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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving Turkey

Phew! Thanksgiving is over! I love the holiday and the focus on family and friends, but I don't know how my mom did it all of those years!

My family is large. We regularly have 30+ people at family events...Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. So I thought I was used to a large group for holidays, but I quickly realized that my small apartment in France was going to be a challenge in order to host 32 dinner guests. First, my refrigerator is about 3/4 the size of an American fridge, and the same goes for my oven. We decided to get mid- to large-sized turkey and then supplement with ham so that we would be able to fit the turkey into the oven and still have enough food for everyone. The turkey ended up being a whopping 23-pounder! It barely fit in my oven:


But it did, and besides trying to keep all of the potluck dishes hot until everything was ready to serve, all went smoothly. We cleared out our living/dining room, set up every table we had, and we all fit (just barely). All of the students seemed to have a wonderful time, and piled their plates high with the food they've been craving from home.

I stressed about what to do with the turkey for days, but decided on a very simple preparation since it was my first time cooking one. And I actually decided not to cook the turkey overnight because I was afraid it would set my apartment on fire since it was so big and close to the heating elements. I rubbed the inside with salt and stuffed the cavity with onions, celery, carrots, and a leek. I also put a piece of each of those on the bottom of the roasting pan to flavor the juices even more. On the outside, I cut up about 1/2 stick of butter and placed them in strategic places around the turkey (i.e., where they wouldn't fall off right away). Then I roasted it for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees F and then lowered the temperature to 325F until the turkey was done. Everything I came across said that this sized turkey should be done in about 4 1/2-5 hours, but mine only took a little over 4 hours. I think it may have been because this turkey was super fresh. (Here in Strasbourg, you have to special order whole turkeys, so they come straight from the farm.)

The final, beautiful result (which even I was surprised about!):


And finally, a picture of one of the breasts, larger than my husband's hand:

6 comments:

Anonymous,  November 30, 2008 at 9:32 PM  

That's one big turkey. Looks delicious!

Chef E December 1, 2008 at 10:59 AM  

any leftovers? cause I am coming over right now! Looks like you did a great job Mindy! I like the leeks added to the turkey for flavoring the gravy!

Mindy December 1, 2008 at 1:52 PM  

Unfortunately, Chef E, after 32 people got their hands on this turkey, there wasn't much left! You're welcome at my table any time, though!

Thanks, bloggingexperiments and A World!

شركة نقل عفش بجدة December 13, 2021 at 6:33 PM  

الشركات التي تستخدم سيارات مجهزة ومبطنة من الداخل لكي يتم نقل العفش في امان تام بدون خدوش او تكسير مثل الشركات التالية
شركه نقل اثاث بجده
شركه نقل اثاث بمكه
شركه نقل اثاث بالطائف
وفي منطقة المدينة المنورة تجدنا نمتلك افضل شركات نقل الاثاث مع الفك والتركيب وكذلك في ينبع وينبع البحر مثال عن تلك الشركات
شركه نقل اثاث بالمدينه المنوره
شركه نقل عفش بينبع
وفي المنطقة الوسطي نقدم خدمات نقل العفش مع الفك والتركيب والتغليف ويتم النقل في سيارات مجهزة ومؤمنة لتحميل العفش وتفادي التلفيات في الرياض والقصيم والخرج مثل
- شركات نقل الاثاث بالرياض
- شركات نقل الاثاث بالقصيم
- شركات نقل الاثاث بالخرج

adam clean December 13, 2021 at 6:37 PM  

تلك الشركة الجيدة التي تقدم خدمات جيدة في تنظيف المنازل من الداخل ومن الخارج في ارخص شركة تنظيف فلل بجدة تختص بأعمال التنظيف للمنازل الجديدة والمفروشة في مدينة جدة وقد تقوم تلك الشركات في جدة ايضا بتقديم خدمات غسيل المفروشات والكنب والسجاد تحت اسم افضل شركة غسيل موكيت بجدة تلك الشركات بتقديم تلك الخدمات بأسعار جيدة وخدمات مقبولة
والتي تقوم بها افضل شركه تنظيف بجده لها خبرة جيدة بالمجال
وقد عملت افضل شركة تنظيف منازل بجدة علي تقديم خدمات التنظيف داخل المنازل والفلل بمنتهى الاحترافية والدقة
في العاصمة المقدسة التي هي مكة المكرمة توجد لدينا امكانيات كبيرة في مجال تنظيف المنازل والشقق والفلل كما في شركة تنظيف شقق بمكة المكرمة فلو تريد تنظيف بيتك او منزلك وانت في مكة تواصل معنا في حالة ان كان المنزل جديد
اما في حال ان كان المنزل مفروش واصاب الفرش من الأوساخ والأتربة مثل الكنب والمجالس والسجاد وتريد التنظيف بالبخار تواصل مع شركة تنظيف سجاد بمكة المكرمة وهي شركة متميزة في أعمال الغسيل والتنظيف بالبخار

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