Tuesday, October 26, 2010

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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Glazed Yams using their Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze with Honey & Pineapple
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and my favorites of all the dishes I prepared, Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes.  Good Gravy these were SO good.
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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.

51 comments:

  1. I would say the green bean recipe looks awesome!! I love Kikkoman products.

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  2. Hmmmmm.... I really love the white meat turkey yuminess ;)

    smile74@cox.net is my email addy!! :)

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  3. The yams look yummy!
    simonemmeacham@hotmail.com

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  4. Those yams look delicious! I use Kikkoman all of the time, but they've never crossed my mind at Thanksgiving. Love it!

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  5. The brine looks great! And the yams, gotta go with those.

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  6. Mashed Potato Cakes.
    my2andnomore (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  7. I think the mashed potato cakes sound yummy! =)

    marriedgirlblog(a)gmail.com

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  8. Man, they all look delicious and I love Kikkoman...especially adding it to my sushi. But I would have to say the Turkey Brine and the potato cakes are my favorites..I will try these recipes this year because I am going to have to make Thanksgiving dinner and add to another. Thanks so much!

    stenoqueen15@cableone.net

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  9. Although I cannot enter your contest, I did want to say your meal looks very delicious indeed!

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  10. I love anything in the Thanksgiving category.. But if I had to choose only one it would probably be the yams.. yumm

    jolene
    toeringgrl@aol.com

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  11. The mashed potato cakes. The recipes all sound delicious though.

    I look forward to Thanksgiving dinner too.

    FlowerLady

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  12. I'd love to try the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes! Thanks for hosting this giveaway. :)

    imannies@gmail.com

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  13. Now I'm intrigued by the turkey recipe!

    (We dont have Whole Foods here so if my number gets picked up for that go ahead and draw again please!)

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  14. I would love to try the turkey recipe!! After some initial hesitation about how salty the dish would be, I've learned that soy sauce in marinades lends a great flavor to the meat.

    kmommysue@aol.com

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  15. I've never had brined turkey, so I would love to try it. Everything sounds delicous!
    susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. I am dreaming of the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes!

    lavidalori{at}gmail{dot}com

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  17. I am definitely going to have to try the potato cakes. They look so yummy.

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  18. I also wouls say the Panko potatos... yummy yum yum....

    blacksbills@gmail.com

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  19. I would love the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes!!

    a_loysen@hotmail.com

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  20. Panko Crusted Mashed Potato cakes! I love potatoes!!!

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  21. Panko Crusted Potato Cakes
    (in fact I have some of those panko crumbs in my cupboard!)

    --I was hoping you were giving away the apron, it's cute! :)
    needanap2 at gmail dot com

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  22. Oh my... definitely the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes. I think I'll dream of them tonight! You will be sharing the recipe... right? :)

    shari
    shari.binion at gmail dot com

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  23. I was thinking the yams, but then you seemed to rave about the potatoes...I might have to try both!

    revdebsperry [@] gmail [dot] com

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  24. I would have to say the turkey. I have only made one and it was kind of boring.

    tracym2303@yahoo.com

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  25. I would say the Turkey, brining makes for such a moist turkey

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  26. Years and years ago, I became best friends with a lovely Japanese-American woman who owned the neighborhood Hallmark store, in Brentwood -- W. Los Angeles. It was THE Hallmark store to frequent! This was where the "stars" shopped. I can't begin to list the people I've met there. My jaw was ALWAYS hanging open... I was in awe. It's not "becoming" to be starstruck, but that's WAS me. I lived in a high rise across the street, so I visited EVERY day to see what was new, and to "hopefully" bump into the celestial being who was shopping at that particular moment. Ellen and I struck up a friendship and became very close. One year she invited me and my family to Thanksgiving dinner at her home. Magic Johnson WAS a guest as well! YAY Lakers! Well, the meal was NOT ones "traditional Thanksgiving fare." Kikkoman soy sauce took precedence as the top ingredient used in EVERY dish. I wouldn't doubt if Ellen's maiden name was Kikkoman. She HAD to be an heiress, to the Kikkoman empire, to afford the quantities of sauce that she used.... EVERY day! I even think the pumpkin pie was splashed with soy sauce. It was a GREAT, unforgettable meal. EVERY year, my turkey is to yawn for. I BLAME the freezer. Don't ask why? I just THINK it's my freezer's fault. This year, I AM going to prepare the turkey using Kikkoman's recipe for
    Savory Turkey Brine. 10 ounces does not seem like it's too much. Ellen taught me well! If the food isn't a rich hue of chocolate brown, you didn't "shake it," the bottle, long enough. :)

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  27. I want to try the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes, looks yummy

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  28. I would love to try the brined turkey. I have never tried this but have always wanted to

    kellystrei@rocketmail.com

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  29. I want to try the Teriyaki sauce.
    huffychic@gmail.com

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  30. That is one juicy turkey! :p I can feel my mouth watering right now. LOL

    Kids' health blog

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  31. Can't go wrong with green bean casserole - sounds great!

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  32. The whole meal looks SO good! I have to say though, the panko crusted potate cakes were calling my name - LOL.

    rm2boys@yahoo.com

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  33. Are you going to share the recipes for the side dishes? I'd love to see the recipe for the panko crusted potato cakes. They look so yummy.
    P.S. Was I supposed to send you my address for the giveaway I won? I am going to e-mail it to you.

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  34. Oh, I think the mashed potato cakes look YUMMY!! :)

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  35. I would say the turkey brine becuase I'm so afraid of making a dry turkey!

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  36. Mmm! Yams looks yummy!! Pick me, pick me!

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  37. I'd LOVE to try the panko crusted potato cakes. YUM!!!

    (freebieallie at gmail)

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  38. Oops...email is knchock at yahoo dot com....I hope you need it!
    -Kimberly in NC

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  39. I've been dieting and haven't had any fried potato products in a while so those potato cakes look delicious.

    debra_gardner@sbcglobal.net

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  40. Everything looks so delicious! But I really would love to try the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes. Yum!

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  41. The Yams look wonderful! (But really what doesn't sound great?)

    sonya3214@msn.com

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  42. I just posted the comment but forgot my email, it's under "Sami"
    sami.guillemette@gmail.com
    The Turkey!!! :)

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  43. This all looked so good it's almost impossible to pick from but I will say my first pick would be the Savory Turkey Brine, but the Green Bean Casserole is a super close second. I think I would actually make both.

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  44. I really want to try thr sweet potatoes. They sound delish.
    fiedem6athotmaildotcom

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  45. Hard to choose - it all sounds like it would go so well together. But if pressed to choose, I'd go for the Panko Crusted Mashed Potato Cakes, because it seems like the most versatile, and can go with almost any meal.

    Email addy is columbusfoodieATgmailDOTcom

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  46. Yamss look amazing!!
    cher-theblondeprincess@hotmail.com

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  47. I think for me it would be the mash potato cakes.
    bernadete_tavares@yahoo.com

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  48. We are going to try a brine for the first time this year - this one looks great!

    thyenmn@gmail.com

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  49. mashed potato cakes please!

    ouchifell@hotmail.com

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