A Very Misanthropic Thanksgiving–and a good turkey recipe

I know, I know, Thanksgiving was like, so last week.  But, I have a good recipe to share and wanted to do it before the next round of holidays…in case you wanted to try it.

This year TD and I very quietly snuck in a nice, mellow, thankful Thanksgiving.  As both of our families now live out of state, traveling is a little tough.  So, it was just the two of us.  While the pleasure was a little guilty and bittersweet (Thanksgiving is, after all a family and friends holiday), we thought we’d take the opportunity this year knowing that 2010 may be our only Turkey Day for Two.

We’ve hosted Thanksgiving for the past few years and each year have done the meat a little differently.  We’ve grilled, baked and roasted.  And let’s not forget last year’s Baduckey.  This year we tried slow cooker turkey breast.  And you know what–it was great!

Around 7:00 the morning of, I threw an eight-pound bone-in turkey breast into the cooker along with a slew of aromatics–onion, celery, apples, lemons and a handful of herbs along with a couple of cups of turkey stock.

Then we set about enjoying our day.  This included one or two of our new favorite cocktails from Alison over at A Girl A Market A Meal.

We’re all adults here right?  I mean that literally–you are over 18 correct?  I hope so because I really can’t help sharing this natural twig and berries arrangement.  Almost as good as seeing Jesus or the Virgin Merry in my libation.

Moving on…

The good thing about a Thanksgiving for two is that you get to have exactly what you like.  For us, this included a mushroom and sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes that have been painted with butter and broiled like a twice baked potato and simple roasted vegetables. Oh.  And a Thanksgiving Tree.

Yes, you read that correctly.  A Thanksgiving Tree.  I’m pretty sure this idea isn’t original and I’m completely sure it’s a little more than “Hallmark Channel” if you know what I mean.  But.  It was fun.  Throughout the day, TD and I added notes on what we were thankful for this year.

After the reading of the tree and the eating of the turkey, we completed the meal with a slice of orange velvet cake.  Orange velvet cake is red velvet cake.  Only orange.

And that my friends, was our very thankful, very relaxing Thanksgiving for two.  I sincerely hope you were all lucky enough to have Thanksgivings full of blessings, laughter and good food.

And now that the holiday season has officially begun.

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

Unfortunately, this recipe does not yield a golden bird.  In fact, the final product is rather anemic-looking.  Not to worry though–the breast meat is very moist and juicy!

• 6-8 lb. turkey breast, bone-in, skin-on
• Your choice of aromatics–I used carrots, onion, celery, apples, lemons and a mixture of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme.
• 2-3 C turkey stock, cider or even white wine

Place breast in slow cooker, skin-side up.  Add in aromatics and stock.  Cook on high for 5-7 hrs until juices run clear when breast is pierced (about 180 degrees).