Happy Thanksgiving to All

And let the cooking commence! Of course, it's not a recognized holiday here but with all the Gringos, all the restaurants are offering the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, reservation only at most. My friend, Dan at Sunrise Restaurant, loves to have his friends, employees, and patrons come eat at his place for a private buffet Thanksgiving dinner. Turkeys are expensive here and a 20 pounder can set you back over $60. He bought three big 'uns year. A traditional Thanksgiving dinner costs big bucks here, if you can find the stuff.

This year is like an almost instant replay of last year. I volunteered to cook two turkeys since I have a big oven. It's almost become a tradition now. Last year, I calculated the cooking time and thought I'd have time to go to the beach. I didn't consider when cooking a bird in a bag, the time is shortened. I returned to a burnt smell wafting from my house. I was in a panic since THAT WAS the featured dish! It was fine but the meat did fall of the bone. Dan liked that, not much carving to do. I learned then, it's hard to screw up cooking a turkey. Dan was a real sport about it.

This year I am ready. I consulted with Hal (a fabulous cook) and got the calculations figured out converting Kg to Lb and the cooking time. That's the hard part for me. In talking with him, I remembered what went wrong last year (cooking them in a bag) and now I am ready to commence the turkey cooking. Dan and his crew are making all the stuff like mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, etc. He bought two pecan pies at Denny's (FORTY DOLLARS!) and some apple pies. I'm making some side dishes like the gravy and turkey dressing plus my (almost) famous three chocolate brownies with chocolate icing topped with a cherry. Oh yeah, and some deviled eggs to keep it southern. It helps keep my culinary skills honed. After all, I do profess to be a housewife without a husband when people ask "what do you do" (I hate that question almost as much as "why did you move here"!).

I've got every big dish in my house washed and ready to be loaded with goodies. A big thermos to keep the gravy hot. That's the hardest part, transporting all of it and getting that turkey cooked just before the carving time. I am still having panic attacks thinking that maybe I am forgetting something but that's just my nature.

Times like these, I do stop to think of all the things I am grateful for (like having running water in my house today) and there's too many to list. Mostly, I am grateful I have the opportunity to live where I choose and to live debt free. At Mas x Menos grocery yesterday, I saw a gringa with a one inch stack of credit cards. She was shuffling through them trying to decide which one to use. That USED TO BE me! No more. I have a new way of life living here. AND I love it!
(I can hear the "Free Bird" song playing in background)
BTW - Today is drop dead gorgeous day in paradise!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all.