Thanksgiving: My favorite time of the year

This is my fourth year cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family and I try to make it more fabulous each year.   The menu was divvied up between me, my sisters and cousin.  I was in charge of the 20 lb turkey, roasted brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, gravy and crispy kale chips.

Roasted Turkey 

I use Alton Brown's brine recipe to start things off.  It takes 12 hours so I prep the turkey the night before the big day.  I grab my mom's huge (holds 5+ gallons) pho pot to mix the brine and store the turkey.  Using a cheesecloth to hold the spices is highly recommended to avoid the peppercorns sticking to the turkey.  It's not in the recipe, but I like to add a slice of lemon, a few thyme and rosemary leaves too.
While the brine is cooling off-- I clean the turkey and take out the neck and gizzards.  I use the neck and gizzards to make the turkey broth for the gravy.  I placed the turkey inside the brine and stored it overnight.
The next day, the turkey is then removed, rinsed off and patted dry.  I finely mince and chop garlic and mix it in a stick of butter.  I then stick as much of the garlic butter under and over the skin as humanly possible.  This is ensure a crispy brown skin as well as a moist bird (since I don't baste the turkey more than twice).
In the cavity of the bird, I place a cored granny smith apple, a lemon I poke holes in, fresh sage, rosemary and thyme leaves.  I then take a piece of foil and fold it into a triangle to cover the breast and wings of the turkey.  I also poured 2 cans of chicken stock on the bottom of the roasting pan.  In a preheated 500 degree oven I placed the bird on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, I turned down oven to 350 and cooked the bird for another 3-3.5 hours (basting it at the 1.5 and 2.5 hour mark).  I also remove the foil the last hour to brown the breast skin.

Sausage Sage Stuffing

I used both a rosemary loaf and french baguette for base, added granny smith apples and dried currants to the recipe.  It's a great recipe to make beforehand and reheat the next day.

 Suffering Bastard Cocktail

 Careful with this cocktail-- it got me in trouble.
 Recipe is  below.

1 part gin
1 part whiskey or bourbon
1 part lime juice
Splash of bitters
4 parts ginger ale (but I reduced it to 1 part)

Crispy Kale Chips
The only problem making the chips was that I didn't have the oven when I wanted it.  I needed a 375 degree oven that would fit two trays of kale.  I baked some in my parents' toaster oven and fit one small tray next to the turkey.  These were good--but I'll likely not make them again for a large dinner.



Gravy

I took the neck, livers and gizzards of the turkey and covered them with water in a 3-quart saucepan.  I let it simmer on low heat for 1 hour to make a concentrated turkey broth for the gravy.  I strained the broth and refrigerated it.
Once the turkey was removed from the roasting pan, I put the pan on the stove top and added a few tablespoons of flour and the turkey broth, whisking it until it thickened.  I then strained the gravy before serving.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce 
Still not a favorite dish with my family, but I liked it.

Corn Bread Muffins

I basically use the recipe on the side of the Albers Corn Meal box--but it works every year!