Tomorrow begins an epic day of cooking. Each year I take up the challenge to cook an entire meal from scratch. This might not sound like much – but consider that I bake all the desserts and the dinner rolls while simultaneously smoking a turkey on our charcoal grill. I do use canned pumpkin, but the pie crusts, apples, cranberries, veggies, etc. are fresh. Below I outline my game plan for tomorow (Thanksgiving Day, or as we call it at the Cooley-Sekula house, Turkenfunken),<\/p>\n
Soak the hickory chips for the smoker.<\/p>\n
First thing started will be the pumpkin cheesecake with praline topping. It needs to set for 8 hours before serving. I opted for cheesecake this year rather than pie. I am not a of pumpkin pie and every other year I opt for an alternate pumpkin .<\/p>\n
Start the charcoal.<\/p>\n
Next I will start the dinner rolls, bringing them to the point of their first rise.. This year I am trying a variation on my potato roll recipe. It will contain both whole wheat flour and sweet potato. We’ll see how that goes.<\/p>\n
While the dough is rising I will work on the pies. I haven’t decided which will go first — pecan or apple. The apple will talent more work – I need to reduce the cider glaze, peel the apples and make a double crust. Maybe I will start there.<\/p>\n
At this point the dough for the rolls will likely be ready. If that is the case I will finish the rolls, else I will make the bread crumbs for the dressing.<\/p>\n
Lunch break and time to break out the chef’s wine glass (and of course fill it).<\/p>\n
Next up – the awesome cranberry sauce. It will be made on the stovetop and then moved to the fridge.<\/p>\n
While everything is baking there will be time to peel the carrots and trim the Brussel sprouts. This year I got new potatoes – so, they will not need peeling.<\/p>\n
Once the turkey finishes, the mashed potato casserole and Brussel sprouts will go into the oven. I will finish the glazed carrots on the stove and also make the gravy.<\/p>\n
Finally, I will stir the pecans into the cranberry sauce.<\/p>\n
Hopefully my helpers have pressed the linen and set the table by this point, because I will start bringing out the food. God willing it will be dinner time and all crises will have been averted. <\/p>\n
Most importantly, I will have conquered that once a year fest known as Turkenfunken once again. Next crisis – Christmas cookies ( I will crush you!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tomorrow begins an epic day of cooking. Each year I take up the challenge to cook an entire meal from scratch. This might not sound like much – but consider that I bake all the desserts and the dinner rolls while simultaneously smoking a turkey on our charcoal grill. I do use canned pumpkin, but … <\/p>\n