I awoke this morning to the sound of helicopters hovering overhead. This means one of several things: We’re under attack, the U.N. is in session, or, it’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was happy that it was the latter. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far. Mostly because it has not been tainted with the excessive marketing that has become Christmas. For some reason, Thanksgiving remains a day of enjoying the company of family and good friends with the only excess being the food. Let’s all enjoy it while we can, one day they will turn Thanksgiving into an occasion requiring some sort of gift giving. Who are they? They are the same people that have convinced a portion of the American population that deep frying is the preferred method of turkey preparation.

All joking aside, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will be taking today to remember what I have to be thankful for. Family and friends are at the top of that list. I won’t name names here, I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone by association, besides, you know who you are. Without you, anything else I might be thankful for is meaningless. Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.

I’d like to let my friends in on a little secret. I slept through much of my culinary school experience; what little knowledge I might have picked up through osmosis has been long forgotten. It is quite embarrassing for me when someone asks how long a turkey should be cooked for and I draw a complete blank. After a short conversation last night, I decided to do some research, I have found Butterball to be a seemingly endless source of holiday cooking knowledge. If you find yourself in the kitchen asking “what do I do next”, check out these First Timer cooking tips. They include the answer to the all important question: how long will the turkey take to cook?