Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Bird's the word!

Turkey Day started out with good intentions. Andy and I had signed up for the 5K Turkey trot in Downtown Charleston. I thought to myself doing this would kick the day off to a healthy start and would hopefully keep our eating later on somewhat conservative.

Well, it didn't take long for this idea to go out the window. We passed the free Krispy Kreme stand once on the way to get our registration packets. We did our best to ignore them, however, on our way back to the car to drop off our race packets the Krispy Kreme's drew us in. I'm not sure what happened. We decided we would split one. I figured it would give me the sugar buzz I needed to get through this run. It was gone in under a minute and it was yummy. I then remembered why I avoid Krispy Kremes like the plauge. Number one, they are delicious, especially when they are warm, but two, because I could easily eat about 100 of them!

Anyways, the race. I was a little nervous about running 3 miles as I haven't run this long consecutively since starting crossfit a little over a month ago. The weather was actually pretty chilly for Charleston this time of year, it was about 35 degrees outside and we were freezing. We decided we would try to run this thing pretty quickly. The faster we went, the warmer we would get and the sooner we could hit up the beer tent. Yes, there was beer. The race route took us through historic downtown Charleston and along the ocean. We ended up finishing in under 30 minutes which I was pretty happy about. We grabbed a few beers, said hi to a co-worker of mine and headed back home to meet Andy's parents and get the Thanksgiving show on the road! Also, as you can see, we decided to represent Wisconsin. We were lucky enough to spot a handful of people at the race wearing Packer gear. It's always nice to share some Wisco love!


When we got back Andy's parent's were waiting for us. We decided that instead of having snacks and appetizers before we ate we would make a fritatta to tide us over. I'm glad we chose this route. I feel like whenever we have appetizers before I just fill up on those and don't have any room for the actual meal! Andy made the frittata and it was so good. If you've never made one of these before, they are so easy and you can really add any kind of ingredients. Andy did pastrami, mushrooms and swiss cheese. Reminded me of a reuben sandwich!

To make the frittata, heat oven to 350 degrees. In a pan or cast-iron skillet, heat some olive oil or butter over medium-high heat, add the ingredients, beat about 6 eggs with some egg whites and add those to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bottom begins to set. Once set, cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Making sure it's cooked through. Let it cool, then slice and serve! Frittatas are also easy to make ahead of time for the week if you're looking for a quick breakfast. You can re-heat them or enjoy them cold! Look how pretty this turned out!


After the frittata, it was time to get the bird in the oven. I did all the prep for the tukey the day before. Andy was nice enough to help me truss the turkey. If you don't know what this is, just google it. We found a how to video and got it done, but it was not pretty. Trussing a turkey is one thing, trussing a buttered turkey is another....

We put the turkey in the oven around 12:30. Our plan was to get all the sides cooked when we took the turkey out of the oven to rest. While the bird cooked, we watched the beginning of the end of the Packer season. Andy was not a happy camper.

At the end of the game, almost four hours later the turkey was still not done! This was only an 11 lb bird, it should not be taking this long! I was starting to get a little panicky. The oven was set at 350 degrees like the directions called for, but the meat thermometer was not going past 145 degrees. We needed to see 165 degrees! (I think our oven is broken) My biggest fear was that I would overcook the thing and we would have dry turkey. Andy made the executive decision that after another 30 minutes in the oven the turkey was coming out and that was that!

So, the turkey came out and a little bit of chaos ensued. Yes, we had everything prepared, but with a small kitchen, one oven and four people trying to help, it was a little overwhelming, but it all got done! It was then time for Bill to carve the turkey. I crossed my fingers as I was envisioning the scene from Christmas Vacation when Clark makes the first cut and the turkey deflates, but much to my surprise I don't think the turkey could have turned out any better. I'm not sure if it was beginners luck, but I'll take it!


Finally, everything was ready. The table was set and food was warm. I could finally relax. It felt great to be able to enjoy the meal, the company and a few glasses of wine!








There was definitely too much food, but it was all so good. My favorite thing was probably the sweet potato casserole or the pumpkin mousse or the biscuits or the salad :) I don't know, it was all delicious.

After clean up Andy's parents headed back to Hilton Head for the night and Andy and I were stuck to the couch. So much food. Our bellies hurt.

Looking back, I would say it was a success. Yes, there was about an hour of panic, but I'm not sure there was much else we could do have done to make it better. Everything turned out well, I got to hang out with Andy and his parents and I can cross cooking a Thanksgiving meal off my bucket list!

The next day Andy and I met his parents in Hilton Head Island. His parent's time share went through the weekend so we thought we would check it out and spend some time with them before they left Saturday. Being that the weather wasn't great, we spent most of our time walking around, shopping, watching football and eating. I wouldn't mind coming back again when it's warmer. The island is full of bike paths, golf courses and beaches.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. We celebrated Bill and Andy's birthday since Bill's was Sunday and Andy's is coming up next week. I was able to have the waitress sneak in a few birthday candles!






We headed back to Charleston early Sunday morning, making a quick stop in Beaufort. A friend of mind recommended that we stop here and I'm glad we did. The town is right on the ocean, giving it some awesome views, but it also has a small historic district that contains some of the most amazing houses Andy and I have ever seen. It felt a bit like Charleston, but there was something different about it that made it very unique!





It ended up being a very nice and relaxing weekend, which I think was what we were both hoping for. It went way too fast and we are already missing Bill and Jan! The rest of our Sunday consisted of running errands and getting a few things ready for Christmas! I can't believe it's already December....





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