Thanksgiving

Today was for sure a day to be thankful for.  Although our family was not complete, we were missing Jennifer. Wes, Johnny, Debbie, and the boys.  We still had the rest of us, we had friends that mean so much to us, and the blessing was heartfelt. 

I started the day before the sun came up, it was the most beautiful moon that was so bright.  I had the whole turkey sitting in the brine, so I needed to get that washed, dried, and warmed up a bit.  I stuffed the cavity with apples, oranges, celery, onion, and fennel.  I slathered the bird with butter and rubbed it a secret mix.  Andrew had gotten up and reached me down the thermometers.  We put it into the bird, then into the preheated oven.

After a mere 3 hours, this beauty was pulled out.  A perfect 160 degrees.....

While the whole bird was in the oven, we got busy with the deboned one.  The butcher did a wonderful job, the skin was all intact.  Andrew did not like all the tendons were left, so he spend a good hour removing them.  Then when it almost ready to roll, he showed me that he took the breast "filet" and put them below the actual breast so that it was all like even and flat.  The bird insides were a thing of beauty, then we stuffed with the brioche and rolled it, that was beauty....

 I could look at all day....

Then my absolute favorite...

I did not take any pictures of the table laden with all of the food, I could almost hear it creaking. 

After dinner, I was told that my job was done.  I went into the family room and put my aching foot up.  I sat there for the longest, I have never, ever done that, let others clean up and put away the food.  I secretly enjoyed it.

Then the desserts came out.....

That was the second sweetest time of the day.....

I got to spend the day with the most important people in my life.