Kikkoman "Kikk-ed' up Thanksgiving Review & Giveaway!

Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite holidays, not just because it makes us stop and think about everything we're thankful for but also because of the meal, eating until you're stuffed and enjoying all that deliciousness....but it can also become quite overwhelming at times.

We're all striving to make the perfect Turkey, to deliver the tastiest side dishes, to impress the in laws or the friends.

Well this year I was contacted by the wonderful folks over at Kikkoman and asked if I would be willing to let them assist me in preparing a Thanksgiving meal using Kikkoman Products.

This holiday season, Kikkoman products will help you prepare your entire Thanksgiving meal with fail-safe recipes for Savory Turkey Brine, Green Bean Casserole, Glazed Yams and Panko Crusted Potato Cakes.

After agreeing, I received a big box in the mail filled with various goodies, it literally brought a smile to my face and it got me so excited to try the recipes.  We LOVE Kikkoman products and matter of fact, we've been using them for years, more specifically their Soy Sauce and their Teriyaki Sauces.

Preparing a turkey that is not only pretty to look at BUT moist and delicious, is not exactly easy to do, I don't care what you say, unless you've become a pro at making them it's always a 50/50 with me LOL

But let me tell you, this has to have been the tastiest, moistest, tender turkey I have EVER prepared and all because of the Kikkoman Brine.  Now, when I first read through the recipe I thought  "oooh not sure if I am going to like the amount of soy sauce needed", but the good thing is that you don't really taste it, it's not overpowering at all and you're left with a delicious turkey.

Savory Turkey Brine

Recipe is for a 16-24 pound fresh turkey

Ingredients:

* 2 gallons cold water
* 10 ounces Kikkoman Soy Sauce
* ½ cup kosher salt
* ½ cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons dried sage
* 2 tablespoons dried celery seed
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions:

# The night before roasting, remove giblets and turkey neck; rinse turkey inside and out.
# In a large stockpot, or 5-gallon bucket, mix water with remaining ingredients. Stir well until all the salt is dissolved.
# Place turkey in the pot, cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours.
# Remove turkey from the brine, rinse well.

For Side Dishes, Kikkoman provided me with recipes for these delicious dishes, Green Bean Casserole

Glazed Yams using their Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze with Honey & Pineapple

and my favorites of all the dishes I prepared, Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes.  Good Gravy these were SO good.

This meal came together pretty fast, I wasn't rushed, I wasn't feeling overwhelmed and they were pretty easy recipes to follow.

If you’re interested in brining your turkey in soy sauce, Kikkoman is offering a BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE coupon


Now for the giveaway, Kikkoman wants you to try a Kikk-ed Up Thanksgiving meal too, so, I'm going to be picking 2 winners and here are the prizes:

1st Prize Winner - $25 Gift Certificate to Whole Foods Market
2nd Prize Winner - Two full sized Kikkoman Products


How to enter:

- Leave me a comment letting me know which of these recipes you think you would enjoy the most
-  Please remember to leave an email address so that I can contact you if you are one of the winners

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on November 2nd.  Prizes not claimed in 48 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

My heartfelt thanks to Kikkoman for providing me with the products I needed for this review.  All opinions and thoughts are mine alone.