No Smokin' Tomorrow!

For the past few weeks or so, I've been gearing up to host my first Thanksgiving. I have to say that until this past weekend, I thought I was prepared. My whole gameplan revolved around smoking a turkey outside with mesquite wood chips and a nice barbecue rub. I've been foiled though! As tomorrow grew closer, I came to grips with the fact that there will most likely be snow and rain, and this wouldn't exactly make a perfect opportunity to barbecue...not to mention I'd probably get sick and it would be a real pain-in-the-ass. I found an alternate plan, though. While reading through a Men's Health magazine last week, I found a great recipe for a butterflied turkey roasted over panzanella, and I also discovered some great Alton Brown tips online for brining and roasting a whole turkey. Instead of picking up one 15-20 pounder, I bought two 12lb Butterballs from Costco at .99/lb. Awesome. So as I type, one turkey is in it's home stretch in a bucket of brine and the other has already been butterflied and awaits its fate.

As for the rest, I spent the day with my mother-in-law planning and prepping what we could today to get ready for tomorrow. This morning I made a few quick trips to a local grocery store, and also to Jewel where I picked up a few things I simply can't find anywhere else. Then I came home, made the brine and a quick and delicious veggie soup (with some leftover pork loin), worked out, and got on the appetizers. If you know me (as in current healthy Mikey) then you know I gotta make this healthy and delicious! So my wife made her famous home made roasted red pepper and garlic hummus, and together we also whipped up an awesome guacamole. My mother-in-law really busted it, organizing most of the logistics, helping me clean the turkeys, and prepping carrots, celery, cucumber, and cauliflower. After scanning an Emiril Lagasse recipe for a fresh cranberry sauce, I created my own version using fresh Ocean Spray cranberries, POM pomegranate, agave nectar, cinnamon, a touch of brown sugar, and fresh orange juice. It was so simple and it's gonna be a hit for sure! Anyways, there's plenty still to do tomorrow, so I'll say goodnight, and I'll let you know how it went tomorrow night! Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!