Thanksgiving Post-Mortem

So was it worth it to brine the turkey with the time and effort involved?  For me, the answer is a resounding "YES".  The turkey that resulted was tender and moist and extremely delicious.  As for the flavourings we added to the brine, did they shine through?  The answer is both "YES" and "NO".  The flavour of the mulling spices was definitely present when the meat was eaten alone, particularly the dark meat.  But I really didn't taste the maple. You could smell the maple when the turkey was being basted - probably in part due to the fact that I mixed about 3 tbsp maple syrup in with a good sized knob of butter and painted it all over the turkey before it went in the oven.

What about the vegetables you ask?  The brussel sprouts were amazing hot out of the oven.  I did make them ahead and then reheated them right before dinner due to oven space issues, resulting in a personal rating of "OK".  One single half of a brussel sprout even managed to make it past T-Rex's lips and he said he liked it but didn't want any more.  Well at least he tried them - that is the rule of the house - try it before you decide you don't like it.

I also made the beets ahead of time and they managed to survive the re-firing right before dinner much better. The only thing I would say is that when cooked in this manner, beets shrink.  So my large 2 bunches seemed rather on the disparate side in the serving bowl.  T-Rex loved them and the Omnivore actually ate them and liked them. Victory is mine!

We also made the mashed potatoes during the day and then reheated them in the pot before dinner and this worked well.  The trick I find is to prepare them fully, as the potatoes best absorb the milk and butter when they are hot, and then just to turn the burner on below them on med-low to reheat, stirring constantly.

Other than that, we went waaaaay overboard in terms of how much carrots and parsnips we made.  Tons left over, the good side of which is that there are lots left over for soup and dinners this week.

There is some of my Mom's awesome sausage meat stuffing left so that will be making its way into sandwiches today (with cranberry sauce of course).   And the carcass is going into a pot shortly to make turkey soup and will be the source of another post.

If anyone has good recipes or ideas for the use of left over turkey, please do share!!!