The ETA for the
turkey was 1PM. 1:30 rolled around and nothing. Looked out the kitchen window a couple times. 1:45 still nothing. Just before 2PM, turkey delivered, together with a bag of potatoes and two kids. We hadn't discussed the kids being dropped off, but that was fine, they are older now and don't need to be monitored. They just can't be in the same room for very long... together. Sooo.... there I was on Christmas Day with Disturbed cranked, getting ready for Christmas dinner. I explained to the kids that most people wouldn't listen to this type of music on this day, but it is just what I do. They were fine with that. One went off to play the piano and the other I let open a present, which I knew would keep him entertained... for a while.
I made the boy read the small print off the turkey roasting chart and we were good to go. I called the girl to come into the kitchen so she could see me stick my hand in the turkey's orifice to get the gizzard out, at which, as expected, she cringed, with the obligatory... ooh gross. Got the bird on the rack in the roasting pan and... then... realized I had run out of olive oil. I was certain that I had another bottle in the cupboard but nooooo.... So.... I used Becel to coat the skin. Turkey went in the oven at 2:33, a little later than planned. I went looking for the baster... but couldn't find the top part. Great.
I actually made both kids stay in the kitchen with me for most of the afternoon to at least get a glimpse of the inner workings of the meal. I cut up the onion for the stuffing and sauteed it in Becel. Had the girl peel and cut up a couple apples and the boy peel a few potatoes, surprisingly enough, with no complaining or bickering. In regards to the potatoes, I had three large ones to use, but had asked for a few more. The ones I was provided with were mini russets and a couple tiny reds. One of them was the source of much chortling from the kids. The boy asked if I was going to put a picture of it on the blog. I said no. But, heck why not... here it is anyways:
The Mutant Potato
For the apple-sage stuffing I used one each of Gala, Ambrosia and Granny Smith Apples, which I tossed in the pan with the onion. Earlier in the week I had cubed and dried white and brown bread, so that was ready to go in a big bowl. Dumped in the onion and apples, chicken broth, tonnes of sage, black pepper, salt, chopped dried apricots and then some home-made blackberry wine, just for a twist. Mixed it up and plopped it into a casserole dish, after which I realized that I had forgotten ... something... the celery. Oh well. In the meantime, chopped up the potatoes, boiled em up, then instead of butter, mashed them up with some whipping cream, skim milk and becel. Very, very creamy.... creamy goodness. Plopped those into a oven-safe glass bowl and.. of course, licked the spatula afterwards. The boy pleaded for a taste, so I gave in.
Without the baster, I had to bring the roaster out of the oven each time to scoop up the pan juices with a ladle. Twas handy to have one of the kids there to tilt the pan in order for me to do so. The stuffing went in the oven at 5:08, and then it was just a matter of waiting and basting. In the meantime I also knew that I had to return one of the DVDs I had rented the previous night, the A-Team. I had started watching it Christmas Eve, but it just seemed... too drawn out... or at least ridiculously lame, much like the original TV show was, if I recall correctly. Regardless, I still had to finish watching it. So I moved the laptop to the kitchen table and watched the rest of the movie with the boy, during which we stopped a couple times to baste the turkey. The stuffing came out and the mashed potatoes went in to heat up. 6:15 rolled around... their mom hadn't shown up yet. 6:30.... nothing.
Earlier in the day I was thinking of making a pecan pie at the last minute, but couldn't find the recipe, so that fell by the wayside. Wasn't a big deal, as the day before I had mixed up coloured marshmallows and pineapple to make marshmallow fluff. So.. after we finished the movie, as I was whipping up cream for the fluff, their mom finally showed up with the side dishes of veggies....Brussel Sprouts and creamed cabbage (and butter tarts). The DVD was to have been returned by six, but I hadn't been able to get out of the house, so I asked if she could return it for me. Turkey came out and was tented, veggies put in to warm up, gravy made and all was well. The aged father was over an hour late, so we dished out the food and had it ready for him. This may have been the first year everything was on the table before he got here.
I had chilled and opened a bottle of an Italian Pinot Rosa, which I "thought" was going to be fabulous, but sadly... no. I added Ginger Ale, and subsequently peach juice... it was better that way, honestly. I should have just stuck with my favourite, moderately sweet, light, cheap German wine. It never fails, whenever I try something new, it never ends well. Doesn't matter if it is a new chocolate bar, potato chip flavour, wine or doing something out of my realm... if it is new or different, it never ends well.
This year was the first year we did not eat in the dining room, as it has morphed into an office/den mess. Eating in the kitchen was, oddly enough, a nice change. And.. the dinner was argument free. The turkey was moist and juicy, the mashed potatoes super creamy, the stuffing was better than I thought it would be, the Brussel Sprouts were kind of icky (she did them in a Balsamic vinagrette), creamed cabbage was nice and the wine gross. Everyone was gone by 9:15 and all I had to do then was clean everything up. I did a bit, then took a couple hours off to play around on the laptop. I came back to get the rest done, and finished washing dishes at 2AM and went to bed probably after 3. At 7:44AM there was knocking at the front door. I have no idea how I was able to hear it. I was being asked if I wanted to go out of town for Boxing Day shopping.... Um... that would be a no.
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