Easy Entertaining: Thanksgiving Potluck

So instead of 5 things inspiring me this week, I thought instead I would show you guys some pictures from my potluck, the one were Hank was served.

Here’s what the space looked like-

Bar Cart: Best idea ever, Lotti luckily had a tea cart from her grandmother, so we just put all the glasses on the bottom and the drinks up top. I had been seeing the idea all over in design/ party ideas and I can see now what all the hype is about. We even served this strawberry-mint water which was a hit! The drink pictured was a hot apple cinnamon cider made by Lotti’s bf. Once I figure out his secret recipe, I will let you know because it is delicious! Another great drink idea would be this Italian soda idea and would look cute on a bar cart.

Buffet: Look later in the week for how we put it together, we had labels for the food to say who brought what food. This way people knew who to thank. Hank, of course, was the centerpiece. We had napkins, silverware in mason jars and plates stacked on a table next to it for easy buffet access.

Decorations:  So we wanted to change things up a little for the party, but we didn’t want to spend a ton of money (Okay, like any, we are on a college budget here). Thank goodness for free printables. Just print on your computer and cut away! And it came with so many different things, we were able to keep it consistent throughout the party décor! The Thankful Tree was definitely a party favorite as well.

Pretty cute, huh?

Thankful Tree

       So if you already have a recipe for Turkey or aren’t in charge of it (lucky devils), and are looking for some way to contribute to the Thanksgiving I highly suggest a “thankful tree”. All you need is come construction paper! And in my case, a very crafty friend who can cut out a tree! 

       We had all the leaves cut out before the potluck and while everyone was waiting for more people to show up, we had them write what they were thankful for on the leaves then tape them up! As you can see, they were quite cute. But expect the boys not want to participate, and I think only half of those here actually ended up writing something as we got distracted with food. I loved this activity and can’t wait to do it with my family this Thursday. I think it makes a great idea for a family tradition. You could even do them smaller and keep them each year, to show how your family’s love grows each year!

Here are some close picture, clearly we weren’t that serious! But it was fun nonetheless!

     Does your family have any Thanksgiving traditions? I would love some more to add!

How to: Roast a Turkey

      So I would consider the Potluck a raging success, except for one minor detail. Lotti and I prepared for that turkey so much. We read recipes, we read more recipes, and we searched for tips on how to make him (Yes, it was a him and we named him “Hank” for Hank’s giving (and yes we did steal it from New Girl). That morning, we took him out of the fridge, we defrosted him some more in cold water, we cut up all our stuffing ingredients, we preheated the oven. I basted him every 15 minutes. He was on the table ready to be eaten and we realized we had NO CLUE how to carve a turkey. We forgot that minor detail. Luckily, one guy at the potluck did know, we tried to discreetly get him to carve it so no one would notice but much to our chargin everyone did and it became the joke of the evening. Oh well. In other news, Lotti’s mom came over and tried our turkey, she said it was the BEST turkey she has ever had and was moist! So you know this recipe is going to be good!

Ingredients:

12 lb Turkey ( You need to by this THREE days beforehand so it can defrost in your fridge, and even then it might not be enough)

1 Stuffing mix (we like cornbread kind)

1 1/2 cups Celery

1 1/2 cups Carrots

1 bag of small Yellow Onions

1 stick of Butter

1 1/2 cups Vegetable broth

Salt and Pepper

Lemon Pepper seasoning

Poultry Bouquet of Herbs (Rosemary, Marjoram, Sage, Thyme about 5 sprigs of each)

Read the instructions!

Directions:

1) Chop all vegetables into pieces, just roughly chopped into large bite size pieces. Set 1 cup of onions aside, place the rest of the onions in the bottom of your roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Take turkey out of its wrapper seems easy but this is actually kind of an acquired skill, our turkey had his legs in the plastic clamp thingy that took us 10 minutes to undo, so keep that in mind when planning prep time.  You have to remove things from the neck and the bottom cavities. It can be a bit gross.

3) Place your turkey on the onions to let it rest.  In  a large pot on medium heat, place 4 tablespoons of butter and add the vegetables. You just want to soften them for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add stuffing mix and vegetable both. Mix thoroughly.

4) Stuff half of the poultry herbs in the cavity, then place the stuffing in it. Leave room for the stuffing to expand while cooking. Place the rest of the stuffing in an oven safe dish.

5) Use cotton twine and tie the legs together. Then take the remaining butter and rub all over the turkey. ALL OVER. It will be quite intimate but that is okay. It will be worth it. Next lightly salt, and pepper the bird. Then sprinkle the lemon pepper all over the bird.

6) Place the turkey in the oven for ONE HOUR. LEAVE IT ALONE. Do not open the oven, to look at it.  It will be fine.

7) Now for the next 1.5-2 hours, baste it everywhere every 15 minutes. EVERYWHERE. Do not skimp. I set a timer and then made a tick mark every time I basted the turkey. You want to roast it till the inside temperature is 165 degrees. Make sure your meat thermometer is NOT touching the bone. I like to slide it in parallel to the leg in the meaty part.

8) Once it has reached 165, let it rest for 30 minutes before carving the bird. Wish I could help you with carving part but I am still unsure. Maybe next year.

So do you have any funny Thanksgiving stories? How was your first turkey?