Day Nine
It was the evening before Thanksgiving when my cell phone rang. Our friend who was supposed to be roasting the twenty pound turkey for the next day was sick, and had to withdraw from the festivities. I'd never roasted something so large, at least not at home, on my own. The closest I had come was during school, but with a horde of other eager students' eyes to rely on, that wasn't really the same thing.
For a moment, I wondered if we should just let it go, but my friend, Lauren, and I were determined to save Thanksgiving. We met up that night and dressed the bird together, stuffing herbs and butter under its skin, rubbing it down with salt and pepper, stuffing it with garlic, and plugging it up with a gigantic orange. When we were finished we gawked at how fancy it looked and shoved it back in the crowded fridge. The next morning, my husband and I got up early to start roasting the turkey. It took hours and hours, far longer than our calculations estimated. But when it was done, it was the juiciest, most tender and flavorful turkey ever.
Sometimes the best challenges are the ones you don't see coming. These are the things you don't have time to hem and haw over. There's no room for over analyzing when a twenty pound turkey lands in your lap. You just trust your gut and get it done, and after it is all over, you can sit back to enjoy a big plate of satisfaction.