Live Blogging: Turkey Day 2009

9:25 a.m.: Good morning Gobble Gobblers! Happy Thanksgiving! Some of you are probably super busy getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, while others of you are enjoying some quiet time before you head off to dinner with your side dish.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm cooking my first turkey tonight for my nephew and his girlfriend. And I'm live blogging about it. I have to admit, I only woke up an hour ago so I already feel like I'm so behind. But I did get a head start last night when I made the cranberry and caramelized some onions that I'm tossing with the green beans. Still, even before I start cooking I have some cleaning up to do around the apartment and washing dishes that I plan to use today. Ugh, I'm so behind!

As you're reading, feel free to drop comments about how your day is going. If you also have questions, post a comment and I'll see if I have any suggestions. Yes, I'm still helping you even though I'm busy here. :)

9:30 a.m.: The Official Menu

Wondering what I'm making, here's my menu...

Persimmon and Prosciutto Flatbread

Pomegranate Frisee Salad w/Hazelnuts

Lemon-citrus Turkey w/Chestnut Cream Sauce

Chorizo and Leeks Stuffing

Five-Spice Glazed Sweet Potato with (or without) Walnut Toffee

Cranberry-Asian Pear Sauce

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Bourbon Whipped Cream

10:00 a.m. OK, that didn't take long. I just broke my first glass of the day. Luckily, it was just a cordial glass that was the victim of a falling cake pan as I tried reaching for it to prepare for what I needed to make my cheesecake. This is what happens when you live in small space. Everything's a target.

10:07 a.m. What's in my frig? Lots of stuff! It's never been so full.

I pointed out some things I plan to use, like the pomegranate for the salad that I seeded a couple of nights ago. See my turkey? I got it at Whole Foods (I reserved a couple of weeks ago to be safe) and it was just partially frozen, so I didn't have to worry about defrosting for days. I just wanted a 10 pounder and they gave me this 12 pounder. Oh well, it doesn't look too big does it? Hope it fits my tiny oven. I just salted it with kosher salt (about 3 tablespoons) and some lemon zest since I'm trying to go for a lemony turkey. So it's been sitting in the salt for 24 hours. I wasn't about to brine it in a mass of salty water, too much trouble!

11:40 a.m.: Pumpkin cheesecake in the oven but not really cooking.

OK, so I wanted to do something different this year and I love pumpkin pie, but my nephew likes cheesecake so I thought it'll be fun to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I couldn't really find a recipe that sounded good, so I just combined a few things. First off, I went with a graham cracker crust but I bought one of those ready made ones. Hey, why deal with all the mess? It was a bit tough getting all the pieces into the cake pan I'm using. Then for the filling I used a Los Angeles Times recipe, but wanted to make a marble effect so I kept the pumpkin and cream cheese separate. Then I poured the two ingredients in alternating methods. Above is how it turned out. Not too bad huh? Kind of marble-ly.

Problem is, it's not cooking well. The recipe says to cook it at 300 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, and it's been in the oven for 40 minutes and when I checked it was still like liquid! ARRGH! I should have made this last night. Anywho, I just bumped the oven up to about 325 and hopefully that'll help the filling cook faster. I have to get the turkey in the oven in an hour so this has to be done soon!

12:20 p.m.: Yeah, cheesecake done and out of the oven. Now cooling off on the rack. Looks nice and golden on the edges. Hope it taste good. Now, time for a lunch break. Going to make a chicken Caesar salad. Then time to cook the turkey! (BTW, I bet some of you are already eating your Thanksgiving dinner. I find it interesting that people start eating at 2 or 3 p.m. What time are you guys eating?)

1:27 p.m.: Turkey is in the oven!

So the real cooking begins! The turkey is in the oven. And I have to say, it barely fits. The top of the turkey is hitting the top of my oven roof. It's not like the turkey is so big. It really does look like a chicken on steroids. But before the turkey went in, I roasted some hazelnuts I got at Trader Joe's. They're for the salad later. I have to skin them, though. What a pain. Hope it's worth it.

Then I made a herb butter with sage, thyme and rosemary. The classics. I tucked these under the skin of the turkey. There's no stuffing in the bird, just celery, onion, garlic and a lemon and grapefruit for the whole citrus theme. It's the same thing I do when I roast a chicken. So now the turkey is cooking at 450 degrees. I'll turn down the heat in an hour. Time for more prep and Brady Bunch reruns. (There really is nothing to watch on Thanksgiving.)

2:06 p.m.: Table is set. Check. It's a good thing it's just the three of us because my table is too small for anyone else. (Plus, those Indian corn is taking up most of the centerpiece.) I'm going to put the food up by the kitchen counter and we're going to have to do it buffet style because the food won't fit the table. Now I'm just waiting for my guests to arrive and that turkey to be done so I can do other things in the oven. Is it time for wine yet?

2:39 p.m.: Yikes, look at my turkey after just one hour in the oven!?

Doesn't it look like it's done? I think the high heat definitely browned the turkey, especially in my small oven where the heat is probably really up close to the turkey. I hope the turkey doesn't dry out on the outside. Gosh, this is such the typical Thanksgiving cooking dilemma huh? Anywho, I lowered the heat to 325 degrees, which I had planned to do after an hour anyway. But I bet this cooks faster than the planned 3 hours. I'll probably check in another 1.5 hours. In the meantime, I put foil over the breast, hopefully that'll keep it from turning black. (Oh, and also to baste, I put some of the oil that came out and rubbed a lemon half on the skin to give it that lemony taste. Keeping my fingers crossed that the skin doesn't turn any darker!

3:20 p.m. My nephew Chris and his girlfriend, Mary, just arrived. And he brought pumpkin bread. Although it looks kind of like cake, huh? He says it's a recipe from Alton Brown. (Now he's off to Safeway on a beer run. I guess he's not into my wine.)

3:45 p.m.: OK, big debate about whether the turkey is done.

We just did an instant read and the thermoter quickly jumped to 160 degrees, which I think is good because when we let it rest it should be ready, but Chris thinks it should be 170 because that's what the recipe says. The turkey looked pretty dark and dry. I'm worried it'll be over cooked. Anyway, it's back in the oven and I think it'll be done in 10 minutes. It's a pretty fast cook, huh?

4:15 p.m.: Turkey out and now baking the yams. Chris and Mary are busy being my prep chefs and are cleaning out the green beans. I'm getting confused by my schedule that is now blown out of the water.

4:42 p.m.: Sitting down for the Pomegranate Salad with Hazelnut, but skipped the flat bread since Chris made pumpkin bread that was more like pumpkin cake. So we're just munching on the prosciutto instead. I sliced up the persimmon on the side, and the combo with prosciutto is like figs with prosciutto.

5:18 p.m.: Mad rush to the end! Just finished a quick chorizo leeks stuffing and now made the chestnut cream/gravy. Chris is thickening it up now. Last thing to do: green beans! Aiiiie! Hope the turkey isn't all cold by now.

5:44 p.m.: Yes, finally sitting down for dinner. Carving turkey was tricky with no carving knife and getting oily and stuff. But now for eating. (Whew, the turkey wasn't dry, but it wasn't super moist. It helped to have the gravy or cream or whatever it was that we made.) I almost forgot the cranberry that I had in the frig, but cranberry is my favorite so I pulled it out at the last minute. Enjoy your thanksgiving dinner everyone!


6:49 p.m.: Oh. MY. Gaawd. I'm so full. And you know what? The free-range turkey tasted like chicken. A big chicken. Now we're watching "Glee." Then in a bit it's dessert and we're going to see if that cheesecake was fully cooked.

8:24 p.m.: OK, after watching "Glee" (love it), it was time for dessert. Gosh, it's late. I bet all of you have already gone to a movie and back. Anywho, the pumpkin cheesecake was sliced up but not before we made some whipped cream the old fashion way. No, we didn't go harvesting the cream itself from milk. But I got some heavy cream and had my nephew start whipping it with a whisk until it got stiff and fluffy. Oh, boy, he was a wimp. He hardly whipped it before he got tired. We ended up taking shifts where we each whipped the cream until it was magically stiff and firm after being liquid just a few seconds before. I'm so amazed when that happens. Oh, and yes, we added liquor, but not the bourbon that I was planning to because I didn't find any at Safeway (but they sure love their whisky), so I just poured a dash of Disaronna. But we didn't really taste the alcohol in the cream. But it was light and fluffy. The cheese cake itself? It was like someone took a pumpkin pie (which I love) and put half of it with a cheesecake. I guess I should have blended it more instead of trying to marble it when it wouldn't. Here's a shot of the slice (I had to use my point and shoot because my camera battery died all of a sudden. Go figure.)

So that's it with the eating now that dessert is over. Whew. That was a lot. Oh, and you don't want to see the dishes. Yuck. I'm so tempted to bury everything. We're going to watch the DVD of Ice Age 3. No 3-D glasses though. Hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner and night! So I showed you my Thanksgiving, I'd like to hear how some of your Thanksgiving went.