Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving wrap-up

It sounds strange, but this is the first year I've been in charge of the turkey, and in fact the first time I've roasted a bird. I followed the advice of America's Test Kitchen and brined, then air dried the Turkey. The process started Wednesday morning, but didn't actually require much work on my part. The most daunting part, other than timing it so the meat was cooked and ready at the right time, was the actual carving. It's all well and goo to say "locate the joint and cut off the leg," actually doing so without mangling the whole thing was a bit of a challenge.

I chose to carve everything (there was also a beer can chicken cooked on the grill) in the kitchen so that nobody had to witness my blundering first attempt. Of course in the end the spread was so overwhelming, I don't think anyone noticed.

As usual there was way more food than we could eat, more surprisingly there was more wine than we could drink. Of course the fact that Sterling (white tshirt) brought a bottle of Scotch helped ease the demand for wine. I think we may have finished the scotch before we ever got around to dessert.

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. For those of you in Fresno, I want to have a dinner party when I'm in town at Christmas/New Years. Any thoughts?

3 comments:

Kara DeFrias said...

Congrats on your first bird! Quite the accomplishment. The spread looks amazing, too!

(On my first try, I actually cooked the bird upside down -- breast down in the pan. It ended up being awesomely delicious and tender because the breast was simmering in its own juices for 4 hours! I thought I was brilliant.)

edluv said...

good work on the bird.

Adam said...

Wow, you're a blur in that picture. Speed carver.

I'm down for a dinner party. Maybe I can get my apartment clean by then, but then again, maybe someone else wants to host.