It all started with a frozen turkey from Cash Wise Foods...
We figured, since there was just the 2 of us that we would need the smallest turkey we could find so as to avoid being stuck eating turkey for the rest of our lives. Upon inspection of said small turkeys, Jenni proclaimed that even these "young turkeys" would be too much turk for us, and we would, in fact, need a fetal turkey! Unfortunately, Cash Wise Foods does not carry fetal turkeys, so we bought us a 9lb-er...the smallest we could find. And so we have our turkey...bastardo :)
The night before the big day, we decided it would be wise to have a game plan. So Brad created a small spreadsheet on our whiteboard with cooking times for each part of our turkey day feast. We then came up with a schedule planning out the cooking and preparing for the mass food consumption that was about to ensue! We also practiced placing bastardo in the oven, so that he could prepare for the big day too! After the practice run, we created our festive table decor...HAND TURKEYS!!
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| He fits! |
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| Checking our recipes! |
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| Gotta make room for those leftovers! |
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| Yup, we are THAT organized :D |
The BIG DAY!...
We woke up at around 8:00 so that we could get ready to start making our delicious feast. First on the list....fondle the turkey. This was Brad's job, as Jenni elected him to be the official turkey gut remover. So remove those guts he did, complete with gloves...gotta be safe!
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| Making sure he got it all! |
While Brad was having his moment with Bastardo, Jenni was getting the seasoning ready...he has to taste delicious now! Using her mum's delicious turkey/chicken magic roasting powder, Jenni created a delicious seasoning that even Bastardo would enjoy during his trip in the ov... err... I mean sauna :)
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| Bastardo all dressed and ready for his sauna! |
5 minutes into the sauna adventure, Jenni realized she forgot to put water in the bottom of the roasting pan. How could Bastardo enjoy his sauna without steam!? So she grabbed Brad's giant yellow cup and filled it with water and quickly went to the rescue. Then, disaster struck. Jenni, in her rush to add the water didn't think properly and pulled the shelf out a bit, just enough to start to topple when the water was added. With the adrenaline that comes with saving the life of a beloved turkey, she forgot she had no oven mitts on and grabbed the 350 degree roasting pan with her bare middle finger...talk about giving someone the birdie eh!? And that was how our first Thanksgiving injury occurred. Luckily Brad is a certified first responder, so he came to Jenni's aid and wrapped up the finger for safe keepings. :)
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| OUCH! |
After the drama of the injured middle finger, we relaxed on the couch for a bit enjoying the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, punctuated by the NCIS Thanksgiving marathon on USA during the commercials. Yeah, we really can't get enough of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his crew :) Before we knew it, it was time to check on Bastardo's sauna adventure. We pulled him out of the oven and found Brad's beloved turkey baster and got to basting that sucker!
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| Feeling hot, hot, hot! |
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| Bastardo needed some refreshments! |
Then it was time for the veggies to join the party...
Brad was excited to try out his Grandma Kumimoto's famous yam recipe, and try he did. Neither of us knew anything about the best ways to prepare a yam, so Brad just went with the flow. This sneaky bugger of a yam put us a bit behind schedule though, as it wanted to stay and bubble in the hot tub longer than we had planned for. But that was OK, at this day spa we give the guests what they need. While the yam was a bubbling, Jenni got to peeling her potatoes and parsnips ready to get them roasted. Brad successfully got the yam soft enough to slice and put into the dish before dousing it in delicious brown sugary goodness :) Then in the oven they all went. Meanwhile, Bastardo was done in the sauna and was chilling on the table waiting for his big moment! After lots of sugar basting and potato turning, our delicious meal was complete. One thing left to do... EAT!
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| YUMMMMY! |
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| Brad looking excitedly at the deliciousness about to ensue |
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| Our festive table :) |
After filling ourselves up to the brim on delicious food, it was time to do something we have only done twice before since moving here....WE LOADED THE DISHWASHER! Once it was all done and washing away, we started to get ready for our fancy dessert. In trying to decide what dessert would be good (this decision was on Brad mostly, as he's the one with the actual Thanksgiving knowledge). We decided to make "jello surprise"...but this was not any jello surprise, this was jello surprise, J-rad style! Here is our amazing sweet creation...
That's right...Jello cups with whipped cream! What was the surprise you ask? Well that was a mini marshmallow hidden in the whipped cream! :)
After the excitement of the jello surprises we retired to the couch for the inevitable turkey coma. This involved Jenni passing out on Brad and eventually drooling over his shirt while he enjoyed an episode of you guessed it...NCIS! After a much needed rest, Jenni returned to the kitchen to make some PIE! After hearing a concerning sizzling coming from the oven, we realized the pie had exploded a tad...good thing Jenni put it on a baking sheet! Well, it came out not looking like the prettiest pie in the bakery, but it didn't taste all that bad in the end! :)
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| Don't judge a pie by it's crust...OK!? |
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| The completed checklist...WE DID IT! :D |
And that was how Jenni, Brad, and Bastardo of course, enjoyed their first and fabulous Thanksgiving Day :) We are thankful that we got away with only one minor injury :D
