The Thanksgiving feast

Dry brine roasted turkey seasonsed with thyme, rosemary, parsley and lemon zest.

Homemade cranberry sauce.

Best ever string bean casserole - recipe courtesy of Alton Brown.

Roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

Roasted garlic for the mashed potatoes.

Our Thanksgiving feast included a few other things at my aunt's house, but these were my family's contributions to the meal - or extras we cooked for leftovers at our own house. The dry brine turkey turned out moist and flavorful - but the salt measurements did throw me off when we started the brine process on Monday so the meat was a little on the salty side. We also released that roasting garlic on the bottom rack in the oven when the turkey is on the top rack can cause it to cook a little unevenly. Luckily the turkey I cooked was just to have some meat for sandwiches and it worked out fine. We will probably experiment with the dry brine again soon so we can perfect it for next Thanksgiving.

For now, I am enjoying a breakfast of leftover string bean casserole and a turkey sandwich topped with homemade cranberry sauce.