After several days of prep and sore feet, I'm ready for tomorrow. The turkeys (my husband insisted on 2 big ones) are cut apart, which is a story in itself, slathered with olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, and stashed in big plastic bags to marinate in the fridge. There is also a ham (boneless, unfortunately) ready to be seasoned and cooked on a v-roaster on the grill, and a side of Costco salmon to grill after the ham comes off. No shortage of protein! I've made the dressing, a lot of it because it's my favorite part of Thanksgiving, and a corn pudding that I baked this afternoon and will reheat in the oven when the turkey comes out. The wingtips, backs and necks are in the stockpot with the usual suspects (carrot, celery, onion, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, black peppercorns, garlic) and will simmer on the stove overnight. I'll use that for the gravy.
Instead of the usual 60+ people we have pruned the list to only (!) 40. Two reasons--until very recently it has rained every day, sometimes quite hard, and because we have to put tables outside we couldn't be sure of the weather and had to think about how we could cram people into the house if necessary. But according to our local weather station it will be dry for the foreseeable future. Second, our street is being repaired and we weren't sure it would be open in time. As it turns out, it won't be. Probably Friday or Saturday, but not tomorrow. Oh well--
I always enjoy what our friends bring to the party. One friend is bringing 2 loaves of her sourdough with honey butter, which I'm eager to try. I love Thanksgiving--it's my favorite holiday.
I hope your holiday is a happy one, that the snow doesn't make travel difficult or impossible, that there are no political arguments around the table, and that everyone leaves in a food coma, full of good food and friendship.
