Delayed Turkey Time

Close call. . . but we pulled it together and I was thankful!



Our oven got fixed at 11am on Thanksgiving morning and still many more obstacles lay ahead. Brad and Heather's Thanksgiving bonanza, featuring guest chefs Steve, Shamus and Masako, felt like the meal that might never happen right up until we sat down to eat after 8pm. Half of our party faced obstacles getting to our house on time, and when Brad finally drove to pick up Masako and her pies because she could not get a car service to answer her call, he got lost driving in the rain and disappeared for an hour while a roasted turkey was already resting on my counter!

But eat and eat well we did. The menu featured a 17lb. herb roasted, farm-raised turkey, sausage and cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pureé, brussel sprouts with bacon and apples, creamed spinach, parsnip pancakes, a salad with roasted squash, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds, cranberry chutney and gravy that flowed almost as freely as the booze. As if all that wasn't enough, we topped it all off with pecan/pumpkin and apple pies, Irish coffees and ice cream. It was goooood.

Happy and fed we were in the end, and the celebration went on past midnight. Thanksgiving is truly the best American holiday - good food in the company of good friends. We'll continue to enjoy our leftovers into this coming week and I have some turkey soup in the works. Soon I'll start dreaming of next year's feast.










Oh, and since I feel like I should share a recipe, here's something even better - the secret to my perfect gravy. It's not really mine, it's Martha Stewart's and you can find it here. You won't believe the results and your guests will be impressed, I promise!