It was a good Thanksgiving

I got things rolling midafternoon: the cranberries had already set and the beans were prepped, so the only bit in doubt was the turkey and the stuffing.

The recipe went together easily, soften the celery and onion in  butter, mix bread cubes, sage, spices, chicken broth…I tossed in an egg because my grandfather always did.  Mash it all together, stuff the split in the breasts, truss lightly with cooking twine.  That got to be a bit of a slippery mess, but I assembled the two breasts with stuffing between and it made a fairly nice presentation.  A toast and then the wait.

I let the oven cool inadvertently, and had the oven rack come loose during one basting, but otherwise the cooking was uneventful.  By early evening, the bird had a nice golden color, was warmed through, and the dressing had some body.  I packed everything up and was off to the Frijns.

They were in the spirit of things: a lovely set table, autumn leaf runner, some wine and candles. They had pictures of Pilgrims, but fortunately nobody had time to dress the part.  (There was a lively debate about whether the Pilgrims look Dutch, British, or Catholic).  The did a wonderful job with potatoes and salad: we substituted tarts for the pumpkin pie.  All in all, it was a lovely and recognizable Thanksgiving feast.

Yes, I took pictures throughout, but got home to find that my Sony stick had corrupted and all of them were lost.  I am heartbroken, but have good memories.