Conclusions . . .

THE TURKEY
The turkey came out perfect! We've perfected the turkey roast - we start it in one of those oven bags (the last half hour or so we take off the bag and let the skin crisp up) and we put a thermometer in the breast and put some celery and onions and carrots in the bottom of the bag and all we season it with is salt and pepper. The secret is to get the breast meet up to 165 and let it carry-over cook outside the oven to 175-180 - and then let it rest, rest, rest. We actually let it rest for about an hour and it was still plenty warm to serve with everything else. It was an 18 pound bird and it was delicious.

THE DIET
We decided against "diet" anything (except some cranberry sauce that I made with splenda instead of sugar) because we figured that this was only one meal and that eating real things would be more enjoyable than trying to fit our diet plan into Thanksgiving. My rule was that I could have anything that fit on my plate, I couldn't go back for seconds and I couldn't pile anything on top of anything else. It worked well - although I know I went well over my points for the day.

THE PIES
Since we decided against anything diet, we also decided to add a pecan pie to the mix. For no other reason than we could. It's John's family tradition that the men are the ones who make the pies the day before any holiday - and the women roast the turkey and put together the side dishes on the day of the meal. I think it's a fine trade off - I think pie crust has to be the fussiest of all pastries. We have been known to purchase the pre-rolled out stuff in the years where there was no patience for homemade pie dough. Enter America's Test Kitchen's new pie dough recipe! Their "foolproof" pie dough is really amazing. There was one small problem - it uses vodka as an essential ingredient. We talked about it and determined that it was worth running into the bishop at the Walmart with a fifth of vodka in our cart to try out this recipe. I'm so glad we did (and that 5th of vodka should now last us for another five years worth of pie!). It is an excellent crust that was easy to roll out and handle and it tasted just like a pie crust needs to taste. We also used all the recipes for the fillings for the apple, pecan and pumpkin. Seriously people - America's Test Kitchen cookbooks are essential in your kitchen - the blue baking binder (thank you to my brother and his wife for the Christmas gift last year) and the family cookbook binder are the books I choose to keep on my countertop at all times. I use them a lot! Anyone who wants an all-around good cookbook should ask for these for Christmas.

THE NAPKINS
I pulled out the fancy China, the gold silverware and the cloth napkins. I put fresh, pressed tablecloths on the tables and we ate with our pinkies up. Not really - but I really think a fancy table can make the difference between a good meal and a great meal. I don't mind cleaning the dishes and laundering the linens. I love the way our table looked with all the food and the smiles and the people - it was just as I imagined it should be.

THE PEOPLE
We had a good group of folks come out and join us for the holiday. Grammy came (even with a heavily bandaged nose from skin cancer surgery) and John's uncle and aunt and their children. They ooohh'ed and ahhhh'd right when they were supposed to and they said everything was good (which it was). We played some games while our lunch digested and then we had pie and everyone went home with full bellies and doggy bags.

THE THANKS
I am truly thankful for my family in Arizona. We love having people we can share holidays and special events with. I'm thankful that we could host this Thanksgiving and share the love we have with our family.