Turkey Report

Last Thanksgiving I cooked the turkey on the smoker and it was deee-leeecious. Tragically, it was too deee-leeecious: there were no leftovers. It was the source of national outrage. This year I did two smaller birds in an effort to avoid a similar crisis this year. Like last year, I brined the turkeys which not only adds flavor, it reduces cooking time: two birds, 13+ Lbs each: 3 hours exactly. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned on being done with the birds a hour and a half before dinner was scheduled. So I wrapped them in foil and placed them in a cooler with warm towels . They held nicely until we were ready to eat. Dinner was unremarkable for a Thanksgiving: lively conversation, top-notch food (including my Aunt's famous "Yam-Puff"), a little too much wine, and not enough room for dessert. The part that was remarkable is that my sister-in-law and I were on the same page left-over-wise. She had purchased a number of large tupperware containers and prepared a doggie bag for each couple with a bit of each dish, so everyone could go home happy. It turned out to be a particularly excellent idea when we didn't end up eating any of the second turkey. Instead, it was dissected and divvied up into the takeaway boxes. Everyone walked away with a veritable cornucopia in a box. It was fantastic; no one will be stuck throwing out left-overs next week and no one can complain about not getting any left-over stuffing. Marvelous!

Now I just have to keep unpacking the house in hopes of finding the large stock pot so I can make turkey and dumplings on Sunday.