Thanksgiving....

Being an Anglo American Household we celebrate Thanksgiving here - and even though hubby is currently working away and Thanksgiving is not a holiday I have ever celebrated in England I have ended up hosting a Thanksgiving meal here at home in England. My little girl is learning about her American roots as well as her English ones....

So first the Turkey.... I bought one but sadly as its not quite turkey season here I had to get what was available and all they had was an absolutely enormous beast of 24lbs enough to feed a football team. I decided there was no way I wanted to be cooking this beast for a week - so I butchered it up, carefully removing the crown to roasr for Thanksgiving supper and reserving the rest of the carcass for other dishes, soups and stock. This worked out fabulously!!!

I'd highly recommend roasting the crown separately, when you roast the whole bird you end up often drying out the breast in an attempt to get clear juices from the legs which always seem to take longer. This meant I had lovely moist turkey and was not quite so swamped with meat. Also it out me in the odd position of eating left overs before the actual thanksgiving dinner as I roasted the other part of the bird first stripped out of meat and made some of my favourite turkey left overs recipes of Turkey and Vegetable Korma and Turkey and Leek Pie - Yum! It also meant I had some lovely stock to make my thanksgiving gravy with and I had had the chance to let it cool and strip off the layer of fat to keep it healthier!

I have also learnt a new way of carving it - I saw it last year on Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage Christmas show - he removed the whole breast and then sliced it meaning that everyone has a good piece of turkey - no one gets left with the dry bits and everytone gets a bit of bit of skin as well.

I made my favourite goose fat roasted potatoes, honey and cumin roasted root vegetables, sweetcorn, and steamed brocolli, with five spice gravy, homemade cranberry sauce and homemade redcurrant jelly. And as my american freinds I had invited didn't make it we missed out on the traditional american trimmings - but the meal was absolutely delicious!! Viva Roast Turkey!!!!