Sundays of brine and brussel sprouts

At this point, the moisture under the crispy skin was bubbling underneath which gave an alive alien sort of feel to the chicken.

Here is a picture of last night's brined chicken. I am boiling in into a stock right now and am going for some soup or stew this evening. The brine was  brilliant again and I swear the chicken was pulsating with juicy chicken loveliness. Below see the lovely brussel sprouts that I love so much. To make these, you need some smoked bacon and chestnuts. We forgot the chestnuts and I improvised by getting hazelnuts, still tasty but not as good. This is another ode to DC. The sprouts are halved but you also toss in some strips of sprout which cook up into crispy carmelized bits. I can't get enough of these. Yum.

Start these in a pan and finish them under a broiler.

This is all in preparation for Thanksgiving. Although, not an actual holiday here, it is widely recognized and they also do Black Friday sales coming up this week. I have got a dinner planned for Saturday night with some good friends. I will brine the turkey in the salt and sugar mix but may add some other things to that brine(a shoe, mud, etc.). I am making some pie and need to go and buy a pie plate and rolling pin.