I think I cooked the worst Thanksgiving turkey in the history of ever last week. Not to bog you down with details, but this year I took Alton Brown’s advice and roasted using my oven’s internal thermometer stuck in the deepest part of the breast and removed the bird when the temperature hit 161º, and then set it aside so it would continue to cook internally to the proper 165º. Not only was the white meat rubbery, but when I cut into the dark meat I saw bloody instead of clear juices.
My neighbor and his family took a short out of state road trip and he asked if I would go over a few times a day and care after his lab while he was gone. Since I was staying in town and wanted to be a good friend and neighbor, I agreed, and thought it might by a small way I can help support him as they fight his wife’s breast cancer. When he got back, he tried to give me money and I refused, but he threw money inside my door and left. I don’t mind accepting the cash if it makes him feel better, although I’d rather not and just serve the role of being a good neighbor, but he gave me a $100 more than what I expected, and now I’m left wondering if he mistakenly given me that Benjamin.
This was the first “real” Thanksgiving for DaughterGeeding. Unfortunately her very first bite was full of piping hot sweet potatoes and was followed by lots of screaming. To see the world through a child’s eyes is quite interesting – she didn’t know to spit the food out, so I had to dive in and do a quick finger sweep.
I talked to a Whataburger employee that worked a five-hour shift on Thanksgiving that covered both breakfast and lunch. They had a total of three orders.
It’s all about having perspective – When I watched Big as a kid, I just thought it was a funny movie and how cool it would be to immediately to be an adult and have no rules, I was ready to let my youth pass on by. The movie came on during the Stars channel free preview weekend, and when I watched the end, this time as an adult, I cried. Seriously, life can pass you by ever so quickly.
Speaking about how fast life can be, I was sadden to hear of Larry Hagman’s death, even if it wasn’t a big surprise as he was 81-years-old. As a kid I loved watching “I Dream of Jeanie” every afternoon in the summer and admired those Air Force Blues he was sporting, and while watching “Dallas” with my folks, I wished I owned a ten-gallon hat. And there was something knowing about how he came from a neighboring small town (the now not so small Weatherford) encouraged me to know that I could get “there” from “here”.
Hagman had a really interesting practice of not speaking on Sundays. It was nothing more than to rest his voice when he lost it once, but it should would be interesting to go an entire day without uttering a word.
Something that hasn’t been mention much was that Hagman was married to the same woman for 59-years. His wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s back in 2008 and he announced he had a treatable form of stage 2 throat cancer back in June 2011. I bet it was worst than what he stated, as he auctioned off a lot of his memorabilia back in June of that year, and I bet it was to make sure there were funds to help support his wife after his death.
The city of Dallas lived in the long dark shadow after the JFK assassination I think we can credit two men for getting us out of that shadow – Tom Landry for having so many great teams that when you heard “Dallas” your first thought now turned to Cowboys and football, and Larry Hagman for his portrayal of J.R. Ewing that made Dallas a part of pop-culture.
Back in October there were two teenage deaths in Coppell, TX, and I posted a video in which local pastors of the community teamed up for a call to prayer. This Sunday our church addressed the topic of grief and mentioned the two deaths and how it was time for such a sermon. Granted, I wasn’t in attendance the two previous weeks, but I’m disappointed this sermon didn’t come sooner, especially since the sermon only comes after the stewardship sermon series, which is the churchy way to encourage people to tithe, or give to the church. The proper thing to do, to minister to the community, would have been to take a break from the sermon series and address the need of the community.
I always felt one could be a good steward with things other than money.
A Jesus statue was “weeping” but a man found that it was only bad plumbing, and now is being charged with blasphemy which could land him in jail for three years.
All due respect to Alton Brown re roasting a turkey,but your thermometer should have been placed deep into the THIGH of the bird rather than the breast! Your bird was simply undercooked…..and I am thankful none of you got sick from eating it!
try the test kitchen's versions. also, if you want to be super safe, salt the bird under the skin, and leave it in the fridge for a day or so (already thawed when you salt it.) then when you go to roast it, put it in those turkey bags, with some onion, celery, carrots and whatever aromatics you want. the bag keeps the bird moist, and the skin still browns.
All due respect to Alton Brown re roasting a turkey,but your thermometer should have been placed deep into the THIGH of the bird rather than the breast! Your bird was simply undercooked…..and I am thankful none of you got sick from eating it!
try the test kitchen's versions. also, if you want to be super safe, salt the bird under the skin, and leave it in the fridge for a day or so (already thawed when you salt it.) then when you go to roast it, put it in those turkey bags, with some onion, celery, carrots and whatever aromatics you want. the bag keeps the bird moist, and the skin still browns.
and the salting works like a brine, without watering down your bird. 🙂