Thanksgiving with the J-Dawg

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone. Jasper hosted Thanksgiving for the first time yesterday. Last year, we were in Minnesota with Uncle Willy and Auntie Kacia. This year, it was a party in Roxybury. Photo credit to Roz, and modeling credit to Jasper and Shaun.

Jasper had a great time hanging out, playing with everyone and smearing sweet potatoes on Daddy. He's such a personable kid. I think it's great that he gets along with everyone he meets. He was showing off a bit for the crowd. Everyone will tell you, the little man is quite a dancer.

Despite the horrible rainy weather, we grilled the turkey outside under a tarp that I strung out over the yard. It came out really well. I brined the turkey the night before and cooked it over indirect heat for 3 hours. I realized that this is the first time I've ever cooked a whole turkey. I wasn't nervous because it was on the grill. All that summertime bbq practice comes in handy.

I wish we'd taken a picture of the pie-o-rama before we made like Rumsfeld in Iraq and just made a huge chaotic mess. We had: pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple crisp, blueberry pie and of course, Dane's Grandma's unnamed chocolate pie/dessert thing. (Attempts to name the dessert, like the dessert itself are fruitless.)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Unlike Christmas, it's humble and simple. It's about food, community and gratitude. What's better than that?