November Haul + Classic Turkey Recipe

I've haven't been shopping much lately and when I did, it was mostly for baby A. Here's this month's meager haul, which is surprisingly the first Thanksgiving/Black Friday that I didn't shop!

I spotted the cute Bernardo Paige Rain Boot, which has a bow in the back, on an ad while browsing FB but they were unfortunately sold out in my size 5 everywhere I looked. After much searching, I found this pair of Bernardo Peony Water Resistant Chelsea Boots and I was super intrigued about because they are rain boots yet velvet and this brand receives such high ratings for comfort. When I got them, they were definitely comfy and fit very well but after wearing them once, I did notice it does uncomfortably push down on the top insides of my foot, though no lasting pain resulted from that so I'm hoping it'll go away with some more wear. Looking forward to Spring when it warms up so I can wear them out more. :)

I've posted a brined turkey recipe before but here's another one that turned out well for us that we would make again.

VERY CLASSIC DRY-BRINED ROAST TURKEY

Ingredients

3/4 cup Diamond Crystal or 7 tablespoon Morton kosher salt

3 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 turkey (12-14 lbs), neck and giblets removed, patted dry

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Mix together the salt and brown sugar in a medium bowl with your fingers.

2. Place turkey on a flat or V-shape roasting rack set inside a large roasting pan and pack dry brine all over turkey, inside and out, nudging some into areas where the skin naturally separates from the bird, such as around the neck and top of the breast and between the legs and breast.

3. Chill, uncovered, at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.

4. Place the over rack in the lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

5. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Rinse roasting pan and rack if needed and place turkey, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan and pour 1 cup water into pan to prevent drippings from burning.

6. Roast turkey, rotating pan front to back halfway through and adding more water by the 1/2-cupfuls as needed to maintain some liquid in the pan, until skin is browned all over, 35-45 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, cook rosemary garlic, butter, and soy sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat until bubbling and fragrant, about 5 minutes; keep warm.

8. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast turkey, basting with butter mixture every 10-15 minutes and rotating pan every 30 minutes or so if it is browning unevenly, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 150 degrees (temperature will continue to climb as the bird rests), 40-70 minutes longer.

9. Transfer turkey to a cutting board and let rest at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving.

Leaving you with the quote of the day, "Today's special moments are tomorrow's memories." -Genie, The Return of Jafar