The turkey entered the oven at nine. The back and front were seared for 20 minutes, then the heat was lowered and the automatic meat thermometer set to 160. The thigh temperature hit the mark six hours later, and the oven switched off.
We drove to Mimi's Cafe to pick up a couple of side dishes. (For $100 Mimi's will prepare a "holiday feast" that will feed 6 to 8 people, but never having outsourced Thanksgiving before, I didn't feel like entrusting the entire dinner to someone else.) Mimi's was strained to the breaking point; all tables were filled, plus the take-out line was ten deep. They had lost our order, which had been placed two weeks earlier. No problem, there were extra sides in the cooler, and they filled our order in 15 minutes. I was silently grateful (it is Thanksgiving) that I had not ordered the full holiday feast.
We returned home just in time to remove the turkey from the oven. Of course, today there are big things for which we are profoundly thankful, but a tender, juicy, flavorful bird certainly helped to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
© 2013 Stephen Yuen
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