Thanksgiving -- Prep

This year marks the second year in a row Sarah and I have hosted Thanksgiving for family. Last year Sarah's parents and sister came. This year my dad, Teresa, and Andrew are coming for the big meal. Prep has begun. My turkey is brining. I tried this technique last year, using a recipe from the newspaper, of all places, and the bird turned out wonderfully. Now, our all-natural turkey is in a cooler full of ice, soaking in a bath of salt water, garlic, onion, chili powder, and honey. It will sit there until tomorrow when we take it out and put it in the oven.

I've relinquished the kitchen to Sarah, who even as we speak is making a pumpkin pie. Mmmm. . . pie.

I like Thanksgiving a lot, especially when Sarah and I can cook. Planning and executing a big meal like this is really fun for me. I think I enjoy it so much because it engages both sides of my brain. The left side gets the creative cooking aspect, while the right side gets the planning and scheduling of cooking times to do. It's whole brain goodness.

That sounds like zombie Thanksgiving. Mmmmm. . . whole brain goodness. . .