There are a lot of things to like and dislike about social media. One thing that I like is memories that pop up each day going back years. Today, a bunch of Thanksgiving posts came up reminding me of things that I’ve tried or done in past years.
Sometimes I worry that I have absolutely no recollection when I see these memories and today was exactly like that. These types of forgotten memories are cooking ones; ones that I do automatically and never write down or remember how I did them.
A jackpot of memories appeared this morning reminding me what I used in the compound butter that I shove under the skin of the turkey for maximum flavor and moisture. I also was reminded about when and what I used in my turkey brine.
The best memory was from 2018 when I used a James Beard turkey cooking technique that worked fabulously. James Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher, and television personality. He pioneered tv cooking shows and taught at the James Beard Cooking School in NYC.
James Beard’s cooking style was preparing dishes with fresh, wholesome, and American Ingredients. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and published more than 20 books. His memory is honored by his foundation’s annual James Beard Awards.
I watched a video on how James Beard roasted his turkey and I wanted to try it. Here is how it went:
The James Beard-style turkey was so moist and delicious, I can’t believe I forgot about it! I am planning on roasting my turkey again like this on Thursday.
Probably the best memory that popped up was this one:
Isn’t it genius to eat pie for Thanksgiving breakfast? It’s always just us for Thanksgiving so it’s no biggie if a slice is missing at dessert, my family couldn’t give two shits if the pie is whole or not. However, I started making mini pies last year and they worked out even better! No one knows how many you made or ate on Thanksgiving morning! Ha! 😉
We cranked out tons of spätzle today for this week’s deliveries which are shortened due to the holiday and our distributor’s delivery schedule. The work we got done in the production kitchen today frees me up tomorrow to do my Thanksgiving prep and baking. I normally would tackle most of it on Wednesday, but that’s belly dance day and nothing is coming between me and dancing. 💃🏻
I know not everyone gets so excited about holiday cooking. I look forward to it weeks ahead and love doing the prep, baking, roasting, cooking, table setting etc. If holiday cooking isn’t your thing I urge you to start prepping ahead of time, getting organized, don’t bite off more than you can chew, and relax. It’s only food after all and if your guests don’t like what you prepared then they can do one of two things…blow it out their ass or cook the meal themselves next year. 😜🖕🏼👍🏼👌🏻
Love those options at the end!😂