Thanksgiving Preparations

Today is a snow day for us. (More about that later.) It is also the day before Thanksgiving so with a baby strapped to my back and my trusty 5 year old cooking side kick, we have been working hard in the kitchen! We are having two Thanksgiving dinners this week, one on Thursday with friends and one here on Friday with Tony's aunt and uncle. This year I ordered a fresh turkey from Warren Wilson; we picked it up on Saturday and it is now soaking in brine in our fridge. The plan is to cook it today after all the other baking is complete. (I have never brined a turkey before so am rather excited to try it.)

Here is our 18.95 pound turkey after soaking in brine for almost 20 hours. I then put two onions, two lemons and some fresh rosemary in the cavity and rubbed the outside with butter.

Also on tap for making today:

3 Ingredient Paleo Cranberry Sauce:

Gluten Free stuffing:
Today I am actually only making the bread. I then need to dehydrate it and will assemble and cook the stuffing on Friday morning.

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Cake with Gingersnap Crust:

Setting in the fridge. (I had to borrow this springform pan from a friend.)

Paleo Upside Down Cranberry Orange Bread:

Not the prettiest thing in the world but incredibly tasty! (It didn't come out of the pan very well. Plus the directions were a little odd.)

These herbed mashed potatoes are also on the menu but I will make them tomorrow morning. And of course more vegetables sides are on the menu but other folks are in charge of those! Yum! 


Here is my little sidekick hard at work!