Sharp Corners

I had a great time last night so I guess I worried for nothing though I got a little nervous there for a while when it looked like we would be combining terror levels. Not only did I get to meet a close friend of J’s for the first time but I also had to cook dinner for him. I was definitely not counting on that and thought it would be in poor taste (get it? taste? heh) to serve reheated turkey and gravy. Fried rice and teriyaki chicken seemed to serve them well but, then again, by the time they got here they were both well on the way to being crocked so I could have served yak intestines and they’d have been fine with it.

J’s friend is a cuter version of Dave Barry with the sense of humor to match and he brought along his brother and brother-in-law who were equally as much fun. We all went out to a local dive bar to play pool (they played, I watched since I have the coordination of a wombat on crack) and we rolled in around 1:00 AM. I had my camera phone with me but dammit if I forgot to use it.

**Insert big, wet, sloppy kisses to my neighbors who pinch hit as babysitters at the last minute**

So a good time was had by all but I suspect there will be a couple of hurtin’ pups lurking around the kitchen today. The coffee’s on and I’ll tiptoe around dispensing aspirin to the needy. Now….about breakfast…where did I leave the package of yak intestines?

This was THE best turkey I’ve had in recent memory ever. In fact, this was one of the most relaxing Thanksgivings I’ve had since I had virutally nothing to be responsible for. J cooked the whole dinner himself. He’s a keeper.

When I lived in Chicago, every Thanksgiving and Christmas I used to participate in the Adopt-A-Sailor program at the Great Lakes Naval Base. There were lots of soldiers at Boot Camp that couldn’t get home for the holidays so they were placed with area families for the day and it was truly the highlight of the festivities for me. Last month I contacted MacDill AFB in nearby Tampa and got my name on their list to do the same thing. So, in preparation for the soldiers this year, here’s our menu:

A 23 pound Alsatian-brined turkey with Riesling gravy

Fried sage stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Sweet potato casserole

Green bean casserole

Baby peas with bacon and crispy leeks

Carrots

Cranberries

Apple pie

Pumpkin pie

Chocolate cake

Ice cream

Now, guess how many people will be joining us from the Air Force Base?

Zero.

Seems there were too many families and not enough soldiers. Fortunately, my next door neighbors will be here for dinner but that only brings us to a grand total of seven people, three of which are children who will surely turn their noses up at everything but the bird. Hope you don’t mind leftovers, you’re all invited over to help me polish them off this weekend. No, really. I insist.