Thanksgiving

Well, I hope that everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. I know that I did since I had a whole week off from studying the location of acupuncture points, the theory behind the Oriental Medicine magic, and the origins, insertions, and actions of the body's musculature. It was our first Thanksgiving spent in Boston where we actually hosted the shindig and we entertained Julia's mom Lois, her companion Tom and our friends Alli and Steve.

Waking early enough to prep our 14 lb. turkey which, surprisingly enough, took about an hour, I patted him/her down with some herb de provence and stuffed it with lemon wedges, garlic cloves, onion chunks and some fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage). I put it in the oven and we all took turns watching the skin turn a crispy brown. Of course, we basted as often as possible to keep it moist although the main component of the meat's tenderness was the fact that our bird was brined. We purchased it from Trader Joes pre-brined which means that it is soaked in a salt water mixture that keeps the meat succulent throughout preparation. I would highly recommend this procedure to anyone or at least, buy a pre-brined turkey. I think our guests enjoyed it!

In addition to our favorite sleep inducing food, we also prepared mashed potatoes and stuffing. The rest of the meal came packaged up courtesy of Trader Joe's (ummmm, can you tell I like shopping there) and it included some delicious gravy, a spicy yet creamy carrot ginger soup, spiced hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks, warm buns and a cranberry sauce mixture with orange and chunks of real cranberries.
Alli and Steve brought the requisite green bean casserole (the one with the fried onion bits.....although it is kinda interesting that there doesn't appear to be any actual onion pieces in it) and one of her homemade apple pies which is one of the BEST I have ever tasted. I think her secret is not chunks of apple but flat ribbons of apple that get included in each scrumptious bite. Mix that with homemade brownies and vanilla bean ice cream.....oh, and the Reese's chocolate shell or caramel syrup for topping.....and you have a recipe for some serious food coma.


Sitting down to dinner early in the afternoon afforded us the option of refueling later that evening, as well as allowing us to catch all the gridiron action on the TV. The two puppies, Maggie and Zoey, who are Lois', behaved themselves beautifully and we didn't have any Christmas Story incidents. All in all, it was a successful Thanksgiving dinner and we couldn't have asked for anything else as we drifted off to sleep at night with dreams of all the deals to be had at JC Penney when they opened at 4 am on Black Friday......no thank you:)