Thanksgiving Tablescape

If I am going to be completely honest, offering to host Thanksgiving actually came about because selfishly I had wanted two additional dining room chairs to complete my table.  I knew that the only way I was going to be able to get those chairs would be by convincing my husband that there was a legitimate need for two additional chairs.  Of course what could be a better business case than volunteering to host Thanksgiving dinner for all of our family members!?!

I did end up getting the chairs, but HOLY MOLY!  I have definitely been earning those chairs over the past few weeks with all of the Thanksgiving prep work.  Seriously, hats off to everyone who is hosting and those who have ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner.  Pulling off a dinner of this magnitude is no easy feat and I have nothing but praise for all of you who have walked this path before me.  I have been planning this dinner for some time now and not kidding, I have needed every bit of that time to get all of my ducks in a row. 

Over the weekend I put the finishing touches on my Thanksgiving Tablescape and am thrilled to not only have this task checked off my to-do list, but also be able to share all of the details with you today!  I am over the moon in love with the way this table has come together.  It speaks to the Fall season and my personal style (elegant but not too stuffy).  Below I have compiled a list of everything I used to "scape" this beautiful setting with sources included for each item.

Tablescape Details:

• Placemats- Pier 1 Dark Brown Round Rattan Placemats
• Chargers- World Market Driftwood Chargers
• Dinner Plates- Pillivuyt Basketweave Dinner Plates
• Accent Plates- Williams-Sonoma Acorn Dinnerware Collection
• Steak Knives- Vagabond House Natural Antler Handle Steak Knife Set (or see here)
• Napkins- CB2 Uno Natural Linen Napkin
• Napkin Rings- Nate Berkus for Target, Gold and Gem Accent Napkin Rings
• Water Glasses- CB2 Marta Olive Green Double Old-Fashioned Glass
• Wine Glasses- William Yeoward Fanny Goblet
• Coasters- Chilewich Dahlia Coasters, Brass
• Candle Holders- CB2 Bronn Candle Holder
• Votives- Tiffany & Co. Rock Cut Votives
• Placecard Holders- Pinecones from Amazon.com
• Place Cards- Caspari Gold Leaf Place Cards
• Glam Pumpkins - See This Post
• Twig Balls- See This Post

For those of you who have been following along as I take you through all of my Thanksgiving preparations, you may have noticed that there are only 6 seats here and wondering where the additional 3 guests will be sitting.  Stay tuned for Wednesday's post!  I will be sharing my mini tablescape addition I will be using to accommodate my remaining 3 guests.  Great ideas to come on creative seating solutions that will still have every guest feeling like they've received the red carpet treatment. 

Turkey 101: Everything You Need To Know

Cooking a thanksgiving turkey is no joke.  Not only is the turkey the main attraction on Thanksgiving, but I am pretty sure that this is without a doubt the largest piece of meat that I have ever been tasked with cooking.  To be completely honest, this is actually the one item on my menu that I almost had catered.  I know I know, how could I do that??  Well, due to major space constraints in my home and primarily in my kitchen, plus the addition of house guests, there was really no room to brine the turkey (an essential technique that I will discuss in this post).  

However, as luck might have it, I ended up finding a pre-brined turkey for sale through Williams Sonoma, while shopping their friends and family sale.  Not only is the turkey 20% off and comes pre-brined, but it is shipped to your doorstep with a guaranteed arrival on Thanksgiving Eve!  Thus, solving every single one of my issues with cooking the turkey at home.  So now I will be cooking the turkey for thanksgiving and below my plan of attack complete with all necessary turkey cooking tools and how-to video guides from the experts.  

How much turkey?

Before deciding if you are even going to cook the turkey yourself or buy it pre-made, you need to know what size bird you are looking to purchase.  The Kitchen recommends roughly one pound per person (see here).  Personally, I like to have leftover turkey for soups and sandwiches the next day, so I will most likely be purchasing a bird that is between 15-18lbs.  

Brining Your Turkey

This is a technique that I highly recommend for anyone planning to cook their own turkey.  Brining is the process of soaking your meat in salt infused water to increase it's juiciness and enhance the overall flavor.  A basic brine is simply salt and water.  Brining a turkey on the other hand, consists of soaking the bird overnight in a brine made of water, salt, sugar, spices, herbs and citrus.  You can make your own brine (recipe here) or use a store bought brine.  Below are the essentials needed for brining your turkey.     

Here is what you will need to brine:

• Brining Blend (Option 1 or Option 2)
• Brining Bags
• Alternative Option: Urban Accents Brining Kit
• Large Cooler
  • If you don't have ample fridge space for storing your brining turkey overnight, using a large cooler is a great alternative. 

Prepping your Turkey for the Oven

1. First thing is first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit and move your oven rack to the bottom tier.
2. Take your turkey out of the fridge or cooler to begin the process of brining it up to near room temperature. *Placing a cold turkey directly into the oven will cause it to cook unevenly.  You want to have your bird as close to room temperature as possible by the time you go to place it in the oven.  
3. Chop up an array of aromatic vegetables and herbs to create a mirepoix bed to cover the floor of the roasting pan.  I plan on using Celery (with leaves), Carrots, Onions, Fennel,  Thyme, Rosemary and Garlic (very similar to roasting a chicken).   Toss contents in 2-3Tbs of Olive Oil and place roasting rack on top of the mirepoix bed. 
4. Take your turkey out of the brining bag, rinse off the brine under cool water and pat dry with paper towels.  
5. Gently with your fingers, slide your hands under the breast skin of the bird to detach the skin from the meat.  
6. Using room temperature unsalted butter, spread 4-6 TBS of butter in between the skin and the meat of the breasts.  *See image below for reference from the Cook's Illustrated All-Time Best Thanksgiving Recipes. 
7. Generously salt and pepper the interior cavity of the bird
8. I am not a fan of filling the turkey cavity with stuffing (bacteria/salmonella risk…no thanks!).  Rather, I prefer to stuff the turkey with an array of aromatics: Lemon halves, heads of garlic cut in half, a Simon and Garfunkel Bouquet Garni (*Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme)
9. For the exterior of the bird, there are a million ways to bring on the flavor.  Right now I am torn between a traditional rub of salt, pepper and butter and a new technique I have discovered known as "Lacquering."
   1. If I end up going with a classic rub for the outside, I will be using this cheesecloth technique (soaked in butter and white wine) ala Martha Stewart to keep the bird hydrated throughout the cooking process. 
10. Once your bird is seasoned, its time to truss it using your kitchen twine.  See this video for reference.
11. Once your bird has been trussed, transfer to your roasting rack in your roasting pan
12. Add about a cup of stock to the pan just to get the flavors/moisture rolling
13. Place the bird in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees fahrenheit and continue to cook until your bird reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees fahrenheit.  *Allow roughly 13-15 minutes per pound. 
14. Once the bird is done, it is critical that you allow time for it to rest (gently covered in aluminum foil) prior to carving.  Carving up the bird immediately after it comes out of the oven will cause all of the juices to escape and your bird will be dry. 
15. While you are letting your bird rest, you can extract the pan drippings using a fat separator to make the gravy.  Love this recipe for gravy.  Sherry is must for any gravy recipe I am making.  It really takes gravy to another level!

Turkey Tools

• Roasting Pan with Roasting Rack
• Basting Tool
• Cheese Cloth
• Kitchen Twine
• Carving Board
• Fat Separator
• Large High Quality Chefs Knife
  • *Note- A carving set is a "nice" to have not a "need" to have.  A fork and good quality chef's knife will get the carving job done just fine.

While I think that I am pretty well equipped to cook this bird (especially since I will have my mom here - thank goodness!), I am always open to any ideas and tips you all might have/want to share for cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.  Please leave a comment or email me as I would absolutely love to hear from you!  Stay tuned for part 2 of Thanksgiving Day prep coming to the blog next week!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanksgiving Prep Part 1: Get Organized

Two weeks from tomorrow it will be Thanksgiving Day, so suffice it to say the countdown to Turkey Day has officially begun!  To kick off my official preparation process, I am getting organized.  As I may have mentioned in recent posts, I am going to be hosting my entire family for thanksgiving this year.  While the idea of hosting Thanksgiving for nine people is definitely intimidating, I have devised a plan for how to go about preparing and executing what I think (hope) will be a fabulous turkey dinner.  Leading up to the big day, I plan to walk you all through my preparation process to hopefully provide some guidance and ideas/inspiration for hosting your own Thanksgiving.  Selfishly, I am also hoping that this blog project will also keep me from feeling overwhelmed during my own prep!  In any event, here is what I am focusing on this week for "Operation: Turkey Day Prep!"

Decide on your Menu

Once you have your guest list set, you need to get your menu planned.  The majority of prep work for hosting thanksgiving dinner is determined by the menu, so take some time to go through all of your recipes and figure out exactly what you want to serve.  Here is a list of what I plan to serve for thanksgiving dinner, with links to recipes I have found online. 

• Thanksgiving Turkey (*Turkey 101 will be up on the blog this Friday)
• Fluffy Mashed Potatoes (found in this issue of Cook's Illustrated)
• Gravy (Recipe on the Jar)
• Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecans
• Sausage, Chestnut and Wild Mushroom Stuffing
• Mom's New England Creamed Onions
• Steamed Green Peas
• Cranberries with Apples and Brandy
• Dinner Rolls (from a local bakery, purchased on Thanksgiving)
• Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl
• Sea Salted Caramel Apple Pie
• Pumpkin Pecan Pie with Whiskey Butter Sauce
• Dean & Deluca's Acorn Sugar Cookies (*Matches my Tablescape Theme)

Make a Master Grocery List

This sounds really nerdy, but oh how it has helped to make a master spreadsheet that details the exact ingredients (+ quantities) for every recipe on my menu.  The beauty of creating a master spreadsheet is that you will have ability to see exactly how much of every ingredient is needed.  Why is this a beautiful thing?

1. You can make a comprehensive grocery shopping list, which should mitigate the grocery store trips.
2. You can crosswalk your list with what you already have in your pantry and fridge, to avoid buying duplicate items.  

Clean Out Your Fridge and Pantry

This brings me to my next point…right now is the perfect time to completely clean out both your refrigerator and your pantry.  We all have those forgotten perishables that are still being stored in our kitchens and taking up valuable real estate.  This is the time to get rid of them to make room for all of the food that is about to come into With everything I plan to serve for thanksgiving dinner, I need to make as much space available as possible. 

Assess Your Inventory

In addition to organizing your menu, pantry list and grocery shopping, it is just as important to make sure you have all of the proper equipment needed for cooking and serving thanksgiving dinner.  One trick I like to use for assessing my inventory is the good ole Post-it!  Label each piece of cookware and serving dish with what they will be holding or cooking.  This way you can see what goes where and identify any menu items that do not have a proper serving dish or if you are missing any necessary cookware.  One thing that came to my attention while conducting this exercise, was that I was in need of a baking dish for the creamed onions.  It is so much better to find out now what you are missing while you still have time to go out and purchase those necessary items.  Below are the questions I ask myself when it comes to assessing my inventory:

• Serving Pieces- Does every menu item have a designated serving dish and corresponding serving utensil?
• Cookware- Based on my cooking timeline, does every menu item have the appropriate piece of cookware available for use when it's time to cook that particular dish?
• Dinnerware- Do I have enough Stemware, Flatware, Glassware, Dinnerware and Linens for (insert # of guests) to properly dine?

Start the Cleaning Process Now

The one part of entertaining that usually puts me over the top with exhaustion is the cleaning.  Not only do you have to plan a menu, set the table and cook the meal, but you also want to have a clean house to entertain your guests.  I recommend getting those cleaning projects that are less frequent but still need to be done, out of the way now.  For example, I am going to be polishing my silver, dusting my light fixture and cleaning my windows.  These are tasks that are only in need of monthly cleanings, but still need to be kept up with because it's noticeable when they are not properly maintained.  

Just writing about getting organized with my Thanksgiving preparations has already helped to calm my nerves.  Personally, I feel like accomplishing this list will help to reassure me that I really CAN DO THIS!  Regardless of your guest size, hosting Thanksgiving Dinner is no easy feat, so having an action plan can really help to get you on track for hosting a fabulous turkey dinner. 

How to Make a Beautiful Holiday Wreath

 Over the weekend I spent some time working on seating and tablescaping for my upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.  It sounds crazy, but logistics for hosting a dinner party of this size and complexity requires lots of prep work weeks in advance.

I am in the final stages of fine tuning my Thanksgiving tablescape (sharing the big reveal on the blog next week!), but have been struggling with one major component...the centerpiece!  One concept I had been strongly considering was a fresh wreath made of mixed greenery encircling a big hurricane with a three-wick candle in the center.  In my mind this sounded like a great idea, but I needed to test it out before committing.

The results?  Let me just say that I am so glad that I took the time to test out this concept. It was obvious as soon as I placed the wreath on the table that it most definitely was not going to work as a centerpiece for this tablescape, however it did look fabulous on my front door.  

Why am I sharing this DIY?  The holiday season is pretty much here and wreaths tend to be a decor essential.  While I am constantly wishing that I could buy one of the many luxe wreaths sold in some of my favorite home stores, there is no way that I can justify spending $130 on something that will be dead in a few months.  DIY wreaths are not hard to make and cost a fraction of the price of those fancy store bought wreaths.  In addition, you have the ability to customize your wreath to meet your exact aesthetic specifications.  Here is how you can make your own beautiful wreath to adorn your home this holiday season. 

Materials:

• Trader Joe's Grapevine Wreath for $3.99! (Similar here)
• 22 Gauge Paddle Wire
• Wire Cutters
• Sharp Scissors or Branch Clippers
• Greenery: Myrtle, Eucalyptus, Fern, Pine, etc.
• Wreath Embellishments (Similar here)

Instructions:

1. Gather approximately 4-5 pieces of an assortment of greenery that has been trimmed to between 6-8inches in length
2. Using a piece of 6inch green wire, wrap the base of the greenery bunch tightly
3. To secure the greenery onto the wreath, cut an additional 6 inch piece of green wire and weave it through the grapevine wreath, then place your greenery bunch base over the piece of wire that has been woven through the wreath and use the wire to secure the bunch by twisting it tightly on top of the bunch (see image below).
4. Continue steps 1-3 until the entire wreath is covered with greenery bunches, making sure to overlap each bunch as you go around the wreath in order to hide the wiring.  
5. Once your wreath is covered in greenery, insert desired embellishments.  My embellishments did not require additional wiring to secure.  I merely inserted them into the desired locations and both the greenery and grapevine base held them in place.  
6. Your wreath will only last a few days, however, if you mist it every other day with a little water, a wreath of eucalyptus will dry beautifully and last for a few months.

November Kitchen Tools

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a few short weeks away!  Honestly where the heck did October go?  And for that matter, I feel like September flew right by me as well!  Anyway, it is officially time to start immersing in preparations for the holiday season (or as I like to call it, "The Entertaining Olympics!").  

The November kitchen tools featured today are 3 important essentials for anyone hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  While I know that there are plenty of other kitchen tools that are essential for cooking Thanksgiving dinner, these three tools are a great starting point.  **Not to worry!  Throughout the month I will be walking you through my entire preparation process for hosting my own Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Menu planning, food shopping, tablescaping and more, will all be featured on the blog over the coming weeks.  So without further adieu, let's get going on "Operation Thanksgiving Prep!"

Roasting Pan

Your roasting pan is the vessel that will be responsible for supporting your main Thanksgiving attraction (the turkey) while it cooks, so having a good quality roasting pan with roasting rack is vital!  My roasting pan is the Large Stainless Steel Roaster with Rack from All Clad, and I would highly recommend it. This pan affords you the latitude to cook a vast array of meat/poultry types, from a weeknight roast chicken to a large Thanksgiving turkey.  I love to layer the base of my roasting pan with an assortment of herbs, a delicious mirepoix and even on occasion some potato wedges (aka the ultimate one-pot dish!).  The roasting rack allows the bird to sit above base of herbs and veggies while cooking, which prevents it from getting soggy but allows for the bird to soak up all of the flavors that are rising from below during the cooking process.  This roaster is a common piece of cookware, but oh how it makes such a difference when cooking up a delicious Thanksgiving turkey!

Potato Ricer

Turkey might be the main attraction, but Thanksgiving just isn't the same without mashed potatoes.  I am a huge fan of ricing my potatoes in order to achieve maximum fluffiness when making mashed potatoes.  I absolutely love using my OXO 3-in-1 Adjustable Potato Ricer.  You can adjust there perforation settings on this ricer and all of the pieces come off for easy cleaning.  As if those weren't reasons enough for loving this potato ricer, Cook's Illustrated just awarded the OXO Potato Ricer Runner-up in this year's issue of Cook's All-Time Best Thanksgiving Recipes!  Yes, I totally feel validated with my potato ricer selection.  But in all honesty, it really is a great ricer and an essential tool for cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

Cooking Twine

Cooking twine is a Thanksgiving prep must have.  Not only do you need to truss your bird before placing it in the oven in order to ensure it cooks evenly, but you also need cooking twine to make your bouquet garni (see this previous post)!  An inexpensive item that is essentially for achieving that perfectly cooked turkey on Thanksgiving.