So Much to be Thankful For

Well, I know you all were sitting on the edge of your chairs, waiting to see how the bird turned out. Okay, maybe not, but still...I feel I need to share. The turkey was good (moist, not dry) and I survived the whole process of preparing it. Here's the brine solution that sweet Emeril told me to use. Here is the recipe, including lengthy instructions on how to make broth and gravy.

Here's the bird, who we'll call Ted. I felt a little sorry for him as I gazed upon his featherless nakedness.

As you may guess, I dreaded dealing with Ted's innards the most. I'm not terribly squeamish, but I hate touching raw poultry in general. Thankfully, his heart, liver and some other part that I could not identify were packed in a bag that I found inside him. I was quite pleased that I didn't have to extricate these myself. Luke loved holding the heart, etc. I had a moment of panic when I couldn't locate the neck. Emeril told me that I needed the neck for the gravy! I turned Ted over several times and reaffirmed that he was indeed neckless. What now? I finally took his legs out of the metal thingy that was holding them together and began my search from the rear. Yes! The neck was inside him! What sicko did that to poor Ted? I never knew that I'd be happy to find a neck. Luke thought that the neck was especially cool.

After Ted was washed and safely in the herb-brine mixture, I double-bagged him and put him outside in the fridge. His job was to soak until the next day. I then began making the broth out of his yucky parts.

I did not mean to make that picture super large! Whoops! This is the part when I tired of taking pictures. How do those faithful bloggers do it? They document every part of a recipe, but I am much lazier. Hopefully, it will suffice to say that 1 1/2 hrs. later, I had four cups of golden broth, and my dog Hope got to eat all of the innards but the neck. I was not yet done with Ted's neck! The broth went into the fridge until the next day (Thanksgiving), and I finished up my other dishes. I have learned that cooking the day before Thanksgiving is the key to sanity when you have people coming to your house. I made: Cranberry Sauce, Twice-Baked Potato Casserole, Mandarin Orange Salad (Marie Mabry's recipe), Key Lime Pie (Carole Shackleford's recipe), and Broccoli Casserole (my easy recipe). I also bought Stouffer's Mac n' Cheese because that's always a hit with the kids. Okay, I love it too. I had everything ready to go the day before Thanksgiving so that I could focus on Ted and the gravy on Thanksgiving Day. (I just had to stick the other dishes in the oven). It was a good plan! I put Ted in the oven the next morning around 7:30. Here's how Ted looked after 3 hours:

He's not pretty enough to make a magazine, but he was nice and tender! Btw, thanks Gayle for letting me borrow your turkey roasting pan. You're a life saver! I let Ted "rest" as Emeril instructed, and made my own gravy from the drippings and the neck meat. I was beginning to feel a bit like Julie or Julia at this point. Keeping the kids out of the kitchen was a small feat Thanksgiving morning. Isn't it hard to complete a task with children? Luke did get a book to read to Leah at one point while I was working. It was so sweet (and rare) that I made Michael grab the camera.

Oh my! All of the aggravating each other and tattling that I had dealt with that morning just disappeared when I saw Luke voluntarily reading to her with her arm draped over him! It may not seem like a lot, but I was so thankful! The gravy was ready in time and we began to welcome the family. Michael had a childhood friend stop by as well. Here are Bobby, Robert, and Michael:

To get an idea of how far they go back, here's a pic of them as kids. Robert is in the back left, and Michael is in the front right. Gotta love those socks and tiny orange shorts!

This picture is so that you can see how beautiful my niece Carley is!

More guests, Paige, Kristen, and Uncle Oliver:

Here are Grandaddy and Nanny Bertagnolli (who we are extremely grateful for), and their kiddos: Oliver, Jr., Joanne, Carol, and David.

We had a big group (28, give or take) and a nice visit. We did miss Christy though! (She had to work). I'm thankful for this family that adopted me as their own when I moved here. We are blessed!