Tomorrow is Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving eve, and all is well - the tomato aspic is prepared and in the refrigerator. It will just be Craig, Colleen, Ken, and me for dinner tomorrow. Why am I needing to make 3 pies? Well, tradition says one must have mincemeat (actually Ken says we must have mincemeat) and pumpkin, and we have huckleberries from Montana that are crying to be put into a pie to be shared.

I scored on the turkey this year. I prefer fresh to frozen, but the commissary was already out of them. However, Trader Joe’s had fresh turkeys, and all of them, regardless of size were $9.99. And they are organic, for whatever that may be worth. So tonight Mr. Turkey will get dunked in a bourbon brine to ready him for the oven tomorrow.

2 cups coarse or kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 cups bourbon
2 gallons water

Add salt and sugar to 2 quarts of the water and heat until salt is dissolved. Combine with the remaining cold water, add the bourbon and plunk the turkey in the brine. We leave it overnight, chilled (on the back porch), then rinse and roast it in the morning.

This recipe was on last year’s Thanksgiving episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Cooper gets a bath tonight, just because. He always looks like an unmade bed, but he does look more handsome after a bath. As I was reading a website about honey, I learned that it is common for groomers to add some honey along with the shampoo when bathing a dog. Maybe we will try it. They say it makes the coat much shinier, and the stickiness of the honey goes away as soon as it is combined with the shampoo.

On that note, I will retire for the evening. Happy Thanksgiving to all and g’day to you Canadians who have already had your Thanksgiving.

Ciao