Christmas 2010 - Last Post!

Christmas for my 16 month old was wonderful because of one thing...the food.  Although he enjoyed ripping the paper off his presents, he was vastly more interested in the cookies, pies, and festive holiday foods.  This is no surprise given that this kid can EAT!  In addition to the food, my little ham reveled in all the attention he received from his aunt & J (and everyone else).  

Dad got some new warm running pants, a couple of West Wing DVD's, a certificate to pick out a new blue ray player, and the biggest shared gift for both he & I was a brand new LED TV for our room! In the past, I was adamantly against having a TV in the bedroom, but after 3 kids and a dog, my views on that have changed.

As for me, I got a new camera, a cheese grater (my old one was shot), a beautiful new fry pan (I LOVE cooking and cookware), the TV, some gift cards for clothes & Starbuck, and then from my husband - a night away for the 2 of us at a nearby resort.  He arranged for overnight childcare and everything!  We're going tonight!  Yippee!

The day after Christmas my mom, sister, and I braved the crowds for a girls shopping day.  Although the crowds were evident so were the sales and we were all thrilled with what we found!  The next day, my sister & J left and my parents went looking for rental condos and properties since they are considering spending several months of the year out here.  We would absolutely LOVE that!  Hope your Christmas 2010 was wonderful.  Have a Happy New Year!

Lastly, I wanted to share the best recipe from our Christmas.  It was for a fried turkey.  While we fried a turkey for Thanksgiving, my sister & J & my parents wanted to do another one for Christmas so they could take part in the fun.  I didn't mind at all!  So, for our fried turkey here is what we did - it was DELICIOUS!!!

Fried Turkey
large turkey - thawed
brine: heavily salted water
spice injector kit for turkey (found in sauce/rub section)

Brine turkey overnight in heavily salted water (it should be pretty salty - only a little less than sea water). Remove turkey from brine and inject with spice kit.  Set up fryer outside in a safe area.  You'll need plenty of propane (we had to make a propane run at 8:00 Christmas eve!  Not great planning!)  Make sure turkey is COMPLETELY dry (our wasn't this time - we had some fireworks) and then fry for 3-5 mins per pound in a hot oil (between 325-350 degrees).  Let bird sit for 15-30 mins before carving.  This was the  best turkey we've ever had!