A Turkey in Turkey

Yeah you guessed it.
I know it's a bit late but this is the first of my holiday posts from outside the US :( so it took a while. It has been quite a while since I have been out of the US for Thanksgiving, in fact I may never have missed one with the family. This year the comical situation was not wasted on me. A Turkey in Turkey was I.

Rana's friend Brian arrived on Thanksgiving proper and we showed him around the city. It was a kick to have another American around. We decided to have a bit o ye olde feast at our house the next day so that working folk could come. On Friday I got up at around 9 and started cooking. I made stuffing and and prepared dough for my mother's famous parkerhouse rolls. Butter was my friend.

Rana showed Brian around the city while I slaved away. We had really hard time actually locating a turkey, the IRONY! The night before Özgür, Rana Cousin, saved the day by finding one. It was about 12 lbs and when I asked my mom about cooking instructions for such a beast she replied, "Well I've never made one that small before." Ha! I was lucky to get one at all.

So undaunted I went it alone. Funny thing is in Turkey they don't mess around. You know when you get a frozen turkey in the US all the bits are nicely packaged in side in a plastic bag. Not here. All they did was snip off the head. I had to wrestle with that bad boy for 10 minutes to cut off the neck. Thing was 8 inches long. When Rana got home she couldn't bear the site of the disembodied neck so Brian and I took care of it. I know the video is kinda dark but enjoy.

Finally we stuffed it and popped it in the oven. Then Kim and Ali arrived and the potato making commenced. There are few people funnier or more fun to cook with than my lovely girlfriend and Mrs. Kimberly Öztürk (That's the first time I called her that. You may remember a certain post at her wedding.)

Kim making the best mashed potatoes!!!

Anyway mashed potatoes flavored with Parmesan and garlic graced the tabled along with stuffing, the bird, we even made our own gravy. It was great. Much was drunk and we all seemed to have a wee of a time. Check out the happy faces below.

Me carving my first Bird!!!

The Whole Crew!