Turkey Take One

Recently across this great country we celebrated Thanksgiving, and like our neighbours to the south who will gather around the table in a little over a month, our autumn holiday is all about giving thanks...and turkey! I happened to be in the U.S. during Canadian Thanksgiving, but I was unwilling to live through an October without a full turkey dinner, so I cooked a feast this past weekend to make up for the missed opportunity. It was my first time cooking The Bird with all of the trimmings, and I must admit that I was more than a bit daunted by the task.

My original idea was to blog as I cooked, but already being in a bit over my head, I didn't entertain that notion for long. Instead I was thinking to document the entire process, but I also realized very early on that this would not work. For my first time making such a meal, I simply concentrated on cooking. My only distraction was having to tiptoe around a little puppy who sat at my feet the entire time hoping for some tasty morsels to fall on the floor. He was not disappointed.

In the end, the meal turned out really well, although I was about an hour behind schedule in the end as the turkey took longer than the recipes I consulted called for (my 5 kg turkey was supposed to be done in 3 and a half hours but it was more like 4 and a half). Otherwise only very minor glitches were met and dealt with accordingly and I was quite pleased with myself at the end of the day.

To stay sane on Eating Day I did make a few dishes the evening before and there are a couple that I want to share. Incidentally, I also had enough time to photograph them, whereas the turkey didn't make it on the memory stick before we devoured it. 

Awesome Herb Rolls

The first recipe is from one of my favourite food blogs, Once Upon a Plate. The rolls shared on that blog (and all recipes, for that matter) are fabulous so I knew that they were something that needed to be included in the meal. You can find the recipe by following this link; I've made the herb rolls before and they are so comforting served warm with salted butter, on their own or accompanying a lovely soup or chili. I'll make them again and again.

I also made a couple of pies the night before; traditional harvest pumpkin and blueberry. I was so excited to use my hand-picked wild Northern blueberries in a pie. 

Wild Blueberry Pie 

5 cups frozen blueberries
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 pie crust
Enough dough to cover the pie
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water


You don't have to defrost the blueberries beforehand, but watch the pie carefully because the cooking time will be decreased if you do. Also, if the blueberries have thawed completely and been drained, use only 1/4 cup of flour. Mix the berries with the flour, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon and pour over the crust. Brush the butter over the berries and top with a layer of dough. If you cover the berry mixture completely you'll need to cut a few slits so that steam can get out. Beat the egg and mix with water. Brush the top crust with the egg wash and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes, or until the blueberry mixture bubbles. You'll probably want to place a cookie sheet on the lowest rack of the oven so that it catches any overflowing bubbly goodness.

I decided to celebrate the bounty of The North by topping my pie with a moose crust (belatedly I realized that both of the moose, having antlers, are male. Brotherly love pie? Or gay moose pie?!?). If you decide to do something like this (not the gay part, but the partial pie coverage), know that the parts that are not crusted over do not get as bubbly, but this doesn't compromise the taste. 

This Thanksgiving just getting all of the dishes on the table was enough work for me, however next year I hope to document the process of turkey dinner a bit more closely and share more of my trials and triumphs.Or who knows, there's always Christmas...