The 2012 Turkey

This here is some mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and bay leaves.  Set over a low heat until they get 'fragrant'.  They didn't really do that before they started toasting unless you got your face right up in it.  I figured toasted was fragrant enough.

This here is when you add some water, brown sugar, kosher salt to those toasted little earth nuggets.  Stir it until the sugar and salt are dissolved and then remove from heat and let it cool.

This here is what it looks like when you throw a bacon blanket over it and add the brine (shown above) and some onions and a few bottles of Guinness to it.  The actual bird is breast side down cuz you want that part submerged in the brine.  You'd probably actually want the entire bird submerged but I didn't have a pot big enough for that nonsense.  So we gave it a bacon security blanket.  Don't worry, there's bacon on the underside, too.  This will sit in the fridge for 24hrs.

This here's what that precious bird looked like when we pulled it out of the oven after it'd been roasting for about 3 hrs.  I cooked it for about 1.5hrs with a bacon blanket on top of it, removed that for the last hour of cooking to make sure it got that lovely golden brown.  The drippings and debris left in the pot made a delectable gravy.
I see you, Turkey.  You did a good job & I apprecicate the tough life you had so we could eat you.

This here's what Matt looked like when he carved up that delicious bird.

Thursday Thank-Yous

To Brian Stokes Mitchell for appearing out of, seemingly, nowhere on 9/23 just off Times Sq. while Willie and I were walking off our Shake Shack and after I'd been watching clips on youtube of and listening to the soundtrack for Ragtime all week leading up to that trip.  It was truly a magical moment.  And you didn't even know it happened.


To all you turds that 'liked' & commented on the Little Orphan Annie photo that Willie posted on facebook:  when I was a kid, my mother used to have my BFF's mom perm my hair.  It would end up looking like a little old lady's do (haha I made you yodel).  I'm naturally strawberry blonde.  A ginger.  People called me Annie.  I hated Annie...with her stupid hair and empty blank eyes and ugly dress and dumb song.
The sun will come out tomorrow, you can bet your bottom fuckin' dollar.

To the kid at the food place that giggled with me when I ordered a medium #2.

To the radio station for playing Dirty Deeds immediately after I'd heard it...twice, I think...in the living room.  The living room version was pretty damn good, I gotta say.  I don't even like that song.  But then, I don't like AC/DC either.

To Brian for making me retune my banjo.  That's a good thing to practice.

To John for giving me a flashback to 1995 when I heard the AOL "Goodbye".


To Sugar Ray for making me realize how difficult it is to get someone to go with you to Epcot on a rainy Weds night to try and catch 1 of 3 performances on the last night of your trip.
I knew they wouldn't play my favorite song anyway.


And to Pannacakes, who uttered a great sentence today, "He had two arms when I was growing up." when we were talking about Def Leppard.  I just looked it up and he lost his arm NYE 1984/85.  You're not that old, darlin'.

A Very Special Thanksgiving Special

We weren't feelin' up for more traveling (by plane, train, or automobile) this Thanksgiving, a bit under the weather with coughing and sneezings and ugh & whooped from being on the go non-stop for the past month.

So, today we stayed home and ate in waves.

First wave: Breffass Casserole (later deemed "breffass brownies" by Matthew)

Consisted of a rolled out pillsbury crescent roll in the bottom of a sprayed baking dish, cooked and crumbled jimmy dean reduced fat sausage on top of the crescent roll, cooked and crumbled thick cut low sodium bacon mixed into the sausage, 5 eggs scrambled with 1/3 cup of milk poured over the meat and bread, 2 slices of smoked provo & 2 slices of sharp cheddar broken into pieces and dropped into that shit in the baking dish.
Bake it forever on 350 until it looks like you wanna eat it (about 40mins).

Waves 2 & 2.5:  Cream Cheese with Cranberry Salsa and cinnamon/gingerbread pita chips, followed by ghetto baked brie on top of a slab of boar's head turkey, served with crackers & cranberry salsa.

Cranberry salsa is 1 bag of cranberries, 1 jalapeno, 1 bunch of green onions, 1 bunch of cilantro, 2 limes juiced, and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Throw all that shit into a culinary robot & viola, you got yerself some kickass cransalsa.
Ghetto baked brie is a wheel of brie sitting on top of a slab of turkey sitting on top of another pillsbury crescent roll with the edges of the bread all folded up and around the cheese and stuff.  Baked at 350 for a little while.

Wave 3: Sweet Potato Soup, Craisin/Walnut/Goat Cheese salad, boar's head turkey sammiches on home made italian herb bread (with baconnaise)

Sweet Potato soup recipe is here.
You're smart enough to figure out the salad and sammich yourself.

I'm thankful for my husband & my home.
And the cats.
And pork.
And cheese.
And rollercoasters.
And bouncehouses.


Matthew & Snoop are thankful for naps.

New Ink Day

Added some broken hearts. Pfffft....Its not like I have to worry about them getting back together.

A Very Special Thanks Goes Out To

The two treadmill ladies who talked through almost the entire second half of Megamind in the cardio theater at the gym the morning of 4/13.

Nevermind the fact that there's a whole massive EMPTY gym *points with an exaggerated flail* OUT THERE that ISN'T watching a movie where you can talk and talk and talk your little old hearts out without forcing a small room with a handful of people watching a movie to listen to your droning on.

But, seriously, thank you Loud Ladies Gabbington, for telling me & the 3 other people in the theater where all of your jewelry is in your closet & catching us up on the past week of your lives.

________________________

ps. Welcome To Thursday ThankYous, chumps!!