So much of Thanksgiving these days is associated with eating, but the most important part of Thanksgiving is taking a moment to simply say thanks.  2008 was definitely my hardest year and lots of people helped me get through it which was amazing.  Like every year I’ll do a blog post to recap the year so I won’t say too much but 2009 has been fantastic.  It has had some stressful times like any but it has to be one of my favorite years so far.

In 2009 I’m thankful for my fantastic little man.  I’m thankful for the patience he has taught me and is still teaching me.  I’m thankful for my parents who I’ll be seeing again in less than a month.  I’m thankful for my sister, my brother in law, and my awesome nephew.  I’m thankful for my girlfriend of almost a year who is crazy enough to love a single dad and all of the difficulties that comes along with it.  I’m thankful for my friends, my co-workers, family, extended family, and my reading audience!  I was going to send an email to everyone but figured anyone who really knows me knows to check my blog so happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks!

OK so now that we have that “lovey dovey” stuff out of the way lets talk turkey!  My man Alton Brown was at Google this week to answer some Thanksgiving questions.  If you want to watch the full hour long video you can do so here in HD.  I liked the turkey frying section of the video (embedded above) because I’ve always wanted to try a fried turkey.  Maybe in a year or two I’ll try it and you know I’ll blog about it.  I went to my local Safeway and bought a frozen turkey and I have no idea why.  I’m a holiday guy and even though I may have that turkey in my freezer for two more years I’ll be ready and it was only 80 cents a pound!  Any way, here are my notes from Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving talk in case you don’t have time to watch the full video:

• Don’t baste the turkey!  People think it makes the skin crispy but if you put milk on your corn flakes does it make your cereal crispy?  Of course not and neither does basting your turkey.
• If you brine your turkey it will help keep the moisture in (no basting needed) and gives the turkey extra flavor.
• Frozen are generally better unless the turkey is really fresh meaning you didn’t buy it from a grocery store which is rare.  Here in California I think my Safeway frozen turkey will work just fine.
• White meat is from the fast twitch muscles and the dark meat is from slow twitch muscles.  I’m a white meat kind a guy myself.
• Alton is getting his pilots license and may do a Feasting on Air series next year.  I loved his Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves series.  I definitely preferred the Feasting on Waves series and if you get a chance check out this one filmed at St. Kitts.  I’ve actually been to St. Kitts where I got to ride a mountain bike all over that island which was fun.  Probably wouldn’t have been too safe if I wasn’t with a large crowd and a guide but still fun.  Actually anywhere in the Caribbean or a very warm climate with lots of crystal clear sea water to me is my idea of paradise!

Wallpaper

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” – Chinese Proverb

If I am brain storming a website design I use this image to get me started.  I print it out and sketch out what I envision the page to look like.  If you want to download it you can do so here.  It is a fun way to get the juices flowing as there is something about a blank browser window that inspires you to fill it up as opposed to a blank piece of paper.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.