Late per my usual, but no time like the present to share some Thanksgiving joy, no?  This year (most of) my family met up in Santa Barbara to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for.  JP slept through his alarm and missed his flight, so had an unexpected but surprisingly enjoyable road trip down from the bay; meanwhile Lea and I made a quick 2 hour coastal cruise to arrive in time for the sunset!

 

TURKEY DAY!

Next day was the main event, and I was ready to thank my many blessings.

After a “quick” morning run to Lazy Acres for a few last minute ingredients, the boys wasted little time cracking into the true spirit of the holidays.  Beer fermented in oak bourbon barrels, and a magnum of Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel (think cherry concentrate).

 

Since most things either cook for a long time, or can be prepped ahead of time, we actually had a lot of time to hangout on the deck.  And eat cheese.

And look who was able to join us!  Our English friends, Kate and Michael, who (surprisingly!) had never celebrated an American Thanksgiving.  As is warranted in the natural pecking order of things, since this was their first Thanksgiving, they were assigned jobs like cracking pepper into the turkey fryer.

Did he say turkey fryer?!  You betchyour ass!  🙂  JP brought it down with him, and we had a twilight turkey fry down on the beach.

 

Alas, the oil was hot and it was time to give this stately fowl a makeover.

Here’s the before and after…

 

To be washed down by two fantastic wines – a ’97  Wolf Blass Cab blend and a ’93 Penfolds Cab!  JP dug these out from somewhere deep in the company library.  Gracias hermano!

Then we FINALLY got to slice into Lea’s homemade apple and raspberry pie.  Impressive.

 

Roll me to the couch.