Breaking Turkey Day Rules

Just as Kekla spent her Thanksgiving in a non-traditional way, I broke a few Turkey Day rules myself in what was probably one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever.

The plan for the day was to have Thanksgiving "dinner" around 2pm at my best friend's place, with her mother who was in town, and then I was going to have a late dinner around 8:30 or so for my friends who either had no Thanksgiving of their own or wanted post-family plans. Earlier in the week, my best friend and I prepped for her meal and the day before, I prepped for mine.

Once the day arrived, I got a bit of a late start and was still baking two desserts for her Thanksgiving and another two for mine. Eventually, I made my way to her place and the three of us cooked while we watched the parade and some movies. We had a delicious meal with a turkey breast and turkey leg rather than a whole turkey, but all the sides were typically Thanksgiving.

Soon after we were done eating, I made my way back to my place where I made buffalo chicken mac & cheese, green beans with mint and pancetta, and a creamy baked fennel. It felt really strange to go from cooking in a group with the tv on to being the only person home with only music on. But in some Thanksgiving miracle, I managed to make all of that, shower, clean a little, and straighten my hair in less than 4 hours and I was even prouder to have done it all by myself, especially when everyone tasted the food and loved it. I had been worried earlier in the week that nobody would show up, but a boisterous, fun group of friends all made it and had an incredible time.

There was no turkey, no family, and no downtime, but it was still my favorite Thanksgiving. It'll be hard to top next year!