Hostess with the Mostess; Thanksgiving edition!

Hey Y’all! I know it has been a while since we all last chatted, but here we are. I hope you all had a great Holiday and continue to have a great Holiday season. Boy has 2022 REALLY flown by!

Hey Y’all! I know it has been a while since we all last chatted, but here we are. I hope you all had a great Holiday and continue to have a great Holiday season. Boy has 2022 REALLY flown by!

My boyfriend and I hosted our very first annual Thanksgiving this past week and I just have to share the ins and outs of being the ‘Hostess with the Mostess’. It felt like I had to be cooking for a least a week straight and doing dishes for a month!

Okay…. that may have been an exaggeration but hey, it’s how I felt! First thing first, I had to get all my holiday décor up so the house felt festive and cozy for all our guests. Then I had to get ‘fake’ china, flatware, glasses etc. because let’s face I’ve done enough dishes already for this holiday! Once all if that is done you have to go shopping for the important things… Adult beverages and FOOD.. DUH!! You can’t be the host without those things, it is necessary. Oh, and cannot forget the games for after dinner drunken, food coma fun! We played incoherent (such a fun one) and Cards against humanity, Friends Edition! Menu selections are also key to any get together, you can see what we came up with and each year it will just get better and better!

Yes, everything was homemade, and I will share a couple of recipes below, I would be happy to share more if you are interested just send me a message! We had so much fun hosting this year and cannot wait until Christmas! I will be back then...

XO XO your girl,

Average George <3

Homemade Onion Dip

2-3 Yellow Onions (diced)

3 tbsp of Butter

4oz Cream Cheese

¼ Cup Whole Egg Mayo (I like Dukes brand)

½ Cup of Sour Cream

1 Dried Ranch Packet

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Onion powder (to taste)

Garlic powder (to taste can also use fresh minced garlic)

Steps:

Place your butter, diced onion, salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder in a sauté pan on medium heat and cook until caramelized (roughly 20-25 minutes). While that is all caramelizing, add remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix together until smooth. Add in onion mixture, and let set in the fridge for at least 2 hours (can cook the day before and let set overnight for added flavor). Serve at room tempura with your favorite chips and Crackers!

Herb Roasted Whole Turkey

1 16ilb whole turkey

1 Bunch of Celery (large rough chop)

4-5 Large Carrots (large rough chop)

2-3 Yellow onions (quartered)

2 Granny Smith Apples (quartered)

3 Lemons (quartered)

2 sticks of Unsalted Butter (softened)

Fresh Herbs of your choice (I like Sage, Rosemary, Thyme)

Dried Herbs of your choice (I use the same as above)

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Onion powder (to taste)

Garlic powder (to taste can also use fresh minced garlic)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating, we will be making the herb butter. Combine soften butter with the dried herb, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic, in a bowl and mix until fully incorporated, set aside. Then you want to take you roasting pan and place the chopped celery, carrots, onions in bottom of the pan (this is so the turkey can sit on top if you do not have a roasting rack for the pan. If you have a roasting rack, feel free to remove this step). Now is the time to clean and prep your turkey. Make sure to remove the neck and giblets (these can be set aside to make gravy should you choose). Place your turkey on the vegetables, or roasting rack. Then you want to loosen the skin on the turkey (place your hand under the skin and move around until it has detached from the meat. Do this on the breasts and legs). Once that is loosened take your herb butter and place under the skin and leather until all parts of the meat is covered (I also like to take a little ball of butter and place inside the turkey). Take remaining herb butter and melt to brush all over the top of the skin. Now take the apples, lemons and fresh herbs and place inside the turkey. If everything doesn’t fit in the turkey the leftovers can be placed in the roasting pan with the other vegetables. Place turkey in center of the oven and cook until 160 degrees. Once removed cover and set aside as the turkey will continue to cook to 165 degrees. Let rest for at least 25 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!