And So It Begins

My wife and I spent all morning, and untold hundreds of dollars, at the grocery store today. Friends and family are coming for Thanksgiving, and God forbid that any of them should go home without totally trashing their Body Mass Index.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The weather is usually superior to summer or winter holidays. There's not the gift-giving pressure associated with Christmas or Valentines Day. And we usually get at least a four-day weekend to do nothing but eat, drink, and watch football. What's not to like?

To make it even better, I like to cook. I start planning at least a week in advance, selecting recipes, making lists, and creating schedules. It drove my wife crazy at first, but over time she came to see the wisdom of my method.

The ultimate was about 16 years ago when we had just moved into a new house in Houston. Friends and family came from all over the country. There were so many of them we needed three large turkeys to feed them all. I got overly ambitious and prepared one using the traditional oven-roasted method, I smoked the second one, and deep-fried the third Cajun style. Somehow they all were ready at the same time, along with a multitude of side dishes. To this day I'm not sure how I pulled it off, but I'm wise enough to to stop when I'm ahead. That's the last time I tried anything on that scale.

Still, we will have several guests this year. So today was shopping. Tomorrow is preparing the ancillary meals (that is, what we'll feed them before the Great Feast). Since we're expecting crisp weather, I'm making a couple of gallons of chili. Wednesday will be spent preparing the side dishes. For example, I make the dressing ahead of time, refrigerate it, and then pop it in the oven alongside the bird.

Thursday, of course, is devoted to The Bird. In addition to roasting one, I'm trying something a little new this year. I'm a sucker for infomercials. I saw one a couple of weeks ago for an indoor turkey fryer. After a little research I ordered one. I'm going to fry just a turkey breast this time around. Between the big bird in the oven, the breast, and a baked ham, I figure that should satisfy the hordes. (We'll have four teenage boys here, all jocks, so 'hordes' is not an exaggeration, at least when it comes to consumption of vittles.)

To give you some idea of how the weekend will go, at least for the adults, about half a bottle of sherry is used in roasting the turkey. The dressing is made with brandy. Whiskey Sweet Potatoes are served as a side dish. Dessert is a choice of Jack Daniel's Chocolate Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie with Bourbon Cream Sauce, or Bread Pudding soaked in Rum Sauce.

Recipes available upon request...