Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick post to say happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating it today! I cooked a feast for 12 (with the help of my mom, sister, and friends) and we are all absolutely stuffed to the utmost, thankful indeed. But I ran that Turkey Trot 5K again this year, so I figure I can replenish my caloric needs in high style.

My day has pretty much been a carbon copy of last year’s turkey day, which is to say it was fantastic. The notable musical addition this year was that we listened to Simon & Garfunkel all afternoon for the cooking — doesn’t that just seem like Thanksgiving music? I think it got started when I was giving Ichabod (our turkey, yes we name it) his butter rubdown and due to the spices I was using I started serenading him, “Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyyyyyyme . . “

Here’s what I wrote last year and it is absolutely true this year as well — I laughed the whole time I was preparing the turkey (well, alternating with making that face above, inadvertently. What a wuss). It’s rare in life that one has to follow instructions such as:

• Press one leg down near leg clamp to release.
• Remove neck from body cavity.
• Remove giblet package (giblet package?!) from neck skin area
• Using your hands, gently separate the skin from the breast at both ends. Smear the meat beneath the skin with the herb butter mix.

It was hilarious. I was talking to this little headless turkey on my counter, “sorry buddy” as I slid my fingers under his skin. In spite of the distatefulness of the beginning of the ordeal, after 3 1/2 hours in the oven, it all turned out quite well.

Red Wine, Success! – Cold War Kids

I hope you are all taking time today to remember all the myriad things that we have to be grateful for each and every day. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Colorado Springs, with good food, a table full of good friends, and good family. Happy Thanksgiving!

I Will Not Take These Things For Granted – Toad The Wet Sprocket