Turkey Day

Our local turkey farmers for this year's Thankgiving.

Mom and I took a drive out to Blythewood this afternoon to pick up our heritage turkey from Doko Farm. We had a slight disagreement over turkey size at the farm. I had ordered a small turkey and asked the farmer, Amanda, for the smallest she had. Mom wanted bigger. I assured her there would still be plenty of leftovers. Never in the history of Thanksgiving have we ever finished off a turkey. Here's a wry explanation from Esquire as to why: www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/why-turkey-sucks.

It was nice meeting the farmer, who also gave us some free strawberry plants that she was planting and had too many of. But it was a little disappointing that the turkey was frozen — then again, I didn't ask why this was, so there could have been a good reason. It cost a pretty penny, but this is the first turkey I have ever purchased, so I can't be sure how pasture-raised, heritage-breed compares to the mass-produced variety price-wise.

We're brining our turkey before we roast it this year. (Doko Farm recommends this, as well.) A few years back, I had Thanksgiving with a friend who used a cranberry brine, and it is the one and only time I have had turkey that I actually went back for seconds of. The friend didn't use a recipe, so I've scoured the internet for something similar and will be using this one for our 8.5-pounder.

I've been planning this meal for over a month now — can't wait til Thursday!