The Juan Pavo Makeover

You saw Juan Pavo before:

Cold, lonely, and afraid in the bottom of the freezer.

After a few days of thawing out, the Big Day came around, and it was Juan's turn for the oven. I started by pulling out that bag inside of him. You know, the one with all the innards?

Funny thing, there were feet in there along with everything else. I've never cooked a turkey in the States, but I'd bet my holey britches that the feet are not normally included with the bird.

Moving on, let me introduce you to these two turkeys. Whitni and Rip came into town to celebrate the day, and they cooked up some delectable treats. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures to document their culinary prowess; Juan Pavo was feeling needy. And then the stuffing felt left out, so I had to give it a little extra attention. From there it was a chain reaction with the side dishes, and before I knew it, I was simultaneously mediating between the carrots and the capers while attempting to prevent the pumpkin muffins from committing oven suicide.

These are a carry-over from last year's celebration. Welcome back, guys!

Now, Juan Pavo took his sweet time in the oven, but fortunately we had this to tide us through:

And the people were happy, and they saw that it was good. Amen.

By the time Mr. Pavo finally did emerge, everyone was hungry and happy.

*clears throat*

Drumroll, please.

...

...

...

Swimming in a sea of butter and rosemary, surrounded by dozens of adoring fans. Life couldn't get any better, Juan Pavo; your life's work is now fulfilled. And we only ended up eating one hour later than planned!

I didn't get pictures of the food. I was busy being a good hostess, okay? So here's some more turkeys:

"Turkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Turkeyturkeyturkeyturkeyturkey..." If you can name that movie, I will give you a hug. If you can whistle the theme song from that movie, we must be soulmates.

This little turkeyling stole all of our hearts.

The lovely Isa models the latest in haute turkey cuisine.

We missed everyone who wasn't there to share the meal with us, but all in all it was another good Thanksgiving outside the U.S.

This is Turkey, over and out.