Thanks-freakin'-giving

Holidays don't get much better than this. It started out with A- and I trying to find a container to brine my re-gifted 17lb turkey. Why worry about having a stew pot large enough to cook Nephew Benjamin in, and a refridgerator to keep it in, when you can use any clean, water-proof storage container and use the Great Outdoors. Global warming hasn't progressed so far that we can't use winter for additional cold storage. Just make sure to put the container in some sort of device that distracts and protects it from the 50lb local neighborhood raccoons. Like a contractor bag and some cinder-blocks. Soak the turkey in the brine for an hour per pound of bird.

The recipe for the brine is roughly 1 gal cold water to 1 cup of the following: kosher salt; raw sugar (or 1/2 white sugar and 1/4 molasses); fucking rough whiskey. I like to use Wild Turkey. It makes a man mean and meat delicious. (Hi Mom, meet Delicious. Mmm.)

Thanksgiving morning, we prepped and began roasting the bird, wiling away the hours drinking ginger & cardamom -laced french-press coffee and playing with the parrot. You can stuff a brined turkey with anything, or nothing at all - it comes out delicious either way. This year, I decided to experiment with some mild aromatics: Gala apples; red onion; garlic; rosemary; thyme; celery salt. Then A- cut up a single enormous butternut squash to roast with sweet potatoes, carrots, apples and Morrocan spices.

Delicious Spice Mix (we upgraded to tablespoons):
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
and a pinch ground cloves

Now the recipe I'm cribbing says to roast the squash at 450 for 45 minutes; but we're roasting the turkey simultaneously, so we're going to try 325 for 1.5 hours. If it ends up as delicious as it smells, pictures will be forthcoming.