gobble gobble

Today was my day off. I think I am going to switch to having Monday's off...but that is beside the point. My day off is traditionally the day that I will go grocery shopping. Today was no exception. I was wandering through the food section at Wal-Mart and thought to myself, "I think I want to make a turkey." So I bought one. Here was my thought process: I actually really don't like to cook. Many people will read this as an inability to cook. I can proudly say that is not the case with me. I am actually a very good cook...I just don't like to do it. But I thought that if I made a turkey (and hence making a lot of food at one time) I would have leftovers that I could eat for a week or so. Hence, less cooking. It made perfect sense in my head.

So I get home and realize that I need to thaw the turkey (We'll call him Fred). Fred is really, really frozen. So I proceed to thaw him in my sink. I started to thaw him at 2pm. I now realize that I am not going to get to eat Fred until late at night. But that is ok with me. So I press on. I then realize that I do not own a roasting pan, or a turkey baster. Drat. Luckily I am a resourceful little person....and Fred is only 9 pounds. I decide I can cook him in a 13X9 cake pan. I read the instructions on Fred's package and it tells me that he is a self-basting bird. Phew - I don't need to go buy a baster. Uh oh - I continue to read the directions and realize I do not own a meat thermometer. I actually thought of this while I was in Wal-Mart, but I got distracted and forgot to purchase one. No worries, I decide. The package gave approximate cooking lengths....I'll just go by that.

Fred takes a full three and half hours to thaw. By the time he actually gets stuff (yes, I made stuffing too) and into the oven it is 5:30. I cover him loosely with tin foil and begin to wait. I really love the smell of turkey in the oven. It brings up all sorts of memories of Thanksgiving with Dad. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Maybe that is why I love turkey. But I digress.

Finally, at 9:00 pm Fred is ready to come out of the oven. He smells delicious. Unfortunately, I am no longer hungry as I have been eating granola bars and oranges all day. So I take him out of the oven and let him cool. Since there is no room in my fridge for an entire turkey, I decide to carve him up all at once and put him on a plate. Easier said than done. Poor Fred ended up getting torn apart more than he got carved. But he made it onto the plate and into the fridge. I did sample some of him, and he is mighty tastey if I do say so myself. I think he will make a nice sandwhich tomorrow.