altad jeepsta 2009

I had a 20lb turkey languishing in my freezer, begging to be eaten. All last week I thawed it, then it got sunk in a cooler full of brine Friday night. Saturday morning, the bird went onto a wood-chip enhanced charcoal grill for a leisurely round of hot-smoking(temps at 200-275 degrees). After 4 hours of fretting, adjusting, stoking, and smoking, the turkey was finished. To accompany the turkey I made a roasted vegetable/feta salad to be served at room temperature. Fellow foodie Jo made wonderful twice baked potatoes that had a subtle burn from cayenne pepper, and the esteemed cook Rebecca made a crock pot of chili, a poppy-seed cake, and a lemon merangue pie. We had several wines with dinner, and 9 guests on short notice for this spontaneous get together. Jo had built a raging fire in our fireplace, and all evening long we sat near it, sampling the sweet desserts and picking at leftovers. Truely a great time.