My Thanksgiving Eve

(aka: the Great Turkey Hunt of 2011)

I thought everything was set. Due to an illness in the family, Thanksgiving was moved to my house. We decided on Monday... three days before the big Feast. Moved to my house, my responsibility. We had the turkey, so no problemo.

BUT - (There is always a 'but' when things seem to be going too well.)

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I suddenly became turkey-less in Seattle on Tuesday night (egads) which initiated the Great Turkey Hunt of 2011. With 16 Thanksgiving-eaters eager to feast, I needed to find a 25lb (or larger) turkey in less than 24 hours, and so here is how my strategic hunt played out on a very cold and very soggy Wednesday morning:

Visit to Safeway - $69 for a 22lb Butterball (THANK YOU, BUT NO).

Visit to Fred Meyer - no turkeys over 20 lbs. (I am shocked, and starting to lose hope.)

Visit to Trader Joes (in hopes of a fresh turkey) - no turkeys. At all.

Visit to Costco - no turkeys. At all. (Praying this is not a pattern)

Visit to Winco - Turkey Salvation!

After a $50 purchase at Winco, I got a beautifully, robust 25.42lb-Butterball turkey for $14 & change. No kidding! Oh blessed day! Unfortunatley, it was frozen solid. The thawing process deserves an entire post of its own, but suffice to say I thawed that BIG BIRD and we dined on an amazingly-moist turkey, the likes of which I've never tasted. I can't take all the credit - I have to give mad props to some dude named Chef John. I followed his video to the T, except I added a quartered Honeycrisp apple & fresh herbs inside the bird and I utilized my secret weapon, a Reynolds Turkey Oven Bag (worth their weight in gold).

While all of that thawing drama was rolling out in my bathtub - oh, the tales I could tell - I got myself busy with some of the other things on my To-Do List. Dave's siblings took on the majority of the Thanksgiving sides, so my only real food responsibility was the turkey & gravy. I also made a spinach/artichoke dip, raspberry lemonade, chocolate cream tartlets and baked a pre-frozen berry pie... mostly because I just wanted to. (NOTE: Dave says I am a classic "over-doer", and you know, he's probably right. Oh, ok - he's right!) I also played with my skinny-jeans-wearing Benjamin, fancied up my table settings all Martha Stewart-like (according to my brother-in-law), whipped up a quick, one-dish dinner of roasted chicken, onions, garlic & red potatoes, listened to Christmas music, watched the constant rain fall and stayed toasty warm thanks to our lovely fireplace. I give thanks for all of these things because they brought me little pieces of happiness on a pretty stressful day.

And to cap it all off, I made my Killer-Famous-Chocolate-Infused-Rice-Krispie Treats. They don't look fancy, but they are just so good and just what the doctor ordered to celebrate a successful hunt and another day in my Thanksgiving Week! And with that, I give you my Thanksgiving Eve in pictures (none of the hunt because, folks, I was a woman on a mission, and my camera was slowing me down!):