Thanksgiving Wrap

I'm reading lots of "what I'm thankful for" posts on Facebook and Instagram, and that's so nice. Warms my heart, truly. Me? I'm writing about what went well (and not) with my meal.  If I don't write this stuff down, I will forget.

Here goes:

First, a big shout out to my friend Ashlyn Murphy and her mom for recommending the dry brine turkey. It's a Southern Living recipe, and was the easiest bird I've roasted (no basting! no turning!), not to mention delish. Thanks, Ashlyn. Until you tell me otherwise, this will be my go-to bird plan.

Second, the turkey was done two hours too early. TWO HOURS. I was full-on panicked. I called my man and my brother into the kitchen and started barking out orders. "You, set the table. You, go get the casseroles from the garage fridge. Move it!" The upside of the early bird was that we finished our meal and had a clean kitchen in time for a 2:20 movie (the last installment of The Hunger games -- not great, but I was sitting down, so kind of perfect).

Third, I must make more stuffing. Just more. We ran out Thursday night, so after Black Friday shopping for approximately nine million hours, I crawled into the kitchen to chop celery. Thanksgiving leftovers are not really leftovers without stuffing. Dearest family, you're welcome.

Fourth, my last sweet potato casserole is in my rearview mirror. Everyone says they can't live without it. No one eats it. Forget it.

I spent several weeks obsessively making lists and buying all sorts of pretty new things for my table: a delicate white platter, matching serving spoons, linen napkins to match Matt's grandmother's china. Know what I wished I'd bought? Trivets. Trivets trivets trivets. Right about 11:30 Thursday, I took a pile of dish towels out of a drawer (none of them matching my carefully planned table) and scattered them over my table so I wouldn't scorch it. Stupid trivets.

For dessert, I bought TooJay's cheesecake and Bluebird pumpkin cupcakes, and I baked two pumpkin pies and a Derby pie (think pecan pie plus chocolate chips). There was Cool Whip and ice cream for those who love extra goo. My brother took one look at the Derby pie and said, "You made this?" Um, yes, and it was fabulous.

Other highlights: playing Things and Backgammon, lots of neighborhood walks with the dogs, early morning runs, and five dollar Martha Stewart towels at the Macy's doorbuster. And one very long nap under my mother's quilt, windows open, with Aberdeen dozing nearby.

Sweetness at the bottom of the pie.