*WE* are cooking the turkey? (And our little Butterball's walking): Part I

We were only planning to bring the roasted kale salad to my MIL's for Thanksgiving dinner. But she was admitted to the hospital for observation this past weekend, was released Monday, but is still not feeling well. So, we're cooking the turkey, stuffing, as well as the kale to bring to her house. Pop-up Thanksgiving!

On top of that, on Sunday we're celebrating Delicious' birthday. Lots going on. Oh well. Good thing is we're done prepping for his party. So we've time to do the turkey. G is all about planning ahead. So I found some recipes online at work yesterday, and G went grocery shopping for the ingredients last night as I put Delicious to bed. (We take full advantage of the time we have after he's in bed--usually dinner, chores, or other things that you have to do in day to day life.)

And tonight, we did the brine. I borrowed part of a recipe (the technique from Alton Brown) and replaced most of the ingredients with things we have or actually like. The purpose of a brine is basically to tenderize the meat, using the high salt content of the brine as a delivery mechanism to infuse the inner flesh of the bird with the flavors of the liquid. 

This will be Delicious' first Thanksgiving, so I'll name it for him!

Mr. Delicious' Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

Ingredients

• 3 quarts vegetable stock
• 1 cup packed brown sugar 
• 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 1 lemon sliced  
• 1 gallon ice water

Preparation

Combine first eight ingredients in a large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. Combine the brine, water and ice in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

The brine - lemon, lots of garlic, bay leaves, and soy

We'll put the turkey into the chilled brine tomorrow and let it sit in it for 24 hours before roasting it Thursday morning.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share our little Butterball walking with his push toy (finally). I don't really buy many toys for him, as he has plenty of hand-me-downs and gifts. But I thought he needed something to help him walk. So I bought this great Melissa & Doug wooden push toy  a month ago. It's so beautiful and simple, but he refused to push with it, preferring to place it on its back to access the chomping alligators.

He did not want to walk with it even though he cruises easily and can stand on his own for a few seconds at a time. It turns out our floors (which are hardwood throughout the house) are too slippery. So we put him in the basement--the only part of the house that is carpeted--and voila, there is enough traction and softness to allow him to push and walk! So if you get this lovely, awesome (I recommend it!) toy, try it on a surface with a little bit of traction.