Heather says:
Thanksgiving will be here in just over three weeks.
If you have company coming, now is not the time to launch any big home improvement type projects. I’m not talking about necessary repair, if you have a hole in your roof, by all means get it fixed. If you’ve never played host over a holiday, don’t add in the stress of painting a room or gutting a bathroom over the next few weeks.
You see that handy post-it in the upper right?* Those chores will take you through your house or apartment three times before Thanksgiving arrives. Add in 10 – 15 minutes of The Secret to a Clean Home every day and you will be company ready long before Thanksgiving gets here.
If you’re a novice cook and you’ve never cooked for company or roasted a chicken, you have homework. It’s time you learn how to roast a chicken. This is great practice for learning how to roast a turkey as the concept is pretty much transferable. This year, I’m going to experiment with brining a turkey, but my good friend Eugene has done this in the past with good results.
Confession:
I’m tired and we haven’t even kicked off the holiday season.
My house is currently NOT company ready.
Here’s my excuse, for what it’s worth. I’ve been out of town a lot over the past few months and just before that I was busy with that whole writing a book thing. Speaking of, if you want an email announcing the book’s release just click the cover image to sign up.
I’m in the same boat, I get busy and I let my routines slide. I’ll be spending the next few weeks getting myself back into the normal swing of things, just in time to be disrupted by company. Oh and just to add a little more excitement to the mix, my husband and I are having our marriage blessed just before the holidays.
So, if your house is a disaster
And you don’t know where to begin, check out Getting Started on Your Messy House or start with the sink. You’ve got three weeks which is a lot of time, provided a little work is done every day. I’m in the trenches with you, isn’t that reassuring?
Hang in there.
Send your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.
Alton Brown's roast turkey from the Romancing the Bird episode has never failed me
Is that available online or do I need to break down and buy the DVD set?
(Yes, I could Google it, but this is more fun)
I think I have the DVD.
Food Network usually re-runs it each year before Thanksgiving
The recipe is here, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/go…
In the Videos tab they also have a couple of segments from the episode too.
It doesn't feel like November without the Home Ec 101 Countdown appearing in my RSS feed : )
Congrats on your marriage blessing…what a reason to celebrate (when you finally get caught up!)
Once you brine a turkey, you'll never go back to a frozen bird. I'm hosting for the first time in several years, so I'll be following along too!
Congrats to you and your husband.! I'm going to be busy preparing the meal again this year, but I just love all the excitement. I just love the smell of the turket roasting in the oven. I will bake all the pies the night before. I'm going to be busy shampooing the carpet, washing windows, but this is always what I do right before Thanksgiving, so the house is really clean for the holidays.
Congrats to you!
This particular thing stuck out at me: "…just in time to be disrupted…" I had never realized that! I have FELT it, for sure. Thanks, I will be able to face the challenge a little bit better now.
AB's turkey is the best !
I've also used Alton Brown's turkey brining method for years and it's FABULOUS! Even those who never liked turkey become converts due to the infused moisture and flavor. We've have so many family members hooked on this method. I like his approach to aromatics, to roasting times and temps, and also to how he covers the bird. It's a well thought out and smart way to go. I call Alton Brown the *Bill Nye of food. (*Bill Nye – The Science Guy)
I think Alton Brown is quite popular in the geek community. He definitely seems to speak our language.