In a FOWL mood...

 

I ordered my Thanksgiving turkey today, a twenty four pounder.  We are so fortunate to get turkeys from local farmers and they're so friendly too!  I can't tell you how much better they taste than the ones you find in the grocery store.  The locals don't put those little red thingys that pop up when it's "done", or inject them (with..  Uhm..  I really don't know what that is that is "injected") either..  They're by far juicier and tastier, too!  If there is any way to get your hands on a farm fresh turkey, I would soooo encourage it - you won't be disappointed!  I can check another thing (the main thing) off the "to-do" list.  Left to do is to make my pumpkin.  There are six pie pumpkins in the sun porch just waiting to become pulp for holiday goodies.  My corn is frozen already and my herbs are dry - Martha Stewart ain't got nothin' on me!

Thanksgiving dinner became "my" holiday the first year we were married.  The Hubs and I come from families that do huge, wonderful family dinners, and I didn't want to have to choose whose family I wanted to spend the holiday with each year.  So, being blessed with a Mom who very much loved passing her kitchen knowledge down to me - and an incredible Mother in Law who likewise wanted to share her knowledge, it became our custom to combine dinners into one huge family event at our home.  At first it was the three of us doing all the preparations in my kitchen.  We really made some terrific memories over the years...  After my Mother became ill, and passed away, my Mother in Law and I would do the cooking.  Now that my Mother in Law has gotten older and lives over an hour away, I have become the chief cook and bottle washer.  I don't mind though, it is my pleasure and my peace to cook, and I love that my Mother in Law can now relax and enjoy her children, grandchildren and great grandson for the holiday.

Since we've lived here, a local farmer has farmed our property across the road.  We have a twelve acre field that he has planted corn, oats, and all sorts of other crops over the years.  As a "thank you" gift each year, he would bring us one of the turkeys from his home farm for Thanksgiving.  One year in particular, we spent Thanksgiving in the Outer Banks of North Carolina - and took the turkey they so graciously gave to us - a THIRTY FIVE pounder!!  Can you imagine??  I cooked Big Bird that year!!  We got up at four thirty in the morning to stuff the thing and have it cooked for a five o'clock dinner!  Well... truth be told, we really didn't have to get up quite that early, but we did.  We enjoyed coffee on the deck, wrapped up in a huge blanket, and watched what remained of an incredible meteor shower, and a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean before rolling up our sleeves to work on Big Bird!  The turkey didn't fit into any normal sized roaster either - or even the over sized roaster that my Mother had given to me years ago.  We had to really be creative to get this bird cooked - and used the insides of an electric roaster with about a whole roll of tinfoil.  We could barely slide that thing in or out of the oven for basting!  Somehow it all worked out, the bird was wonderful, and the family gathering spent at the beach that year was incredible!

So, my food list is under control, now it is time to begin tackling the cleaning list.......  Anyone wanna come help???

Until next time!