Hello all. I’m posting this a day early because Thanksgiving really should be a time for giving thanks, despite the challenges of 2020. You don’t need to be reading blogs, scouring Facebook, or picking through Twitter or Instagram on Thanksgiving. Give it a rest.

I once again thank my friend Elon Werner for stepping up to do this. He’s allowed me to put “the pedal to the metal” on my new book and I’m cranking out chapters I really love at a critical time in the plot. And my editor Greg Halling likes them as well. When I share a chapter with Greg and the response is, “Great pace, great vivid detail, and really well done. Hardly touched a thing” that’s like hitting a grand slam in the 9th to come from three runs down to win a huge game. (Blogger’s note: I did that once, with two strikes on me. I’ll never forget it.)

Elon’s take on Thanksgiving is perfect, and his thoughts about this 2020 holiday are spot on.

All this leads me to say “Wear your mask – Wash your hands – Limit contact – If you think you’re being safe, be safer.” Seriously. The circle of Covid is closing in on us here. We’ve gone from knowing some people who almost died from it, to having close immediate relatives suffer from it, to having parents of dear friends pass away, and just minutes ago we learned one of Barbara’s cousins is on a ventilator. This is no joke. It’s not infringing on your “liberty” to be careful around others. Get real. Be freaking safe! As you can tell, the large number of inconsiderate selfish people absolutely infuriates me. Not to mention an egregious lack of governmental leadership. It’s heartbreaking and maddening. This is America. Why are we the worst country on the planet in terms of our response to this pandemic? I’m going to live in a bubble. If not a bubble, Kauai or New Zealand maybe. Not sure New Zealand wants any of us, though.

BREAKING NEWS: We are all in this together. It’s not all about you. Get it? It’s pretty simple.

There are still many things to be thankful for. Many that would have been considered small and inconsequential in the old form of the “big picture” but they are there and we should reflect on that.

Enjoy the day. But, for crying out loud, BE CAREFUL.

Thank you. That’s my rant. Here’s Elon.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Bob

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Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time for family and friends, cooking up a storm, and reflecting on all the good things that have impacted my life in the previous 365 days. This year the holiday will be different for me as well as just about everyone across the country. 2020 has been frustrating, scary, stressful and unpredictable, but I am still so very thankful. On a day like today I encourage everyone to take a few minutes and just think about the little things that have blessed us this year. 

I won’t have a house full of relatives but if the weather holds up I will be able to celebrate and feed a few local family members in my backyard, on tables socially distanced. The plan is for my mom to have her own table, my in-laws will have a table, and my family will have a table, all at least 10 feet apart. The temperature should be a comfortable 75 degrees and we will all help ourselves to a buffet that will begin with a nice selection of hand sanitizers before you proceed to the sides, turkey, rolls and eventually pies.

I take my Thanksgiving meal preparations seriously. The cooking strategy and planning began over the weekend with a detailed schedule coming into focus on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday I baked the cornbread for my homemade cornbread dressing. I also made my apple pie filling from scratch with Granny Smith apples. The family-favorite three cheese artichoke dip was also baked and immediately enjoyed as a precursor to the delectables on the horizon. I roll out a pretty good spread on Thursday so there is no real reason for appetizers on the big day.

Wednesday is for preparing all the sides and making the desserts. I’ll start with the traditional green bean casserole with extra fried onions. I make a sweet potato casserole with walnuts and a secret amount of butter and brown sugar. I cook on the assumption that if the guests don’t know how much sweet goodness is in their sides they can enjoy seconds or thirds guilt free throughout the day. My cornbread casserole is a creation that I have been perfecting for about four years, to get the key amount of moisture in the consistency. It starts with the homemade cornbread and hinges on the right amount of chicken broth. I want it to have a very thick soup jiggle when it goes into the pan so as it bakes it keeps the moistness but also holds its shape. I want an almost bread pudding feel.

I will be baking two different kinds of pies, apple and pecan. I love pumpkin pie but it is not a huge favorite of the family. I have an amazing pecan pie filling recipe that makes three pies worth so I share with the neighbors. Each one of my apple pies has about 4.5 lbs. of pre-peeled and cored apples in them before they go in the oven. I also liberally cover the tops with egg wash and sugar to give them a delicious crust. 

All these sides and the pecan pies will be relocated to neighbor Dale’s garage refrigerator until Thursday morning. We are rolling with our original kitchen fridge from our first house that has about 17 feet of interior space versus the 20+ feet of a newer model. Fridge space is critical and I appreciate Dale letting us store our treats overnight.

When it comes to cooking the turkey I have been all over the map trying to come up with the perfect technique. I have done the overnight brine. I have mixed it up with various stuffing items from apples to oranges to lemons to onions along with seasoning like fresh rosemary, thyme, sage and salt/pepper. Last year I tried the inverted turkey where you start out breasts down and then after 60-90 minutes you flip your bird. I do not recommend this, since my bird broke in half mid-flip. It tasted fine when it was all said and done but it was a less than Rockwellian presentation at the table. This year I am going with apples, oranges, fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme and some sage on the inside of the bird with a very liberal smearing of butter and minced garlic on the outside. I plan on reapplying the butter and garlic spread just over the halfway point. We got a 20 lb. turkey because I love leftovers and I want to be able give my parents a decent selection of take aways as well.

Speaking of 20 lb. turkeys, one story that didn’t make the Germany blog last week was how I celebrated Thanksgiving with my host family in 1986. It was an awkward conversation in early November when, without thinking it through, I asked my host parents who they were inviting over for Thanksgiving and what they were serving. As the words were coming out of my mouth I realized Germans weren’t really big on Thanksgiving since, well… they were in Germany and Thanksgiving wasn’t a thing. In one of the truly greatest “building bridges internationally” moments my host family decided to let me plan Thanksgiving. First they asked me what was served and I let them know the hallmarks were turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and apple pie. My host parents got all the ingredients and the big shocker was the size of the turkey they brought home from the market. It was barely eight pounds. I was less than overwhelmed, and when my host father asked what the issue was I explained that in my family we usually had a turkey that was at least 15-18 pounds. This was the height of American gluttony and ridiculousness I realized, and we made a delicious bird that year. The meal was a real treat and made a great impression on my host family about some American traditions.

Back to 2020 and our upcoming day of celebration. I have a minute by minute cooking schedule on Thursday that I reverse engineer from a planned eating time of 1:45 p.m. in the afternoon, not too early and not too late. Luckily, we have a double oven which I call The Winston since I paid for it by overseeing the media operations on Draft Day for No. 1 NFL draft pick Jameis Winston in 2015. I always wanted a double oven and thanks to that opportunity I was able to not just purchase one but also get it installed. I had been thinking about it for a while and when I was asked to submit a bid on the gig I threw out that number. It was a great day and one of my busiest days as a PR professional. I am constantly reminded of how cool the event was every time I use the oven.

The Winston will get a full workout on Thursday and I will get a great amount of satisfaction as I scratch off every item on my list. The planning is more than half of the fun for me and I love seeing if I can hit the estimated time number. The goal of having everything cooked, warm and ready at the same time is a lofty one.

Seeing my mom and my in-laws on Thursday will be a big deal when you consider we have had limited contact since March. We are going to be very careful and take extra precautions. The whole family has been self-quarantining and we are fastidious mask wearers when we are out and about. I also wish I had purchased stock in one of the many companies that produce hand sanitizer. All this is to say, Thanksgiving will hopefully taste the same even though it might not feel the same.

In addition to my family I am so thankful to Bob for giving me the chance to fill in for him on this blog. I have admired his dedication to the craft of consistently writing for many years now. We have talked about writing projects we are both interested in but Bob has taken the leap and actually done his projects. One book down and a second one is on the way. I offered to fill in for him not even thinking what that would entail and I am so thankful he gave me the shot. I am enjoying the feeling of the looming deadline, the creative process of coming up with ideas and also the challenge of filling some pretty big writing shoes.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to read these musings. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. Stay safe and enjoy the time with whomever you are stuck with.