Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was an adventure. We didn't feel like going away for the weekend, so we invited some friends over. I was to provide the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and other things I can't live without on Thanksgiving. They were bringing deviled eggs, green bean casserole, and a few other sides.

I went to the store a week before and bought the turkey and everything else I would need. I have had trouble in the past with buying my turkey too late and having it not be fully thawed in time for cooking. So, I generally have a mad turkey-thawing dash as the oven preheats. Not this time. I got the turkey and stuck it in the fridge to thaw. Score one for me!

Dinner was to be at 1, so I got up early that morning to stick the turkey in the oven. I needed the oven to heat quickly, so I turned it all the way up and put it on convection.

*Oven note- our oven sucks. It is tiny, and doesn't heat to the proper temps. It's Celsius, and 350F is ~177C. Not so in our oven. If I turn it to 205C, it may get up to 350F. I have a Fahrenheit thermometer in there, so I know. However, I will write the next paragraph in expected Fahrenheit)

When I had the turkey stuffed and all ready to go in, the oven had gotten up to almost 500 degrees. Now, I've never been able to get it above 400 before. But, OK. So, I turned it down to 350, turned it off of convection to regular heating, and stuck the bird in.  I had one of those foil trays from the store, and it had these lovely handles and everything. It wouldn't fit. I had to bend the sides up to fit in the oven. Fun stuff. But, it worked after that.

So, I laid down on the couch for a nap. After that, I started on mashed potatoes and whatnot. I check on the turkey, only to see that it is now at 250, with all evidence pointing to it having been like that for the last three hours or so, ever since I turned it down to 350. This was at about 12. I had guests coming in an hour, and my turkey was nowhere near done. So, I turned it back up, turned the convection back on, and hoped for the best. Luckily, they were running late, so they didn't get here until about 1:30. It was done about half an hour later, thank goodness. The convection-y-ness had crisped up the outside a bit more than I like, but otherwise it was fine.


Things went well after that. The food was delicious, the friends were great,and the day was successful.

Emma says - My friend Xander came over, and the food was delicious. I especially liked the pumpkin roll that Xander's mom brought.