We Now Return You to Winter Weather

One day after returning to "sunny" Southern Indiana, we were greeted with this sight in the early morning hours.

Such beauty.

Such coldness.

What a dichotemy.

Given that the temperatures were in the teens, it's not surprising that the frost is heavy.

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And now, over a week after the actual event, we finally got to have our "Thanksgiving Day Feast."

However, there were a few caveats.

First, the husband didn't want a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast.

Oh, who am I kidding?

He didn't want turkey at all, but since I already had this turkey breast, his argument fell on deaf ears.

The Foodie Boyfriend asked for an apple pie.

Unfortunately for him, I was sick and I learned long ago that sick people cannot bake.

This was easily the worst pie crust I have ever made.

Still, I managed to score on the filling.

Repeat after me: Sick people should not bake.

Now, let's turn our attention to that turkey breast.

I found a recipe for Honey and Thyme Brined Turkey Breast.


The brine ingredients were honey, fresh thyme, black pepper, brown sugar and of course salt.

Of course I had to buy this turkey breast.

After all, I only paid 88 cents a pound for the thing.

Score!

After dissolving the salt and sugar mixture in the water, The turkey breast was added to the cooled brine.

This then sat in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Following the recipe directions, I removed the turkey breast from the brine and patted it dry with paper towels.

Then I rubbed olive oil on the skin and patted on a mixture of fresh chopped thyme and ground black pepper.

The turkey breast roasted in a 400 degree oven for about one hour, or until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees.

I removed the turkey breast from the oven and covered it with aluminum foil so it could rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Gorgeous.

I opted to make things simple for myself and roasted green beans with bacon and potatoes with bacon and onion in the oven with the turkey.

The turkey breast was moist, tender and succulent.

The flavors from the brine weren't overwhelming, allowing the turkey to take center stage.

The skin was crispy and delicious, if you like that sort of thing.

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Apparently, the Foodie Daughter and the Foodie Boyfriend are, as they actually fought over the last piece of meat with skin attached.

It was that good.

The meat was cooked to perfection:

cooked through, but not overcooked and dry.



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And just how did this rate?

The Foodie Daughter, her boyfriend and I all gave this 5 stars

as we couldn't possibly imagine this being any better.

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The husband gave this 3 stars.

He thought the turkey should have been cooked more well done

and that it didn't taste like turkey.

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We are pretending that we don't know this man.

The next day I decided to use some of the leftover turkey meat to make turkey salad.

This time around I opted to add

mayonnaise,

honey Dijon mustard,

onion,

celery (including the leafy greens),

craisins.

This was mixed to taste.

I never go by recipes for this sort of thing.

That hit the spot.

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Later, my daughter and a friend came over to study and finished off the rest of the turkey salad on crackers.

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Oh, and that carcass?

That went into the freezer until it's time to make more turkey stock.

It's all good.