Friends Thanksgiving

We hosted an early Thanksgiving celebration with all of our Albany friends on Sunday. It was a really fun day- complete with football and lots of good food. We decided to celebrate early because everyone had family plans or had to work on Thanksgiving Day. Adam decided to bring down the t.v. from our bedroom so we could watch multiple games. And if two screens weren't enough, he also set up our iMac to further up the "awesomeness." The guys definitely appreciated the effort and I have a feeling this is how we'll be watching football every Sunday from now on.

My mom had told me about a turkey recipe she saw while watching Food Network- Brined Herb-Crusted Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy so I decided to try it out. I put the turkey in the brine on Thursday. I love this method but it's always a challenge trying to accommodate a 5 gallon bucket in the refrigerator. It soaked in the brine until Saturday afternoon. Then, you put all the veggies and apples in the roasting pan, place the turkey on top and spread the herb butter crust all over it. Then is simply sat in the refrigerator until Sunday afternoon, when it went right into the oven. It turned out very good- beautiful dark color on the outside and extremely flavorful on the inside.
Everyone brought a side dish- we had it all: two types of dressing, mashed potatoes, grilled sweet potatoes, salad, brussel sprouts, mac n cheese, cranberry relish, and lots of pie! We had a really fun time and are very thankful for meeting such great friends.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving- go get your grub on!