Thanksgiving Day Meal Analysis

It's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm not pleased with either the meal or the company. First I was exhausted from not just the process of preparing the meal, but also the planning:looking through magazines for recipes and inspiration, the shopping: having to do a 2-state hunt for ingredients, and then have to actually brine the bird and prep everything else: staying up half the night with said brining & prepping. Only to wake at the crack of dawn to actually get that (rather quick cooking (18 pds/350 degrees/4 hours)turkey at last into the oven.

Second, being thus tired, I was compelled to take a nap at 3pm and overslept. I woke in a foul mood. The guests hadn't even arrived! I never eat after 6pm on a holiday at home. To hell, that I had several other things yet to fix...dinner rolls being one of the them. I declared dinner was what was already prepared. I wasn't cooking another thing!

And so Thanksgiving dinner was: Turkey (very moist and delicious from brining) and Oyster Dressing* (see recipe below), Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Mustard & Turnip, Buttered Rutagas, Giblet Gravy (I make monster turkey gravy), Spiced Pumpkin Cake (a two box cake recipe from Food TV's Semi-Homemade), Crispy Top Applesauce Pie (a recipe from Paula Deen).

I don't think anybody went away hungry.

OYSTER CRACKER DRESSING

Make oyster dressing as usual using cornbread but add a sleeve of saltine crackers for a pleasing textural undertone.