Colin, Marissa, and I had our own wonderful Thanksgiving together on Friday the 24th. It was a beautiful, sunny, but chilly day. I started cooking at 12:30 and just kept going until we ate at 5:00! A long day, but one of my best Thanksgiving meals yet! Not bad for a city boy!

While shopping at one of the local markets to pick up some dry goods for a food pantry, I noticed they had fresh turkeys. I can't remember the last time I had a fresh turkey. And I had never cooked one myself, so: done deal on that. What a difference in the texture and consistency of the meat; it was amazing.

One of the tricks chef Haller taught me is to sear the turkey first, then seal it up really good, and baste it about every half hour through a soaked cheesecloth. Of course, the oven has to be up at 525 to get the results you want, and I always - always - set off the fire alarm after filling the place up with smoke. This time, I just disabled the alarm for a few hours because even with three windows open, it was really cooking away! But the aroma... Unbelievable!

Along with the turkey — which I fixed the way James Haller from the old world famous Blue Strawberry in Portsmouth, NH had shown me back in the mid 1970's — I also made some acorn squash, and a big pot of thyme and marjoram herbed russet mashed potatoes. A salad, cranberry roll, and some hot cinnamon spiced apple cider finished off the menu. Nothing missing from that dinner!

Unfortunately for everyone who stuffed themselves too much, I was the only one left at the finish line later in the evening to have a slice of pumpkin pie smothered in whipped cream. Yeah, baby - that's what we're talkin' about!

Though maybe not appealing from the holiday flavor, the weather was handy for the glass company repairman who came out to replace Marissa's car windshield which had been cracked from a rock on her drive down from school on Tuesday. He had been scheduled to come out in the afternoon, but was able to meet Marissa here mid morning. While he worked on the car, we drove up and got a couple of movies for the day and she grabbed a donut and coffee.

And here comes the tree! The kids had insisted that I get a Christmas tree, and knew I couldn't be trusted to do so on my own, so they just informed me that wasn't going to happen. Of course I had to pay for it...

Here's the setup crew at work: Adrienne, Marissa, and Colin - with saw attacking the base of the tree.

Gary had come over right after work, but arrived too late to do anything but get in the victory picture.

After the initial searing process, I pulled the turkey out of the oven to drape cheesecloth over it so the basting juices would surround it. The whole place was filled with such a great aroma!

The girls took charge of the tree, which is definately a good thing...

While I struggeld through in the kitchen, we had "Man vs. Wild" on as Bear struggled through survival in the Florida Everglades. Everyone made short work of the snack plates which had been full of chedder chips, crackers, and turkey kielbasa.

Marissa really did it all. Here she is wrapping the stairway railing with garland and lights.

Colin capturing live on camera one of the many turkey basting events.

Only a picture of the table before the feast; no time during or after as everyone was too busy eating!

And bless her heart, Marissa took full charge of cleanup. Thanks, Ris! That was a big help for sure.

And here's a final shot of the tree. So, we transition now from Fall and Thanksgiving into the Christmas holiday season.