Thanksgiving, y'all!

I brined the turkey in a file box from Organized Living, I kid you not.

I spilled coffee on the pages of my year old Cook's Illustrated that had the pumpkin cheesecake recipe in it, and had to go to the internet cafe on Thanksgiving morning to download and print it out. (I've never been happier to subscribe online to Cook's Illustrated. Y'all, that pumpkin cheesecake was the BEST THING EVER.)

That was my biggest fiasco, though. Everything else- dressing, giblet gravy, squash casserole, creamed spinach (and oh how nicely the creamed spinach leftovers microwaved), onions and rice, homemade parker house rolls, and, oh, did I mention the cheeseball with Ritz Crackers?- was heavenly. The turkey, which I took out of its overnight brine and let dry for a few hours in the fridge, was moist and its skin was crisp crisp crisp.

The pumpkin cheesecake deserves a second mention. I did not love the faux-Derby pie I made- back to chocolate pecan next year, I think. And the brown sugar/bourbon whipped cream. I love Turkey Day!