Arrested Bird

I took no photographs of our Thanksgiving dinner with my family in Chicago, which should tell you how busy I was preparing our meal. With my mom still in Florida assisting our recovering grandmother, the joy of coordinating a family holiday meal fell to my sister Marisol and me. Thankfully, we are both as good organizers as our family members are eaters. This was my first attempt at roasting a 20 lb. bird, and the experience was frightening as well as exhilirating, more so because I was cooking for 12 people (or because I was cooking in place of my mom, I'm not sure!).

It is true that knowledge builds upon knowledge, at least so far as cooking, because I felt I drew from my relatively few years of experience to produce, in my humble opinion, a decent roast turkey. The keys to a good Thanksgiving meal, apparently, are days of feverous preparation, copious note-taking, endless shopping, and brining! Brining is King! With half our siblings now in Arizona, we few, we happy few, gathered to give thanks for good health, each other, and a year of life and blessings.

The only picture taken of my turkey was this one my brother-in-law Gilbert took. It looked better initially but since I'm no expert in table-side carving, I opted for the serving platter.

As we were getting ready during the day, my brother Hector dropped off our nephew Julian so we could spoil him, I mean hang out with him. Here he is in his new bumbo chair after my dad gave him a wine bottle with which to practice his guitar skills. Sitting on a bumbo, perched on a table, holding a wine bottle....precarious?

My niece makes her fabulous pumpkin pie. Everyone pitched in with preparation and food. Erica and my sister Marisol made the most amazing blackberry apple cobbler!