Gobble, gobble

The menu is planned, the bird is defrosting in the fridge, the shopping is done, but we haven't yet decided how we're cooking the bird. Jeff and I are agreed that we'll brine again this year, but my enthusiasm for grilling the turkey is not shared by the master griller. Add to that the fact that while we have a turkey and all the fixings, we didn't buy what we'd need to prepare the turkey (i.e. coarse salt for the brine, wood chips if we grill, string for trussing, etc). And after years of being very content with the cranberry sauce from the can (we experimented with dozens of hand cooked varieties in my family before deciding that we all just prefered the canned jelly), I've started thinking about cooking up cranberry chutney (recipe from Julia just looks too good to miss). I'd be the only one eating it, by the way, as my dining partner stubbornly refuses to eat cranberries (unless tricked; not possible next to a turkey on Thanksgiving). I'm thinking that we'll stay simple this year (no grilling, no chutney), if only to avoid the craziness of Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving-grocery-store-madness.

Stay tuned for updates on the final decisions, perhaps with pictures of the feast and roast beast.