I haven’t been cooking as much lately out of sheer lack of time, but when I have cooked I have made it COUNT. Like when I sort of winged a roast beef for dinner one night or when I successfully cooked a full-sized turkey for the first time ever.

my magnum opus

When The Modern Love Machine and I got engaged, the one thing I super badly wanted to register for was a roasting pan because I hate only having freshly roasted turkey once a year. It just seems like torture to have to go that long without. And learning how to roast a turkey is on my life list that I’ve yet to write (but will very, very soon).

I’ve been using this method. My first attempt was a small turkey breast because during late summer that’s about all you can find at the grocery. It was, well, OK. The second attempt was a very small turkey, more the size of a chicken. It was slightly better but not perfect. We all know the third time is the charming one. I took the lessons of timing and temperature from the first two and applied to this beauty, which turned out to be roasted to perfection. Juicy, juicy perfection. Which was a good thing, because I had promised a turkey for my church’s Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night, so I had no room for error.

And then the MLM made turkey stock, which was a double win for me. Gravy that’s not made out of a packet, here we come!

The MLM and I are driving today to Memphis, where we will spend actual Thanksgiving eating a turkey not roasted by me (but we will eat sweet potatoes pureed and streuseled by me) and fending off the crazy dealt by my family. At last count there will be 33 of us present for dinner. I will be doing work in the car today as we drive so as not to miss a single moment of them.

Happy fat-and-happy day!