Until a few days ago, I had never made a Thanksgiving dinner or roasted my own turkey. Roast chicken, definitely. Roast pork, you bet. Roast eggplants, mmm-hmm! Roast turkey…no way Jose.

However, when Thanksgiving was over last November, I made sure to buy a turkey once they went on sale. I was determined to rise to the challenge and make an amazing bird. I was also determined to pay a fraction of the price and have leftovers for weeks. So, I did it! I finally took that frozen bird out of my tiny freezer and made it happen. I roasted a 26 pound turkey and made other Thanksgiving fixings with the help of Pioneer Woman, Bon Apetit, and Silver Palate Cookbook.

Please excuse the lighting in these pictures. When it’s the first time you’re making a thanksgiving meal, and your husband has an evening band practice, it means you can’t even eat the meal until 9pm. This is real life.Here was our long-awaited Thanksgiving in February! Orange-Rosemary Butter Roasted Turkey, Homemade Giblet Gravy, Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Orange-Roasted Carrots, Savory Autumn Salad, and from-scratch Buttermilk Biscuits.

Orange-Rosemary Butter Roasted Turkey: 1 stick of unsalted butter combined with 3 springs of rosemary, the zest of one orange, and salt and pepper goes under the skin the night before. I also rubbed the outside and inside of the turkey with generous amounts of salt and pepper, and stuffed the bird with oranges and lemons. Then, the same butter combination goes over the turkey halfway through the roasting process. It took me about 6 hours of roasting and 5 basting baths to finish this 26 pounder. And, boy, it was worth it.

Homemade Giblet Gravy: Pretty simple. Yummy turkey drippings, flour, chicken broth, and as much cooked chopped giblets as you prefer. Plus, LOTS of black pepper. But make sure you do your gravy at the very last moment possible. this will ensure the perfect consistency. I did mine too early in the night and it thickened too much. The amazing taste doesn’t change though!

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes: I peeled and boiled a few pounds of russet potatoes. Then I drained them and threw them in my Kitchen-aid mixer with some buttermilk, cream cheese, butter, granulated garlic, salt and black pepper until fluffy.

Orange-Roasted Carrots: Minced orange peel, honey, good olive oil, pepper, granulated garlic, and sea salt flakes. All those ingredients go on your peeled chopped carrots and are roasted until caramelized and cooked through.

Savory Autumn Salad: Romaine, cherry tomatoes, oven-roasted pumpkin, roasted seasoned pumpkin seeds, and mozzarella. Served with a lemon herb vinaigrette.

Buttermilk Biscuits: I can’t give away my secret here…but Martha Stewart deserves most of the credit. These biscuits are glorious.

Yes, it was delicious. Yes, it took ALL day. Yes, it was totally worth it. Yes, you should give it a try for yourself. Make it your own. Take it to the next level! And enjoy!

Please email me if you want full recipes of anything.

xo sarah