Stand Back....Thanksgiving Tried Science!

Dear Tofurkey,

As our blog public now knows, we got to spend Thanksgiving together--surprise! I had such a wonderful time that I'm sure I would kiss you even with your uncooked garlic breath (anyway, it's the farts you gotta look out for). Even the Snarky Anonymous Commenter had a fabulous time.

But lest you believe that all my talk of having Thanksgiving with his, I mean with my boyfriend's family (because of course the SAC cannot be my boyfriend), let me show you how our first Thanksgiving went.

I have only ever spent Thanksgiving with two families before, and while both put on a fantastic spread, I figured that for my first time out of the gate on Turkey Day, I would try science.

Apparently science makes me look like a giddy victim of demonic possession

I know it doesn't look much like science, but I swear it is. Here's an up close look for you.

Science, it turns out, is very, very cold

OK, so maybe it's not that exciting, but we brined our turkey, and it was simply the easiest and most delicious turkey I've had. I boiled a gallon of veggie stock with a cup of salt and half a cup of brown sugar until it dissolved. Then I added some crushed garlic, black peppercorns, savory, sage, rosemary, and thyme (no parsley, sorry Art and Paul). Then when it cooled, I dumped it all in a clean paint bucket with a gallon of ice water and deposited my clean turkey (Turkey cooking turkey--what would Freud say?).

Now here's where the science comes in. All that salty delicious broth draws water out of the turkey through a totally cool process called osmosis. You know, that thing college kids use to study when they sleep on top of their books, except it works in this case. When the concentration inside the turkey's cells reaches the concentration outside, water begins to go back into the turkey carrying all the attached salt and seasoning. Seriously, I know you don't eat meat, but this would make you consider it. The white meat was so moist and tender!

Here's the supporting cast at our Thanksgiving:

I used a theme (some might say motif) for the dinner: roasted garlic and rosemary. They were  not only in the brine, but in the bread and mashed potatoes!

Inspired by none other than Tofurkey herself, this has orange and Bosc pears in it as well for variety.

The fair accompli: turkey surrounded by dressing made by my  (soon-to-be-for-real?) mother-in-law, roasted garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade rosemary and roasted garlic bread, salad with homemade dressing that follows all my rules, and cranberry dressing.

I think I liked my Thanksgiving food better than any other, but nothing beats your company.

I moss you,
Turkey