Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and the traditional turkey dinner is my favorite meal to prepare. I look forward to it, and I really enjoy the planning and preparations. Brining the turkey is truly the best thing you can do for a moist, flavorful bird. Seriously. If you haven't done it yet, make this year the year....you will never go back, I promise! (I will post my brine recipe in my next post.) In Maryland, I would put the turkey and brine mixture outside on the patio over night, with a rock on the stock pot lid to prevent any squirrels or other critters from getting involved. The outside temp was always in the high 30s or low 40s, just like the inside of the refrigerator. Not the case here in Key West! So my first official prep project is to clean out our outside 'beer and bait' fridge to make room for the turkey and all the extras. I've been cleaning out the refrigerator in the kitchen all week, using up or discarding leftovers and produce. It's nice to have the space available, plus it's a great way to start the shopping list. This morning I am also going to go through the freezer and check the cabinets to see what staples I already have on hand. My small island kitchen dictates these inventories....I don't have the space to keep extra stuff. The photo below shows John's cooler contraption to brine the turkey for our first Thanksgiving here in 2010, before we had the second refrigerator. We had only lived here for seven months but we had a house full of friends join us. The more the merrier on Thanksgiving, for sure. :)
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