Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Is It Possible to Gain 15 Pounds In 4 Hours?




Canadian Thanksgiving was a roaring success. I am significantly fatter. That is, of course, the measurement by which I judge the success level of a holiday.

The football (see IG, I said FOOTBALL) match I was supposed to play in on Sunday afternoon did get cancelled. I was highly bummed. But hopefully the one planned for next Sunday will stay on. And it was probably for the best anyway, because we had a lot more preparation to do for dinner than I thought we would!

In our house, Chuck and I team up on cooking big dinners. Chuck's favourite dishes had to be started the earliest. Here his is chopping a pukeabaga, I mean, a rutebaga...





We actually had a small argument about the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga. Luckily it did not come to fisticuffs.

I made sure the table was set, and the beer was stocked!






Yes yes, the orange stuff was for the one teetotaler that we invited. We're not all sots you know! Just most of us.

We cooked a ham and a bone-in turkey breast, and when we went to open the turkey breast, we found that there were no giblets in the cavity!

Chuckles was highly disappointed. His specialty at thanksgiving is making his famous giblet gravy.

When I first met Chuck, I went down to Florida with him for American Thanksgiving in November. His sister had made some giblet gravy, and I was slightly horrified.

"Turkey HEARTS? IN MY GRAVY??? And what the hell is a gizzard??"

I must have turned green.

I've always been a picky eater, but I decided to suck it up and try it.

And it was delicious!

To this day I can't actually touch giblets without being grossed out. But I sure do love the word 'giblet'. Giblet giblet giblet. If I had a son, I'd name him Giblet. Gib for short. It would be cute! (This is why it's a good thing I'm not a mother.)

Anyway, with no giblets in the cavity, I ran off to the grocery store for the express purpose of seeing if they sold giblets seperately. And they do! Score!

They look way more delicious when they're chopped up, I promise.


My friends came over after 5. They came bearing ramekins of pumpkin mousse, and a nice bottle of Shiraz. And more beer!



I forced my friend Sean to carve the turkey while we were getting the last of the dishes ready to serve. He insisted on using the electric knife for obscene purposes.



Hell, all three men attending are Irishmen. I should expect shenanigans.

How many Irishmen does it take to carve a turkey? Two.

I don't even have a punchline. It just takes two, huddled quietly in the corner.



That's Sean's girlfriend Andie on the left, and my friend Kristyn from work on the right. Her boyfriend Dave was probably outside smoking.

Here's me showing off the present my Mum sent me. Perfect for Canadian Thanksgiving!





My stepdaughter was also in attendance. Here she is in her natural habitat...in front of the computer, watching YouTube.



Dinner was absolutely delicious. We decimated the meal. After we were finished eating (actually we were kind of grazing like cows until late night), we all fell into a tryptophan coma. A couple of us had the meat sweats.



Andie had the same reaction to the gravy that I first had when I heard about it. Although she didn't find out until after she had eaten it...which was probably a good thing.

"You mean giblets are organs? There are organs in this? I just ate organs??'

Luckily it was delicious, so she forgave us.

And now that thanksgiving's over....I'm gearing up for thanksgiving!

In 4 short weeks, we'll be ready for round two!

If you need me, I'm going to be jogging. A lot. Because if I put on another 15 pounds, someone might accidentally shoot me with a tranquilizer dart and tag my ear.

13 comments:

Turling said...

Umm...you do realize that what you had in the cooler wasn't actually beer, right? And, I'm not referring to the orange stuff, either.

Anonymous said...

Dear Kyna, Clearly a good time was had by all.....and a second Thanksgiving still to come!

It may come as no surprise to you to learn that I love giblet gravy and I think that it is the most perfect accompaniment to roast turkey.

In Budapest, chicken heads, turkey heads, chicken feet, turkey necks, chicken livers and gizzards etc. etc. are always available in the market. I must confess that even to look at these items piled high is difficult but my cook/ housekeeper regularly purchases them for soups.

Steve Asbell said...

Pukebagas are gross, giblets are gross, turnips are gross. This post wasn't gross though. It was actually entirely different from gross! by the way, nice pose, Fonzie!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey Canuck Girl !
Love the apron by the way (due to the fact I never wear one .. and no.. I don't cook NUDE ! now that would KILL an appetite I tell ya'!!
The miracle of actually looking at and finally SEEING the CUSTOM frame managed to snake its way into the brain pan and it WORKED !!! Holy crap I almost feel brilliant ;-( LOL
So I want to thank you a million times over for having this clip .. I am addicted by this group (until they change my medication again probably?) hehehe
Love the gibblet story and YES the difference between TURNIPS and those other things is VAST !
And .. since I am also married to Irish .. yes .. it takes more than one to carve a turkey .. I won't let husband have an electric knife though .. I draw the line there !
You lucky devil TWO turkey dinners .. ok .. who snuck the ham in? hehe
Thanks again girl you did GOOD for an old broad ! hehehe
Joy : ) .. actually ..I'm not old .. just seasoned ?? wink wink
PS .. I swear the WV is making fun of me or is that the paranoia again? eeekkkkkkkk !!

Anything Fits A Naked Man said...

Nothing better than good food, good wine, and good friends, huh? Looks like you had it ALL there! Congrats!

Liz said...

Hi Kyna,

Must admit I'd turn green at the thought of giblets, cool word though!

I'm a picky eater and cut any sign of fat, vein, tendon out of meat I cook. Doesn't leave me with much, but then I don't eat meat often.

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Ok, that's it...the next turkey in residence on this farm will officially be named Giblet. Has rather a nice ring to it actually :P Although, the thought of giblets in my gravy does make me a bit squiffy...but I'm a Brit, and had some rather traumatic organ meat experiences as a child...namely being practically force-fed liver, and kidneys in various dishes. Ewww. It's amazing I'm not vegetarian. I'm with Turling BTW, we need to find you some better beer. Personally I'm not a fan of beer I can see through, but I'll overlook it this time as it looks like a great time was had by all :)

debsgarden said...

Thanksgiving is not complete without giblet gravy! It is also my husband's specialty. It looks like you had a great time. How wonderful that you get to celebrate twice! (Just keep jogging!)

Kyna said...

Turling: Ha! My trick worked. I photographed Bud Light on purpose, so that you'd be forced to leave me a comment. Because I was betting on IG or you to bust me on it first. You beat everyone to the punch, Mr. Artois.

Edith: I do refuse to eat anything with a head still on it...even a fish. I just can't do it. And I think if I saw a chicken head sitting on my counter for soup purposes only, I still would be a bit green.

RG: Do you know what's funny? Most of my classes for my university degree were in the Forensics field. That's what I wanted to go into. A dead person? I can handle that. Touching a turkey giblet? I don't know why that bothers me...

Joy: Suuuuure you don't cook nude....now I know why your husband loves you so much O_O Just whatever you do while naked, just DON'T COOK BACON. Bad idea, trust me.

AFANM: Bingo! What a great evening. :)

Liz: I actually have an issue at thanksgiving, because I don't like my food touching. I have to have two plates, so everything is nicely separated. Certain fat isn't so bad, like pork fat. But chicken fat? Bleah! And I can't stand it when people eat things right down to the bone. I CANNOT gnaw on a chicken bone. BLEAH.

Clare: Aw, that would be so cool! :D

It's so funny, we love dark beer. The reason why we chose American Piss Water, is because of two things: it's much cheaper when you're feeding it for free to others, and we are not rich people. And also, it doesn't fill you up as much (and therefore taking up room that delicious turkey could be filling), whilst still doing the job alcohol is supposed to do. AND (look there's a hidden third reason) I can drink way more of them. Not nice to be drunk on Smithwick's (which is actually my favourite beer) at 6:30pm, when I could still be puttin' away Bud Lights at 11.

Deb: I tried to jog this morning. When I went to put on my shoes, my feet whispered 'It's yooooour vacaaaaatiooooon' in a ghostly and convincing voice. So I'm sitting on my arse instead. Tomorrow, I will jog!

If my feet let me.

Chloe m said...

I think I might have been my mom's only kid to actually eat liver and giblets.... and I lived to tell the tale. I think Giblets sounds like a character from Lord of the Rings or something.
Looks like you guys had a fun time gorging. I am looking forward to our Thanksgiving feast.
Love the meat sweats, Lol.

Kyna said...

LOL @ the LOTR comment :D That's what Gimli's name would have been in a satire...

My mum loved liver, and things like beef tongue. She never forced my brothers or I to eat them though. Or fish. Her dad was a hunter and fisherman up in the North, and she said she ate enough fish to last most of her life. Recently she's been able to start eating it again though lol.

Bub said...

Years ago, very shortly after leaving home, I proudly cooked my first roast dinner. I took the turkey out of the oven and discovered a bag of giblets. No-one bloody told me they were there and that I should have removed them before cooking.

Plastic bag flavoured turkey - yum.

Looks like a great time was had by all, and you get to do it all over again in a few weeks - meat sweats round two!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey Canuck girl .. Yup ! that bacon thing was a huge OUCH indeed ! now when I smell bacon cooking I hide under the table ? hehe
I am waiting to see if the holes are made by ALIENS actually ? hehehe
Did I tell you I loved the "Chicken-in-boots" photo op with the BIG mama pumpkin and min me ? too cute ;-)
All these pictures really set a turkey dinner & much more atmosphere .. now I want to drink orange crush !! eeekkkk
Joy : )
PS .. we ate all of our turkey already .. note to self .. buy a BIGGER turkey !!!
PPSS your WV is still making fun of me girl