Sunday: All that is left of our Thanksgiving meal three days ago are two tiny pieces each of pumpkin and pecan pie. That’s a good sign. 

It wasn’t a big crowd at the table this year. My sister, Christine, and her husband, Larry, cordial guests, drove to Taos from Marin County. So we kept the turkey to 12 pounds. I brined it over night in a cooler per TV foodie Alton Brown’s recipe.

As I put the meal together, I realized Thanksgiving is such a logical meal. The featured entrée is a turkey. Then, there’s stuffing although I no longer stuff a turkey since we’ve been sufficiently warned about the dangers if we do. I make mashed potatoes instead of the pan-roasted potatoes my mother makes. We do have roasted brussels sprouts now that I’ve learned to love the vegetable again. We need a salad, of course, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pies. 

It’s a lot of food but putting the menu together carries a certain rhythm. Pies and cranberry sauce are made the night before.  I simmer the neck and innards for stock for the stuffing and gravy.

The next day, the turkey goes in the oven. And in the 2 1/2 hours — more or less — it roasts, I prep the dishes. Everything is ready at about the same time.

I predicted eating dinner around 3 p.m. That’s what we did.

Yes, we had leftovers. I gave half to Christine and Larry to take back in a cooler. It took them two days to drive home, and my sister says she was thankful to have the food when they arrived.