There Was a Plan….

… and then there was none. Had hoped to get a headstart on Thanksgiving cooking tonight, but that plan fell further by the wayside as the evening progressed. Had an after-work hair cut appointment, then ran into a local produce store to pick up a few things and by the time I made it home, it was already past 7 pm. Dinner tonight was Chinese take-out, or as Nicholas calls it, “dinner from the chicken and rice man.” That totally hit the spot. One thing I missed on the cruise was Chinese food, believe it or not. They had a great selection of Indian choices, and sushi, but no Chinese. Anyways, I digress…

By the time I wolfed down my food and got the groceries put away (my first home delivery of groceries — double yay!!), it was nearly 9 pm! How the heck did THAT happen? I just don’t have the energy to start cooking tonight, so figured I’d turn in early, get a good night’s sleep and start the day off with a bang tomorrow. Guests aren’t coming until 4 pm, so I have plenty of time.

The Husband’s area of expertise since we’ve been together is the turkey. He’s perfected a “low and slow” method that works well for both of us. He cooks it overnight at a low temperature, so by the time we wake up, the wonderful smell of perfectly roasted turkey starts our day. In fact, I can smell it now…. mmmmm. This method also works out great for me because it frees up the oven so I can get all my cooking done without having to work around the turkey taking up so much space. Perfect.

So to all my fellow cooks that are already knee-deep in a cooking frenzy, may you have lump-free gravy, achieve the perfect sweet/tart combination for your cranberries, have a perfectly golden color on your turkey (or tofurky, Stephanie!) and enjoy homemade whipped cream atop your pumpkin pie tomorrow. And remember the most important rule of cooking for the holidays … relax and make sure to take time to enjoy the holiday yourself. I know I will!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it … and to those that don’t, you can get to bed early for the shopping madness that ensues Friday!

Until tomorrow…

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