Thanksgiving & The Best Turkey I have EVER had

It's the Friday after Thanksgiving, and instead of being trampled down in a store, I will be here in the office, patiently awaiting the feast of Thanksgiving left overs that waiting for me at home.
Yesterday, I made my first entire Turkey. I was a little nervous because the last thing anyone wants on Thanksgiving is a dry bird, but I was up for the challenge.
Besides, even if the Turkey wasn't perfect...my Mom and Oma couldn't be that mean about it...could they? (For future reference, yes: the elder generations of a German family can be down right cruel when it comes to judging others cooking skills)
Nerves aside, I decided that since it was a year of firsts, I would also treat the turkey to 24 hours of flavor with an AMAZING Turkey Brine that was sent to me by the Spice Hunter.
It sounded really good. Brown Sugar, Pepper, Sea Salt, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Cranberry, Juniper berries, simple and flavorful.
My turkey was tender and juicy, it literally fell off the bones when I tried to place it on the serving platter. Every person at the dinner table raved about how incredible this turkey was, and how we will never prepare a turkey without it again.

Nikki's Cooking -1
Judgmental family-0

The turkey wasn't pretty enough to take pictures of because it had fallen off the bones, but presentation does not matter when it's only close family gathered around the table.
So the moral of this Thanksgiving story is: Go to the Spice Hunter, and get some of that turkey brine!
After the turkey was carved and served and everyone had their fill of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries and fresh bread, we served dessert which of course, came from Lobster Gram. After all, it's just not a special occasion around my house without the Lobster Gram food. For dessert, we had one of our new 6lb Apple Pies which is always a HUGE hit;

As well as Super Chunk Caramel Brownies (A)

After that, no one was able to move for a few hours lol. Overall, Thanksgiving was a smashing success, and I'm really looking forward to this weekend when I prepare some Angus New York Strip Steaks with a Red Wine Sauce.
Happy Eating Foodies :)

Pictures from Veal Chops with Pears and Rosemary

Veal Chops with Pears and Rosemary

Good Monday afternoon foodies! I hope everyone had an outstanding weekend. I know that I did!
Over the weekend I prepared my veal chops with pears and rosemary.
This was a new recipe I had never tried before, and it was out of this world!
The fresh pears and rosemary really brought out the freshness of the veal chops. They were tender and juicy and I was very sad when the meal was over. So, as promised, here is the video and the recipe to go along with it! If you get the chance to prepare veal, I highly recommend this recipe!


Ingredients
2 12 oz Bone in Veal Chops
1 tablespoon butter
3 green onions, whites only
½ cup fresh orange juice 125ml
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick
1½ teaspoons fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon dried rosemary 2.5ml
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel 1ml
Orange slices, rosemary sprigs

Directions
Cook Veal Chops in butter in 12 inch (30cm) non stick skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and continue cooking 10 minutes. Transfer chops to platter; keep warm.
Cook white parts of onion in same skillet over medium heat until tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in orange juice, pears and rosemary. Simmer until sauce thickens and pears are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in orange peel and remaining onions. Spoon sauce over veal. Garnish with orange slices and rosemary sprigs.