Black Friday

"Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York" -- Richard III Act I Scene I(William Shakespeare)

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and it's cold here in Clear Spring. Extremely cold. Nestled in this valley known as Blair's Valley, where Clear Spring is, the wind rushes from north to south between the two mountain ranges with the force of a ramjet engine, making it seem much colder than it is, and this little apartment has less than adequate insulation.

It's also my ex-wife's birthday. I don't know where she is or I'd send her a card.

It lends new meaning to the term, Black Friday. If it gets much colder than it is now, my son and I will literally freeze to death indoors. I have the heat turned up as far as it will go, and it's still frigid in here. I just turned on the oven for extra heat. It looks like I will be using part of my Christmas money to buy a space heater.

Anyway, how was everyone's Thanksgiving?

I did something this year I'd never done before and actually roasted a turkey in the indoor oven. Up until this year I always barbequed one outdoors in my wood smoker. It came out very good. I used my homemade poultry barbeque rub to season it and it came out much better than I had expected.

I am very good at barbeque but I wasn't sure how to roast a turkey indoors so I am pleased with the result. The only thing that was unexpected was how long it took to cook all the way through. The instructions for roasting a turkey that I got off the internet said for the size of turkey I was doing, it would take 3-3 1/2 hours. It only took 1 1/2. But it got done. I know. When I poked it with a fork the juice that came pouring out was clear, a solid indication that the bird is done.

It looked something like this:

Here is the recipe for my famous "yardbird and hog" rub:

1/2 pound light brown sugar (dried)*
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon chili seasoning (I used chili powder)
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Sift and blend well. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place. Yields about 1 1/2 cups.

*To dry brown sugar, place on a sheet pan and let sit for 2 to 3 hours. Stir every hour. Sift out lumps.

I sprinkled the bird liberally (yes, I know, It's the only thing liberal about me) with my famous rub, and placed it in an open pan in about an inch of water, and roasted at 325 degrees. It came out both flavorful and moist.

Now I have to go to work, and after that, SHOPPING!

Note: I am disabling moderate comments. Because I miss Bruiser and Toad! Although I didn't have to delete anyone's comments, I think moderation may have intimidated some from making comments for fear that I might not have allowed them. Besides I don't have time to sit here and check my blog all day. And it's kind of fun to read the silly ones.