Welcome to our Gratitude Series! In preparation for the Holidays, the Team at The Bottom Line CPA wanted to share a few things about their lives and what they're thankful for this year.
Today's contribution comes from Jessica Stafford:
Bring on the Thanksgivingpalooza of 2018!
I am grinning from ear to ear as I begin this little post of mine because I’m just so darn happy about sharing all the things I’m grateful for….. along with a turkey mishap that blessed us all as a happy accident and gave us a new family tradition!
Happy Accident Turned Family Tradition (you’ll want to do this too!)
In 2014, we hosted our first family Thanksgiving in our new home (that was my Mamaw Ruby’s) and my biggest job for the day was to make a turkey.
I’ve made turkeys before. They were always pretty good, but this year was the turkey that changed our love of turkey forever! Haha. 🙂
I scoured the web for a recipe to cook a huge bird and my old pal, Martha Stewart, never disappoints me. You see, she’s a home influencer for me and has been for years! It’s why my Dad often calls me “Martha”. It’s a thing in my family…. to call me Martha.
Hey — if the shoe fits!
Anywho, I kinda “mashed” some turkey recipes together and voila! I dug up those turkey recipe finds for you too!
https://www.marthastewart.com/353184/perfect-roast-turkey
https://www.marthastewart.com/315666/roast-turkey-with-herb-butter
https://www.marthastewart.com/868008/citrus-and-herb-turkey
I follow the perfect roast because it’s cooking for a large bird. Mine is a 26-lb bird this year and we have TWO separate dinners we’re planning!
(except I don’t do the wine and who needs cheesecloth? — I can be fancy but draw the line at the cheesecloth!) 🙂
I throw down under the skin and on the skin with some herbed butter and then stuff it with the citrus concoction from the third recipe above sans the salt.
You MUST rub the bird with butter! Yummy!
It’s all done up and the bird gets into the oven. I just had a pride about me that day that the turkey was gonna be magnificent!
Hours later we took the bird from the oven and it did look so beautiful! The prettiest turkey I had ever cooked. It was big and a golden brown color —I cooked MAGIC.😉
We let the turkey rest in the pan for a bit and came back to start working it up for our feast. It was almost too pretty to carve into, but we did.
As I started trying to carve what I thought to be the turkey breasts, there was like hardly any meat and I yelled for Jerry to come into the kitchen.
He asked what was wrong and I shared that we had the prettiest turkey ever —- but there was no meat on the turkey to hardly eat! We were perplexed looking at this bird. LOL.
He said, where’s the little thermometer pop-up thing? I’m like — ???
We looked all over and there just isn’t one. He kept looking all over for it and then began to tell me that I had cooked this crazy big turkey upside down! Geez. SMH.
I was distraught, peeps.All this glory to then feel like a heel — I ruined Thanksgiving!
I then proceeded the daunting (and I mean daunting) task of getting the bird turned over so we could try and get some turkey on the table. I wrestled that thing, made a mess (of course), and began to carve.
My husband took a piece and then…. BEST TURKEY EVER!
I mean, we all loved it and Jerry raved for days. He and my son, Austin, still talk about the turkey and remind me to cook it upside down!
So, my turkey fail turned into my turkey win. #HappyAccident Don’t you just love those?
God’s grace and love is like that too. He can take the messiest, craziest, most upside down thing in our lives —- and turn it into the sweetest victory that gives you joy for all your days.
From my home, table, and family to yours —- Happy Thanksgiving!
