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Happy Thanksgiving Volume 34, Issue 1
www.LHIndependent.com
2020
News@LHIndependent.com
November 26, 2020 | 50 Cents
A community feast
Neighbors share recipes, tips for Thanksgiving
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, November is a month filled with the hustle and bustle of shopping and decorating for the season. Stuffed in the middle is the holiday focused on the gathering of friends and family –
Thanksgiving. At the center of the holiday is the Thanksgiving dinner or lunch in many cases. Every spread is different and unique to each family. This year Liberty Hill residents are sharing some of their favorite recipes with the community. Julie Dupree shared a South-
How to Cook that Turkey Smoked Turkey
For smoked turkey, create a brine that includes whole peppercorns, bay leaves, and creative ingredients like orange peels. The brine can be adjusted based on the flavors you prefer. Let the turkey sit in the brine overnight. Season with Kosher salt. The time cooked depends on the size of the turkey. The best estimate is 15 minutes per pound. Smoke Turkey over indirect heat until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees. Higher temperature will allow the skin to crisp up. Try not to go past 165 degrees, or the turkey can become dry. – Agape Barbecue
Traditional Turkey
For traditional Turkey, a simple brine is called for. A gallon of water, one half to three-quarters of a cup of kosher salt, and a half to three-quarters cup of white sugar. The brine can be adjusted based on preferred flavors. Let the turkey sit in the brine from 12 to 24 hours. For the seasoning of Turkey, take some room temperature butter and add chopped up rosemary, black pepper, a pinch of salt (there is salt in the brine), thyme, and sage. Take the seasoned butter mixture and rub it under the skin of the turkey. To get under the skin, work your hand gently between the breast and skin to not tear the skin. To add additional flavor, throw in some of the left-over butter into the cavity of the turkey along with onions, carrots, and celery. In the roasting pan, throw in some more onions, carrots, and celery. Then season the top of the turkey with simple spices like garlic, salt, and pepper. Tuck the wings behind and then cover the turkey with foil and roast at 325. After an hour and a half, remove the foil and raise the heat up to 350 and finish the turkey until the internal temperature is 165. – Malted Grains
Fried Turkey
Heat three and a half gallon of peanut oil in a large pot or turkey fryer up to 350 degrees. When frying a turkey make sure to set up the equipment outdoors and on dirt or cement pavement and away from pavements to avoid any potential fires. Keep a fire extinguisher close by. Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and dried. Rub with salt and pepper (Or other preferred spices). Place the seasoned turkey in a drain basket neck-side first. Slowly and gently lower the turkey in the basket into the hot oil until the turkey is completely submerged. Cook the turkey for 3 and a half minutes per pound or about 35 minutes for a ten lbs turkey. – Anthony Flores
ern Spoon Bread Soufflé. For Dupree and her family, it’s a staple of the holiday passed down from her mother BJ Norman. “She put that recipe in the church cookbook eons ago, and it was a carryover from her grandmother,” said Dupree. “I’ve never heard nor had it outside of our family. I can only surmise it’s an old recipe that just got lost by the wayside over the years.” Dupree also shared the recipe for her pirate punch, a cocktail to help cope with the more stressful moments with the family. “It’s an easy cocktail that everyone loves and smooths over any dining mishaps that may arise. At least you likely won’t care about a glass or two in,” said Dupree. Itzel Rios, Liberty Hill’s own Rachel Ray with her YouTube cooking channel, created a reinterpretation of her mother’s potato soup. “It takes me back to my mom’s cooking. We come from a big family, so having food on the table was hard at times,” said Rios. “My mom would do wonders with the little food that she had. Potatoes are not that expensive and can be used in so many different ways. This soup is reinvented from what
ALEX RUBIO PHOTO
Julie Dupree shares a family recipe, Southern Spoon Bread Soufflé, a traditional dish at her family’s Thanksgiving table. my mom used to do for us. The richness and flavors remind me so much of her.” Donna Leonard has come a $48.91 long way in her relationship Average price of a 10-person Thanksgiving dinner with yams that was not always in the United States in 2019 so full of love. The Yummy 229,000 Yams dish shared with her sits Total number of turkeys produced in the at the center of her change of United States in 2019 heart. 4,500 “As a kid, my mother would Average calories consumed per person make the old-fashioned yams on Thanksgiving with the melted marshmallows 63 on top,” said Leonard. “My Percent of Americans expect to drink wine three brothers and I would just with Thanksgiving dinner stare at it thinking how gross it was. Then, my dear friend Gina – WalletHub.com
See THANKSGIVING, Page 4
Parsons new pick to lead LHISD Board
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Like those before her, Megan Parsons will put her own stamp on the LHISD Board, but as the newly-elected President she hopes to carry on what she sees as a great tradition before her. The new position was not something the first-term Board member imagined would be happening now. “I definitely didn’t expect this,” Parsons said. “It’s not that I never thought I might be president of the board, I just didn’t
expect it to happen right now. It’s definitely been a change, and I am ready to embrace it and do the best I can.” The confidence of the other board members made it easy for her to embrace the opportunity. “I had some support from others to do it,” she said. “It wasn’t something I aggressively went after, it was just something I had support for and something people said I should consider, so I was very willing to take it on. I am excited to have the opportunity to serve as president
on this board and I hope to do as good as anybody before me and uphold that tradition.” That tradition – which Parsons has experienced first-hand since she was elected in May 2019 – gave her the chance to work with two board presidents she said she thinks very highly of. “Both Clay Cole and Clint Stephenson are men that I highly respect and I will continue to go to them for advice or thoughts
See PARSONS, Page 5
MEGAN PARSONS LHISD Board President
BUSINESS
HOLIDAY PUBLICATION SCHEDULE The Liberty Hill Independent office will be closed Nov. 2427 for the Thanksgiving holiday. While dated Nov. 26, this week’s edition is being published on Tuesday so that our staff may enjoy the holiday. The deadline for the Dec. 24 edition is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 as our print schedule is once again adjusted for the Christmas holidays. The office will be closed Dec. 22-25, and will open again Dec. 28 following the regular publication schedule. ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
Commercial development is steady across Liberty Hill
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer One industry that has continued to remain steady over the last several months is the commercial development industry—especially in Liberty Hill, where new projects are beginning often, and new businesses are moving in quickly. At Highway 29 Office Park, located at 14001 SH 29, occupancy has hit 70 percent, said Ryan Perry, vice president and broker with Asterra. “We started at zero occupancy a year and a half ago and have now signed our eighth lease,” he added. The office park’s current tenant list includes Islet and Goertz, Homebuilders; Elite
Construction: Roofing and Construction; Erica Thomas with Vita Nova Counseling, PLLC; Hill Country Pharmacare; Denis Silva and Sons Insurance; Jenna Fleming Counseling, PLLC; Parasec/ Paracorp Business Consulting; and Randolph Texas, Development and Homebuilding. The Austin Regional Clinic (ARC), at 12779 SH 29 West, is currently bidding for a general contractor and should begin interior finish out in January 2021. The exterior of the building and parking lot are both near completion. “We anticipate opening in late spring and look forward
See BUSINESS, Page 5
McCoy’s Building Supply is one of several new commercial developments in Liberty Hill. The store is scheduled to open in May 2021. It is located at the corner of SH 29 and RM 1869. (Courtesy Photo)