Saturday Meanderings

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine. From the food to the family to the weather, it couldn’t have been more perfect! I am so happy you are joining me this morning for Saturday meanderings~a glimpse into the previous week’s activities.

The Turkey

We always buy a big turkey for this holiday. Whole Foods provided the 22 pound organic bird. When I picked it up, I asked if the butcher could break it down for us, however, the turkey (though fresh) was too frozen to cut it apart. This is the first Thanksgiving my son is able to convince me to try cooking it this way. So Benjamin (a big, strong guy) googled how to break down this bird and I can say, it isn’t for weaklings. So happy he is home to do this!

Again, we used the dry brining method on the turkey 2 days prior to cooking. This year we added a different dry brine recipe that has many more spices.

I can honestly say this is the BEST TURKEY EVER! Cooking a 22 lb. turkey took 2.5 hours. And it is delicious! Moist breast, crispy skin, perfectly cooked thighs….just yummy.

Here is the link to the Bon Appetit recipe in case you want to try this. Also, I highly recommend you have your butcher break down the bird or find a handsome, strapping young fellow to do so.

The Table

The weather has been very chilly (for us) in the mornings, but the day time temperatures are perfect. On Thanksgiving Day it was 71 degrees and we decided to set up the table outside on the back terrace. We’ve never eaten our holiday meal there, so it was very pleasant and gave us the space we needed.

My son’s girlfriend, Delaney did the lettering for the place cards. Aren’t they pretty? Calligraphy will be on list of new things to tackle in 2021. Anyone else want to do that?

The Cocktail

I love this picture so much that I thought I would share this cocktail. Created in the 1970s at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, the Jungle Bird is a tropical rum cocktail featuring a bitter hint of Campari. Recipe below.

The Desserts

Our dessert selection includes pumpkin and cherry pie. My husband is responsible for the pumpkin as he has his “secret” recipe. The cherry recipe is straight from Oregon Fruit’s website. No fancy cakes this year.

Cashmere Problems

With the change in temperature, I find myself reaching for sweaters to wear in the morning. One of my favorite gray cardigan is cashmere and when I put it on I discovered dreaded moth eaten holes. I’ve never had moth damage in the closet before. Sadly, we also have a cedar closet and some of the items in there have moth damage too.

So after reading a blog post from Between Naps on the Porch, she suggested buying a cashmere bag to store your sweaters. I will try this and see if it works for the very few remaining cashmere sweaters that I have.

Christmas Jammies

As you well know, Christmas holiday decor and celebrations do not start here at Bella Terra until after Thanksgiving. In order to welcome in the new season, I just bought these fun red/white striped pajamas from Soma. The pants have pockets and a drawstring waist~so very comfortable. Even though these pajamas are featured in their catalog, I could not find them online. However, the store at the Biltmore Shopping Center does have them in stock. Plus Soma has an extensive collection of other pajamas online.

Family Photo Holiday Card

Does anyone else have difficulties getting the family together for a photo? At least this year we didn’t have to google how to set the timer and have someone run back to the group before the camera clicks! Anyway, it is time to write the family holiday letter and get the card created. The annual goal is to get cards in the mail by December 15th.

Well that wraps up the week. If you are a reader, please check out my post this week on Reading and Relaxing here. Please enjoy the last few days of November. The holiday decorating begins and next week I want to show you the gorgeous mantels my blogging friends created! Stay safe and warm!