Thanksgiving 2007 - Best Turkey EVER!...

Ah, what a Thanksgiving -- the combination of great food, friends and family never gets old. I have a lot to be thankful for, but most importantly, I'm thankful for being able to share this all with you.

Unlike last year, I didn't have to do Thanksgiving dinner solo: Mama did most of it, and I handled one side dish in particular (the pics toward the bottom). And since Mama was in charge, the turkey was absolutely stellar; juicy and delicious with that nice golden color that looks too darn good to be true. But you don't have to take my word for it, the proof is in the picture.

I hope ya'll had a good time too, and now, without further ado - THE PICS!

Ah, the stuffing. This is only the first phase, where the wet ingredients are cooked first.

The naked bird, in all it's glory. The recipe for the included ingredients is a secret, but the taste is for all the world.


Can't have turkey without the requisite fruit sauces to go with it: apple chutney on the left, cranberry chutney on the right...


... And canned-goods need some love'n too! Our family likes to "slice" our cranberry sauce straight from the can.


This ham brought to you by Honeybaked: When you need it delicious and taken home 10 minutes before closing, it's the brand for you.


The usual suspects -- Potatoes and corn go like peas and carrots.


Yep, that's me, boiling water. I got sooooo demoted!


Eh, just kidding! I'm here working on my side dish -- Pasta Shells and Cheese! I was gonna go with Macaroni, but I thought that I'd go a little fancier for the holiday.


First phase complete. The main sauce was alfredo, and I threw in some cheddar to give it that "extra boost." Cook at 320 for about 10 minutes and you should get something...


... That looks like this! You're not looking for that "too burned" cheese-look for this dish. More subtle, like you just slapped this thing last minute, but it's gonna taste good.


And finally, pose with said-dish, and watch it slowly disappear. Grins and smiles on faces should be the apropos norm.


The stuffing, with the croutons mixed in last so they won't sog up too quickly. Baked in the last half of the cooking cycle, it came out really well this year.


All right, with all the key players in their positions, what could be missing?


Friends and family? Got that covered. Okay, what you've all been waiting for...


BAM! Now is that a turkey, or is that a TURKEY! kudos to the mama - not bad for never having used this particular oven before (we've moved into a new place). What did I do to help out? Well, I did set the Digital timer, so I guess my share would be 20% out of 80%...


This is how I roll -- sweet potato, shells 'n cheese, and a piece of turkey that looks like roast duck. Fan-tabulous!


And remember, with no one to share this with, Thanksgiving just ain't the same.

Have a good'n and I'll catch ya'll in a bit... ;)

o.g.11/23/07

Went To See A Movie, But Saw Something Else Instead...

I went to see "Smokin' Aces" last night - but that's not what this story's about. Oh, if you want my opinion on the film, I'll be more than happy to send you a review.

No, this story is about a "theater-going" experience:

Getting to the theater late, I'm forced to scan for my pal J.K. in the dark. Naturally, I try to blink my eyes to adjust, but the light flickering from the screen is not helping at all. Not wanting to do the old "shout-out-Marco-Polo-style" routine, I walk a bit further up to the front so I can see more of the audience.

And wouldn't you know? Just to piss me off, J.K. was holding up his hand, but it wasn't very high - you know, like in High School when a teacher asks a question but you're not really sure if you want to answer it? It was kinda like that. It was a half-raised, half-assed attempt at getting my attention, to which I immediately bumped into his legs while crossing into the seat next to him.

I said "Excuse Me", but the tone sounded more like, "You're a real F--kwad, you know that?"

Settling into my seat, I was glad no one was sitting in front of me, since the theater didn't have tiered seating.

Just my luck - two guys come rushing into the theater, and guess where they plop down? Of course, the guy that sat in front of me would have the biggest head I'd ever seen on a man, and with hair that looked like he was Kid of Kid 'n Play. I was hoping that he'd slouch after awhile, but no dice.

As the movie progressed, I swear his head was getting bigger and bigger, and it didn't help that he'd be putting on and taking off his glasses every couple minutes. I guess he wasn't sure if he was Nearsighted, Farsighted, or Blind. So, with huge head, giant hair and now an arm blocking my view, I had no choice but to lean to my left and right to catch the action on the screen. I looked like I was swerving through traffic in my seat!

But would I let this get me down? Absolutely not! I figured that after the week I've had, I'm about par for the course, and just lucky that in my life, I can bitch about mundane things like this. But that's what going to the movies is about: sitting in a room full of strangers and engaging in a collective experience.

Though I might think about bringing a pillow with me next time... ;)

A Victim of Semantics: Restaurant Jargon...

I was out with some friends last night, when I asked the waiter for a "side of onion rings" with my burger.

When the food arrived, I was expecting my burger to come with a basket of fresh, crispy, golden-friend onion rings. Instead, the waiter plopped down my food - with a side of RAW onions.

I said, "Excuse me, I had asked for a side of onion rings."

The waiter realized his mistake. "I'm sorry sir, I thought I heard you say just onions. Let me go and get you that side right away."

A few minutes later, as I'm digging into my burger, the waiter puts down a new basket - I smile until I look down and see only TWO fresh, crispy, golden-friend onion rings staring back at me.

TWO!

They sat there in the basket in all their negative-space glory, just utterly pitiful. Apparently, the waiter still didn't get that I wanted a basket.

My mouth was full so I couldn't call him back. My friends couldn't believe what was happening so all they could do was laugh hysterically at my expense.

I finally call the waiter back and explain to him that, "I'd like an ORDER of onion rings, please. NOT just rings for my burger.

"Oh! You wanted a SIDE ORDER of onion rings!"

"Yep, that's right."

"Man, you're being SOOO difficult," he said in his most sarcastic tone, and ran off to fetch me my fat-drenched, not-very-healthy-for-you SIDE ORDER!

By the time my SIDE ORDER of ONION RINGS came, my friends were fargone from laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. I had to laugh a bit too, for if I knew I had to be that specific, I would've written down my order and handed it to our waiter.

Oh, and here's the kicker - the waiter still charged me 99 cents for the TWO onion rings that came before, on top of everything else. What the heck!

But to still have a way to blog about this little food-fiasco? Absolutely priceless... ;)