Turkey Time

Well, y'all, it's finally here

My favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. My cousin Johnny pops in to help me prepare this fabulous feast

We're starting with a little butter rubdown for our roast turkey. Turn it so brown and crispy

And then it's on to one of my favorites, y'all. Apple cranberry stuff

Apples and cranberries. This is going to be good, good, good. Then we make Johnny's famous pumpkin rum pie

Rum and butter, y'all. Now all we have to do is dig in

Y'all, this is Johnny Gabriel, one of my favorite cousins. She's got a fabulous bakery in Marietta, Georgia called Gabriel's Desserts

Johnny and I are reconnecting, and I'm so excited. So how about it, Johnny

Let's get started on our roasted turkey. I've got us a 15-pound turkey, Johnny, that I thought we'd roast off in the oven

And I thought that we could make us like a butter paste

Butter, good old butter? Yes, to rub on our turkey. So what I'm going to need for you to do is if you would mince me up a couple of cloves of garlic and a shallot

So we're just going to kind of incorporate these with that butter

You want too close? Yeah, please, like too close. Listen, y'all, Johnny's, without a shadow of a doubt

makes the best red velvet cupcakes you've ever put in your mouth

So I've stolen a recipe. That's good. And now I call them mine. You do

No, I don't. You know I'm kidding you. I know. I'm about to get our butter softened

Now, I'm going to add one tablespoon of house seasoning to this

It's got our salt, our pepper, and our garlic. I use that at the store at Gabriel's Dessert

Do you? They have a big container in the kitchen of it. All right. Now, Johnny, while you're doing that, I think I'm going to chomp us a little parsley

When you're preparing food, you feel like you're doing things for the ones you love and people and friends

You know, Johnny, I said it's the one thing that will give you immediate gratification

That's probably why you make cakes, isn't it? Oh, absolutely. So you got the shallot and the garlic, and I've almost got the parsley minced fine enough

We've got all this wonderful skin, and to me, if the skin is crispy, it's like the best part of the turkey

Good. So we're going to rub it in our butter paste, and that skin is going to get crispy

And I'm going to go in there in that neck, and this butter, I'm not going to worry about him being rubbed in

too, too good, Johnny. I want the bulk of it sitting right up here on top

so as it melts, it'll run down our whole turkey. And turn it all good and browned

So we're going to put it in this oven right here. All right. Just sit it on the bottom rack

Now we're going to roast this turkey for a few hours until it reaches 160 degrees

So you'll want to stick your thermometer in the meatiest part of the turkey

and make sure you stick it in the dark part because the dark meat

takes longer to cook than your breast. Next, our apple cranberry stuffing

y'all. Wait, wait, wait, wait. This is how I remember you. Oh, my goodness

Johnny, I have never seen this picture. That was one of my

favorite dresses. I cannot believe this. Johnny, thank you. Isn't that cute

This is my Aunt Trina. Trina was three years older than me

This is me in the middle, the one ready. And this is Johnny right over here

Oh, I so love it. It was a wonderful time, and I miss those days

But you know what? I'm glad we got the memories. Absolutely. If you would dice up the red bell pepper and the onion and the celery

I'll probably peel the apple and chop it, but right now, what I wanna do is

I wanna take some dried cranberries that I've got. All right, so I'm gonna use one cup of dried cranberries

And I'm gonna cover them with two cups of chicken broth. The chicken broth is gonna rehydrate them

We're gonna melt our butter in our skillet. We're gonna add our bell pepper, our celery, and our onion

Y'all, one day I got this package in the mail, and it was from Johnny

And I opened it, and it was a mink. Mink? Faux mink

Mink. Mink. Apron. You know, I think this is supposed to be like a kind of a naughty apron

I think you're supposed to wear it naked. I love these Granny Smith apples. I do, too

So this oh I having such a good time being with you Thank you Thank you I loving it I know even though you don get to see certain family members you never stop loving them just because you don get to see it

That's true. Yes, we're adding more memories right now as we speak

Absolutely. I'm loving it. Coming up, Johnny and I finish up our stuffing

and get to mashing our potatoes, parsnips, and rutabagas. I had a pot much bigger than this. I'd be in big trouble here

Then Johnny shows me the way to pumpkin pie perfection. You're driving this boat, honey

And later, I whip up a glaze to top off our turkey. It's Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year

And you know why that is? Why is that? Because you don't have to worry about that gift buying

You know what? That's true. I added one can of cream of celery soup to my sauteed vegetables

Now I'm going to just dump in my cranberries and chicken stock

Half a teaspoon of cinnamon goes in, and Johnny has beat our three eggs with some salt and pepper

Our stuffing is going to be a Hawaiian bread that we have just bought from the deli

We cubed it up and we toasted it off, and this is going to be just a wee little bit sweet

So we're just going to dump these, Johnny. And then we're going to add those eggs, and those eggs are going to give it like a custardy texture

And I feel like everybody really might like this if they're looking for a little bit of change in their stuffing

The cranberries, just wonderful. Just speak of Thanksgiving. Yeah. All right. Put those eggs over in there, and okie doke

We're going to bake this off in, you know, a 13-by-9-by-2 pan

and I'm gonna spray this so it won't stick so badly around the edges

I want it to come out nicely. So we're just gonna pour that over in there, y'all

and we're gonna bake this for about 30, 40 minutes at 350 degrees

Look at those cranberries. Aren't they pretty? And the red pepper. Ooh, yeah

Just talk about the tall. Yes. Here, let me hold that bowl for you

All right, thank you. Thank you. That bowl's as big as you are, girl. So we've got red potatoes, we've got parsnips, and we've got onions, y'all

And we're going to peel all these and get them. We're not going to peel our potatoes because that skin's pretty

Oh, it's good, too. And it'll give interest in a little texture. Plus, they're good for you

So, all we're going to do is quarter these up, and you just cut those in chunks

And, of course, I'm going to come down here with this rutabaga

You know, they've got a wax coating on them. And you're talking about hard to cut, honey

Ooh, we're going to have to get one of those big knives. I'm telling you, there just ain't no easy way to do this

But they are so worth the effort. You think so? Well, I can't wait to taste this then

Well, I just love root vegetables. They are delicious and so good for you

We want our vegetables pretty much the same size. Okay. You know, so they'll cook

They'll all get done at the same time. Okay. And this is kind of like a carrot, you know, as far as it's cooking time

I'm about to get the skin off this bad boy. I'm glad you got that one

I'm glad I did, too, because you would never cook one, I'm afraid

if you've gotten this job. And then I'm just going to cube this up

And then we'll cube up the onions. And we've corded the potatoes, so in these go

And I'm going to put some salt in the water. Yeah, you did

And do we need to do a few more potatoes? Yeah, let's do these potatoes, if you'll help me with them

Yes, I will. I'm slower than you are, Paula. No, you're not

All right, so, you know what, Johnny? I think we were a little over-ambitious with the water

Okay. So I'm just going to come down here, and I'm going to drain some of that water off

Then I can get the rest of these potatoes in there. So you're going to be cooking the next dish coming up, aren't you

Yes, I am. It's a delicious, delicious pumpkin pie. And you know, I was not a pumpkin pie fan

Growing up in Georgia, you ate a sweet potato. Yes, and I think I like sweet potato

Oh, I about did it. Don't lose our potatoes. All of our work about went down the drain, sister

Oh, no, don't do that. Yeah, that's better. Now, that won't take as long to boil

All righty. And we're just going to put these on right here. And when we come back

old Johnny's going to be cooking up a pumpkin pie. Absolutely. Up next y Johnny makes a pecan praline topping for her pumpkin pie I never had a topping on a pumpkin pie And then we start mashing our potatoes parsnips and rutabagas You want it kind of chunky

Okay. Well, hey, y'all. I'm in here in the kitchen. It's Thanksgiving time at last

And this is my cousin, Johnny. And you're driving this boat, honey

Absolutely. Because Johnny's in the bakery business. She has Gabriel's Bakery in Marietta, Georgia, and you're getting ready to make us a pumpkin rum pie

Absolutely. Rum and butter, y'all. So you put me to work. I will do it

We started with a can of pumpkin puree, unsweetened, and you can crack those three eggs for me

Okey-doke. Get them cracked, and we're going to add a cup and a half of heavy cream

Okay. Thank you, ma'am. And you want me to just go ahead and dump those in there? Yes, absolutely

And this is the pumpkin pie that swayed me from sweet potato pie

Uh-oh. You know, we always ate sweet potato pie. I love sweet potato pie

Love it. Still love it. You know, the beauty of these kind of pies, y'all, is they're so easy

So we've got the eggs and the heavy cream. Heavy cream's going to make it so good

And we want a third of a cup of sour cream in there. Okay, good. We're going to use a mixer on this, so I'm just going to stir a little bit. Okay

And I'll be putting the ginger, which is a teaspoon and a half of ginger in it

And this smells so good. Doesn't it smell good? I love ginger

We know it's fall when we start getting the cinnamon and the nutmeg and the cloves out

A teaspoon and a half of cinnamon smells so like Thanksgiving. And then we just want a pinch of cloves and a pinch of nutmeg

If you'll do that. This is the cloves. Just remember, a little bit of clove goes a long, long way

Okay. This is strong, y'all, so you'll want to be careful. Then we want a pinch of salt

Okay. We have two tablespoons of melted butter. And we need two teaspoons of this vanilla

I need a cup of that brown sugar. Got two tablespoons of dark rum

I got that rum on my fingers. We'll mix this here. Doesn't have to mix all

All right, this is mixed well enough. I'm tasting it easier. Yeah, I'm going to..

Think it's good. Ooh! Johnny, I taste the ginger, and that is so good

Talk to me about your pie crust. Right now, we're going to pour this in the pie shell

Okay, let me help you. Okay, you scrape and all. So you just dump. Well, if I'm going to do it at home, I just buy the pie crust in the grocery store

because obviously I don't have a whole lot of time, and they work pretty well

So we're going to put this in the oven. We're going to bake it at 425 initially

We're going to bake it for 10 minutes. Then you're going to turn the oven down to 300 degrees for about 35 or 40 minutes. Okay

So, into the convection oven this goes. And because this is a convection oven, it cooks about 50 degrees higher than my standard ovens

So, we're going to cook this 50 degrees less. So, I'll have this on 375 for 10 minutes

then we're going to come back, turn it down, and let it finish baking off until it's set in the center, right

Right. And while that is baking, we can do the topping. You see, the whipped cream is delicious on it, but then you put on this pecan praline topping, and it is..

I've never had a topping on a pumpkin pie. Let's get some butter in here

So it's two tablespoons, a fourth of a cup of this brown sugar, dark brown

Half a cup of these pecans here. And you just stir it up, and it starts to bubble

Oh, you want to see the cutest thing. You know, I went to Williamsburg, and I had a chance to work in the kitchen, in the old kitchen from the 1700s

This is their tasting spoon, and they would keep their tasting spoon around their neck so that they could taste

Isn't that clever? Very clever. When you initially put your butter in, y'all, you want to watch your temperature

because that butter will burn on you real quick. It doesn't taste nearly as good once you've burned it

All right, so now what are we going to do with this? Once that's going to cook, about five minutes. Uh-huh

All right, so you think that's cooked long enough? That should be cooked long enough

And just spread it out on that foil, and it's going to harden up

Okay. And we'll break it up in little pieces so that everybody gets some. All right, so that's great

We're underway with your pie. So now all we have to do is finish up our rutabagas, parsnips, and potatoes

And they are right here. Oh, that's good. And they are done. They're nice and soft

Now all we're going to do, Johnny, is take these and drain them. And these are just nothing to finish up

And then you want to give them a couple of shakes, you know, to get the water out of them

and dump them back in our pot. And now I'm going to add

an 8-ounce package of cream cheese, a little more salt half a stick of butter Johnny and some fresh black pepper Now Johnny you can start smashing girl You want it kind of chunky If I had a pot much bigger than this I be in big trouble here

All right, you ready to taste? I am so ready to taste

Oh, my Lord. Here, you can have a taste there, and I'll have a taste here

Oh, man. Isn't that yummy? Mm-hmm. That is so good. Up next, I make a glaze that makes our turkey just glisten

Also, Johnny tops off a pie, and we just don't know where to begin, y'all

I got a little taste, y'all, of everything on that fork. Johnny, I can't believe it, honey, but we about got our meal put together

All right. Now, all I have to do is make the glaze, and for our turkey and I'm going to use two tablespoons oh gosh it is so good

oh so all I've got to do y'all is make the glaze for our turkey and to do that

I'm gonna melt a couple of tablespoons of butter I'm gonna use three-fourths a

cup of apple cider and a half a cup of maple syrup. Thanksgiving is in the air. Yes. All right

In our tummy in a minute. Huh? It's going to be what? In our tummy in a minute. It sure is. You know

you take hours to prepare all this stuff and 10 minutes to knock it all down, can't you? That's Right

All right. So that was a fourth of a cup of brown sugar, and I'm going to use two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

And just want to reduce that down a little bit. Now we have got our Hawaiian bread stuffing

We've got my cousin Johnny's beautiful pumpkin pie with praline crunches to go on top and fresh whipped cream

And we've got our mashed potatoes that have parsnips in it and rutabagas and onions

Mmm, that'd be so good. It's gonna be so good. Now, we just have to top it off with the pecan praline

Ooh, that's perfect, Johnny. And look at my glaze. Reduced, and you see how it's getting syrupy

It's gonna be delicious with our turkey. Johnny, why don't we take all this down here

Okay. And you cut our pie down here. Ooh. Okay. And I've got some pretty green stuff

While Johnny starts to slice up the pie, I garnish up the turkey with a little Italian parsley

some sage, and I'm going to throw on some cranberries. Going to peep some little cherry tomatoes for color

You want to taste my pie? Girl, I want to taste your pie

I want to make sure you get some pecans in that bite. Are you ready

Yes. All right, open wide. Is that good? You want to get a bite

It's the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted. Is it really? It's so good to me

Yes, it is. I hope you like my turkey. I will. As well as I love that pie

I'm going to love it. I could eat that whole pie by myself. All right, and you've got this so pretty

Look at that. Isn't it pretty? Isn't it just like a picture, isn't it? You were just artistic

I never knew that. All right, look at here. Oh, look at that

Just ooze down that turkey. Right now I'm bathing my turkey. All right

This is our stuffing, apples and cranberries. This is going to be good, good, good

Yes, it's going to be so good. And this glaze is going to give our skin a sweet maple flavor, Johnny

Are you ready for parsnips? Yes. I'm going to slice our turkey

And I'm going to come in here and I'm going to make a cut this away

And I'm going to come down here. Oh, yeah. I'll actually get a plate. Get close

Honey, he's wanting to fly up here into my mouth. All right, now let's see

Here's our pie. Here's your pie. And let's dig in

All right, now I've got some of the potatoes and parsnips and rutabagas

and a little bite of stuffing, a little bite of turkey. Here, let's have a little bite of pumpkin pie

By all means. By all means. I've got a little taste, y'all, of everything on that fork

These potatoes are so crunchy. And they're good. You got it going on

Johnny, I just love spending my Thanksgiving. Thank you. Thank you so much

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