Turkey day was a success! True, the deep fried turkey wasn't cooked all the way through. True, I was an hour late to get all the food on the table. But really, did anyone notice... NO! This Thanksgiving had been in the works for a year. Not only did Carlos want to fry up a big bird but what he really wanted was a big party with friends and his family to fly in from Miami. Well, he got most of his wishes. We fried up a big turkey. We invited quite a few of his friends. But more important than anything, his mom and uncle would come to Los Angeles and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Carlos grinned from ear to ear for weeks and weeks and weeks!
So... guess who was cooking for nineteen people on Thanksgiving? Wild guess? Anyone? Anyone? Just little ole me. As the numbers inched upwards of 15, I started to get nervous. This would be quite a feat for anyone to accomplish and I had never planned a dinner for that many people.
Thanksgiving Day morning, Carlos and I woke up at the late hour of 8am. We got up, got dressed, had a small breakfast ... cafe con leche and cereal & milk. Then we went for a nice leisurely bike ride through Eagle Rock. Came back around 11am and into the kitchen I went. And in the kitchen I remained until we served dinner at 7pm. I would go into the details of my day in the kitchen but everything happened so fast (in a slow motion kind of way). I don't think I could remember all the details except to say... chopping sage is not a fast process. Boiling potatoes is not a fast process. Although it felt like everything was moving along and I was a busy bee cooking... the dishes were not coming together quite the way I envisioned. So, when my family showed up, I immediately put my mom and sister to work. My mom rolled sweet potato gnocchi while my sister worked on the sage & brown sugar sauce. Yes, dare-devil me thought I would try some fun new recipes... just to add to the craziness of putting together a tasty menu for 19 people!!!
By far, the best-est moment came when Carlos carved into the fried turkey to find it mostly pink. Yes, correct! an inedible turkey (that is, unless you favor salmonella). Hallelujah for my inability to argue with my father and tell him not to cook that second turkey. Oh yes indeed! Ladies and Gentlemen, it was my daddy's roasted turkey that fed 19 people on Thanksgiving 2008!
Our fried turkey went into the oven for 45 minutes and was quite delicious. Although, that experiment did not turn out the way we had hoped, it was a good lesson. And, for first time fryers, we can proudly say that we did not burn down any structures (i.e., house, garage, neighbor's house, etc., etc.).
In my books, it was a huge success. Our parents met each other and LIKED each other. My parents were certainly more excited about my relationship with Carlos after meeting the 'in-laws'. Carlos' mom felt the exact same way. I know this because she asked me if Carlos could just move into my house (there is a back story but that's another blog tale).
Happy Thanksgiving!
