Thanksgiving memories

That's Nova, basting the turkey in 2018.

My kitchen staff checking out the mashed potatoes.

Little Maya, sweetly underfoot in 2015.

And dear "Roger," The Guardian of the Oven in 2017. We still miss you, buddy. He assumed this important Thanksgiving position after Golden Retrievers "Ricky" and "Lucy" both passed on.

Well, the good memories will have to serve for our solitary Thanksgiving tomorrow.  

I typed "Thanksgiving" in the search box on the top of the blog this morning, and up swooshed over a decade of stories and pictures of food and family.  So nice looking back on how lucky we've been.

Turkey dinners with all the trimmings are a lot of work, just ask anyone who's cooked one from scratch.  But there's nothing especially difficult about the food, other than the last minute gravy and kerfuffle to get everything on the table at once. With enough practice, you can make it look easy.

I've always enjoyed cooking Thanksgiving, because our family genuinely enjoys the traditional and simple dishes: turkey, dressing, potatoes, cranberries, vegetables, rolls, pie for dessert. Everyone chows down happily and the cook feels appreciated.  

Well, tomorrow the menu gets scaled down for two, but what's Thanksgiving without a big turkey? We can enjoy the smell of it roasting all afternoon.