Pre-Turkey Day Prep

I know there are some people – fabulous, Martha Stewart-esque cooks that can whip up a 5 course meal in an hour’s notice – that don’t believe that it is necessary to try out recipes before serving them to unsuspecting guests.  They confidently throw together all of the ingredients for the very first time only to have it all turn out perfectly. 

I am, unfortunately, not that gifted.  That doesn’t keep me from giving it a whirl once in a while, out of necessity, but it rarely turns out exactly as I expect.

So, in light of hosting my very first Thanksgiving, we did a little culinary testing today.

To save time, we bought a turkey breast instead of a whole bird.  We brined it and rubbed it with the same rub we’ll do on T-day.  It was super moist and juicy but the seasonings need a little adjusting, so we’ll work on those next weekend.  I’ll post the recipe when we get it where we want it.

On the side, I had Cranberry, Apple, and Butternut Succotash and spinach.  Clearly, I believe spinach goes with everything.  (It does)

We also made a gravy that turned out well, but I don’t really like gravy and didn’t partake.

And then…

Pumpkin PIE!

I made a crustless version that turned out good but not great.  Part of it was that I miss the crust – I’m a crust girl.  I melted a few chocolate chips and smeared it on top as a sort of frosting and the pumpkin-chocolate combo was nice.

Fortunately, I’m not responsible for the dessert part of Thanksgiving. 

I have an exam in one of my classes in tomorrow, so it will be a really long day – I’m not looking forward to it.  How is it that the weekends go by so fast?  Did you guys do anything fun?