Yea, things went pretty well for you. I've never cooked a turkey before in my life, so you're definitely one up on me.

Hope you and your family enjoy the rest of the day. And by the way, the pic of your little girls reminded me of me and my sis when were were little. Ah, memories...

Yeah, Lani!

Hey, I think the turkey poppers were defective this year. My mom's turkey doodad never popped, so she finally stuck a meat thermometer in it and determined that it was done... so you may have to call this year a draw.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lani -
4 glasses? That's it? You are such a slacker. I don't even know how many I've had, but I do know that one empty bottle is in the trash, all dishes have been washed, the second round of food is now in the oven, a fresh bottle has been opened, and I'm still with you. (Sorry, we lost internet for a while, while a storm passed and our router was reset).
Don't worry about it being a little undercooked. I'm sure all was well. Yopu can just toss those pieces into a pot, along with ALL of the leftovers except the cranberry sauce, and make my favorite thing of all - THANKSGIVING STEW. Seriously, I wait all year for this. It's usually made on the Sunday followi8ng Turkey Day, and it makes it all worth it. Plus, what else are you gonna do with all of that crap in your fridge?
Just toss it all in the stockpot, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, turkey, ALL of it. Then add a bit of water and simmer it for a few hours. It really is quite awesome.
Yeah, I know it sounds bizarre, but try it. Really.
Just pour yourself another glass of wine and know that I'm thinking of you right now, and lifting my glass in salute to you and your brined bird.

Here's to you, Lani--you did it!! We just got home so I had to run to the computer to see how it all turned out! AND there were no firemen involved--that's ALWAYS a plus!! *grin* LOL! Next time, just get an old fashioned meat thermometer to check the turkey and stick it in the thigh. Thos stupid little pop-up buttons are crappy and don't seem to work very well most of the time...

My brother in law and I did the finishing touches on the food. I was stirring a saucepan of gravy and one of cheese sauce while he scraped the pan with the turkey drippings. (This was after I did the mashed potatoes.) Then one side of the oven went out--couldn't turn it back on--but at least we had a second oven to fall back on for the rolls. Then Jack (FIL) said I had to make a rou (?) before I thickened the gravy. O.K. Right. Fortunately I know just enough about cooking that I actually knew what a "rou" was AND how to make it!! *grin* (Gravy came out pretty good, actually.) Then the microwave began smoking and sparking and died... It was sad.

No wine, unfortunately. But lots of sparkling apple cider in three flavors!!

Gotta go download the pictures we took and figure out if I can download the video to the computer from my new video camera...

And it was wonderful spending Thanksgiving with some of my favorite people, both at home AND online! Dee, hope the second dinner is as good as the first! Have a glass of wine for me, would you?! Have a great weekend!

Oh Sheri, I don't even know how I'm still typing!
A glass? A single glass? I think I've gone far beyond that.
The second dinner was fabulous. My husband fried the turkey and it was jsut perfect. My second round of sweet potatoes, smashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and stuffing was probably better than the first. And the second group pf people was incredible as well.
Yesterday, we had the NoCar crew, which meant 20 people in the first wave of dinner today.
Tonight we have the VaBch crew, which is only 13 people, but they brought WINE. Geez, I am just in heaven right now.
Lani, you totally rock. Would have loved to have talked to you, but understand how busy you were. Still though, you done good, girl!
Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night!

I'm with Sheri - only 4 glasses, LOL?

Lani and Fish - thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving! (I miss Thanksgiving).

Trapped in Canada reading this was the next best thing to being there. Next year I might just show up at your place. On the upside I'll bring wine and I cook a wicked turkey.

And yet, we didn't hear from Fish.

So enjoyed it Lani. And yes, an instant reading meat thermometer will make life much safer. Just make sure that the internal temperature of the meat makes it too the minimum allowed temp, then take the turkey out to let rest for a half an hour while you finish things up. The bird will continue cooking and the temperature will rise during that half hour.

Must have been an epidemic of defective turkey poppers this year. Our bird popped its popper was imo just a tad underdone. No one said a thing. Smart people. You brined the bird. Why ?
Lost track of number of glasses of wine. 2 bottles--hey ! I had to share . Made up for it with the excellent brandy I deglazed the roaster pan with . Power gravey.