Quite The Festivus Plus...

Tis a day to take and ponder all the good there is and how enjoyable it is to mark another year.  This year the day was spent in Seattle with Damon.  Talked with several people and got a heck of a lot of text messages.  Watched movies and took a long nap.  Leftovers were the meals of the day as the frig groans with leftovers.  So following is a summary of the Christmas Eve dinner that took about six hours to prepare.

Yes, this year I decided to take on the challenge of cooking a Turducken.  Have heard about them for years and so a couple of weeks ago I ordered one direct from Louisiana.  It arrived on dry ice and went right into the freezer.  Sunday it was put in the refrigerator so it could properly thaw.  Let the challenge begin.

I did not have a roasting pan big enough to hold the creation of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey.  Ordered the one that was stuffed with cornbread and pork rice stuffing.  Damon was a trooper yesterday making several runs to Fred Meyer to get the needed ingredients for the dinner.  The directions on the bag differed from those online and so I stuck to making sure it cooked to 165 degrees.  Indeed, it went in at 2pm and cooked until 7ish and then sat for over 30 minutes to rest.

Markie arrived a tad early and was starving from working at the wine shop all day and so we decided to split up the dinner a bit into courses.  First up, a lovely tomato and mozzarella salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.  Freddie's was sold out on fresh basil and so we did without.  Believe me, it was not missed that much. 

Indeed, Markie supplied the bubbles for the dinner and in the spirit of the season and his wanting to be unique arrived in a leopard trimmed Santa hat.  Always one to think outside the box. 

Here the turducken made it on the platter only after having the bottom drop out while transferring the creation.  To get a better idea of a turducken here is a fun video a friend sent along.  But it was time to eat and oh the feast that ensued.  Luckily we all realized that the eyes might be a tad bigger than our stomachs - even me - and so the frig is going to be supplying meals for the balance of the week.

In addition to the main course (above) there were two vegetable dishes.  A traditional green bean casserole complete with fried onions as well as a cauliflower dish with cream of mushroom and swiss cheese.  Both turned out quite nicely and Damon loves the latter.

Here is a cross shot of the turducken to give you an idea of what we were dealing with.  Funny how it has proven to be a dish much like the year I cooked a goose in New York City.  Fun to do once, but no need to do it again!  After dinner it was time to exchange gifts and below I am holding the plethora of gifts from Markie.  Some wine, coffee, salmon pate and a wine bottle opener.  Quite a festive hall.  Yes, the beard has gotten a little long.  But it will be going back to normal with the new year.  Getting a bit out of control in the spirit of the season.  How does Santa do it?  I hope however you celebrate that you made it a lovely day!