One of my favorite recipes is one that I get to use during the holidays. But since it takes more explanation rather than ingredients, I decided to tell it in a fun way. I wrote a little scene with my characters from the Legends & Shadows Saga as one of them explains how to make it. Enjoy!
“All right,” Cassie clapped her hands and beckoned us to the kitchen counter. “Gather round to witness the miracle.”
“She’s just making a Thanksgiving turkey, right?” Lisa leaned in to me and whispered.
Kylan was sitting on the other side of me, snacking on the special pretzels Derek had sworn he had hidden earlier. “Yes, but to her…” Kylan started and Cassie shot him a glare. “And to everyone else in the world, this is indeed a miracle worth seeing.”
Lisa nodded. Thayer laughed from his reclined position sprawled across two dining room chairs. “Listen, I’m all for enjoying food from time to time, but you’ve been soaking this turkey in a magic concoction for two days. Is it really worth the effort?”
Before Cassie opened her mouth, I answered. “No one asked you to be here Thayer. You can go outside and entertain yourself.”
“Ugh, but it’s boring out there. Everyone’s in here,” Thayer grumbled. Lisa and I grinned at each other.
“The turkey has been in a brine of salt-water and Sprite, slowly thawing and soaking up all of the juices and now…” Cassie explained as she opened the door for Derek to bring in the large bucket holding the turkey. He drained slowly lifted the turkey from the bucket to the sink while Cassie picked up a pair of scissors.
Derek turned around after washing his hands and saw Kylan eating the pretzels. A quick scowl and he snatched the bag back and walked it out of the room to hide it again.
“What are the scissors for?” Lisa asked, leaning in closer.
“They are to cut the edges of the skin away from the turkey. Then you can slip your hand in and separate the skin from the meat as much as possible. The more you separate, the more places the spices can go for flavor,” Cassie explained, eagerly snipping. Derek came back in to Kylan winking at him before he stood next to his wife to help her maneuver the bird around.
“You’re putting spices in between the turkey and skin?” I asked, watching Cassie’s careful hands run smoothly under the surface without tearing anything. Her petite hands were perfect for the job. When she was done with one side, Derek lifted and turned the bird just right without her having to ask.
“It locks in the flavor. Right, Little Red?” Thayer said, throwing a pretzel in the air and catching it with his mouth.
“Seriously?!” Derek growled but his hands were stuck. He could only sit idly by as Thayer tossed in another pretzel from the bag he had somehow slipped out to retrieve. Kylan reached in for another handful.
“Anyway, yes. He’s right,” Cassie answered. “You take the oil and spices and spread it as best you can under the skin so the flavor goes directly to the meat instead of the skin that usually dries out when people cook it wrong.”
Her hands did what she had just explained as she tucked the spoon under the skin and ran her hand along to make sure it coated everything evenly.
“Then you pop the turkey in the oven. Wait four million hours, let it cool, and then finally you can eat it,” Thayer complained loudly. “Or we could just head into the city and find a couple shoppers and we’d have way more fun.”
“This is fun, Thayer,” Derek said, glancing down at Cassie and smiling. She bumped his hip with hers as he held the bird in place and she reached for a spool of thick string.
“Keep whining and I’ll toss you out the window,” I said over my shoulder.
I could hear the brightness in his voice when he responded, “You promise?”
“It’s only a few more minutes and then we can go outside, right?” Lisa asked quietly. “we can all go out then.”
Thayer didn’t answer and it concerned me enough to turn around and check on him. He had his chin turned down but I could still see his smile. Kylan was too busy watching Cassie and Derek to notice.
“What’s with the string?” Kylan asked.
“This is one of the secrets,” Cassie answered excitedly. “See everyone else, just pops their turkey in a pan or one of those oven bags and sets it right in the oven. But if you tie it up really tight with string so all the meat is squished together, it keeps the turkey moist while it cooks.”
“Tie it up?” Thayer piped up, finally interested.
“Yup,” Derek answered, flipping the turkey in his hands so Cassie could tuck the string and wind it around the breasts and wings.
Lisa walked over to the sink, leaning over to watch closer. “Wouldn’t that make it look strange coming out?”
Derek lifted the bird again and placed it in the open oven bag that Cassie has just splattered with flour. Instead of putting it in with the breasts facing up, he turned it so they were facing down, all of it was contained in the large metal roasting pan.
“That’s definitely gonna make it look strange,” I agreed, now intrigued that they had spent so much time talking up their turkey only to ruin it right in front of our eyes.
Cassie was grinning like a child when Derek brought the turkey to the oven and pulled out a cast-iron frying pan. He balanced the pan on top of the entire turkey, like a heavy hat. Without a word from either of them, he shut the oven and waited for Cassie to break the silence.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and finally started talking. “Tying it up, cooking it breast-side down, and adding weight to the turkey compresses all of the meat. When you take it out, yes, it doesn’t look pretty. But you tear it up and serve in it pieces on a nice dish and everyone raves about the first turkey of their lives that didn’t have to be smothered in gravy for them to choke it down?”
Lisa and I nodded, impressed. Thayer sighed loudly and said, “Everyone knows that if you pick the dark meat, then it’s plenty moist, even me. Hardly worth all this effort.”
“Be prepared to reach for the light meat and eat your words in about four hours,” Cassie challenged, raising her hand for him to shake it.
He stood proudly and walked over to her, shaking her hand, “Does this mean we can go outside now?”
Cassie was done fending off his requests and she finally sent all the boys outside. Lisa went with them too. I stayed behind to help Cassie prep the rest of the meal. It turned out to be a pretty good day. It was an even better day when we all sat down to eat and Thayer took the first bite of turkey.
All he did was take in a deep breath and stare at his plate. But we all heard him when he muttered, “You win, Baby Red.”
Spices Recipe:
1 cup of olive oil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sage
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp oregano
Prepping Instructions:
Soak the turkey in a salt water and sprite brine for two days prior. Take the turkey out and cut the edges of the skin to separate it. Keep as much of the skin intact on the turkey while you create space between the meat and skin. Make sure you get the legs and wings. Drizzle and spread the spices between the skin and meat, rubbing it around with your hand to make sure you got it all. Use cooking string and wrap it around the turkey 2-4 times. The goal is to tuck the wings, legs, and any open skin flaps together in one tight bundle. Place the turkey in a floured oven bag, breast-side down and resting in a roasting pan. Cut a few slits in the upper part of the bad for venting. Put the turkey in the pre-heated oven and balance a cast-iron pan on top. You want the pan to be constantly compressing the meat while it cooks, so you may need to check it to be sure it didn’t slip off. Wait the appropriate amount of time and remove the turkey. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before you tear into it.
**Cooking temperatures and times may vary depending on turkey size. Usually set the oven at 325 degrees and then follow the package instructions on the turkey for cooking time.
Legends and Shadows Saga
Book Three
Angie Day
Genre: Young adult, urban fantasy, YAUF
Publisher: Rahne Press
Date of Publication: Dec 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7338144-6-1 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-7338144-7-8 (paper back)
Number of pages: 412
Word Count: 104,000
Cover Artist: Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations
Tagline: Energy blazed in my body, begging me to move, to use it. If you see her, kill her on sight.
Logline: Kate can’t touch anyone without causing pain. To save herself and her family, she must challenge Alec, who is ready to tear her life apart.
Book Description:
Kate had survived. She had lived through pain and torment and now she was on the other side, where all the happiness was supposed to be. But with Alec’s vengeful punishment for escaping him, she can’t touch anyone without hurting them.
Alec still wants to create a Level Five and he’s dangerously close. That power under his control would mean unraveling the world as it stands. The world Kate has not yet started to enjoy. She won’t be able to rest until her body, her mind is fixed, and Alec won’t get his beloved power without her help.
The two warring sides of Rogues and Shadows will have to meet. Kate will have to confront Alec and his cruel ambition once again. But every moment with the Shadows is detrimental to those she loves, especially Kylan. So she must find a way to outsmart the person who taught her everything she knows, the most feared Shadow in the world.
Kate is strong. She survived once. But even the strongest people can break with the right pressure, and Alec is ready to tear her life apart.
Excerpt 1:
Alec lifted a hand to my face but lowered it again. “But then you came back to me. You fell for me again. I saw it. If you say you’re done with me, then why can’t you just do the honorable thing and stop loving me?”
Alec looked down at the floor and he never looked so sheepish and small.
A trick. It had to be a trick.
But he was so small and broken and careening in his own mind. I knew what that felt like, all too well.
“I want to.” I leaned back on the shelves again. “You’re despicable and psychotic. You hurt the people I care about. You tortured me, manipulated me—”
“And yet that’s not good enough for you to kill me. All you can do is leave, and I’m sitting here hoping I can somehow get you back.” Alec raised his arms like he didn’t know where to put them anymore. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer. Why?” Alec moved closer to my face.
“Because you won’t let me.”
“Ha.” Alec grinned before his eyes turned dark again. “I wish I had that much control over your decisions. Try again.”
I shoved him away. “I don’t know, Alec.”
“Yes, you do,” he came right back. “Think, Mara.”
“Because you’re home to me!”
His mouth fell open and the pain created lines around his eyes. I just stared at him for a moment. I saw all the same years of complications that I felt in mine. We weren’t just similar. He and I were mirror images of each other.
“No matter what you do, no matter where I go. When I think back on my life, you are all I can see for centuries,” I said.
“I get it.” Alec backed off. I caught his arm.
“You don’t. You’re a terrible person. You’re the nightmare that just won’t go away.” I looked at the floor. “But you’re also a huge part of my life, whether I hate you or not.”
Angie Day found her love of writing while in college where she studied psychology and eventually went on to a master’s degree. She noticed the need for romantic and fantastic adult stories that were still wholesome and clean. So, she took matters into her own hands.
The Legends and Shadows Saga is her debut series. When she’s not devouring the next book, she is spending time outdoors with her husband.
Website https://www.angiedayauthor.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/angiedayauthor/
Mailing List https://www.angiedayauthor.com/contact-angie-day
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