I have really started to dial in the Introvert's Thanksgiving--even getting old enough that it is way too easy to get fat. (Fingers crossed.) Found an 8# bird Saturday and stuck it in the fruit drawer in the fridge to defrost. I've simplified the menu down to: turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, and an alcoholic beverage. Too many options and you can't fit everything on a plate and you wind up eating too much to boot.
I usually wind up eating lunch late in the afternoon because of the time it takes to get the turkey cooked. But this year I realized I could season it at night, cover it in foil and pop it in the fridge so it would be ready to go in the morning. The Plan worked so well I almost put it in too early. Did the math and realized I had to wait until 9:30 or so. At the appointed time I popped it in and took The Dog for the morning patrol. Got back, did some bookkeeping and other chores until half hour before the bird was done. Came out, threw the aluminum "tent" from having it in the fridge back on it and shut off the oven while I made the (Stovetop) Stuffing. Dumped the sweet potatoes in a microwave bowl, added brown sugar and pumpkin spice, opened the cranberry sauce and put it into a bowl in the fridge with the pie and the Reddi Whip. Buttered a couple dinner rolls, pulled the bird out and got it on a platter to "rest" while I dumped flour into the pan of drippings, heated it up on the stove, added the right amount of water and had my gravy ready. Heated up the sweat potatoes, carved off a drumstick and a wing (the other drumstick and wing will be dinner, then each thigh will be a meal and then the breast meat will either become a meal or wind up sammich meat). Depending on leftovers, I may do "trashcan" and just layer everything on top of each other for a delicious "salad" of Thanksgiving.
Other festive Thansgiving events will include: The afternoon Dog patrol, bookkeeping, and possibly picking all the little apples off the tree that I missed before the leaves fell off to make another batch of apple butter.
I suppose I *could* drive up to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with relatives, but that's a 10-11 hour drive that runs through Chicago when this way I get everything the way I want it, don't have to plan for the pets, and save myself 21 hours and a bunch of gasoline and tolls.
