trip.

The turkey is a little dry, but edible. Most of it, including a nice roasted carcass, is in the freezer so I can make some soup. I'll be eating this turkey for a long time!

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