Turkey-Lurkey!

Ah, the holidays are a-nearin' and I have zero to minus ten degrees of desire to get back to much-needed work at hand, so I'm going to take a quick break to post some Thanksgiving meal pics: food for an army, whipped up by yours truly & co. I do believe that my weeks of nordic walking have been made redundant due to Very Large Portions and No Regard to Degree of Fat in Any Given Serving. 'Tis the season...

So here you are, in photo essay style to lay out the chronological landscape:
(1) Peelin' the taters

(a little skill I developed (a) in the slammer (b) my years as a Navy cook on that aircraft carrier or (c) in Central Europe-- you be the judge!)

(2) pre-prep: the Kosher turkey meets the ham (mwhahaha!):

(isn't that just a 'tres' scandal combo? I didn't realized the ten-pounder we'd picked out was Kosher. But I took it on as an adventure and now I can say, "Oh the turkey? Everything was cool, it was totally kosher." )

(3) I present: the rutabaga, a Hoondlee family tradition--questioned by no one; loved by all.


(4) The rutabaga: a new perspective:


(5) Herr Malfeasance himself and the 'crack packets' (okay, so it's powdered sugar, but crack packet sounded funny at the time.)


(6) Ah, there are those potaters again...

(any good wannabe Hausfrau knows that exfoliating with the same steam from your holiday potatoes is the pinnacle of savy time management AND skin care...)

(7) "Ohhhhhhhh! more GRAAAAvy!"



(8) Any large meal needs appetizers (you know that time between taking the turkey out and letting it sit for a half an hour so the juices redistribute? SO hard to not be starving during that period.)

(Mozzarella balls and a 'melange' of olives, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and garnished with fresh thyme...so simple, so cheap, so light, and so a way to impress your guests! Add some good prosecco to the mix and you've got magic.)

(9) And the bird!

("Bite me, Martha Stewart!")

(10) Serving up...


(11) "MORE SPARKLES!" (Malf., 2005)


(12) ...and homemade pies. Note the lattice-top apple pie, home of the mysterious "Apple Pie Thigh" caper 2005...


OK, hope you enjoyed the above photographic evidence of debauchery, and that your Thanksgiving was swell as well. It was a fun weekend, topped with going out on Saturday night for a drink or two (or 'eighty-seven'; after two, who counts, really?) and meeting some new out-of-towner-never-to-be-seen-again friends, and of course, continued chowing down on Thanksgiving feast items. Anything to deny the workload! I think this whole weekend is why I'm so damn tired right now. Too much fun! Too much dish washing!

If anyone wants some pie, DO stop in.