Heartburn!
I survived a three-day Thanksgiving celebration with heartburn and only a few extra pounds!
I celebrated the first day of Thanksgiving on the traditional Thursday with Sybil and Ed in Gulf Shores. I brined and smoked the Cornish Game Hens and it was my best effort, ever.
Brinin' Brinin' Brinin', Keep those birdies Brinin'... Roll Tide!
I discovered that most of the cooks here also brine their birds, but they generally deep-fry their poultry. This is the recommended recipe, and I will certainly use again… The secret is the Zataraine’s Crab Boil!!! You would never guess those babies were soaked in our favorite shrimp spices,
My Daddy would love it.
<<2 Gal Water*
2 Cups Kosher Salt*
3 Cups Sugar*
1/4 Cup Zatarains Liquid Crab Boil**
4 TBS Black Pepper
1 TBS Dried Rosemary
1 TBS Thyme
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup White Wine (not Cooking Wine)
1/4 Cup Worcestershire
*Essential Ingredients
**Makes it slightly spicy but really good
The ingredients with an asterisk are the necessary ingredients and all the rest is just optional to make it taste really good.
How to Brine the Cornish Hens
So you have mixed up the ingredients and maybe added a few ingredients of your own or even left off a few things based on your knowledge of your family’s tastes.
Now place the cornish hens down in the brine using a plate or similar heavy object to hold them under the water. You will need to keep the brine mixture between 33 and 39 degrees and the easiest way to do this is to set it in your fridge however, you may not have room so you can use ice to keep the mix cold if you need to.
Let the hens brine for about 4 hours.
After 4 hours have expired.. remove the hens from the brine and rinse them really well under cool water paying special attention to the area under the wing and thigh.>>
Smoked hen
Dinner was terrific and it was great fun to have young, international guests who weren’t familiar with our traditional Thanksgiving fare!
Sybil's Thanksgiving table
The second day of Thanksgiving was celebrated with Alabama friends who postponed their dinner to coincide with the Iron Bowl, the gridiron battle between Alabama and Auburn. We met at a condo at The Dunes and managed to survive the game in spite of the ‘friendly’ rivalry.
Sister and Memory.... in the kitchen with Paula Deen's 'lost' sisters
My contribution for that dinner included stuffing balls, scalloped oysters, rolls, and a chocolate ganache cake!
Sam's favorite stuffing recipe!
Death by chocolate!
And my third day of Thanksgiving was celebrated in Pine Apple with the Batemans. We wandered into town and fell into a time warp to a 1950’s era village festival. We dined on fair food, chatted with neighbors, cheered the parade, and sold raffle tickets.
Miss Olene and Leah & Sharon Bateman wait for Santa
The Bluegrass music was excellent!
Bluegrass in the gazebo
And the drive home that nite was typically glorious, I’m thankful for Thanksgiving in Alabama…
Another Alabama sunset
