Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a very good turkey day. Hubby smoked a 14 pound turkey. It was so good! He had never smoked a turkey before, so, he did a lot of research as to temperature and cooking time. He also determined that we should brine the turkey overnight before smoking. So, the day before thanksgiving, we made a simple brine and dropped the turkey in, overnight. The next day, Thursday, Hubby woke up at 6 AM to start the fire. I was hoping that Precious Baby would sleep for a bit longer so I could prep the turkey before we put it on the fire, but no such luck. She was giggling and grinning at me as soon as her daddy got out of bed. So, she got up with me and played on the floor while I made fresh herb butter (rosemary, italian parsley and sage... mmmm!) and then smeared the butter all over the turkey. I also placed a some carrots, celery, an onion, an apple and some rosemary inside the cavity of the bird to add flavor. Finally, I covered the breast with pancetta. The turkey went into the smoker at half past 7. that left me the rest of the day to make green beans almondine and some dressing. The rest of the side dishes were made and brought by our guests. My friend Caroline and her husband brought pumpkin bread, sweet potatoes, and apple piue and some bruchetta. My sister and brother in law brought mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie. My parents came and brought plenty of wine. We opened our antique dining table out to comfortably seat eight adults and it was just perfect. The turkey came out wonderfully... it took eight hours to smoke to absolute perfection.. it was juicy and tender and so flavorful. Everyone loved it... my dad, who kisses no one's ass even told Hubby that he really had done it perfectly. The deserts were excellent too. All in all, it was a great thanksgiving and honestly, I look forward to doing it again next year.
Of course, now christmas is coming. And the fun really starts this weekend... which is Boy's 12th Birthday! His grandparents are coming from Houston to see him and we'll put up the tree this weekend. I also plan to make Boy and Hubby hang lights outside. We didn't do it last year, because we were so consumed with precious baby, who was just a little newborn, and I really missed having the lights. I want Hubby and Boy to wrap the columns of the front porch, run lights along the roof line of the porch, and put lights in the trees. We also ordered a wreath and I'm waiting for it to arrive so I can hang it on the front door. Watch out, Martha Stweart! Rrrrright.

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