Thankgiving 2011: Spatchcock Edition

First things first: someone bought my rug on eBay!  It's headed to Brooklyn, which is good.  People in Brooklyn will understand the cookie monster rug.

Now that that's out of the way, how was your Thanksgiving? 

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My chef extraordinaire brother Dan spatchcocked our turkey.  That involves removing the spine so the turkey lays flat and cooks more evenly.  Norman Rockwell, it ain't.  But it turned out perfectly. 

All week, my mom talked about cooking for 8 people, since my French nana, my boyfriend Joe and my roommate Christine were all nice enough to join us for dinner.  Eight people, sure.  Mom set the table and we all sat down and Dad said the prayer.  Then Nana looked across the table and said, "Who is that chair for?"  Sure enough, we miscounted and there was an empty tablesetting for no one, right in the middle of the table.  I'll pretend it's for the memory of dear, departed Hunter.

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Everything was beyond delicious. But good gravy, why did I eat so much?  It's a horrible feeling after you've cleaned your plate and polished off the last piece of turkey.  I always forget that feeling.  You can barely move, and yet a pie and a cheesecake await.  Of course you will eat them.  As an American, it's your civic duty.

There's everyday, normal "full, couldn't eat another thing," then there is "Thanksgiving full."  It's off the charts.   At least this only happens once a year.

I didn't shop on Friday.  Not my scene.  When shoppers are pepper-spraying one another to get an advantage on buying Xboxes, something is severely out of whack.  What did I do?  Took advantage of a freak 60 degree day and played tennis outside with Joe, which is free.

Check out the photos from our trip to Annapolis with Tiffany and Jon on Saturday.  Even the boats are decked out for the holidays.

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But wait, what's that?

There's a cat as first mate!

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As You Are Gearing Up For Thanksgiving...

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"Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons.  Pie is the food of the heroic.  No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished."

- 1902 New York Times editorial, via Parade Magazine

I read that and never felt more patriotic.  Maybe pie can unite us once again. Happy baking everyone.

Thanksgiving 2009 Recap

After Thanksgiving, my family and I watched a festive, seasonal film titled "Drag Me to Hell." We rarely agree on movies, but for some reason anything in the supernatural, zombie or hitman genres is usually a good bet.For the first time ever, I went shopping at the mall on Black Friday. It wasn't the nightmare I expected - we found a parking spot in two minutes and I didn't get elbowed by any fellow bargain hunters. In fact, no one at all fought me over the black sequined formal shorts I bought - wonder why.

I couldn't help but notice rows and rows of men sitting on benches, looking bored and miserable as their wives/girlfriends looked through piles of clothes. How are these women getting their boyfriends to go shopping with them on Black Friday, of all days?! I can't even get boys to call me back.