I am thankful for...Leftovers!

Whew...what a night!

The turkey turned out very nicely, thanks to the detailed instructions provided by my friends at Butterball. Definitely will have to work on the carving technique though. By the time Jesse and I had finished with it, we had a plateful of turkey fibre bundles rather than slices. According to the Food Network website you are supposed to slice the breast parallel to the breast bone. Now that I have a meat thermometer I will have to roast some chickens in practice for next year! Also will need to discuss with Kevin gravy-making tips, if Mr. Gravy (as we call him) will divulge his secrets.

So, in the end we had 14 people, including Jenn and myself, crammed into our laundry room. (I know...The ambiance at Chez J and J leaves something to be desired, but the food will have you talking for weeks!) I literally had a handle from the foosball table digging into my back throughout dinner. Luckily eating didn't take too long and we could dismantle at least one of the tables to make more room to move around. The final guest list was varied, and full of an entertaining cast of characters:
- Me (drunk, red-faced and divulging secrets)
- Jenn (empty stomach made her particularly sensitive to the brandy-filled cranberry sauce)
- Kevin (loud as usual and drawing Cock-turkeys on the fridge)
- Cory (Kevin's cousin. He brought us two cartons of Breyers ice cream...we like him.)
- Lindsay and Chris (newly married, and slightly ADD - they left before dinner)
- Rodolfo (random Mexican guy who makes a mean mojito)
- Lance (friend of Rodolfo, music snob, and a big big jerk)
- Kate (a redheaded Hawaiian, lives up to her AloHo status)
- Britta (maker of pumpkin pies, and former Burwash buddy)
- Jesse (my Hamilton homeboy and carver of turkey...you'd think 3 turkeys in one week would make him good at it...)
- Mike (left his flowers at home, and drew a butterfly for the fridge...go figure...)
- Leah (you can't make friends with salad, which is why she'll be eating her leftovers for the rest of the week)
- Rakel (emptied out her parents' fridge, and (yay!) brought leftovers home!)
- Karen (always entertaining...the crepes, the Igminer, the salsa dance...party wouldn't have been the same without her)

Anywho...it was a really fun time. I wish I had taken photos...but I only took one...of the turkey (stop laughing!). We have loads of leftovers...especially desserts. So if anyone wants some pound cake/mousse/pie/ice cream...c'mon over.