Thanksgiving Dinner

I called my grandmother three times Wed - Thurs to get turkey roasting instructions. I haven't roasted a turkey since 2001, so I forgot a few of the nuances like pouring a cup of water in the roaster and leaving the lid ON to avoid overdrying the bird. But, I caught those little mistakes in time to save the meal and the turkey turned out more tasty than I could have imagined! Thanks Grama!! Steve said the turkey was his favorite dish at yesterday's meal.

Aside from the turkey and pies, everything else at the meal were sides that we typically have with our meals. But, we don't usually do more than 1 side dish with a main course; we only feed the 2 of us, afterall. But, we like variety for Thanksgiving, so we cooked up a storm for 1 day so we won't have to cook for the rest of the week!

We're big fans of turkey legs. It's our favorite and most cost efficient meal at the Disney parks. So, we looked forward to those again for Thanksgiving. But, I didn't realize Steve would serve the leg with all the attached adductor muscles! Each leg took up half a plate! I think we're gonna have to freeze some turkey meat and get very creative with recipes: turkey omelets, turkey chili, turkey soup, turkey enchiladas, turkey cacciatore, etc.

The stuffing was just a little too salty. It seemed that way back in 2001, too. I followed Grandma's instructions, but I just can't get the flavor right. I'm a salt fanatic, so if I think something's too salty, then it tastes like a salt block to everyone else. But, the cranberry sauce and turkey seemed to balance it out nicely. The napkin folds are called "bishop's hat", but someone once told me they look like little turkeys. I think I like that description better. Napkin folding is pretty easy, and similar to origami--but I use an iron to really cement the fold lines.

I didn't feel like I'd eaten too much food. In fact I couldn't finish everything on my plate. 5 hours later, I was still so stuffed I could barely try Steve's awesome apple pie. I typically eat somewhere near 5 small meals a day, so I felt a little off kilter being so full after only 2 meals in a day!

Stew & Mel stopped by for a brief visit on their way to another round of Thanksgiving at a friend's house. We enjoyed their short stay and they honored us with a loaf of Bob Evans pumpkin bread. No room to taste this lovely delight yesterday, but we both tried it out as a study snack today, and it is as good as Mel boasts. I love spice cake, especially the kind that's moist and melts over your taste buds!

Since November is almost gone and the lovely season of harvest is drawing to a close, I'm posting one of my favorite photos from Kodak's picture of the day.