Maple Balsamic Glaze for the Winter Vegetable Salad

I spent the majority of yesterday in the kitchen. I needed to get a good deal of prep work out of the way before the rush starts to prepare the actual meal on Friday. There were three main components of the meal that I wanted to knock out. First, as always…there’s breakfast. Then the obligatory cleanup. THEN I could get started.

Mr. FixIt headed to pick up the kids and go to the dump to empty the load of old shingles we gathered when the roof was replaced. I headed into the kitchen. The first thing I did was make a Maple Balsamic Glaze for the Winter Vegetable Salad. When I say the first…I mean the first and the second. I burned the first batch. I thought I was letting it thicken when in actuality I was letting it boil till it made a savory rock candy. Bad.

Maple Balsamic Glaze

I hated like the dickens to throw that pricy real maple syrup and balsamic vinaigrette down the drain. And, I used the last of my balsamic so I had to run to the store. Once I returned, I started over and it worked much better because I didn’t let myself get distracted and I kept the fire very low. It was really easy to make. Two cups balsamic vinegar and about 3/4th cup of real maple syrup. Whisk together in a saucepan, bring to a boil then turn the temp down to a slow simmer with small bubbles. Let it cook till it reduces by half. Remove from heat and cool then put into a jar with a tight lid. Store in the refrigerator. It was SO delicious! It can be used drizzled over a salad or basted on oven roasted veggies.

The second thing I made was the Citrus Dry Rub for the turkey. This was a little more labor intensive. You can find the recipe on Kaleb’s website, Wyse Guide HERE. I measured the spices out in a nonstick skillet….I used mixed peppercorns, coriander seed, fennel seed, and fresh bay leaf. The directions said to grind this mixture in a coffee grinder. I looked for one in our little burg and they didn’t have one. I picked the next best thing and bought a mini food processor. After toasting the spices over a low to medium heat till they became aromatic, I put them in the little processor and hit go. 

About half the spices ground up easily, but the white peppercorns were still hard as a rock and that wasn’t going to work. I stood there going over and over in my head, trying to figure out what I could use to grind them up when it finally hit me….the pepper grinder! I took the tricolor peppercorns out and set them aside. I put in the part of the rub mixture that was still intact and put it in the pepper grinder and got to work. It took quite a bit of time to turn and turn and turn the grinder, but it worked exactly like it was supposed to! When that was finished, I put all the aromatics in a dish.

I added the Kosher salt, grated orange and lemon zest, and the ground up herbs along with the brown sugar and the baking powder and rubbed it all together between my fingers till it was completely combined. I put it all in a pint jar, put a lid on it, and stored it in the fridge till I rub down the turkey on Thursday. Next, I made toasted and seasoned pecans to top the Winter Vegetable Salad and set them aside. I sautéed the Italian Sausage for one of the pans of dressing and stored it in the refrigerator in a covered container.

I cut up a fresh pineapple for the Baked Sweet Potatoes. I reduce a lot of sugar by using pineapple instead of brown sugar. I add some pecans, butter, a handful of dried cranberries, and a little cinnamon and nutmeg and bake them in a baking dish. A lot better for you, too! That being said, I fried about 1.5 cups of bacon pieces to use on top of the Brussels sprouts that I’ll roast. I drained them on paper toweling and stored them in a ziplock sandwich bag in the fridge.

The Purple Heart Wandering Jew the former Mrs. FixIt gave me this fal is blooming!

In between all of these things, we got the Christmas decorations out of storage and put them in the living room. My back was better yesterday, but not completely. By the time I got all this stuff done I was fried and ready to just sit for a little while. 

I will bake some bread today to tear up and dry out in the oven for the stuffing. Thursday night I can make the Butterhorn dough and bake them last thing before I cut the turkey. I’ll get everything ready to bake the pies on Friday morning. It’s a really good thing we have two ovens. I could actually use three. I think that’s it. (I really need to sit down and write out the menu so I don’t miss anything!)

I’m tired just thinking about the next three days…but ohhhhh, I do so enjoy it!

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“Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.”

Proverbs 15:17 ESV