Friday

 

I put a turkey on to slow roast. Don't mind whatever is on the bottom of my stove. Not sure what that is. Just look at the juices flowing down through the breast meat and out into the pan. That will become delicious gravy for our co-op moms' Friendsgiving tonight!

It's going to be such a good time. 20 ladies, everyone brings a side dish. My pal Britt is hosting and making the mashed potatoes. We have a group chat going so people could tell us what they were going to bring, and some of the dishes are green beans, candied sweet potatoes, cheesecake, pumpkin dessert, cranberry sauce and rolls, homemade chai, a lettuce salad, apple cider, apple pie, fresh fruit, corn, cornbread. 

The most important thing is being together and sharing our joy in the goodness of God.

For our prayer I am going to share an excerpt from Every Moment Holy that I shared at my Christmas tea last year. I found it online.

"To gather joyfully is indeed a serious affair.

  For feasting and all enjoyments gratefully taken are, at their heart,      acts of war.

  In celebrating this feast we declare that evil and death, suffering and loss, sorrow and tears, will not have the final word.

  All good things will be restored. Feast and be reminded!

  Now you who are loved by the Father, 

  prepare your hearts and give yourselves wholly to this celebration      of joy, to the glad company of saints, to the comforting fellowship      of the Spirit, and to the abiding presence of Christ who is seated        among us, and as our honored guest, and still yet as our conquering    king.

 In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, take seat,   take feast, take delight!

 Amen."

Isn't that stirring?! I love it!

                                           Here is a table I set many years ago now.

                                                                    And another

                                                                 one more.

I have been slow roasting my turkey for so many years. Ever since I read about it in Emilie Barnes book on Traditions.

source

Emilie Barnes father was a chef in Hollywood many, many years ago. The slow roasting method is from him. It is so simple. Clean your turkey, put it breast side down in your pan, cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees, then turn it down to 200 degrees. You cook it for three times the normal cook time. If you would cook your turkey for 3 hours, you'll cook this one slow and low for 9 hours. It comes out perfectly every time, and it will not burn or dry out!

For our family Thanksgiving, since we usually eat around 2:00 on the day, I put the turkey in the night before, and let is slow roast until about an hour before we eat. I do a huge turkey and it usually cooks about 15 hours. We let it rest and then put the meat on a platter.

If you like the Norman Rockwell turkey on a platter at the table look, you will not get that with this method because the meat will fall off the bones!

You will have happy smiles, though! The breast meat is never dry. It is quite flavorful too, as the juices run through the meat the whole time it is roasting.

Delightful!