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 rub down 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 gonna 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 reconnect 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

Mm-hmm. 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. Come on out of there. 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

I know. I'm about to get our butter softened. Now, I'm going to add one tablespoon

of house seasoning to this. That's got our salt, our pepper, and our garlic

I use that at the store at Gabriel's Dessert Station. 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 chop 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 okay 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 brown so we're

gonna put it in this oven right here just sit it on the bottom rack now we're

gonna roast this turkey for a few hours until it reaches a hundred and sixty

degrees so you'll want to stick your thermometer in the 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

You would, 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 want to do is I want to take some

dried cranberries that I've got. All right, so I'm going to use one cup of dried cranberries, and I'm going to cover them

with two cups of chicken broth. The chicken broth is going to rehydrate them

We're going to 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 You know even though you don get to see certain family members you never stop loving them Just because you don get to see them

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 gonna 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 gonna be a Hawaiian bread

That we have just bought from the deli. We cubed it up. We toasted it off

And this is gonna be just a little bit sweet. So we're just gonna dump these Johnny

And then we're gonna add those eggs, and those eggs are gonna 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 okey-doke. We're gonna 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 ball. 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 gonna peel all

these and get them we're not gonna peel our potatoes because that that skin's pretty oh

it's good 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. We're going to have to get one of those big knives. I'm telling you they 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 I love root vegetables. They are delicious and so good for

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'd 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

Oh, you do. 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 pie. Yes. I think I like sweet potatoes

Ooh, 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 gonna put these on right here. And when we come back

old Johnny's gonna be cooking us up a pumpkin pie. Absolutely. Up next, y'all

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 it's 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-uh. 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

Teaspoon and a half of cinnamon. Smells so like Thanksgiving. And then we just want a pinch of cloves and a pinch of nutmeg

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 on. All right, this is mixed well enough

It's getting 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. Then 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

And it doesn't taste nearly as good once you've burned it. All right, so now what are we going to do with this

Well, once that's going to cook, about five minutes. Uh-huh. All right, so you think that's cooked long enough

Yeah, 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're 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 eight-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

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 the pie

and we just don't know where to begin, y'all. I got a little taste, y'all, of everything on that board. Ooh

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 in, I'm going to use two tables

Well, oh. Oh, gosh, our pepper looks great. It's so good. It is so good

So all I've got to do, y'all, is make the glaze for our turkey

And to do that, I'm going to melt a couple of tablespoons of butter

I'm going to use 3-4 a cup of apple cider and a half a cup of maple syrup

Thanksgiving is in the air. Yes. All right. Bring in our tummy in a minute

Huh? It's gonna 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 gonna use

two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and just want to reduce that down a little bit. Now we have got our

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. Mm, that'd be so good. It's gonna be so good

Now, we just have to top it off with a pecan praline. Ooh, that's perfect, Johnny

All right, are we ready to cut this? And look at my glaze. Reduced, and you see how it's getting syrupy

It's going to 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. I'm 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? I 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, it's like a picture, isn't it

You were just artistic. I never knew that. All right, look at here

And, 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. Ooh, now I should 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. Mm-hmm. Here's your pie. Mm-hmm. 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. Oh, Johnny, I just love spending my Thanksgiving

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