I just got back from Target where I bought a few ingredients I’ll need for my feast. I saw something very unique in the dairy section that made me feel like I was at the Kansas State Fair on a smaller scale. It was a tiny butter sculpture in the shape of a turkey.
The butter turkeys must’ve had a rough time in the shipping process — they were all decapitated! I didn’t buy the edible artwork since I already have a headless turkey in my fridge.
Posted by Jaime Oppenheimer
Tom the Turkey received a few fridge guests today. His visitors will be serving my family members who start arriving tomorrow from Chicago and Dallas.
My sister and nephew drink organic whole milk. My sister-in-law and brother drink skim milk. I don’t do milk (lactose intolerant). And my brother-in-law drinks beer.
I’m going to go with this turkey brine recipe from Alton Brown. He’s one of my favorite television food personalities. Now I need to find a big cooler so Tom can take his first (and last) brine bath on Wednesday night.
My Thanksgiving dinner officially began thawing today at 4:01 p.m. CST. In a few days it will go down in history as the very first turkey I made for Thanksgiving.
Last year, my sister-in-law cooked an Oven Ready Jennie-O turkey. It was amazing. It’s called a "fresh-frozen" bird and it went from the freezer to the oven without having to be thawed. It was pretty tasty, too.
I want my first turkey creation to be a classic one. I put my 12 pound pal in the refrigerator this afternoon because I’m going to soak it in a brine on Wednesday night. Tom looks a little lonely on the top shelf, but I’ll be packing the fridge with more goodies soon.
The USDA’s Web site is filled with a lot of helpful tips on thawing and preparing your feast.
Posted by Jaime Oppenheimer
Check out this site if you’re like me and hosting out-of-town Thanksgiving visitors next week. It’s full of great ideas on the little things you can do to pamper your guests.
My friends always love the fruit, candy and water I leave in their rooms. They know they’re entitled to anything in my kitchen but they like having their own stash, too. I also printed greeting cards of photographs from the Oppenheimer Inn for my guests. They’ll be able to tell people about the great time they’re having.
I’m still contemplating if I should put out the sign that says the staff accepts tips.
Posted by Jaime Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer Inn manager, head chef, and head housekeeper
Saw this happy, goofy little guy at Bergmann’s down in Haysville this week.
The local pumpkin patches are booming, despite a rumored nationwide pumpkin shortage, and this weekend will be a great time to check one out. There’s Cox Farm down on South Seneca, Pumpkin Junction out west, Gaeddert Farm in Buhler and many others.
And be sure to check out The Eagle’s WichiTalk next week, when we’ll offer all kinds of handy tips for you pumpkin lovers. Now go make some pie.
– Posted by Suzanne Tobias