Thanksgiving at my house has a lot of testosterone; my husband, my brother-in-law and my father-in-law. The numbers have dwindled over the years and my attempt in the past at a “Martha Stewart” Thanksgiving with handmade napkin rings, multiple sides, homemade pies and whole roasted turkey just weren’t appreciated. The preference was canned cranberries versus home-made. No dark meat just white meat from the turkey. In recent years I did brine the turkey breast just for me, I knew it was moister, better tasting but alas, the boys didn’t notice the difference.
It was going to be even simpler this year, turkey breast, Stove Top stuffing, canned sauerkraut, canned cranberries, mashed potatoes, gravy not even a green vegetable. I was chatting with my friend Jeannie Siegel, a very talented cook, who misses the leftovers because she does Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s home. In the past, she would buy Thanksgiving dinner in a box from Safeway (@Safeway) so there were leftovers at her home. She said it was pretty good. Did you see the light bulb over my head flash on?
I’m in the Safeway in Washington DC twice a week when I do kitchen slave duty with Chef Szzyl so I put my order in and with the Safeway member card for 39.99 I got the following:
Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner, $39.99. This includes:
Fully Cooked Turkey, 10-12 lbs
Corn Bread Stuffing, 2 lbs.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes, 3 lbs
Homestyle Turkey Gravy, 24-oz
Holiday Cranberry Sauce, 15-oz
Dinner Rolls, 1 Dozen
8" Pumpkin Pie
Everything is thawing in the fridge and I’m curious to see how the boys like this meal and how it turns out. There might be a follow up story.
A couple notes: When I picked up the box (which doesn’t hold the turkey) it was put in my basket on the side – hence the crust on the pumpkin pie got crushed a bit but the boys don’t care. In the directions for heating up the cooked turkey, you are guided to heat it approximately 8-10 minutes per pound. The turkey does not have the exact weight on it (just between 10 and 12 lbs) so I’ll have to get my scale out to figure the correct weight. I think the mashed potatoes will be enough but I’m not sure about the stuffing. Not to worry, I’ll have some undoctored Stove Top stuffing at the ready as well as canned cranberry sauce.
Safeway also has fast turkeys, 2 hour turkeys – watch the video on this page (it is funny) and click here for the follow up.
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