November 26, 2003

Thanksgiving Plans

When people ask me what I'm doing this Thanksgiving, I tell them I have no plans. Well, that's not really true. Actually, nobody asks me about my plans. I'm all alone. Poor Monty!

Whoa. Where'd that come from? Two sentences in, and I'm off the rails. That's hardly the holiday spirit. Besides, I really do have plans, of a sort. I plan to sleep in. Whoopee! Also, I'm going to cook a turkey. I did that once before, and I really went all-out, following the Alton Brown method of brining first, and it came out okay. Unfortunately, since I'm all alone (Oh, woe is me!) I ended up with more turkey than I needed. A lot more. So this time, I'm just cooking a turkey breast.

I have the breast already. I almost bought a frozen breast that's designed to roast in the bag, but I don't think that's the way to go. Cooking on Thanksgiving should be something of a production, right? Sure, I could just have a microwave burrito. Nothing's stopping me. In fact, that sounds pretty tasty. I might get one of those right now. But for reasons of Tradition, turkey is called for on the holiday itself.

I don't have a complicated plan -- the recipe is basically "rub with butter, add kosher salt and black pepper, then roast over some celery, onions, and carrots. To add some fanciness, I'm going to make gravy myself, which will be fun. And, well, that's probably going to be it for The Feast. There may also be biscuits. And, um, I'll probably watch some television.

Okay, so maybe I don't have any plans after all. Hey, I just realized that I could keep changing my story every couple of paragraphs and get some extra length out of this thing. That'd be pretty clever. But it would be wrong. On the other hand, if I continue on my current position (which is that I have no plan, for those of you who have forgotten how this paragraph began) I won't have very much to talk about. Except possibly for this tasty microwave burrito I'm eating.

The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. And naturally, I traditionally don't go anywhere, because of the crowds. However, in another gesture toward what everyone else is doing, I'm going to go to a friend's house and buy up his stock of an out-of-print semi-pornographic collectible card game called Xxxenophile. How's that for holiday action?

Well, at least you don't have to deal with the crazy extended family stuff. Sometimes I'm not so sure it's being alone on the holidays that depresses people.

Posted by: Sheila at November 26, 2003 11:27 AM

Hey -- congrats on your Diarist nominations! If I had a blog I would totally be voting for you, but since M. Giant won't share his votes know that I am sending you positive vote thoughts in my head.

Also, you are welcome to come to our house for turkey day. Of course, that seems a bit extreme, since we live in MN, but hey, the more the merrier.

Posted by: Trash at November 26, 2003 03:27 PM

Well...seems you have a few invites already. Now I don't feel so badly for you. Company is overrated anyhow (written like a spoilsport, huh?). We used to do the come over, go over stuff. As the kids get older, and grandparents have passed away, and we grow more tired and cranky, Thanksgiving becomes less complicated. Of course, I continue to cook the traditional full meal (for three people) so we have leftovers that go on forever. After we eat, like all good old folk, we nap. Ah, tradition. Monty, if you find yourself in northern Jersey tomorrow, we've got plenty of leftovers for you.

Posted by: Donna at November 27, 2003 07:21 PM



	« Ow. My Face. \| Main \| Thank You » November 26, 2003 Thanksgiving Plans When people ask me what I'm doing this Thanksgiving, I tell them I have no plans. Well, that's not really true. Actually, nobody asks me about my plans. I'm all alone. Poor Monty! Whoa. Where'd that come from? Two sentences in, and I'm off the rails. That's hardly the holiday spirit. Besides, I really do have plans, of a sort. I plan to sleep in. Whoopee! Also, I'm going to cook a turkey. I did that once before, and I really went all-out, following the Alton Brown method of brining first, and it came out okay. Unfortunately, since I'm all alone (Oh, woe is me!) I ended up with more turkey than I needed. A lot more. So this time, I'm just cooking a turkey breast. I have the breast already. I almost bought a frozen breast that's designed to roast in the bag, but I don't think that's the way to go. Cooking on Thanksgiving should be something of a production, right? Sure, I could just have a microwave burrito. Nothing's stopping me. In fact, that sounds pretty tasty. I might get one of those right now. But for reasons of Tradition, turkey is called for on the holiday itself. I don't have a complicated plan -- the recipe is basically "rub with butter, add kosher salt and black pepper, then roast over some celery, onions, and carrots. To add some fanciness, I'm going to make gravy myself, which will be fun. And, well, that's probably going to be it for The Feast. There may also be biscuits. And, um, I'll probably watch some television. Okay, so maybe I don't have any plans after all. Hey, I just realized that I could keep changing my story every couple of paragraphs and get some extra length out of this thing. That'd be pretty clever. But it would be wrong. On the other hand, if I continue on my current position (which is that I have no plan, for those of you who have forgotten how this paragraph began) I won't have very much to talk about. Except possibly for this tasty microwave burrito I'm eating. The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. And naturally, I traditionally don't go anywhere, because of the crowds. However, in another gesture toward what everyone else is doing, I'm going to go to a friend's house and buy up his stock of an out-of-print semi-pornographic collectible card game called Xxxenophile. How's that for holiday action?
	« Ow. My Face. \| Main \| Thank You »
	Comments No one is ever alone on Thanksgiving. Besides you have hordes of loyal fans who are all thankful FOR YOU!!!! Posted by: Yobana at November 26, 2003 07:42 AM Well, at least you don't have to deal with the crazy extended family stuff. Sometimes I'm not so sure it's being alone on the holidays that depresses people. Posted by: Sheila at November 26, 2003 11:27 AM Hey, why don't you just come over to our house? We're having duck. Posted by: Maxwell at November 26, 2003 11:49 AM Hey -- congrats on your Diarist nominations! If I had a blog I would totally be voting for you, but since M. Giant won't share his votes know that I am sending you positive vote thoughts in my head. Also, you are welcome to come to our house for turkey day. Of course, that seems a bit extreme, since we live in MN, but hey, the more the merrier. Posted by: Trash at November 26, 2003 03:27 PM Happy Thanksgiving, Monty! My family is having a big turkey and all that--if you lived in Portland, you could have dinner with us. Posted by: Brie at November 26, 2003 06:34 PM Well...seems you have a few invites already. Now I don't feel so badly for you. Company is overrated anyhow (written like a spoilsport, huh?). We used to do the come over, go over stuff. As the kids get older, and grandparents have passed away, and we grow more tired and cranky, Thanksgiving becomes less complicated. Of course, I continue to cook the traditional full meal (for three people) so we have leftovers that go on forever. After we eat, like all good old folk, we nap. Ah, tradition. Monty, if you find yourself in northern Jersey tomorrow, we've got plenty of leftovers for you. Posted by: Donna at November 27, 2003 07:21 PM Syndicate this site (XML)

Thanksgiving Plans

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